Day 1 – the house is still a mess! On the positive side, it’s not actually getting any messier. We spent the weekend making lists, sorting and packing and doing lots of snuggling – given the rain, it was a perfect time to cuddle up on the couch with some Mythbusters. However, now that they’re gone, I have a big to do list for the house that includes cleaning out closets and bedrooms and finishing up some painting. I decided to start slow on my first night home alone – Loki and I went for a long walk down to the lake, then came back to clean up the kitchen and finish a book (The Girl on the Train). There’s always tomorrow to get started on my list!

Our plan for a crack-of-dawn, 8 AM start to the first day of a cross-country road trip was aspirational, but ultimately unrealistic. “One more thing” can be interpreted in the aggregate as “one more collection of things I absolutely need”, but taken individually, each foray back into the house for yet another forgotten item made a mockery of our schedule. And that was just the piecemeal search for gear at home, not even including the stops at the school, Canadian Tire, and the supermarket. It was almost 1 PM before we finally pulled out of our driveway and refused to look back.

When we realized, just before the 401, that we had left the candy behind our resolve was tested to its limit. Wisely, Short Pants observed that we could buy candy anywhere and Grandpa had supplied “souvenir money” that could be reallocated. Resolve bolstered, we got on the highway.

We arrived at Neyaashiinigmiing, the Cape Croker Indian Reservation around dinner time and dropped in on Nokomis for a dinner and gossip visit. Tonight we are camped in the Cape Croker Campground. It’s very quiet; even the frogs don’t raise their voices. It never gets terribly busy, except perhaps during pow-wow, but its a beautiful place.  Sure, I’m from here, but the campground at Cape is one of my own best secret places. You should visit.