Thanksgiving - Ottawa - Cobourg and beyond

Well Thanksgiving arrived and so did the flurry of invitations. C said let's go to my brothers in Cobourg. So it was settled - a 340km road trip. This weekend we were kid free so getting out of the house was a little more relaxed. Though our initial plan to hit the road around mid morning turned out to be more like midday. Though, the late departure was more to do with us having to run a few errands than being a couple sleepy heads. We were actually up early. A travel mug of piping hot cheap Folgers and we were off to our first stop - Wine Kitz. C's been bottling as well as buying wine for the past few years. We've decided we are going to road trip local wineries around the Ottawa Valley. Not the season for it now - but you're going to hear all about it here!

So of course being at Wine Kitz at 9am on a Saturday morning made us the first customers of the day. The sales guy Barry was superb and like us still just a little sleepy, a sharp contrast to the exuberant owner Linda. I'm a bit of a morning person but I wasn't so much today but was soon sparked to life by her jovial attitude and soon I was making my usual dorky comments. I mean when C's standing there holding a bottle of our wine with a cork sticking out of it - how could I resist stating she was half corked. Sleepy or not I do enjoy my own quips - a lot. We ordered up a batch of red after bottling and labeling our white wine and we were back in the Rondo heading to a greasy spoon just metres away from Ikea. Not the most memorable breakfast, but we were famished.

After a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and homefries - C had onion with hers - I like just the potatoes myself and we were back onto the 417 whizzing by Adobe, Corel on our way home to get packed and hit the road. It was of course a one nighter so packing was going to be quick, light and easy - which it was. Yes we brought our pillows. C travels with three pillows - one for her head and two she says for her legs - I think she just likes a garrison around her to keep me at bay. I travel with one pillow - I like a feather pillow and mine is half duck and half goose making it just a little firmer and for me more comfortable than a regular pillow.

I suppose it took a little longer to pack than we thought, the usual stuff; should we bring an extra jacket and hiking shoes in case we go for a walk. I settled on wearing my comfy shoes for the drive and brought my Addidas just in case we went walking, C wore her flat comfies and brought along the Merrills. Then finding the cameras C's Nikon and my Samsung - we have on our want list a new camera with the zoom and macro lens. Anyway, soon we were on our way. We took along a couple bottles of our home made wine for our hosts - I'm big on always bringing the host a little something.

The drive was uneventful - no major snags - well other than C's back taking a turn for the worse. She's been to the Chiropractor weekly recently and it's just not sticking - it sucks. Just one stop along the way - Tim Hortons in Brockville for a coffee. I love Brockville. If you haven't been there you have to go. There is a super fish and chip shop just on the main street down towards the St. Lawrence.

Arrived in Cobourg about 2:30 and had a great visit with C's brother Shawn, his girlfriend Gayle as well as her son and his girlfriend. We had a fantastic turkey dinner - I whipped up some potatoes and did the gravy - I'm not just eye candy in the kitchen! The evening was pretty sweet with the house backing onto lake Ontario - some spectacular views warmed beautifully by a nice bonfire. Though all that fresh air was giving us a bit of a grrrrr - for junk! A quick jaunt in the Kia to Macs Milk - $38 later we're on our way back stocked with coke, gingerale, three varieties of Skittles - C loves her Skittles! Usually we're pretty much night owls on the weekend but by midnight we were feeling a little pooped so talk was soon of which bed we were going to sleep in.

Sunday morning arrived with gorgeous sunshine and we were met with warm fall rays while we sat on the back deck with steaming cups of coffee. Gayle put up a great breakfast - soon after it was shower time and then we were back on the road. Stopped in Grafton shortly after leaving Cobourg to gas up at the local Esso. We had already decided to do the scenic route home - highway 2. A fantastic road trip highway - I'll take the 2 over the 401 anytime that time is not important. Happily for C and I time was not of the essence. We thought that stopping off at places along the way and checking out the various markets and antique shops would be a fine idea. Probably a better idea if we didn't get wrapped up in conversation and kept driving past the sights - yes we could have turned around and actually did a couple times.

Soon we found ourselves browsing through a lovely little antique shop just outside of Brighton. We came across a desk that we would have had shipped back to Ottawa in a flash - if it actually would have fit down our hallway. Anyway, there and then we decided that antiquing could be part of our road trip future, along with checking out the wineries in and around the Ottawa Valley. We were getting a bit famished and had hoped to come across a little local restaurant but instead we had ended up in Quinte so it was a sandwich at Tim Hortons. Ah yes of course there are plenty of little restaurants on highway 2 but just before Quinte we had decided to head to Eganville for schnitzel at The Granery.

A beautiful drive to Eganville with some stops for pictures in Erinsville and Tamworth and a U turn for a must have picture in Coyne Ontario. They have a huge Muskoka style chair outside the gas station - one of the locals was happy to hop off while I boosted C up there to get her picture taken. Snap. Snap and back on the road. Arrived in Eganville 6 sharp and were soon seated at a corner table at the Granery. My first visit C's been there plenty of times - schnitzel with mushroom and bacon gravy. Not bad at all - nice size servings and left me feeling like I had room for dessert. Though I elected to skip dessert - this time. C footed the bill - I really behaved myself this weekend and C wanted to reward me. Not really - she just really loves me.

Before hoping back in the Kia we took a stroll around Eganville and then back on the road. We made a brief bathroom slash coffee stop in Renfrew and straight back to Ottawa. C was feeling the pinch in her back so faded fast on the ride back and was gently coaxed awake upon arriving home.