Flair flight from Toronto to Calgary:)

After a chaotic morning of rearranging our very over weight bags...used a scale at the airport....we finally get the clear to board a plane. Bit of a gong show to say the least.

I put on all my gear to take on the flight..lol

Catch you for a final post once safely in Calgary:) 

Exhausted but super excited to head home after a wonderful trip.

Home Sweet Home 

Cleaning, Packing, Storing...Getting Ready for tomorrow's flight

Getting everything in order to leave tomorrow

The day starts at 7:30am with laundry, cleaning, packing, winterizing lines etc etc. So much to deal with it is a bit over wheliming :)

Finally last thing - store kayaks inside RV :)

Storage for our rig

We are about 3 hours behind where we thought we'd be by now so the traffic getting to our storage location is crazy, which puts us farther behind. But...we finally arrive just after 5 pm. 

We originally heard of this place while hiking at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. A young couple from Toronto told us where they store their RV and voila...here we are. 

Be safe Glennifer and Oakie (Truck and RV)

So much stuff to bring home...ugh

We had planned to call an Uber but our friend Tim suddenly volunteers to drive over an hour from his home in Toronto to spend some last time with us. He is one sight for sore eyes when he arrives to take us and all our gear to our hotel at the airport. It is dark and getting cold at 7:45 pm

Thank you Tim from the bottom of our hearts :)

First order of business is to buy Tim and us supper as no one has eaten in a long time. Naturally we choose a pub that is showing the Blue Jays game.

Blue Jays win the series 3 games to 1 and now move on to the next round. 

We get to our hotel at 10:45 pm after one long day. So glad we made this decision to land here tonight rather than try to get it all done tomorrow before our flight. 

Driving Tour Day. Cambridge to Kitchener/Waterloo to St. Jacobs to Elora to Guelph

It's a cooler, rainy day today so it works great that we had planned to do a road trip to visit some of the near by cities we have heard of but have never seen.

Church spire in Cambridge

We start with Cambridge, Ontario known for its picturesque historic core. 

The Grand River

The Grand River we kayaked the other day runs through Cambridge as well. 

We drive through Kitchener/Waterloo but don't stop.

Stone Crock Bakery

In St. Jacobs we walk the streets and head into a local bakery where Chris finally finds a sausage roll. 

Being October, pumpkins are everywhere on the streets.

Hole in a Rock

We do a short hike at the Elora Gorge Conservation Area to the Hole in the Rock. 

Cool tree roots remind us of our SE Asia trip

Town of Elora

After lunch we head to Elora, widely known and frequently referred to as 'Ontario's Most Beautiful Village'. 

Original Elora Mill now a luxury hotel

Elora's prominent feature is the Elora Mill, a historic mill that has since been converted into a swank hotel, spa and restaurant. 

More pumpkins and gourds

Elora Gorge Falls

Strange shapes and colors of the pumpkins and gourds

It looks like quite the luxury hotel with fall decorations in full glory. 

Cute street

This is clearly a town that would be a great weekend get-away...if you have deep pockets...lol

Gorgeous buildings in Elora

Finally we head to Guelph for a walk around the old university. Established in 1874 with agriculture as its core focus. Today, it is a top research intensive university known for its commitment to 'Improve Life'.  

It's a classic old university with old buildings and the red color of the vines is perfect timing. 

Old buildings and red vines at University of Guelph

Pizza and Beer to end the day :)

We make a quick stop at the place we are storing our rig for the next 8- 9 months and head home for pizza and beer. More effort to clear out food from the store. 

Packing Day and Final Bike Ride at Bronte Creek Provincial Park

Gear out drying before storing till next year :)

The weather cooperates on our day where we pull everything out to dry in the 27 degree day :) We want to make sure everything is dry from kayaking yesterday before it's stored away in the back of the truck.

Suit cases starting to get full

Even suitcases we brought with us come out to start packing for our October 9th flight home.

Fingers crossed everything we want to bring home fits in. 

Gorge perimeter trail

After the work is done we enjoy a really great final bike ride of the season along the gorge perimeter edge. The colors are really nice.

Love the red color flashes in the forest

G&T while prepping bikes for storage

Back at our rig we wash and store the bikes while enjoying our last G&T in Ontario for the season.

Triathlon Day - Kayak The Grand River - Bike The Paris Rail Trail and Beer at The Stillwater Pub in Paris, Ontario

Penman's Dam and the Train Bridge

Chris discovers a great location for our final triathlon of the season. A kayak trip on the Grand River from Brant Park to Paris offers a scenic 12km journey through Carolinian forest, historic bridges and wildlife-rich areas. 

This is where we drop our bikes as it's the take out point after our kayak run. 

Unloading kayaks at Brant Park

We drive the truck and kayaks upstream to Brant Park where we unload the kayaks and park the truck for the day. 

Kayaks ready to launch

Underway on the Grand River

Island lunch stop

The river is fairly low at this time of year so we really have to pick our route. Thankfully Chris had done some research and created some river notes so we know which side of each island to pass on or to stay to a particular side of the river to avoid rocks.

After about 1.5 hours, we stop on an island for a quick lunch break.

Remains of the Great Western Railway Bridge

Colors of the trees are spectacular

Successful 12.2 km paddle

We arrive back at the Train Bridge in Paris after a very scenic trip that definitely had its bumpy sections from low water. Lots of little rapid runs too so it was great. 

Need to swap the locks to the kayaks

So now we have the kayaks at the location we left the bikes earlier. We unlock the bikes and lock up the kayaks. 

Onto the Paris Rail Trail to bike the 13km back to the truck. This is another trail created when they removed the old abandoned railroad track. 

It's a very nice ride with colorful leaves falling all around us.

The Murray Overlook

We come to the Murray Overlook, which offers views of the abandoned Great Western Railway Bridge we kayaked through earlier today. 

Truck, kayaks and bikes all back in one spot

Back to pick up the kayaks and get ready for leg 3 of the triathlon. 

Town of Paris 

Into the town of Paris to find a pub :)

So true...speaking from experience

On the entrance into the Stillwater Pub is this sign...very fitting for us :)

Fish tacos and craft beer watching The Toronto Blue Jays :)

We head into the Stillwater Pub and not only order 2 craft beers, but we treat ourselves to fresh Ontario perch fish tacos...yum. We worked hard today and our lunch was a long time ago. With an hour drive to get back to our RV we pass on cooking for tonight. A great day. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Grand Slam

We witness history as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smashed the first grand slam in Blue Jays playoff history. The crowd was electrified and went wild. Fun time. 

As we are heading home, the lights on this Paris sign are just coming on. Very nice town.