Week Twelve: Last Goodbyes, The Way Home and Looking Back

12 september 2018 - Powassan, Canada

Thursday, Augustus 12, 2018

The whole family got organized for our visit to Bill and Cathy’s camp on Arrow Lake.

When we arrived for coffee, Ghislaine was already cooking several dishes to bring for tonight’s dinner, the girls were packing their suitcases and after our coffee, all we had to do was get the snail house hitched.

We got a head start, as the family all agreed that we would be traveling at a snail’s pace. Camp is at least an hour and a half from Thunder Bay for regular travellers, so we would take longer.

We arrived at lunch time and decided to park our trailer close to the old camp, a beautifully, renovated cottage, surrounded by a vegetable garden, an artistic looking fire pit and amazing views of the lake. We were excited, because this visit was also a test of our trailer's solar panels. We didn’t want to tap into Bill’s energy source as the cottage and the house are totally off the grid and are powered only by solar panels. We would try off-grid camping and find out if the 200 watt solar panels could keep our fridge running.

Down by the lake, Bill had built a large three-story home, with views of the lake from every level.

While we ate lunch the rest of the family arrived. Soon, we all went down to the big house at the lake. Migs and Poppy were allowed to run off leash and they raced all around the property and the neighbouring sites. Bijke cried, but we didn’t trust him to run free, here. He had smelled the water and was going nuts, so he was the first one to swim, but was soon followed by Allie, Mia and Femke. The water was clear and a comfortable temperature. Sjoerd and the girls jumped off the dock. Allie was like a little dolphin and refused to come out of the water.

Later, she dressed in her mermaid tail fin, mask and goggles. Sjoerd taught her how to properly use the mask and goggles. She swam like a mermaid.

We helped making supper and due to the lovely weather, we ate outside on one of the many decks, that surround this house.

We were sad that Ghislaine and Femke had to drive back into town after supper, as Femke has an early shift at the Tim Hortons, tomorrow morning. Friday afternoon, Ghislaine and Femke both had to volunteer at Thunder Bay’s Ribfest, to raise money for her hockey team and Saturday morning, Femke had to work early again.

“Sometimes having a job, sucks, Beppe,” Femke said when I hugged her goodbye.

As they were leaving, Bill and Cathy arrived. We enjoyed a lovely evening outside, with wine and beer, caught up on life, kids and grandkids.

Back at the snail house, we listened to several loons calling each other from across the lake.

Bijke: I didn’t understand why I had to be leashed, while the other dogs were running free. It wasn’t fair.

We woke up to the sound of the fridge running; a good sign, but the sky was overcast and the forecast called for rain, today. Our solar panels wouldn’t like that. Sjoerd had stayed over at the old cottage and came to the snail house for coffee and breakfast, which we truly enjoyed.

At the big house we played Crazy Eights and Mia taught Bijke how to roll over until all the treats were gone and he refused to do any more tricks.

Grandma Cathy’s rule at camp was, ‘No Devices are being used while you are at Camp’. She has a craft room, many games and books and movies, they can watch on rainy days on the big screen, downstairs. I loved her rule.

While we played Crazy Eights for the umpteenth time, Allie made tiny ponytails in Sjoerd his very short hair. With everyone gathered around the large dining room table, playing games, laughing and arguing, we had a fun morning.

Even when we went back to the snail house for lunch, the rain on the roof made it feel cozy. Bijke went for another swim and this time he was much calmer. There are many staircases going down to the lake and Albert made him sit every few steps. He caught on quickly to this new routine.

Grandpa Bill went fishing to catch dinner, but I suspected he wanted an excuse to escape the busy family and be by himself on the lake. After he’d caught several bass, he prepared them for dinner. We had a great meal, but we missed Femke and Ghislaine.

After dinner, Allie and Grandpa played cribbage. I was in awe, that Allie was able to remember all the rules, the calculations and how quick she responded. I didn’t know this game at all and found het very complicated.

After a day without sunshine, we were pleased that our fridge was still running on the battery.

Another dreary morning, greeted us after a very quiet night, but ... the fridge was still humming.

For the second day in a row, we enjoyed breakfast and coffee with Sjoerd. Later that morning, we went to the big house and Bijke enjoyed another swim in Arrow Lake.

Bill took Sjoerd and the girls fishing on the lake. The sun came out and we had a lovely time, drinking coffee with Cathy on one of the decks.

There was a lot of excitement, when the boat with the fishing crew, returned. The girls had caught seven bass. Mia had actually caught the biggest fish, but it had gotten away. Grandpa had to prepare the fish for lunch, but this time he had help from Mia.  She helped clean the fish.

After a lovely lunch with freshly caught fish on the menu, we packed up and headed back to Thunder Bay.

We ordered Thai food as Ghislaine wasn’t finished her volunteer job at Ribfest till eight. For dessert we had a very special treat. Ghislaine had baked an ‘appeltaart’, using Beppe Romkje’s recipe. The cake looked fabulous and the smell and taste brought back many memories.

Our quiet evening in the snail house was disturbed by fireworks, a week early for Labour Day Weekend, and Bijke came for a snuggle until it was quiet.

Femke had another early shift at Tim Hortons and we drove her to work so Sjoerd and Ghislaine could sleep in. She was glad to be on time and said, “ I was so worried you would get lost in Thunder Bay.”

“Pake never gets lost,” I said. “Remember, Femke, when I didn’t know where I was going? But the three of you were no help at all and couldn’t give me any directions!”

Years ago, I had taken the girls to the mall, shopping and when we drove home, I got totally lost and ended up at the wrong end of town. We drove around for over an hour, before I recognized the area and their street. That experience must have had a lasting effect on Femke, as she is still traumatized by the memory.

This incident happened before we had GPS and cellphones, but the girls still joke, “If you go for a ride with Beppe, chances are you might get lost. Beppe doesn’t know her way around Thunder Bay.” And I should know my way around, the kids have lived in this town for eighteen years.

In the afternoon, I played Crazy Eights with Allie and Mia, while Albert helped Sjoerd organize materials to built a closet in the hallway.  Last year, Albert had torn down the structure. Ghislaine groomed Bijke, who had matted hair underneath his tail. She had a lot of patience and Bijke lay very still, as if he was enjoying a facial or a massage.

After a delicious family dinner, we played more games and Bijke needed more grooming.

During the night, rain and thunder, made Bijke upset and he managed to crawl onto my pillow. Slowly, but surely he took up more space, until the storm passed and he willingly returned to his own bed. What a good boy!

On Monday, Albert and Sjoerd bought materials for the new closet, Ghislaine went back to work and I took the girls shopping. With the humidex, the temperature was 30 degrees.

After the girls bought school supplies, we went to Chapters, because Bijke needed a thank-you gift for Ghislaine. We noticed last night that he was less itchy, now that the knots and dreadlocks had been removed.

The girls suggested to buy this mug that said, ‘Dog Lover’. I didn’t think Ghislaine needed any more mugs, but in the end they convinced me that this was the perfect gift and Mom would love it.

I had planned to take the girls to Starbucks for a drink and a treat, but they insisted to just get a drink and nothing to eat. “Starbucks is way too expensive, Beppe!”

“I never have a chance to take you girls out, so I don’t care if it is expensive,” I argued.

“Then we should eat lunch at Femke’s Tim Hortons, because she gets the family discount.” Mia had the final word and the other two agreed, so I was outvoted. I was impressed, how price conscious the girls were.

Mia was the best navigator. She had her phone and told me exactly the directions to Femke’s work. She didn’t want to take any chances that I would get lost. We all had lunch and then Femke started her shift. It was too short, but I enjoyed my time with the girls, immensely.

At home, Albert and Sjoerd had made good progress building the closet.

When Ghislaine came home from work, Mia had a hockey practice. While they went to the arena, we packed our trailer, did groceries and made supper.

We enjoyed our last family dinner with the Attemas.  Albert hitched the trailer and we played one last game of Crazy Eights and after Femke had been picked up from work, we retired to the snail house. As soon as we walked outside we were hit by cold air. In the last hour the temperature had dropped by 20 degrees. Thank goodness, I had packed a second duvet. We turned the space heater on for a few minutes and then snuggled down under two duvets for our last night in Thunder Bay.

Bijke: I feel so much better, after the kind human brushed out my tangled hair. I’m less itchy and I hope A and M know how to do this.

The alarm went off at six and the temperature was 9 degrees. After breakfast, we said goodbye to the girls and Sjoerd and Ghislaine. We had enjoyed a great visit. I’m always sad to leave and it reminded me of all the times Beppe Romkje said goodbye at the airport after her three week visits.   

After Nipigon, we took Highway 17, along the North shore of Lake Superior.  At the start of our journey,  we had taken the northern highway and we didn’t want to take the same route home.

The rocks were coloured red, when we past Red Rock, but then, the scenery changed as we followed the highway. We stopped at Rossport for a break at a gorgeous picnic area right on Lake Superior. A kayaker headed out, just as we arrived and two loons swam nearby.

We continued our trip and stopped for lunch at the Visitor’s Information Centre in White Fish. It was bitterly cold and we stayed inside the snail house with the door closed, even though the temperature had risen to a balmy 12 degrees. It suddenly felt like fall.

We arrived at Rabbit Blanket Lake Provincial Park by three in the afternoon. We had a really nice site, but our electrical cord was too short. A few years ago we had camped at this park and we had had the same problem, so we should have known and brought an extension cord. We also could have spent the night off grid, but the office rented out extension cords and were happy that we could use our little space heater.

Bijke went for a swim after we had settled, but the lake was shallow.

Bijke: I don’t like it when I have to run back and forth in the water. I like to swim!

After supper we explored the campground and saw that many sites were occupied by tents. It was great to see that families are still experiencing ‘real’ camping. We felt that our snail house was too fancy for this park.

On Wednesday morning we packed up and headed for our last campground in Thessalon.  This amazing trip is coming to an end and every journey’s end is the road back home. It seemed eons ago when we started this adventure at the beginning of June, but the days have gone by as if we were traveling on a high speed train.

The temperature was again just 9 degrees, telling us that fall is on its way. We stopped at the Agawa Campground, which is right on Lake Superior, but also right along the highway. Last night we decided that we would love to travel the shores of this lake in the future. The cliffs, the rough water with white caps on windy days like today, the rock formations, outcroppings and caves, the bays with sandy beaches and stone slabs, the islands close to shore and in the distance create this magnificent area and make Lake Superior one of our favourite lakes.

We wanted to eat lunch, once we had passed Sault Saint Marie, but there were no picnic areas or sand and gravel depots along the highway. With growling stomachs we finally reached our destination; Brownlee Lake Campground in Thessalon.

This was campground #28, but we ranked it #1. Our site was right on the lake, which made Bijke happy. The facilities were spotless, the grounds were well kept and the beach area clean. Trails around the campground and along the shore gave us the opportunity for several walks. Some of the maple trees along the trail started to change colour. Patches of red and yellow have already coloured the fall season. Smells of rotting, musty leaves add to the feeling of the summer's end. 

Besides a few seasonal guests, we were the only campers. Bijke had an exciting swim, while barking and biting at the waves. It was windy and cool, but very pleasant. What a way to end our unforgettable journey.

Bijke: I didn’t like the boring traveling days. The swims were good, but A and M should have stayed longer at the lakes. Did I mention how often they stepped on me in the snail house? It was mostly M, who had trouble keeping her balance. She said she played ‘Twister’, every time I was in her way, but she wasn’t very good at this game. When she stepped on my tail or one of my paws, she said, “ Sorry Bijke, I didn’t mean to step on you.” But if she was sorry why did she do it again and again?” Sigh.

The drive home on Thursday was slowed down by road construction from Thessalon all the way to Hagar.

We had noticed that Bijke had lost weight on this trip, especially when he came out of the water, he looked skinny. So we stopped in Callander, at the vet and weighed him. Sure enough, he had lost 7.6 pounds. And even though he’d never shown any signs of stress, he must have found it stressful to stay at a different campsite every few days.

When we got home, he looked a little lost and even when we emptied the snail house and filled the spare bedroom with all our stuff, he didn’t seem all that interested in his own ‘house’.

The weather was gorgeous and we had tea on the patio where we looked at the beast lying in the yard. The broken down tower and wind turbine hadn’t moved while we were away and the flowers in the flower beds had grown out of control, with weeds competing for space.

We were so grateful that Jim and Carolyn had looked after our house.  Jim had kept the lawn neat by mowing every few weeks.

After supper, Bijke rediscovered the couch, where his blanket was still waiting for him and he slept for the rest of the evening.

In the next few days, Bijke found his bearings, when we found him sleeping in my chair, on the couch and behind the curtain.

It slowly dawned on us how amazing our trip had been. Except for a rough start, everything had been great. We’d had no car trouble, no accidents or other unpleasant incidents. For the first time in years, our pace of life had slowed down, Life had been simplified and we had lived for three months with less stress. We had seen amazing sights and spent precious, memorable times with all our children and grandchildren. We had enjoyed every minute.  And if we stay healthy, we will plan to go east, next year, because we have caught the TRAVEL BUG!

3 Reacties

  1. Trijntsje:
    12 september 2018
    Ook aan jullie mooie reis komt een einde. Ik heb genoten van jullie mooie verhalen en foto's.
    Blijf gezond en dan hopen we dat we volgend jaar weer mee kunnen reizen.
    Wij gaan bijna weer naar Portugal.
  2. Clazien:
    13 september 2018
    ik ha genoaten fan de ferhalen. En moai om sa mei reizigje te kinnen. No mar op nei takomme jier en hoopje dat we dan wer genietsje kinne dan jimme avontoeren.
  3. Piet en Tjally:
    16 september 2018
    Bedankt voor de fijne verhalen en prachtige foto’s.
    Tjally en Piet