Learning as we go along

As we go on with this new lifestyle, we have learned a thing or two.  First, it's great! Free to do as we please, no one to try to impress, don't have to keep up with the Jones', dress as you like, no makeup required and hair can be kind of messy and nobody cares.

We now know for sure that we need to get south soon as our furnace is a propane gas gobbler. Our furnace works really well and keeps us nice and cozy (although Cheeka sometimes has to wear her fleece pajamas to stay warm) but we are going through propane quite fast. Must leave soon.

We thought we had no TV channels at all at this new location. I was interested in learning more about how other people got their TV to work with the same antenna as we have so I was reading a thread on antennas on the web and people kept mentioning a power button. One guy mentioned that it is sometimes well hidden and to look in all the nooks and cabinets for it. I did. Didn't see anything that looked like a button. Then I googled the darn thing in hope to see what it looked like. When I saw a picture of it I remembered seeing something similar under the TV. It is located in a hard to reach area so I just felt with my fingers to see if I could find a button. And Eureka! Found the tiniest little button, pressed it and yes, a tiny green light came on! I asked Glen to do a channel search and he looked at me with doubt but did it and... wait for it ... 25 channels!!! Although only 2 channels work consistently well it was like finding gold for us. We can watch some favorite programs (have you seen Lethal Weapons the series? Really good!) and the occasional movie. My son had downloaded a bunch of TV series and movies for us to watch so we've been blessed with TV on those long dark boring evenings that we now have. A little curiosity sometimes goes a long way.

I have also learned that I need a lot of sleep. Like A LOT! We had not been sleeping well for the year we lived in an apartment in Hamilton. The street was very noisy at all times of the night and we kept being woken up. Well I must be recuperating all that lost sleep as I've been sleeping 10-12 hours a night. No kidding. I've always needed more sleep than most people I knew but this is ridiculous! At least I don't nap through the day and I am much happier.

We are also learning to put up with the spotty internet we get at campgrounds. Sometimes it's fabulous to the point of being able to watch Netflix and other times it takes forever to just try to reply to an email. I now will go and do something else, return to the laptop to see if anything has been happening and go on like that. Can't complain too much when it's free. We will sometimes park at the Walmart as their internet is normally pretty good, to download something or to update our phones or tablets.

We have also learned quite a bit on our hikes. I have learned that all the little shells that are on the beach and that I love walking on (it makes this crushing sound like snow on a really cold day) are from zebra mussels. They are everywhere and in great numbers! They eventually break down and become part of the beach sand.

We also saw a snake trying to eat a huge frog. It had it by the hind leg and wouldn't let go. When we approached it quickly moved with the big frog in its mouth to try to hide from us. Glen got a really good picture of it.

We think the frog was too big to be eaten. What do you think?

The park is now pretty empty as it officially closed on October 15th. We are staying until the 31st in order to be in the States for 6 months and not go over our allowed time out of Canada. We pretty well have the place to ourselves which is nice for Cheeka as she can go off-leash all the time in the seasonal section of the park. There is another section that is populated with mobile homes and where people are staying year-round.

We still are getting some nice warm sunny days and we fully take advantage of those days. But the nice weather is coming to an end and I am now looking forward to our journey south. Which brings me to mobile phone in the States. I discovered through another Google search, Roam Mobility. They are based in Vancouver and have special packages for Snowbirds. It's a great deal at $50 a month with unlimited talk, unlimited text, 4 G of data and free calls to Canada! I can talk all I want with my family and friends without long distance charges! So we have cancelled our phones here in Canada as of November 1st and will be using our US sim card starting October 31st.

 Walking for miles at Pleasant Bay - Crown land which connects to North Beach.

 The sand dunes on North Beach.

 Cheeka and I relaxing on the deck on North Beach on one of those beautiful day.

Talk to you soon!