Windsor to Brantford.
Why Day Zero? Well, because it's not really the first full day of our trip out east, but it is the start of vacation. Day Zero is the day where we tied up the loose ends around the house, such as, cutting the grass, getting the garbage out, cleaning the bathroom and, oh yeah, packing. We loaded the Montana and headed out to Brantford just after 4:00 pm. It was an uneventful trip. Traffic was not too bad for the last working day before a holiday weekend. The cops were out, but thankfully, they were busy handing out tickets to other drivers. Corbin was very excited about arriving in Brantford because he had a surprise waiting for him. The surprise? A new larger "treasure chest" that had a new toy waiting for him. Needless to say he was excited. It was early bed for Adam - we have a long day ahead of us tommorow.
We headed up to Goderich this weekend to participate in the Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life in memory of Mary Jean Boughner, Tina's Aunt who died just over a year ago. The Relay For Life is a 12 hour event from 7 pm to 7 am where teams of 10 take turns walking around a track. Money is raised through pledges. Our team consisted of Chris & Lisa (Team Captain) Muggridge, Bev & Gerry Muggridge, Mark & Rhonda Waldick, Scott & Robert McFarlane, Sarah & Emily Boughner, John & Lisa McFarlane and ourselves. It threatened to rain, but no rain came. It was cool night - which was good when walking but not so good when resting. By 4 am it was getting chilly and people were bundling up in sleeping bags. It was long night and everyone was tired at the end, but over $130,000 was raised at the Goderich event.
Today, Tina and Adam celebrate 10 years of marital bliss. Yes, 10 years ago, we decided to walk down the aisle and exchange vows and rings at St. Aloysius Parish in Kitchener, Ontario. It was beautiful day - warm and sunny. Not bad considering that it was supposed to rain. In a departure from other weddings, we greeted guests as they entered the Church and walked down the aisle together. After the ceremony, we headed to a small parkette to have pictures taken. A small break and freshening up and it was time to enter the reception and Mr. and Mrs. Szymczak. The reception turned out to be a rip roaring time - people from another reception down the hall were peaking in to get a glimpse of the party. We danced until god knows when. It is a day that we both will never forget.
Corbin spent his morning trying to remove a loose tooth. After several hours of tinkering, he was successful in the removal of the loose tooth. According to his EA, Corbin spent the next 30 or so minutes showing and telling everyone about his tooth and the gap in his mouth. Talk about focus. The tooth was stored in a bag stapled to his communication book, that was left behind in school. The Tooth Fairy will have to wait until Tuesday to take it way.
...Hello Wave. Yes, we finally decided to retire the Sunfire (after 10 years and 263,000 km) and get a new vehicle - a silver 2005 Pontiac Wave 5-door (aka hatchback) Uplevel. We took it out for a full day test drive this past Saturday, during the recent spring snow storm.The inclement weather made for a more realistic test drive. Tina loved it. She said it was "peppy" - which was evident to Adam as he tried to keep up with her. She also liked how the seating was more upright - similar to our Montana minivan. The car comes with automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows and locks, remote keyless alarm and entry, heated side view mirrors, and a AM/FM CD player with MP3 capability. The rear seat is a 60/40 split that not only folds flat by also can be fold forward to increase the volume of space. The engine is a 1.6L DOHC. More information is available at the GM Canada website.We are leasing the car for a period of 48 months. It's our first lease, so we hope this works out. The car comes with the standard GM warranties and roadside assistance. The Wave will be ready for pickup at Jerome Taylor this Friday at noon. Tina is a happy because she will not have to drive the gas guzzling minivan, Adam is happy to get back his gas guzzling minivan, and Corbin is, well, excited about anything new.
Today was the trip back home.
After a relaxing morning which included Corbin sleeping in till 8:30 am and Tina and Adam munching on some things from the Continental Breakfast and various snacks we had, we headed out to Greenville, Ohio, about one and a half hours east of Indianapolis via US36. Around Noon, we arrived at the KitchenAid Experience in downtown Greenville. Tina was overwhelmed - an entire store dedicated to KitchenAid appliances, accessories and cooking lessons. Adam gave Tina a KitchenAid stand mixer as a Christmas gift and she simply loves it. Almost purchased a coffee grinder; next time maybe? Instead, Tina purchased some accessories and we headed back home.
Originally, we were going take US36 to I75, but Adam decided to take US127 north to SR224 west and eventually to I75. It was a more relaxed drive on some decent two-lane roads. Corbin listened - and sang - to the mix CD Adam made in his portable CD player. It was amusing at times. There was not much traffic to deal with. We had a late lunch at Burger King in Ottawa and then drove to I75 and joined the driving masses. The trip up to the Ambassador Bridge was uneventful. Fuel was running low, but the warning light did not come on, so Adam pushed on. At the Bridge we paid our toll, fueled up on some tax and duty free unleaded gasoline and crossed back into Canada. No issues at the border. Just one quick stop at Tim Horton's to satisfy Tina's desire for coffee. 15 minutes later we were home. An awesome trip.
The day began with a trip to the hotel's continental breakfast. Nothing special. In fact, it was a below average continental breakfast. At 8 am, the only fruits left were apples - no bananas or other choices. There were few danishes and some plain bagels. Adam passed on the coffee, whereas Tina found it ok. They did have make-your-own waffles - a nice touch.
After breakfast we headed out to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, just outside downtown Indianapolis. Unfortunately, some roads were renumbered. According to the map from the Children's Museum web site, we were to follow SR37 south to 30th Street. We headed out on I69 and followed the sign that said 37 south. This took us onto I465 - a loop road. This was not right. We got off at the next interchange and headed west. Eventually, we made it to the museum. We will email them about their map.
A larger parking garage is located directly across from the museum. Plenty of parking at 10:30 am. The best part: parking was free. Yes. Free. Score one in the For column. A bridge takes you from the garage to the main entrance of the museum. Admission was reasonable. For the three of us it was US$31. This includes admission to a planetarium and theatre - though you have to get tickets from the admission counter for both venues. We did not go to the planetarium or theater. The museum has 5 floors of exhibits ranging from science, games, dinosaurs, the world, and so on. Many exhibits are hand on. There is a large cafeteria with McDonald's, Pizza Hut and other restaurants. We spent about 4 1/2 hours exploring. Corbin loved the place. He ran from exhibit to exhibit showing no signs of fatigue. Mom and Dad on the other hand were dead tired. It was a good time. Highly recommended.
We headed back to the hotel and went for a swim. After drying off and relaxing, it was time to eat. We ended up at Olive Garden, The service was excellent - the server played a couple games of tic-tac-toe with Corbin. The food was served quickly and hot. Refills came without asking. Next was shopping at a nearby mall. It was more or less a browse and walk session. Back to the hotel for much needed sleep.
