August 9, 2016 Home Run....... Day 55

Out the door of the motel early and at Ottawa Goodtime Center before it was open. After settling some confusion at the service counter over whether our bike would get in right away or be last in the day, work began on the oil and tire changes shortly after 9am.The tech working on the bike told me the front brake pads were worn down, so I told him to replace them while the wheel was off having the tire replaced.

While waiting for the work to be completed we amused ourselves with looking at new bike clothing and checking out the new BMWs, Kawasakis and Triumphs scattered throughout the show room. I had a great chat with an ex-RCMP\OPP police officer who retired last fall. He was in for a tire change on his 2006 1000cc Kawasaki  Concours. Darn those picky drywall screws in a tire with less than 1000km on it! He and his girlfriend enjoy riding with the Blue Knights. 

Out onto Hwy 417 shortly after noon to a stop for a late lunch and gas in Casselman. I took Hwy 30 south around Montreal for the first time ever and did not regret it one bit. If you don't want \need to go into Montreal this is a great way to bypass it. We then connected with Hwy 20 for the windy and traffic filled run to Levis where we stopped for the night. 

August 9, the last day on the road for this trip, saw us up early and on the road anxious to be home. Riding directly into the early morning sun made it difficult to read the highway signs over the roadway and I ended up going across the bridge to Quebec City and coming back again to finally head east once again on highway 20 to Rivière du Loup turning south on Hwy 85 and heading into NB. A last gas stop in St. Antonio, QC then pushed on to lunch in St. Leonard, NB.

A BMW K1200GT with Quebec plates came flying up behind us riding 2 up, just after Edmundston. ( I had our bike set on cruise at 120kph) Once he passed us he slowed down and just stayed in front of us until we pulled off at St. Leonard. Not sure if he wanted company or just showing off!

The last of the trip down the St John River valley was not as windy as the morning had been and we pulled into our yard about 2:15pm. Has anyone ever told you how beautiful New Brunswick is?

                                 Home again after a successful 55 days on the road.

                                           Already unpacking and happy to be home.😍

                                               👍 Well that was that.....what's next? 😎

August 7, 2016 Ottawa

August 1 saw us return to Jamie and Jennifer's place to see our niece Jenny and say our final goodbyes of this trip to my brother Jim and Melody and Jennifer and her girls. Gassed up before pulling onto the TransCanada for the run to Regina. Took Hwy 33 down to 47 over to 13 and followed it until it turned into Hwy 2 in Manitoba. We followed 2 to 21  then back onto 2 before turning north onto Hwy 10 for the run into Brandon for the night.

Stopped in Fillmore, SK at the United church for a snack\break, Carlyle SK for a quick lunch and in Redvers for gas and then in Souris MB to find St. Paul United Church, where my Uncle Elton was minister back in the day. (August 1, 1965 till Sept. 1, 1969.........the day we got married😍)

           Biker chick snacking on the sidewalk in front of the Grace United in Fillmore, SK

    (Can you see me in the mirror taking the photo? Probably why she is a little out of focus)

                          Left me wondering if they, Fillmore, are looking for a minster!

                               St. Pauls United a great place for a stop on a hot afternoon

Pulled into the Lakeview Inn in Brandon near HWY 1, the TC. Had supper and pressure washed the bike before bedding down for the night. It is always good to get the bugs under control when you have a windshield that I use, when riding two up.

August 2 while loading up for the day's ride we chatted with two Harley riders from Ontario. Gayle mentioned to me that one of them looked familiar. Did this biker chick hang with another crowd in an other life? ( It turns out she had recognized him from TV Reno type shows on HGTV ......she did a Google search later in the day) Had I known that when we chatted, I would have had lots of questions for him😃

We deliberately rode south out of Brandon on Hwy 10 and took 2 east to Hwy 100 around Winnipeg to hook up with the TransCanada for the remainder of the run into Kenora, ON. 

The biggest excitement of the day happened when we stopped to gas up in Hadashville MB. We were chatting with a guy on the other side of the pump who was driving a large RV and towing a fancy boat. He was on his way to the lake for some R & R, but when he pulled away from the pump, he creased the fiberglass hull just under the deck on the top edge of the pump housing and then the spare tire on the pump side of the trailer caught the pump boxed housing and  fetched up. Not a pretty sight. 😥Our hearts went out to him! 

We checked into the Natures Inn, where I had quite a chat with the co-manager about motorcycles. Turns out he has a full time job as a mechanic at the saw mill in town, that is under reno and is quite knowledgeable about older BMW's

August 3 saw us on the road at 7:10am for the TransCanada run to Thunder Bay. I was hoping to see some wildlife today, however, the wildest thing I saw was a ground hog on on the side of the Hwy. Gayle made the observation while we had a late breakfast at a Husky Restaurant, that Dryden smelled too much like the mill town for her to want to live there. I found the priciest gas of the trip when I pulled over in Upsula, ON. $1.499\L for "regular" fuel. The temperature got up to 31.5C today, so we checked into the Best Western Crossroads as soon as we arrived the Thunder Bay. Not long in getting the AC on.

Had a quick chat with a BMW R1200ST rider from Anaheim, California as we were loading our bikes after breakfast the next morning. She and her husband had ridden to Ontario to do the "Circle Superior Tour" before returning home by way of Seattle, Washington.

 

This stretch of Ontario is a long haul at the best of times, but seems longer when you simply want it behind you. I booked us into the Makiebares Cottages before leaving Thunder Bay because Trip Advisor was telling me there were no rooms anywhere around Wawa, our next stop. These cottages looked great on line and were located just short of our destination.... Good fit right!

                                 This is what we found when pulling in off the Hwy.

But when I walked up to the office door I was informed that they had cancelled my "CONFIRMED" booking. " We sent you an e-mail" and that was supposed to be good enough! Best stay clear of this place. What can you say to someone who is tired and just wants to get into a room with AC but "let's head into Wawa and see what we can find". We were lucky enough to get a room at the Wawa Motel for the night (hey...... they even gave me a complimentary plastic side stand foot for the bike) and I cleaned up the bike and had to replace the cover over the bike 3 separate times through the night. How can it be windier than on the prairies? Lightning\thunder and wind like we might have a tornado! WOW! Noisy night In Wawa.

I sent e-meals to both Goodtime Center BMW dealer in Ottawa and BMW Motorrad Montreal to see if they could fit me in on Monday Aug.8, for an oil change and new tires, before retiring for the night.

August 5 saw us on the road early and often faced very strong winds off Superior and even inland as we made it to Sudbury by 2:15pm. Seems early, but we were played out from the wind and traffic. I actually had an afternoon nap,😎 once we checked into the Comfort Inn. An uneventful ride but at least the scenery is more to our liking, which is good if you ride 528 km a day!

Saturday Aug 6 and no response from either the BMW dealer in Ottawa or Montreal. So we rode hard to make it to Goodtime Center BMW in Nepean before they closed up shop for the day. We were able to secure a Monday morning appointment for the oil and tire change I was wanting! I told them we were travelling through and would appreciate the help. I had to settle for Metzler Roadtec Z8 Interac tires, as they had no Michelin Road Pilot 4 GTs in stock.

So now we had to spend a day and a half in Ottawa. Found a room at the Kanata Comfort Inn and went out to supper after cooling down from a hard run down the Ottawa Valley. August 7 was a relaxing day overall with a short trip to checkout the HUGE IKEA store in Nepean. Hard to believe the number of broswer\shoppers in one store on a Sunday. We country folk are just not used to the big towns I guess.

July 31, 2016 Leaving Saskatchewan yet again

On July 24th we spent the night in the Best Western Plus right near the TransCanada in Medicine Hat and walked over to Subway to indulge in a light supper before I cleaned up and gassed up the bike.

July 25 saw us make an early checkout and hit the road to find and look over a new build on the South Saskatchewan River near Galt Island. This great new house will be home to Jamie and Chris and girls upon completion next year. Jamie is Bob and Lynn LeMesurier's eldest.

                                              Check out the view on the river.

The ride over to Lethbridge on Hwy 3 was uneventful but for the Super Sucker Septic truck we followed for awhile near Purple Springs. If only I could get my camera out before it left the highway for a gravel side road. Lettered on the back for all to read was "This Truck Contains Political Promises"

Gayle and I took a trip down memory lane by driving over to West Lethbridge to look at our first house

purchased in 1986. It was not painted blue then! Gayle was surprised that there was water in the Old Man River as we crossed Whoop Up Drive.

After a quick lunch and gas up we took off for the USA once again by following Hwy 5 south to Cardston (the Imagination Unlimited Quilt store was closed.......can you believe it in the middle of the day!) then on down to the Carway border crossing. 

We entered Glasier National Park so that I could take Gayle on a ride called "Going to the Sun Road" which NIcholas and I did together back in 2010. I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it all over again!

                      Even the weather was the same. So good to be in the mountains again!

                                                   Yes that is where we are going!

                                     There were a lot of hikers in the park that day.

                                       I could stop at every lookout if there was time.

                                              With views like this wouldn't you?

As the afternoon wore on the temperature climbed and even speeding up to run down Hwy 2 from West Glasier did not cool us down enough to make a difference. Check into the Travelodge and got the AC  on pronto. Gayle has had enough of the heat, so we have made the decision to turn north in the morning and the ride down the west coast of the USA will have to be for another time and problaly another type of vehicle.

July 26 saw us ride north on Hwy 93 with the weather threatening to show us it's bad side. Stopped in Eureka for gas and layered up for the rain. No problem getting back into Canada at the Roosville crossing location.  Lightning and thunder in the mountains and just a little spitting. Rode through Fernie and on to Sparwood where we were almost forced off the road by a BC idiot in an hopped up 4 X 4. Pulled in to have lunch and removing the rain gear, before heading into the Crowsnest Pass and Alberta. We stopped near Lundbreck to layer up again as it looked darker than it had all day. Took Hwy 22 "The Cowboy Trail" on up to Okotoks. About a third of the way up  to Okotoks the rain came at us from the hills to the east and hail the size of your thumb came at us. The ruts on the road were instantly filled with water and ice  before the hail became more the end of your finger ends, in size. I lowered the windshield for fear that it might break, but kept moving because there was no place to safely get off the road. (Low soft shoulders) After that the wind allowed us to dry off quite quickly. What a changeable weather day!

                                                            Here it comes!

Awhile later I noticed that the fence pots on the left side of the highway seemed to be topped with something so I stopped for a better look and saw this.....

              Litterly a few km of hats on fence posts

I took each of these photos from the corner of a fence line along the highway and then down the acces road to a ranch. It is hard to do it justice with such a small photo in this blog!

July 27 on the road by 8:10am heading east on Hwy 2 to High River, then 23 to Vulcan  turning left on Hwy 534, then 531 to Lomond to 845 then onto 539 to find 36 and up to the TransCanada before Brooks (we ran through a heavy fog near the Bow River) where we stopped for some lunch. As much I have tried to stay off the TC it is necessary sometimes when trying to make time. We ran the TC all the way to Swift Current, SK. Took the time to pressure wash the bike (bugs abound) before going to Original Joe's for supper. I broke one of the nose bridge pieces on my glasses today. Not going to be an easy fix as the frames are titanium.

July 28 we took Hwy 4 to 15 to Outlook where we stopped for lunch at the ESSO where we had met Milan Prustomersky just 5 days earlier. Back into Saskatoon via Hwy 219 to stay with Bob and Lynn once again. Just got the bike into the garage before it began raining. Bob and I went out to the Expert Goldsmiths to have them repair my glasses frames.  The nose piece stayed on only till I cleaned the lens....then off it came. Darn!

The next day Lynn took me back to Expert Goldsmiths to try and get the glasses repaired again..... No luck....so we went to her optometrist and got some silicon gel pads that at least would stick to the frames. We then picked up a ceiling fan, which I later installed in her kitchen. I have to work for the accommodations and great meals don't I ?

The "service" light came up on the BMW yesterday so I went up to FFUN Mottorrad to have them reset it. They gouged me $ 48.98 by keeping the bike in the service bay much longer than necessary. (Their charge out rate is $135/ hour)  I hope never to return to them for any reason!

I arrived back at the house just in time to see my brother Jim and wife Melody leaving (on their way from Edmonton to Moose Jaw to see their children and grand children) There was a 15 minute torrential rain later that evening, but it did not seem to cool things down at all !! This summer on the prairies is different they say.

July 30 was a low key day for Bob and I. Gayle and Lynn went to the Farmers Market in the city then went out to the Prairie Chicks Quilt Store in Warman ....north of Saskatoon. We rounded up our visit with them by going out to the Milestone for supper.

Well here it is the last of Jully 2016. We said our heartfelt good byes to Bob and  Lynn and travelled down Hwy 11 to Moose Jaw. Rest stop in Davidson showed us the home on the world's largest tea pot.........Just in case you were wondering!

                                           Tea pot and accompanying tea cup

                                Also home to the Metis Fiddler next to a "dump cart"

Checked into the Comfort Inn then went over to Jamie and Jenn Day's for a visit with Brother Jim, Melody, Jenn, Keaighly and Abbegayle and were treated to a wonderful BBQ supper and chocolate "frogs" for dessert. Thanks Jenn and Mel. Jamie came home from work and we played catchup with him for several hours before leaving for the motel.

Everyone seems to be doing OK but found Jim looking tired.

July 24, 2016 Heading south again.

July 18th saw Ron and I loading some major scraps on Concrete and taking it to the land fill only to find it closed for the day. Summer hours!

A strategically placed tree limb and ratchet stapes, added by strong backs, got all three pieces onto the utility trailer.

                                                           SUCCESS!

The remainder of the day was spent building two skylight boxes from scrap plywood, for the new kitchen and laundry rooms. Sunshine for most of the day allowed us to work outside causing much less of that Reno feeling inside.

The next day saw Ron and I completing our land fill drop off of the concrete pieces and Gayle and I hitting the saddle once again for the return to Saskatoon.

It is hard to say good bye to such great friends. Time & distance does not fade the love and affection.

The route between Three Hills and Saskatoon feels absolutely familiar now. Struck up a brief conversation with a solo Triumph rider in Oyen. He was from Lloydminster on the AB-SK border, on his way to visit in Nelson BC via Medicine Hat AB  and  through the the Crows Nest Pass.

Rosetown SK is situated on a natural stop schedule on this run, so we stopped to get out of the heat and enjoy a DQ Blizzard. We arrived late in the day and checked into the Best Western East to settle in for the night.

July 21 saw us up at 5:15am....... ya I know are we loosing it? Took a taxi (for the first time in living memory) to the Royal University Hospital to meet with the LeMesuriers and Family prior to and waiting out the day of Bob's Grand Opening. Surgery went just fine and he was awake but put under again as they want you to have more rest than he had taken after surgery. So we were allowed to just check in on him in ICU, before we left for the day. A big day! Jay and Jennifer drove us back to our motel.

The next day Gayle went out to have a SPA morning before getting on the bike. We got to visit my Aunt Vonda while on the way to the hospital to check on the star patient; who by now was in "observation" and doing just fine thank you very much! The family (minus Bob) celebrated this glorious surgical event by going out to supper at the Aroma restaurant at the Radison Hotel downtown. We had left the bike at Bobs and drove over town with Lynn, but were back at the motel before the night's rain event.

The next day was spent visiting at the hospital ( the Patient is a star ) and then eating at Jay and Jenn's for supper, where we said our good byes that evening before bedtime. 

                                                    After supper entertainment.

                                            Jennifer and Jay's newly painted house

                       Good Byes for now!😍

July 24 we headed south west to Medicine Hat AB via highways 219,15,4,44 to Hwy 41 in Alberta and 41A into Medicine Hat. Have I mentioned how flat the prairies can be?? 

We pulled into an ESSO yard in Outlook and were standing around chowing down some munchies when I heard a "put put put" Looked up and saw this guy coming in off the highway.

This is Milan Prustomersky from Czechoslovakia riding a 1953 150cc Cesta 2 stroke (Czech made)

He shipped the bike from Prague to Toronto, rode to Montral before turning around and heading to Vancouver to see some friends. He told us that his average speed is 60kph and was looking forward to the Rockies. As you can see he is loaded down with all his camping gear and so far has been enjoying Canada. Some time this fall he will ship the bike home and follow. You can find him on line if you are interested in finding out more about him and his adventures in Canada and elseware.

We stopped in Eston for lunch where a customer warned us of bad/major road construction ahead on Hwy 44. He was not wrong but we managed to get through the mud, ruts and gravel with no damage. (the road was actually non-existent  in places) It would not have been an issue for the adventuresome R1200GS👍 

Well now we are in Alberta once again and ready......yes looking forward to seeing some hills......mountains even.....soon!😎

 

July 17, 2016

So here it is July 17th and what have we been up to since I posted last. Well let me check my journal notes to see!

Ron and I worked for two days on the kitchen counter and cupboards removal and reassembly in the new laundry room, on the other side of the original wall. That may sound like a straight forward grab and move, but it was cut and fit in a new configuration including plumbing and joining of the arborite counter top; so that only the most discerning eye could detect the joint.👀

Gayle and I left on Wed. morning July 13th and went to see my brother Jim and is wife Melody for several days in Edmonton. The weather was not promising, so we left the bike in the carport and took the Shaw's Mazda 3 for a spin.

We followed Hwy 21 all the way up to 26 and dashed into Camrose to check on "Quilting From the Heart" store. Not as friendly as we remembered from 2013. Back out onto Hwy 21 heading north and a stop in Sherwood Park to check out Lori's Quilt store before fighting rush hour traffic and major highwway construction on the way into Edmonton. Lori's was a hit, but no pictures; as I was napping  in the sunshine filled parking lot, when Gayle came out with her stash!

Checked out another quilt store and found it lacking, but got some shopping done for the Shaws while in the Alberta capitol. 

Found brother Jim holding his own and awaiting some future medical testing due to new complications with his health. Mel is still busy caring for him and holding down a full time supervisory position at her job. We got to visit with her in the evenings.

                                         Two old coots sitting on a couch! 😎

Pulled away from Edmonton on Hwy 2 heading south on July 15th. We made a visit to "The Peaceful Patch" (not a bike shop) in Blackfalds and stopped again at Costco in Red Deer to finish the shopping list before heading east on Hwy 27 to Three Hills. Light rain near LaCombe and a major downpour before leaving Hwy 2 near Olds. We felt sorry for a biker we saw pulled over to prepare for the torrential rains.......with no place to hide. Again we dodged the weather by being in the Mazda.

With the purchase of three additional pot light fixtures Ron and I again hit the wiring hard on Saturday. A couple of errors in box connections,on my part, slowed the progress, but we had success in finishing the new kitchen electrics shortly after supper. Sunday was a welcome day of rest and we all enjoyed afternoon visits from a former flight student of Ron's (who now instructs himself at the flight school in Fredericton, NB) and an aircraft maintenance tech and instructor from Kenn Borek Air Ltd.  KBAL of Calgary ( think of the recent Antartica flight rescue mission.... Yes those guys!!)

July 10, 2016

Well  what do you do when you hit the big city of Saskatoon but wash the bike, get your hair done, check out the quilt stores, visit family and with supervision install a new dishwasher and paint a kitchen. Wonderful food on the deck when the weather would allow and much conversation and a little bit of playing tourist with tour guides and all.

The Zhongshun Ting Committee erected a pagoda    locally called "The Ting" in Victoria Park as a testament to the original Chinese settlers in the area. Beautifully done by craftsmen from China.

Looking straight up.......Lying on the floor.

Two Lovers enjoying the sights.

Another new feature in Saskatoon which occurred on April 20, 2016 is the riverbank slough on Saskatchewan Cresent. 

More than half the street is missing in front of this home! Gayle, Lynn and Bob check it out up close.

I managed to use the hammock in the back yard to assist Olivia and Maeve to "time travel" to the dinosaurs. Did you know that swinging in a hammock really fast causes this phenomenon to occur? Well if you're young girls with an imagination anything is possible!

Remember those wonderful days girls and boys?

Looks like Grandma found some fresh berries.

Olivia

Maeve

Carol (Lynn's sister) and Gayle enjoying an outside supper. Notice the sunshine.

Then before we knew it it was time to move on west, as it would be now later in July for Bob's surgery. Simply by taking Hwy 7 in Saskatchehwan which turns into Hwy 9 in Alberta and turning north on Hwy 21 you find yourself  in Three Hills at the Best Western. Arrived on July 8th after a slightly undulating flat contry ride under cloudy skies. The  yellow of the canola fields in bloom is a welcome senses break from just green fields beside the highway. Many of the ditches are filled with water now because of all the recent rain we have been getting here in the west.

We checked out of the motel  and moved into the Shaw's Reno house for the remainder of our Three Hills stay on Saturday July 9th. We spent the day catching up on the last three years apart and Ron and I removed the famous "hanging bed" in the guest room and put up a family heirloom bed to begin the transformation of the new version of the "Guest Room"

.

Look at that folks we are already taking over! Helmets, electronic devices plugged in and storage bags from the bike everywhere. Talk about feeling at home.

Sunday July 10 was a day of rest and relaxation for the Shaws and the Days. I hope it was for you as well.

July 3, 2016

I am trying to keep these posts in order and have definitely come to the realization that daily updates are not going to happen at this point; so here goes my attempt at a weekly one.     

So where to go after Peoria, IL well.......lets see if we can make it to Waterloo, IA. A simple day of taking Hwy. 116 to 34 all the way over to Burlington, IA then taking 218 north to Waterloo. 7.5 hours and 432.5km later we checked into the Comfort Inn. A grocery store supper of salads, yogurt and frozen yogurt treats. Checking the odometer on the bike at layup for the night showed 49,999km. I guess it won't be difficult now to hit 50,000km tomorrow.👍

Biker chick in the corn fields and it's not finished growing.

The Great River Bridge over the Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa

A break from the heat of the day beside the Mississippi in Burlington, Iowa June 27 

Leaving town and continuing our travel north towards even more FLAT country, we put in 528km riding under cloudy skies. Made the effort to ride through just a tad of  Minnesota, Iowa 20 to 59 then 60 to Worthington MN, then blasting west on Interstate 90 to Cedar Falls, South Dakota. While checking in to the Sleep Inn a retired gentleman from Bakersfield CA asked if I was staying the night.

The question caught me off guard so I asked him why. He quickly told me that he had been staying there for several days now and informed me that a women staying at this establishment had her Harley stolen just the night before.(June 27).......... What to do? Well we were on the ground floor ( always my preference while on the bike) so I parked on the lawn and slept with the window open. (I could reach out and touch the bike) It rained through the night so we were cautious about leaving In the morning.

June 29th saw us riding under threatening skies. We rode north on the town bypass to find Hwy 34 and rode west to Hwy 281 before turning right (north again) and pushed on to Jamestown, North Dakota. We did get rained on today, but just for a few minutes while passing Millarton. Someone must be looking out for us! We allowed the Hampton Inn to put us up for the night and went for a walk to pick up a light supper. While cleaning the winshield I struck up a conversation with a safety officer (from Houston, TX) working near by on a wind farm project. The bike does attract conversation. He was telling me that the night before (June 28th) the LED  light bar off the ceiling of his truck was stollen while sitting in the motel parking lot. I went inside and inquired as to where the best view from the front desk and best camera view of front entrance canopy was. I parked it right there, as our room was on the second floor in the back. What is it with people taking what is not their's? In case some may be wondering, I purchased gas today in Coleman, SD @ $ 2.799/USgal that is getting up there. The ride today was 510.7km

So here it is Thurs. June 30 and the target stop for the day was CANADA......Estevan, SK in particular.

Passports in hand we pulled up to Portal and all I did was flip up the chin bar on the new Shoei modular but Gayle had to remove her full face helmet and expose her helmet hair with out the opportunity of floofing in first or checking with a mirror! Welcome back to Canada😎

We did make it into Estevan but after riding through town checking on places to stay thought it felt like a loud oil boom town like Fort St John BC back in the day, so we pressed on for another 50 minutes to find a quiet room at the Canalta Inn in Weyburn, SK. Again while hand washing the bike before putting it up for the day, an older couple (70 each) from Dallas, TX came out of the room next to us and inquired about the bike. Turns out she  was born up the peninsula near L'anse aux Meadows and was a chemist in her working years and he was a civil engineer (from Texas) They ride a Honda Goldwing Trike now, as knee replacements and other health issues took them off two wheels. On this trip for a grand daughters highschool grad, they chose the Ford half ton! Travel distance today was 576.5km .....last US gas purchase for awhile in Portal, ND @ $2.499/USgal.

Canada Day 2016 saw us ride 380km under a thunderstorm watch to Saskatoon. We managed to stay dry all day and had lively catchup conversations with Gayle's brother Bob and our sister in law Lynn. The evening was delightfully put into high gear after the arrival of their daughter Jennifer's 4.5 year old Olivia and 1.5 year old Maeve. What wonderful lively girls they are. Jay, Jennifer's husband, is every bit as good with new to us Maeve as I remember him being with Olivia, when we were here three years ago. Does not take long to feel at home whenever we stay with the LeMesuriers.