June 3rd

THE DETAILS:

WEATHER: We woke up to beautiful skies, 54 degrees which quickly climbed to 74 degrees by 10 am. Beautiful day.

DISTANCE: Left Mattawa at 4:00 pm!! (Keep reading to learn why.) Arrived Sudbury, Ontario at 7:45 pm. We drove 120 miles in about 3 hours (we stopped at Walmart - it felt like home!)


Today was full of our first 3 problems. One major, one medium and one minor problem. Our major problem is with the scooter ramp attached to the back of the RV. We could tell it was beginning to sag but last night we realized that the bar attaching the RV to the platform was beginning to tear at the welding joint. There was no question that we needed a welder. We asked the lady that ran our campsite if there was a welder in town? God is so good… the answer was not only yes but only a mile from our location. We had the pleasure of meeting Bert today around 10 am!! What a fantastic guy! We didn’t need an appointment , he went right to work on it and told us to come back around 2 pm. So we took advantage of the scooter being off the ramp and drove around the area for a few hours. Had lunch in town, met some of the locals which told us how wonderful Bert’s reputation is. We experienced that first hand when we arrived back at the shop. It was not just repaired but also spray painted black to match the rest of the hitch! He showed us around his shop; a 4 wheel drive convoluted, ad-hoc, fiesta engine tractor. He created it himself to haul vehicles that weren’t in working order or to plow snow in the winter. He showed us his sewing shop in the back where he was currently creating pontoon boat canvas covers. (Dan, he does great work!) He then showed us pictures of the mini-tug boat that he had created for his son Daniel. He was so proud of it he wanted us to go down to the river to see it. So, being on God’s journey rather than ours, we decided to go look at the tug boat. He drove us down about a ½ mile and showed us the tug boat and also his pontoon boat. So then he says, “so do you want to go for a ride on the river?” Gary was a bit skeptical about the time and he answered, “Oh just a ½ hour!” Of course you have to imagine everything he’s saying is in a French/Canadian accent! So we went on a tour of the Mattawa & Ottawa rivers. He showed us all around and told us stories of the area, the people and the animals. He told us there were MANY timber wolves that weigh in at 145 pounds!!! Yikes. We finally arrived back at our “home” and got on our way at 5 pm. What an interesting man, what an interesting journey this is. Bert’s gift from God became our blessing today.

So our medium problem was a leak in the bathroom faucet. The floor was wet and everything under the sink. So Gary went to work on it first thing this morning before ever visiting Bert. He had brought plumbers putty!!! Who brings plumber’s putty on a trip like this?…… Gary… of course! He had it repaired in about a ½ hour. Amazing. Now you know why he and Bert hit it off so well.

The minor problem was my glasses. While browsing through the town of Mattawa (a total population of 2,500) my sunglasses fell apart! For some it is comfortable to wear sunglasses for me it is necessary. Gary, to the rescue again, he had brought jewelers screwdrivers. They were fixed in 10 minutes.

So we are now safely in Sudbury, sitting by a lake, watching the sun set which turned the clouds into a beautiful purple/pink fiery color. We went for a walk by the lake to enjoy the evening. Cheryl & Tim…. This place is a kayaking wonderland!

BTW, for anyone who cares, Gary & I are tied in cribbage 1 to 1.