As usual, it has been way too long since I updated y’all. Life here has been quite busy, with several camping trips in our Rialta.

One weekend found us camped in Dorchester for the Fiddle and Step Dance competitions. The music in the campground was very good and we were close to a great group of musicians. It isn’t really our favourite music type but it was fun to visit once.

George ( Murray’s brother ) & Barb hosted the 2nd Annual Runway Campout in August and there were seven or eight rigs there this year. The weather was slightly damp and curtailed the campfires but we had fun anyhow. Several groups went to the nearby Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese while others went to Woodstock for shopping etc. A great game of Mexican Train dominoes kept us entertained in the afternoon. Saturday evening’s dinner was a pot-luck and, as usual, there was lots of awesome food. Before and after dinner, we were entertained with live music from some of the talented fellow campers plus friends of George & Barb. Everyone headed out Sunday afternoon and allowed the farm to return to it’s usual quiet state – until next year.

One long weekend, we travelled to Mackinaw Island and met up with George and Barb along with some cousins from Michigan, Mary & Bill. We stayed in a campground in Mackinaw City and took one of the ferries to the island for the day. It was a damp and rainy day but we took the horse-drawn tour and quite enjoyed that. Back in the village, we had a lovely lunch at a pub and then browsed the stores for a while. Once we were loaded down with the obligatory fudge, we crossed back on the ferry and got out of the rain for a few hours. The next day, we headed home but stopped along the way to look at new and used motorhomes. We spent the night in another, much cheaper campsite, closer to the border and crossed back into Canada in the morning.

This weekend, the Rialta was called into service once again but this time as a bunkhouse. Jeremy, Cynthia, Matthew and Samantha came from Kanata for Thanksgiving and our two bedroom house is just a bit to small to sleep all comfortably. But, with the heater plugged in, it was quite comfortable in the camper parked in front of the house.

On Thanksgiving Sunday, we met Steve, Kath, James and Violet at Great Lakes Farms, near Port Stanley. There we picked apples and watched the kids playing in the Fun Farm. The balance of the day was spent at Steve and Kath’s new house in St Thomas where we enjoyed a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. The cousins had a wonderful time playing together while the adults visited.

We have so many things to be thankful for. Not the least of which is that our boat seems to have survived Hurricane Matthew. Reports from the marina indicate quite a bit of damage to boats in the water but the ones up on the hard seem to be just fine. That will have to wait to be confirmed when we finally get aboard. That is planned for early November but we will have to contact the marina to make sure that they are ready to have W4 in the work-yard by then.
Murray is working with his brother again, to harvest soybeans. That will take up most of his time for the next few weeks. I have several sewing projects on the go that will keep me occupied.

So, basically, life is good! We have family, friends, way too much good food and things to keep us happy and busy.

Murray & Heather
hard aground