Today the entry will be short. We have decided to push on, full throttle towards southern Ontario and the people we plan to visit. Weather has been unseasonably warm. The weather ranges from 30 degrees Celsius down to 19 degrees when we drive by the large lakes. It feels like an endless summer.
Rudy is at the wheel, as per usual. I periodically offer to drive and he declines. I am relieved, although the quieter highways that wind around the lakes are not intimidating to me. The busier highways, however, where the traffic is heavy and the lanes are many are a different thing altogether. Rudy has commented that I don’t clutch the door handle as much as I used to. Frankly, I have learned to keep my head down either reading a book or doing a small craft so I am not aware of the near misses that may be happening just outside my line of vision.
Today I am doing some light reading. Some people refer to these types of books as beach books. Lots of plot action and easy to follow. A page turner where the premise (a fairy tale loosely retold) is familiar enough and the added details and plot twists are enough to keep me interested. I hardly take my eyes away from the kindle except when Rudy pulls over off the road at a quaint and authentic Pasties takeout restaurant. We’ve seen these establishments for the last number of miles and figure we need to try this local delight. He goes in and orders two and brings them out to the picnic tables under the trees. They are VERY large dough wrapped potato, onion, and ground beef pastries. They are VERY bland. Imagine a VERY large pile of potatoes. They are a traditional food from the British Isles. Ah, we get it. British Food. We do our best and eat a portion of them and dispose of the rest. Now we know and will never have to try them again!
We press on. Me doing the important work of reading my book, and Rudy doing the really essential work of getting us to Milverton. Google has a special route for us once we cross the border into Canada. Drive 2 kilometers, then turn left onto a different road. Follow this winding road past lovely old brick farmhouses, cornfields, and large stone and wood barns for 10 kilometers. Turn right and travel down the only gravel road in southern Ontario for 3 kilometers. You get the picture! A lot of winding through the countryside, but absolutely delightful. It seems like an entirely different country. It doesn’t seem like Canada at all.
We arrive at Paul and Kathy’s (Rudy’s friends that used to live in Steinbach) for supper and settle in for an evening of visiting. Me getting to know these people I have never met, and Rudy, catching up on news.