Borderline disaster - Averted

   Can anyone guess where we went on vacation this year?

   If you guessed Canada, you would be correct. (Did the flags in the picture give it away?) It had been some time since my husband had visited the country (was it really over twenty years ago that we last visited on vacation?) and we thought it was time we go back. So we packed up the camper, loaded the truck with bikes, snacks and two teenagers (why take one when you can take two?) and headed for the border.

   The first night we camped on the U.S. side... because border crossing after a full day of travel in the truck just didn't seem like a good idea.

   The weather was great. We did lots of fun things and learned something new each day....

Like Canada considers the teens ADULTS!

   Seriously? One of the teens packed lightsabers and a nerf gun. I think I need to have a serious talk with the Canadian parks officials. I think I'll suggest a six hour car ride with two teens. I have a few I can loan them.

   We kept our trip distance relatively short, visiting Toronto to see the Royal Ontario Museum. Our timing was perfect as this was one of the hottest days of our trip! It was really cool (yes, pun
intended) and we spent the day exploring the exhibits.
 
   Afterward we managed to catch part of an Ultimate Frisbee match at the university next door. We're not talking just a bunch of college students playing frisbee out on the lawn, this was an actual sporting event complete with referees and fans in the bleachers. There was even a mascot! I had no idea this was a thing. Mesmerized, I watched the players race across the field, waiting for the tackle that never came. Still, it was cool to watch.

  Not be be kept indoors, the next day we hauled out those bikes we packed to ride along a beautiful lake...

  Looks so peaceful, doesn't it? Did I mention our trip coincided with Canada Day? For the uninformed, this is the equivalent of the 4th of July in the U.S. There was a carnival and music venue and people grilling out everywhere! Despite the holiday, things were not too crazy busy and we were able to relax and enjoy. We even got to see fireworks!

   

From Toronto we meandered over to Niagara and went into full tourist mode! I think I have seen nearly every aspect of the falls short of going over them in a barrel. Lit up falls at night were nifty, even if all I took were blurry pictures. More fireworks here too!

   Having stood in numerous lines and worn a number of ponchos, we spent our last two days lounging on a beach on Lake Erie.

   It was a relaxing end to an adventured filled vacation that almost didn't happen.

Yeah, you read that right.

We almost didn't make it into Canada.

   You see, our mode of transportation is starting to age. Bits of rust hold together much of the remaining exterior metal parts and the running boards have been reinforced with metal brackets. The leather interior is a bit tattered and the steering wheel is worn. All in all, at a distance, the truck looks pretty good. Even runs pretty good, if a bit loudly.

   The day we decided to cross the border into Canada was the day the truck decided to protest twenty years of towing and hauling. Driving over the bridge was no issue. There was no traffic and when we pulled up to customs, there was only one car ahead of us. It wasn't until we pulled to a complete stop at the stop sign to wait for the one car ahead of us to clear the booth, that the truck began to shudder and shake. The temperature gauge shot up past "H" and the service engine light ominously glowed orange.

   My husband put the truck in neutral and we looked at one another. There was swearing.  A bit of sweating. The car ahead of us pulled away from the booth and it was our turn. We shifted into drive and shuddered up to the officer who took our passports and asked us questions which we calmly answered as if we weren't expecting our vehicle to explode at any moment.

   Hours ticked by (okay, it was really minutes) before she handed the passports back and told us to have a nice day and enjoy our trip. I think we responded in kind. Putting the truck in gear once more we coughed and shook our way into town which seemed a million kilometers away (Canada, of course). Luckily for us, the first gas station we spotted had ample room in the back for us to park the truck and camper. Jeremy turned off the vehicle and we both broke into laughter.

   A few liters of premixed antifreeze later, all was well. We were baffled. There was no leak. Readings on the temperature gauge were normal. Since our AAA was good in Canada, we decided to chance it and carry on. A few days later the service engine light turned itself off. We kept checking the fluid levels, but all was fine.

I guess you could say it was a borderline disaster, averted.