So Thursday August 22 we were off again.  The night before my Society of Oshkosh Brewers (SOB’s) had their annual picnic that we attended.   The food was great the beers awesome!    Not too many because I had to pack the car and drive in the morning.    We took off from Oshkosh and had a hotel booked in Sault Ste Marie  Ontario.   I like to cross the border on the first day of travel and have that behind us,  and we did that roughly 6 hours later.   Which the time seems worse because we lose an hour on the way there!    We tried a new hotel this year and we liked it a lot.   We like to arrive and check in and take a little time to relax.   Then time for a cocktail and something to eat,  and this Best Western had a very nice pub and restaurant attached.  Some good conversation with the bartender,   good drinks and food,  then relaxing in a nice room.   The next morning breakfast at the hotel and on the road to Sudbury.   A little delay for paving and only one lane open for a long stretch, but nothing terrible.  If you haven’t traveled north in Ontario you may not realize that when you are on King’s Highway 17 and run into a traffic problem,   you do not move over to the next parallel road,   You are on THE road.  It is a pretty ride but don’t expect to quickly run into a gas station or rest stop.  Most small towns, like in the US, have local stations and restaurants that are closed.  Going from the UP of Michigan to Ontario is pretty seamless,  other than a customs checkpoint.  But still a pretty easy drive and we landed in Sudbury in the late afternoon to be greeted by Homer and Judy, Ron and Verna also came down from Temagami.  We were treated like royalty.  The start of our food and drink orgy.  Homer planned out and cooked wonderful food,  while we looked on.   We did a little sightseeing and 2 nights flew by.   On Sunday we were off to Temagami to take in the Carr’s beautiful gardens,  and of course food.   Fresh cut potato fries and gravy and cheese poutine.  With fresh veggies and steaks, and that was after appetizers!     It went on from there.   We were privileged to have Snug neighbors Bob and Sandi join us on Monday.   We all spent a lot of time catching up and Verna fed (overfed) us again.   It was wonderful to spend time catching up with old friends.  But we had a plan and Tuesday we were heading south.  Thanks to our travel advisor Joy we decided on St Jacobs Ontario as our next destination.  You know we want to limit our hours in the car so St Jacobs was about the right distance from Temagami.  We had reserved a bed and breakfast in this Mennonite area.  We arrived too late in the afternoon to take in the local farmers market,  but were welcomed by our hosts and were able to walk to the business district.   We found good food, a brewery and a market open.   In the morning we had a Traditional British Breakfast (our host was from Britain)  which was filling,  and we were able to walk the district again and see shops that were not open the evening before.   After helping out the local economy we were off to the West.   Our next stop was Sarnia, Ontario.   A crossing point between the countries, we wanted one more visit before coming back in country.   We were privileged to have dinner with friends from Snug, as Joy brought Wayne and Elaine into town.   Wayne and Elaine were friends with my Uncle in Florida and then with us.  And now Joy has taken the Canadian mantle in Snug along with Paul.   We had a wonderful evening with them and Wayne and Elaine looked and sounded great.  We enjoyed catching up.   That was the end of our Canadian trip, as the morning brought us to cross the border.  We wanted to cross on Thursday,  as last year on Friday before Labor day took 3 hours;  this day was much better.  We crossed in the morning and found a local cafe for breakfast in the Port Huron area.  Homey and excellent on our trip to MJ and John’s house.  We had a plan there to tackle the painting of their cedar fence.  Their side had been stained in the past and was looking in need of help, and the neighbors side had never been painted.   Some patching and structural help  and then John and I spent 2 days of painting.   It looks great and a feeling of accomplishment that we celebrated.   We visited new and old favorites and did some grilling.   And after Labor Day heading home.   As is normal we skip Chicago traffic and limit our driving; so we stop in the UP of Michigan.  Another night and then home to Oshkosh. So home to Oshkosh for a few days and then a short trip.  Old friends Bev and Wally rented a cottage on Shawano Lake to have a week to visit with Bev’s family.  They invited us to come up so we spent a few days with them.    Pontoon rides, more food and drink, and lot’s of catching up with each other.   We had a wonderful time.   We came home to make it to our doctors appointments,  and yes we need to stop eating.   Also when we came home there was a little excitement in the neighborhood.  Next to our apartment complex was a farmhouse and barn,  which we guess was probably the owner of the property that this complex is built on.   But this is no longer outside the city and property is probably worth a lot on a busy street.   A large crane has been working around the barn and they already had leveled the house.   They took some large areas of barn boards off and I thought they were going to salvage the wood.   But not a lot, yesterday they pulled some inside structure out and today they worked around the bottom until they were ready to bring it down on itself.   A lot of cleanup yet to do,  I salivate at some of the large wooden beams,  but my time is long past to do anything with it!   

Mining Memorial in Sudbury ON

Cocktails in Carr’s backyard

Toast to the Durie’s

Our annual group picture, thanks Sandi

Verna and Chris relaxing

Time to Eat

In St Jacobs ON

German Brat at the Biergarten

Our Hosts Traditional English Breakfast in St Jacobs

Wayne and Elaine looking great

Painting the never painted side

A finished side

MJ and John’s house with bright fences

After a day of painting out to a brewery/smokehouse. Luckily our food had just come off the grill when the power went out. Beer and food were great

Captain Wally

The Girls enjoying the ride