Weekend Recap

The weather was perfect!  The company was perfect!  We had a great time.  The only thing I would have done differently would have been to take a sweater on the Glass Bottom Boat Tour.  We plan to do it again!!!

We were up at 6am and gone from the trailer by 645 to drive to South Bay Mouth on Manitoulin Island to catch the Ferry over to Tobermory to spend the day.  The ferry ride is just under 2 hours and when we arrived we met up with Hubby's brother and family who were spending the weekend.  We hung out at their campground, had lunch and then headed back to the docks to get on a glass bottom boat tour.  It took 2 hours and we were able to see ship wrecks and toured around Flower Pot Island.  You can actually transfer off the Tour Boat onto a Zodiak and spend the day exploring the island or even camp there too!  After the tour was done, we found some supper, had some ice cream and explored some of the shops around the water front.  We caught the 8pm ferry back to South Bay Mouth and we were back at the trailer by 1130 that night.  It made for a very long day, but the kids and the dog were so well behaved and they slept the entire truck ride from the ferry back to camp.  What a great way to celebrate our 16th Wedding Anniversay!!!!

Making our way to the dock

Hubby and his nephew

Almost at the boat

On the boat...found the life boats!

Jo went and got coffee for hubby!

Flag on the back of the boat

Front of the boat

The dog was only allowed on one deck outside!  She traveled really well!

Lighthouse almost in Tobermory

Heading into the dock in Tobermory

In South Bay Mouth, the cars drive into the back of the ferry and in Tobermory they exit through the front

The Ferry

The boat we took our tour on

One of the ship wrecks

The other shipwreck

This Coast Guard Boat is designed to roll right over in the water!

I'd be nervous if I was the one in the kayaks!!!

Lighthouse on Flower Pot Island

One of the flower pots

Can you see the face of the old man watching over the lake?

Sunset heading back to South Bay Mouth

Almost ready to dock in South Bay Mouth

Grocery Shopping

I went grocery shopping this weekend, 3 hours away!

I would love to know why Canada doesn't have some of the "cool" food that is available in the US.  Pop Tarts can be purchased here, but we don't have the funky flavors like Brown Sugar and Cinnamon, Pumpkin Pie or Apple Strudel.  Coffee Mate Flavors like Cinnamon Bun, Caramel Macchiatto or German Chocolate.  Fruit Snacks for the kids in all the different television shows that they love to watch.  Most of these things I wouldn't buy in my regular groceries, but they are fun to have on hand for snacks.  We also managed to get Cheerios in different flavors.  Eggo Cereal and the Cheese and Milk is so much cheaper than what we pay here.

I know there are things here in Canada that aren't available in the US.  Smarties which are a favorite here!  Kinder Surprise Eggs that are great fun for the kids and I've even heard that you can't take them across the border. 
Here is a story about it from Canada.com

 

 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission determined years ago that Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs did not meet the small-parts requirement for toys for children under the age of three, creating a choking and aspiration hazard in young kids. As a result, Kinder Surprise eggs are banned for sale and import into the U.S.

Photograph by: Canwest News Service, Canwest News Service

 

OTTAWA — U.S. authorities are urging Canadians to stop sending Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs to that country as gifts this holiday season because of a long-standing ban on the product south of the border.
A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection says officers noticed a spike in the lead up to Christmas this year, so are hoping the alert will reach Canadians who don't know the ubiquitous product in Canada is actually banned in the U.S.
"It's mostly personal amounts going down as a gift," Chris Misson, a spokesman for U.S. Customs, said Thursday. "This is an informational thing to make people are aware that they don't lose the Kinder eggs at the border."
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission determined years ago the product did not meet the small-parts requirement for toys for children under the age of three, creating a choking and aspiration hazard in young kids.
As a result, Kinder Surprise eggs are banned for sale and import into the U.S.
Health Canada has a different take on the product, available in Canada since 1975 and especially popular at Easter and Christmas, when the Ferrero Group manufactures themed treats.
The Kinder Surprise, deriving its name from the German word for children, has always been legal here because Health Canada has determined the tiny toy inside is not likely to be used by children under three years of age.
As a result, "the requirements for small components do not apply to the product," Health Canada said in a statement.
Health Canada determined infants and toddlers don't use the tiny trinket inside the Kinder egg based on a number of factors, including the manual dexterity required to open the plastic egg that holds the toy and the complexity of the toy design itself.
The toys, smaller than the size of an eraser, could be a 3-D puzzle, have multiple small pieces or small stickers for application.
Meanwhile, the outer wrapping on the product carries the international choking hazard symbol for toys. There's also a warning in bold that reads: "Toy not suitable for children under three years. Small parts might be swallowed or inhaled. Adult supervision recommended."
Mark Wakefield, vice-president of marketing at Ferrero Canada, said Kinder Surprise is a hit with consumers because it's a great product.
"Kinder is a well-loved brand. The Kinder egg and its toy have been enjoyed by adults and children for more than 35 years in countries including Canada, Mexico, Italy, France, Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom," he said in a statement Thursday.
The Kinder Surprise was first launched in Italy in 1972, but Ferrero Group has never been able to sell the product in the United States.
In 1993, the company asked U.S. authorities to permit its sale, but the government turned down the request, citing regulations that prohibit having an inedible product inside an edible object.
Ferrero Canada, which also distributes Ferrero Rocher, Nutella, Tic Tac and Kinder Surprise in Canada, also offers a special Kinder Surprise Maxi, available only at Easter, and the Kinder Christmas Ball.

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

 

 

I also went to Joann's and managed not to spend too much in there.  The selection online is amazing, but the store we went to is a smaller store, but fun to shop in just the same.

 

I think this was one of the first time in ages that I didn't get pulled in at Canadian Customs and pay Duty!!! 

 

 

Weekend Bullets

It was a whirlwind......
1329km  (825 miles) and the total driving time in the truck was almost 19 hours in a 48 hour period.  I'm a little tired!

• Thursday 9pm left for Sutton area
• Thurday 1030pm white out conditions on highway
• Friday 1am arrived
• Friday 3am finally into bed
• Friday 730am up and getting ready again
• Friday 11am Eddie Bauer Outlet!!!
• Friday 145pm bead shopping in Downtown Toronto
• Friday 430pm Dixie Value Mall for late lunch and great Guess Deals
• Friday 630pm stuck in traffic
• Friday 830pm arrive at hotel in London
• Friday 9pm supper at KFC
• Friday 940 in the hot tub at the hotel
• Friday 1130 in bed for the night
• Saturday 7am up and getting ready for the day
• Saturday 830 having Breakfast at Cora's
• Saturday 10am short side trip to H&M
• Saturday 11am at Dad's packing the remainder of his apartment
• Saturday 130pm leaving Deleware en route to Sutton
• Saturday 330pm having Swiss Chalet in New Market
• Saturday 430pm leaving Sutton
• Saturday 9pm arrive home only 10 minutes of white out driving
• Sunday 1230am in bed for the night
• Sunday 8am up for the day
• Sunday 2pm taking the moving truck to Dad's new place
• Sunday 530pm done unloading and back home
• Sunday 7pm sat down to cabbage roll and perogie dinner
• Sunday 9pm Dad's bedding and curtains in the washer
• Sunday 11pm last load in the washer
• Sunday 1115 sewing the zipper on the child's winter coat
• Sunday 1130 sitting down to blog when I should be in bed....
• Sunday 1140 finishing blog post and going to bed
• The unpacking starts tomorrow
• Happy to have my father in law 6 hours closer to us!!!

Weekend Recap

I had an amazing weekend!  I started with a flight to Ottawa, shuttled to the Cartier Place Hotel where I checked my suitcase and then took a quick cab ride up to the Rideau Centre and some serious shopping!  I wandered through the Byward Market and then met up with a friend for the night!


The Market is a great place to wander!  There are all kinds of little shops, restaurants, buskers and funky stuff to look at and buy.  I took a wander into Sassy Beads and picked up some beads for myself and while I was there I made a bracelet for a friend of mine who recently broke on of hers that was a gift to all of us from another friend.  The one that she broke meant a great deal to her so I picked and sorted through the store and came up with one for her that has the letters "YGG" in the middle.  She is a university student at the age of 48 and You Go Girl has become a mantra!  She was thrilled as was I!  I bought some chinese pajamas for the girls and a hat for a little guy.  I ended up going back on Saturday and bought more hats for all three kids!! We are going back to Ottawa in 2 weeks for a wedding and I scored a great suit at The Bay that was 40% off and because I was a tourist I received an additional 15% off.

Friday night S and I went and did a little bit of shopping, had some dinner and then just went back to our room and relaxed, bitched, drank some wine and had some really good laughs.  Saturday morning we were a little slow moving, but managed to make it to the wedding shower of another friend and met up with the rest of our gang there.  After the shower, I played tourist all alone and wandered through Ottawa and took pictures and marveled at what was around me.  People from all over the world come to Ottawa and very rarely do we play tourist in our own back yard!!  I took some pics......

From the Air

Gotta love Clouds

Ottawa from the Air

More Ottawa

Ottawa Airport

Funky Pumpkins in the Market

Grapevine

The view from our room

In the Market

Part of Parliament Hill

Rideau Locks

Outdoors at the NAC

The Parliament Buildings

The Unknown Soldier

Thought it was pretty

The intersection of the hotel

I spent Saturday night with my cousin and her family and had a great time sharing a little too much wine and conversation in the hot tub.  Sunday was quiet and nice.  The perfect way to end a great weekend and nurse a hangover!