Week 2

Week Two

Thursday, May 11 – 15, 2023

1.    The McKeigans

Klazina and Alexander left for school at 6:50 and we left the snail house, to have breakfast on the deck. It was still cool, but sunny. Bijke, Hudson and Cabot were already chasing robins and later on three deer, which were grazing beyond the fence. The deer were used to the barking brothers. And didn’t really leave the area.

At ten, Romkje picked up Klazina for a dentist appointment and we started on the laundry. When Romkje returned we enjoyed a nice lunch on the deck. We were so lucky the weather had finally turned warmer. We picked up, Alexander, just after two as Klazina stayed after school for band practice. As soon as she got home, she worked on Romkje’s birthday cake.

We had decided that we would celebrate Romkje’s birthday, that night, as Alexander had his informal, grade eight dance, Friday night.

Before Alexander went for his guitar lesson, everybody quickly scanned the takeout menu of the Mexican restaurant and chose their dish. Lauchling picked up the food on the way home from work. The food was delicious and again we were so lucky that we could eat outside on their beautiful patio.

After dinner, Klazina emerged from the kitchen with the beautiful and delicious Cleveland, Cassada Trifle. We sang, Happy Birthday and Romkje blew out the candles, even though it was three weeks too early. The cooler evening air sent us inside and we had an early night.

At seven o’clock on Friday morning, we received a text, “Where is Bijke?” Hudson has been watching for him. Albert quickly fed Bijke and then he was able to run to the gate and join his buddies in the yard. 

At 10, Bijke had his appointment at Hudson and Cabot’s vet. Since the fall, Bijke had been suffering from an itchy bum and flaky, dry skin. Our vet told us it was allergies. The medication he received, never worked. Lately his condition had worsened, and he has pulled all the hair out of his bum, poor guy. We have tried creams, gut support, fish oil, but to no avail. We certainly hope Dr. Carol will be able to diagnose him and tell us what’s wrong with him. She is not just a vet, but a holistic vet, which might help Bijke.

Dr. Carol was straight to the point, took Bijke’s information and sent us outside to sit on the bench. We waited twenty minutes, before she called us inside. A terrible smell welcomed us back inside.“All his problems stem from infected and full anal glands. He has tried to empty them himself, but without any results. That’s why he was biting his tail and pulling out his bum hair. The poor guy was in excruciating pain. I emptied the glands and that’s why there’s a terrible odor in the office. I gave him a vitamin C shot, to help alleviate the pain. I’m also suggesting some supplements to help restore his skin condition. As soon as  you get home, you need to give him a bath with conditioner. He will have a couple of rough hours, but then the Vit. C should kick in and he will start to feel better. I suggest you have his glands checked every three weeks, but only by a vet, not a grooming place or pet shop.”

All this for $300. We were so relieved and grateful but felt guilty that he had needlessly suffered for six months.

We gave Bijke a bath in Romkje’s dog bathing station. It took three people to keep him down. He didn’t really enjoy it. He’d had a stressful morning, but we needed to get rid off the smell from his anal glands.

After lunch, Romkje and I went to the nursery to buy plants for her outdoor pots; her birthday gift. Luckily, it wasn’t too busy and we found some gorgeous plants. We filled the pots when we got home and they looked great at her front door.

We FaceTimed with Lolkje, who celebrated her 78th birthday. She looked great and were happy that she is doing so well after her bypass surgery, two years ago.

Albert and the dogs had a quiet afternoon, as Bijke was totally exhausted after his stressful day.

Alexander dressed up for his dance and looked very handsome. First, he was going out for dinner with some friends and Klazina drove him to the restaurant.

Lauchlin is the expert barbeque chef and he cooked us a delicious dinner on their outdoor kitchen. We enjoyed a scrumptious meal of grilled vegan and real meats, as well as  some wonderful grilled vegetables. For dessert we had leftover birthday trifle.

After dinner, Romkje and I took Bijke for a walk, but he didn’t really want to walk on the leash. At eight, Klazina picked up Alexander from the dance. He’d had a good time.

It rained Saturday morning a little but we still  had breakfast on the deck, with the louvres closed. Alexander had golf lessons at ten and Romkje, Lauchlin and Klazina went to check out a catering place for Romkje’s 50th birthday party.

We had noticed that Bijke had been much calmer during the night. He was definitely more comfortable. I worked on my ‘reislogger’ stories and was frustrated that the pictures didn’t want to upload in the right order.

We were supposed to have lunch at the Falls at Chagrin Falls, but there was a rubber ducky race and we couldn’t get a reservation at the restaurant. Instead we went to Versaire, an Italian restaurant, where we had been before, last November. The food was delicious and we enjoyed the company. By the time we finished lunch, the sun came out again.

Later that afternoon, two of Klazina’s friends came over to practice with their band for Romkje’s party. We were only allowed to watch for a few minutes, but they sounded really good. Klazina is such a confident drum player.

That night we ate leftovers and Lauchlin made a fire in the outdoor fire pit. Alexander and I had started cleaning out the raised vegetable bed and Albert dug up the big roots for us. We planted basil and two types of tomatoes.

We checked the location of our furniture before we went to bed and found out that it was in Delta, BC.

Sunday morning seven o’clock, “Knock, knock, Happy Mother’s Day, Beppe!”

Romkje, Klazina and Alexander opened the door to the snail house and placed a tray with breakfast on the table. Wow! I felt so spoiled. I hadn’t had breakfast in bed since the kids were little. This mother’s day breakfast consisted of coffee, extra strong, an almond croissant and a plain croissant with rhubarb jam and strawberries with whipping cream. A vase with a single pink rose made my breakfast complete. While Albert fed Bijke and went to the backyard, I enjoyed this special breakfast and will treasure the memory for ever.

Albert wanted to book the ferry to Manitoulin Island, that afternoon, but found out quickly that it was fully booked before the long weekend. We had forgotten that next weekend was Victoria weekend. The campgrounds in the Parry Sound area didn't open until May 20th. So, we changed our travel plans.

Instead we booked two campgrounds in Michigan. Tomorrow, we will camp close to Frankenmuth, at the Pine Ridge campground and Wednesday we will travel to St. Ignace and stay at the KOA for two nights.

We discovered that our furniture had traveled on the ferry to Vancouver Island that afternoon. We received a text, that the movers would be in Duncan at the storage unit at 9:00 am. Rikst would have to be there to sign for it.

Monday, May 15, 2023

2.    Camping in Michigan

We found it difficult to say goodbye. We’d had such an amazing time. We will miss them. Bijke will miss Hudson and Cabot as they got along so well. For Albert it was especially hard and probably the last visit as he is not allowed to fly and we will not likely make the trek to Ohio from Vancouver Island.

We left after 9:00 and headed west. It didn’t take long, or we hit construction. Our first stop was at the charging station in Sandusky. We had coffee and a banana and walked Bijke. We were once again, lucky that there were enough stalls so we could park across and didn’t have to unhitch the trailer.

Construction and road conditions were even worse, as we got back on the highway.

In the meantime, Rikst was receiving our furniture. She had to laugh when she saw our snowshoes and one snow shovel and texted, “For the one snow day, we get here?” At least we will be prepared. We wondered if she had noticed that we had also brought snow tires.

Our next stop was Maumee. Someone had parked the car next to the chargers and there was a tesla charging on the sixth stall. Albert was determined to manoeuvre into a spot without unhitching the snail house. We were shocked when we opened the door. Cabinet doors had opened and contents were scattered over the floor. Even Bijke his bed had almost bounced off our bed. In the bathroom the cabinet had opened, and everything was on the floor as well. We’d never experienced anything this bad since Route #44, in Manitoba, five years ago. We straightened out the trailer and ate lunch, while the car charged.

Back on the highway, conditions had not improved; more construction, reduced lanes and many bumps.

We heard from Rikst, that it took the movers an hour and half to unload our furniture. We’re glad that went smoothly.

Third stop, Ypsilanti. Someone stopped to ask how short the range was now that we were towing a trailer. That was a good question. Our range with the snail house is only 175 km. He said he was still impressed that we were able to tow anything at all.

On our way to the last Super charger, the campground owner called to see if we would arrive before 5:00. If not, he would leave an envelope with instructions beside the office door.

At the charger in Swartz Creek, a gentleman came over and asked if he would be able to stand up straight in our trailer. I opened the door and let him in. He looked around, asked if we had a bathroom and if we had enough room for us and the dog. Of course, we make it work, but I could tell by his body language that this was not for him. That’s okay. We love our cozy snail house. It’s the only home we have right now.

We arrived at the campground by 5:30 and as promised, the envelope was beside the office door. The Pine Ridge campground had 200 sites, but less than 20 sites had motorhomes or trailers. Maybe five of these contained people and their dogs. They had assigned us a pull-through site with water, electric and sewage. What a luxury.

As Albert got everything set up, I made dinner. We explored the grounds after dinner. Read our books, as once again there is no wifi at the campground and went to bed early.

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

3.    A Down Day

Bijke had us up at 7:00. It was 9 degrees, so Albert dug up the space heater. After breakfast we went to the office to register properly and pay.

We planned a down day, for today. We didn’t want to drive anywhere. Reading, walking and catching up on ‘reislogger’ stories, is all we planned for. The weather warmed up and we had coffee outside. At noon, I contacted the vet in Mill Bay, on Vancouver Island, to find out if they were accepting new patients. I had tried a clinic in Duncan, but they declined.

The clinic in Mill Bay was happy to register Bijke as a new patient. We are doing well, we have a family doctor, dentist and now a vet. Once we arrive in Duncan we will have to find an optometrist, an ophthalmologist and a cardiologist. It won’t be easy now that there is such a shortage of doctors and specialists.

We went for several walks and enjoyed reading our books.

After supper we started cleaning up and got ready for our road trip, tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

4.    Traveling to St. Ignace

We had planned an early start, but that didn’t quite turn out. While Albert was dumping, the sewage hose jumped out of the tank and instead of a quick getaway, we ended up with a messy poopy story. Half an hour later we finally got on our way. It was bitterly cold and the temperature didn’t warm up during the morning.

There were many signs, warning about road construction, but we hardly had any delays and by 10:30 we stopped for coffee in Clare, while the car charged.

At lunch time, we charged at one of the huge Meijer Stores, in Gaylord. I decided to pick up a few groceries, well that was a mistake. The store was huge, and I couldn’t find anything. People with huge shopping carts were blocking isles and when I finally got to the checkout counter, the woman ahead of me, had trouble paying for her groceries. She tried four credit cards, but no luck. Smiling at me she said she had one more, but it was somewhere in her purse. I took a deep breath. After rummaging through her purse, she found it. She held up the card like a trophy and stuck it in the machine... Low and behold it worked.

When I finally returned to the snail house, Bijke and Albert were eating lunch, they weren’t sure if I was coming back or if I had found a better ride. LOL

As we continued our trip, we noticed a change in the landscape. From lush farmland and wooded areas, we now entered an area with dead trees and dry and sad looking vegetation. Along the side of the road were Wildfire warning signs. 

We followed one detour when the highway was closed and wobbled down a secondary road until we were back on the Interstate 75 North.

It was three o’clock when we climbed the Mackinac Bridge. On the one side was Lake Michigan, on the other Lake Huron. The view was quite breath taking. We even saw the ferry close to Mackinac Island. Once in St. Ignace, we easily found the KOA campground. Again, the campground was almost empty, except for a few big rigs.

We went for a warm shower, had a nice meal and planned a trip to Mackinac Island for tomorrow.