Today we pick up our RV (Recreational Vehicle) at 9.30, so I set my alarm for 6am. As usual, awake before it goes off. We sort and pack our cases, have some breakfast, and then Mike drives us to Outdoor Travel in Beamsville to pick up our van. The plan is that we will drive the van back to Mike's flat, load up, and then drive in convoy to Curtis's on Lake Simcoe.
After much form filling and the taking of a huge security deposit we are shown to our RV. It is huge. It has three tip-outs which extend the size of the living and bedroom areas even further. It is not what we originally planned but is what was available when rebooking everything 4 weeks ago. You will get a proper tour of it on a later day
We get to Mike's and park in the far corner of the carpark. We then have to carry everything from Mike's flat to the van. In addition to our two suitcases and case of wine from the winery, Mike is generously giving us a lot of food, in addition to towels, pans and a couple of camping chairs. All of this fills the lift as we descend the six floors to the basement. Luckily there is a shopping trolley there to help move the smaller bags to the van.
And then it's time to depart. We had wanted Mike to be in the van with us for this journey, to help navigate the busy Toronto motorway system, but he didn't want to make the return journey on public transport. So we are in our convoy formation, with Mike leading and us following behind.
We lose Mike within 15 minutes. At a motorway fork he moves into one of the lanes for going left, and I duly get into the same lane. At the last minute he swerves across the triangular dead-zone of the junction, into a lane for forking right. I don't have much time to react, but decide I'm not going to attempt that manoeuvre in my big lumbering and unfamiliar vehicle.
So we are on our own, with Vera navigating using her phone. Praise the gods that her data and connectivity issues have been fixed. I feel that I have really been thrown into the deep end on these six lane highways, traffic zooming past on both sides, lanes disappearing off at junctions and an unfamiliar road signage system. Vera does a great job as navigator, not easy as a fork left could either involve staying in one of the leftmost three or four lanes, or staying in one of the rightmost three or four lanes and then being carried over on an elevated section.
We successfully get through the Toronto maze, onto the slightly more straightforward highway 400. I can now begin to take in the changing landscape. We have lots of trees, rolling hills, and spot the first farm livestock we have seen. On the 1,000 or so Mike journey to Quebec City and back we did not see a single animal in a field. Today we see horses, alpacas, and a small herd of cows - Belted Galways I think. I'm surprised, I imagined Canada and North America would have its own breeds.
Two hours after leaving Hamilton we arrive at Curtis and Jessica's house. Curtis is in the front with Rachel, his five year old daughter who is very interested to see us and our motorhome. Jessica soon arrives back with one year old Sabrina. No sign of Mike, though he has phoned Curtis, so we know he is en route.
Teas and coffees are forgone and we launch straight into beers, which I am definitely ready for. Vera and Curtis have a lot of catching up to do. We are on their large first floor balcony, overlooking the lake, when Mike eventually arrives.
No sunset today, but as the light fades the sky and water merge into one. Eventually the increasing number of mosquitos drive us indoors, and we sit chatting until late.
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