Friday, July 20, 2018 (Travel to Richmond/Ottawa, Ontario)

After a peaceful night, we popped into McDonald's (inside Walmart) for a quick breakfast. We were surprised at the number of RV's that had arrived in the parking lot...20 plus rigs, obviously a popular overnight spot for RV'ers. Once back, the slides went in, we pulled off the levelling blocks and then we were on our way.

Steve took this picture of a fellow, awning out, and cooking breakfast in his outdoor kitchen...in the Walmart parking lot. Seriously? Our understanding of the proper etiquette for over-nighting in a Walmart parking lot is to put as little out as possible. There has even been a lot of controversy over putting out slides...we have no choice if we want to have a bed to sleep on. But this fellow was making himself quite comfortable in his "campsite"...

We continued east on the Trans Canada Highway....pictures along the way....

Earl's Lake...

Approaching the town of Mattawa...you can really see the smoke from wildfires burning in Northern Ontario...

The Mattawa River meets the Ottawa River...

As we rounded the corner we could see wildfire smoke rising from the hilltop in the distance...

The long road ahead and the smoke is clearing...

We followed the Ottawa River most of the way....

We stopped at a Canadian Tire fuel station in Deep River...and then continued on, passing the turnoff to CFB (Canadian Forces Base) Petawawa...

Muskrat River...

Muskrat River...again...

Just past Cobden, Ontario, we ran into more road construction...

We started to see several farm homes made out of brick in this style..very sturdy looking structures!

Near Arnprior, ON....

 Arnprior Generating Station...

Getting close to Ottawa...

Mississippi River in Ontario, no relation to the American River...

Following instructions received from our friends, Sherry (and Andrew), we turned off the Trans Canada highway and drove south through Stittsville...

It's a rural community...

...eventually making it to Richmond.

And our destination...Andrew and Sherry's farm. Soya bean fields in the front yard...

We met Sherry and Andrew 8 years ago at an ATV event, the 10th anniversary of the Hatfield McCoy Trailfest in Gilbert, West Virginia. We had a blast with them and they said if we are ever out their way, they have plenty of room for us...well, it only took 8 years and we're taking them up on their offer!

After big hugs and greetings, Sherry went back to work (she works from home) and Andrew directed us into a spot...getting us set up with water, 50 amp power and even a sewer connection. It was so hot and humid out that we were melting by the time we got backed into place and unhitched. As soon as Steve got the power connected, I got the air conditioner going. Lucky for me, my work was inside unpacking...poor Steve's work was outside. So as soon as the work was done, we headed over to the house...

...and a dip in the pool....ahhhhh...lovin' this campground!

An hour or so later, friends of Sherry and Andrew's arrived. Jeff and Debbie live a couple of hours away, near Peterborough and have come up for the weekend. Plenty of room for them too...

We all enjoyed some cool drinks as we fought for some shade under the awnings...

Then Sherry got the barbecue going and grilled pork tenderloin while Andrew got a big pot of water heating on a burner out in the garage for the sweet corn...

Then we sat down to a delicious dinner...left to right around the table, me, Debbie, Jeff, Hanna (Sherry and Andrew's daughter), Ryan (Hanna's friend from Florida), Andrew and Sherry...

We are really looking forward to our stay here...not only getting to re-connect with Sherry and Andrew but also seeing the area. Starting tomorrow...we're taking to the trails on the ATV's! We haven't been out riding since we left Arizona last March!