Eileen and I recently talked about going to Ottawa for the weekend together - she had some errands to run there. Once we made plans, I was raring to go! However, she had stuff to do in the morning so there was no rush for me to reach Potsdam. I left my condo at around 0800 and made a stop at the Shaw's in West Lebanon so I could return some recalled food. After that, I got on I-89 and headed into Vermont. I listened to audiobooks on the way and tried to call all three of my daughters but they must have been sleeping... In Williston, I stopped to visit a second Shaw's because I'd received an email about "free items" (an energy drink and box of hot chocolate packets). As I was leaving, I noticed a place where I could "auto-recycle for credit" (will have to try that in the future). Got back in my car and headed north on I-89. Just after I got on the Interstate, I had a scare when I realized I'd forgotten to grab my passport. Before panicking too much, however, I realized that I usually carry my passport card and found it in my wallet (whew!). I got off the Interstate a the US-2 crossing and proceeded west towards the Champlain Ferry landing. Since I still had some time, I passed that and continued towards the town of Hero spent some time exploring the islands in the northern end of Lake Champlain (South Hero Island, Grand Isle and North Hero Island). I’ve been through the area (northwest corner of Vermont) before but usually haven’t had time to stop. In fact, I don't think I've been exploring nearby since 1996. With the cool, clear weather today, I enjoyed walks along the pretty lake shore at Knights Point (1020 to 1100) and Alburgh Dunes State Park (1115 to 1145). Both had nice beaches and well marked trails. There was practically no one else in either park and I appreciated the solitude. I imagine it’s a whole different story during the Summer... Finished with my walks, I drove north along the west side of the Alburg(h) peninsula on VT-129 and West Shore Road. I skipped a trip onto Isle La Motte because there was no way across to New York from there. Instead, got back on US-2 and crossed Lake Champlain to Rouses Point/ I'd thought about another walk or to stop for a sit-down lunch. However, it didn't appear that I had enough time left for that. So, I intercepted US-11 and continued west. At 1210, I stopped to pick up some food at McDonalds in Champlain, NY (near the I-87 crossing). Driving west again, I ate my lunch in the car and then switched to NY-190 in Ellenburg. I've gotten used to taking this route because it helps to cut off some of US-11 route. After driving through Malone, I switched to NY-11B and followed it all the way to Potsdam. I stopped at the Valero on the east side of town to re-pack and check on travel plans. At 1415, I drove to Eileen's and we packed up her car. With Mika onboard too, we got on the road by 1445. Starting from Potsdam, we drove to Canton on US-11 and then switched to NY-68. We used that road and NY-812 to reach the bridge at Ogdensburg that crossed into Canada. The line at the border was kind of long and slow but we made it into the country OK. It was already about 1530 by the time we officially entered Ontario so I realized I needed to look for a new place where we could go for a walk before the sun set (I'd had more elaborate plans before I realized how early it got dark so this was an audible). As we drove north on ON-416, I located a wildlife preserve just west of the town of Spencerville and we headed in that direction. Along the way, we saw an amazing "human face" outlined in clouds. We had to use ON-21 to reach the Mill Run Conservation Area (town of Augusta) but found the trailhead without much difficulty. We then took a walk on some short trails along the South Nation River. It wasn't very cold but the sun was already dipping below the horizon. Mika loved our walk (we stayed there from about 1600 to 1630) and was sad to get back in the car. We next backtracked to ON-416 and continued north towards the hotel. Along the way, we had a good talk (lack of life distractions made that easier). We used ON-73 to reach the Rideau River, crossed on ON-32 and then drove up the east side of the river (on ON-19). Our destination was in the vicinity of Ottawa Airport (on the southern outskirts of the city). I'd made a reservation at the Homewood Suites on Hunt Club road (where Eileen's friends were going to be staying) and we checked into our room at about 1730. After getting things settled, we took Mika for another walk and then went to dinner at the nearby Lone Star Texas Grill. We shared an appetizer and a huge plate of fajitas (delicious), along with some awesome adult beverages (my giant margarita, "fuzzy peach" was delicious and Eileen had a whisky sour). The atmosphere was great and we were able to relax and enjoy each other's company. After finishing dinner at 1730, we went back to the hotel and spent about an hour relaxing and doing crossword puzzles. When Eileen's friends finally arrived (2045), Eileen and I went down to the lobby to meet them. From that point, we spent nearly three hours talking! Steve and Heidi split their time between southern Ontario and Nunavut and had kept some of Eileen's gear since she'd been in Pond Inlet in early July. Since they were visiting family during the Christmas holidays, they were planning to return the gear. However, the airline (Canadian North) had lost their luggage. Undeterred, we had a fun time talking and visiting - before we realized it, it was already midnight (!). Saying goodbye, we retired to our rooms and went to bed. What a day!
