Bob & Jan's excellent adventure
I'm really trying hard not to let blogger make me angry enough not to post this. I'm on my 3rd restart now. If this time doesn't work, then there won't be a post about my vacation.
Monday was a great day for a drive. Got on the road by 9am and arrived in Erie, Pa by 11:30 or so. We arrived at Bob's sister Valerie's house by 11:44. Valerie has a lovely home and 2 very fluffy and loveable cats. (Mischief & Ditto). Bob & I planned on getting some work done at Val's during our visit. She has a fence that was falling over for quite sometime now and this was the only time Bob could see to get there to repair it and what a better time then when he has help along...hehehehe. We had a great time visiting with Val. We all went to lunch at the Golden Corral. Buffets are awesome. The young lady tending to our section was doing a great job in making sure our drinks we refilled and new plates on the table. During one of my trps up to the buffet; Valerie made this comment to Bob..." I like her". My Bob was 100% sure she was talking about that young lady and his replay was..'' yeah, she's here when you need her and not when you don't". I wish I could have seen the look on Val's face as she was referring to me when she made that statement. Naturally they had quite the laugh over that as I'm walking back and see this and have no idea what the hell just happened but you get that "feeling" you were just being talked about and since there was heavy laughter going on, you aren't so sure you want to sit back down. My Bob was right there to let me in on what had just happened as he was sure I was instantly uncomfortable...hehehe. I had to laugh too. Bob & I ventured to Lowe's so Val could rest and we got all the supplies we needed for the repairs at hand. Once our visit was done for the day with Val we headed over to a friend's house where we would be staying the 2 nights in Erie. Cathy had a great warm welcome for me when I arrived. Just like Val, she was super pleasant and we hit it off right away. She has a lovely home and for just one person to live there, it's huge. She had some ox roast in the crock pot that she had been cooking all day. Wow was it ever yummy. We had to wait till later in the evening as we were still full from the lunch buffet. Slept good Monday night as we already put in a really full day....(one of many more full days to come).
Tuesday started off with some really yummy pastries from Panera's. Just what you need to start you off on a day of hard fence rebuilding...hehehe. I wish I would have thought to get a "before" photo of the fence but I have a during and after. At one point, Bob had me removing all the old rusty screws from about 6 panels of fencing we removed but this one stubborn screw was kicking my ass and he just thought that was a great photo opportunity. After some hard work removing some pretty stubborn fence posts, we managed to finish and realize that the total time spent working on the fence was only about 3 and 1/2 hours. Not bad. Cleaning up from all that dirty work, we all met for a nice dinner out with yet another friend of the family. Her name is Bev. We all went to a place called Joe Roots in the Penninsula. Too bad it was the dark time of the year around 6:30pm. I'm sure the view would have been awesome. Dinner was fabulous and I thought we all had a great time. A pefrect way to end a long full day. After dinner and everyone went their own way, Bob & I sat up and watched some TV with Cathy before going to bed. Now mind you I haven't had cable hooked up for 3 years and tv watching isn't something I'm used to. I enjoyed this drama that is on called "House". This is a strange doctor but it made for a great show. I'll have to add it to a list of shows I like including CSI. I guess earlier in the day before dinner was when we all watched "Dr. Phil. Now this is a show that I don't really care for. He had 6 couples on that were seeking his advise before they all ended up in divorce. Bob & I chuckled over it for the most part but did agree with a few things on the show. ( This ties into a future post ) 2 full days gone already and it seemed as though it had been a week since we left my apartment.
Wenesday morning was a bit more chilly. Rain was in the forecast along the way. We thanked Cathy for her hospitality and more. Saw her off to work from her own house then left shortly after. Stopping by Val's on our way out of Erie to have a pastry breakfast again and show her the fence since it was too dark for her to see the evening before. We were on the road by 9am again and heading for Grand Island, NY. We had an appointment of sorts with my good friend Mike who with his brother, own's Grand Island Auto Tech for my truck to get some much needed repairs done while I was on vacation. That was a great trip until right before we got there. It started raining and I was sure the rest of the day would be ruined. We made great time all in all and arrived at the shop before 11a.m. It was good to see Mike since I haven't seen him in 3 years. I introduced Bob & Mike. We discussed all the items I wanted Mike to look at on my truck and he assured me it was in good hands. We called the rental car place to let them know we were on the Island and were ready for our rental. We had reserved a midsize car and since it's Enterprise rental, they bring one to you. That seemed to take forever and we just wanted to get on with the vacation since at this point and time we really haven't been "vacationing". The girl arrived from Enterprise and appologized for the delay. They didn't have a car for us ready but they brought us a truck. Not just any truck. They brought us a new Chevy Colorado to drive. I was happy. I'm not a big car driver since I've been driving my truck for over 4 years now. So we are all ready to sign the papers and head on our way. Only there is a problem. You see, Bob doesn't drive at the moment. I do and have a valid drivers license but have no credit card. Bob has a credit card but they wouldn't take that. I had no clue that the credit card had to match the drivers license. Sheesh. Talk about a set back. After an hour of figuring out how this was all going to happen so we could continue on with our vacation, Mike agreed to pay the rental through the business then we pay him back. Can we say unneccessary confusion. So now we load our things into this very nice and now I want one truck. Thank Mike for everything and exchange phone numbers just incase and head down the road. It's about 12:30 now and Bob and I are happy because we were finally "officially" on vacation!!. There it is....the Rainbow Bridge. Our passage way into Canada. It won't be long now. Stop at the fisrt gate to pay a toll to cross. No big deal as we paid plenty of tolls so far on this trip. There it is Honey....look over to your left...the Falls. If you look to the right you can see Michael's Inn where we have our reservations..won't be long now. Just get through this next booth where they ask you 50,000 questions as to why you are coming to Canada and how long do you plan to stay and whether you have any weapons. Pass over your ID's so they see you are really who you claim to be. Now let me pause here for a moment. This all sounds so simple. It always has been for me. I've been coming to Canada for years. Since I was a little girl. Never have I had a problem. Never has crossing the boarder meant so much to me as it did this day as I was spending my time in Canada with someone I love and care about. I have an Ohio ID. Bob has a Pennsylvania ID (as that's where he used to live and it's not expired). The rental has a New York license plate. Instead of the woman handing back our ID's she says...."Pull over to the left and go inside. They need to see your ID's". Ever have that feeling that your day just turned to shit?????
to be continued..................................................
Monday was a great day for a drive. Got on the road by 9am and arrived in Erie, Pa by 11:30 or so. We arrived at Bob's sister Valerie's house by 11:44. Valerie has a lovely home and 2 very fluffy and loveable cats. (Mischief & Ditto). Bob & I planned on getting some work done at Val's during our visit. She has a fence that was falling over for quite sometime now and this was the only time Bob could see to get there to repair it and what a better time then when he has help along...hehehehe. We had a great time visiting with Val. We all went to lunch at the Golden Corral. Buffets are awesome. The young lady tending to our section was doing a great job in making sure our drinks we refilled and new plates on the table. During one of my trps up to the buffet; Valerie made this comment to Bob..." I like her". My Bob was 100% sure she was talking about that young lady and his replay was..'' yeah, she's here when you need her and not when you don't". I wish I could have seen the look on Val's face as she was referring to me when she made that statement. Naturally they had quite the laugh over that as I'm walking back and see this and have no idea what the hell just happened but you get that "feeling" you were just being talked about and since there was heavy laughter going on, you aren't so sure you want to sit back down. My Bob was right there to let me in on what had just happened as he was sure I was instantly uncomfortable...hehehe. I had to laugh too. Bob & I ventured to Lowe's so Val could rest and we got all the supplies we needed for the repairs at hand. Once our visit was done for the day with Val we headed over to a friend's house where we would be staying the 2 nights in Erie. Cathy had a great warm welcome for me when I arrived. Just like Val, she was super pleasant and we hit it off right away. She has a lovely home and for just one person to live there, it's huge. She had some ox roast in the crock pot that she had been cooking all day. Wow was it ever yummy. We had to wait till later in the evening as we were still full from the lunch buffet. Slept good Monday night as we already put in a really full day....(one of many more full days to come).
Tuesday started off with some really yummy pastries from Panera's. Just what you need to start you off on a day of hard fence rebuilding...hehehe. I wish I would have thought to get a "before" photo of the fence but I have a during and after. At one point, Bob had me removing all the old rusty screws from about 6 panels of fencing we removed but this one stubborn screw was kicking my ass and he just thought that was a great photo opportunity. After some hard work removing some pretty stubborn fence posts, we managed to finish and realize that the total time spent working on the fence was only about 3 and 1/2 hours. Not bad. Cleaning up from all that dirty work, we all met for a nice dinner out with yet another friend of the family. Her name is Bev. We all went to a place called Joe Roots in the Penninsula. Too bad it was the dark time of the year around 6:30pm. I'm sure the view would have been awesome. Dinner was fabulous and I thought we all had a great time. A pefrect way to end a long full day. After dinner and everyone went their own way, Bob & I sat up and watched some TV with Cathy before going to bed. Now mind you I haven't had cable hooked up for 3 years and tv watching isn't something I'm used to. I enjoyed this drama that is on called "House". This is a strange doctor but it made for a great show. I'll have to add it to a list of shows I like including CSI. I guess earlier in the day before dinner was when we all watched "Dr. Phil. Now this is a show that I don't really care for. He had 6 couples on that were seeking his advise before they all ended up in divorce. Bob & I chuckled over it for the most part but did agree with a few things on the show. ( This ties into a future post ) 2 full days gone already and it seemed as though it had been a week since we left my apartment.
Wenesday morning was a bit more chilly. Rain was in the forecast along the way. We thanked Cathy for her hospitality and more. Saw her off to work from her own house then left shortly after. Stopping by Val's on our way out of Erie to have a pastry breakfast again and show her the fence since it was too dark for her to see the evening before. We were on the road by 9am again and heading for Grand Island, NY. We had an appointment of sorts with my good friend Mike who with his brother, own's Grand Island Auto Tech for my truck to get some much needed repairs done while I was on vacation. That was a great trip until right before we got there. It started raining and I was sure the rest of the day would be ruined. We made great time all in all and arrived at the shop before 11a.m. It was good to see Mike since I haven't seen him in 3 years. I introduced Bob & Mike. We discussed all the items I wanted Mike to look at on my truck and he assured me it was in good hands. We called the rental car place to let them know we were on the Island and were ready for our rental. We had reserved a midsize car and since it's Enterprise rental, they bring one to you. That seemed to take forever and we just wanted to get on with the vacation since at this point and time we really haven't been "vacationing". The girl arrived from Enterprise and appologized for the delay. They didn't have a car for us ready but they brought us a truck. Not just any truck. They brought us a new Chevy Colorado to drive. I was happy. I'm not a big car driver since I've been driving my truck for over 4 years now. So we are all ready to sign the papers and head on our way. Only there is a problem. You see, Bob doesn't drive at the moment. I do and have a valid drivers license but have no credit card. Bob has a credit card but they wouldn't take that. I had no clue that the credit card had to match the drivers license. Sheesh. Talk about a set back. After an hour of figuring out how this was all going to happen so we could continue on with our vacation, Mike agreed to pay the rental through the business then we pay him back. Can we say unneccessary confusion. So now we load our things into this very nice and now I want one truck. Thank Mike for everything and exchange phone numbers just incase and head down the road. It's about 12:30 now and Bob and I are happy because we were finally "officially" on vacation!!. There it is....the Rainbow Bridge. Our passage way into Canada. It won't be long now. Stop at the fisrt gate to pay a toll to cross. No big deal as we paid plenty of tolls so far on this trip. There it is Honey....look over to your left...the Falls. If you look to the right you can see Michael's Inn where we have our reservations..won't be long now. Just get through this next booth where they ask you 50,000 questions as to why you are coming to Canada and how long do you plan to stay and whether you have any weapons. Pass over your ID's so they see you are really who you claim to be. Now let me pause here for a moment. This all sounds so simple. It always has been for me. I've been coming to Canada for years. Since I was a little girl. Never have I had a problem. Never has crossing the boarder meant so much to me as it did this day as I was spending my time in Canada with someone I love and care about. I have an Ohio ID. Bob has a Pennsylvania ID (as that's where he used to live and it's not expired). The rental has a New York license plate. Instead of the woman handing back our ID's she says...."Pull over to the left and go inside. They need to see your ID's". Ever have that feeling that your day just turned to shit?????
to be continued..................................................
posted by Just Jan at
9:45 AM
3 Comments:
Ah the Customs experience. One time my husband and I were travelling through customs with my father (who was driving). My parents travel to the states on a weekly basis or so (and I used to). This time, however, the customs officer asked if any of us had ever been arrested or had any convictions. My father, stammered on this question and they pulled us in pronto. Turns out, when my dad was underage, he was caught with open alcohol in a public place. LOL. Never convicted or charged with anything. Just a funny story.
SO WHAT HAPPENED NEXT???? Geesh, TEASE!!
Wow..busy!
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