The kids were up at the crack of dawn on Day 2 to play with some of my cousin’s toys they had seen when they fell asleep the night before. After prying them away from the Groovy Girls, they descended upon the kitchen for a “dream breakfast”. There were 8 different options of breakfast cereal available for us to choose from. It was like a kid’s version of an omelet bar. I ate Apple Jacks (I didn’t know they still existed) while the kids ate a mixture of cereals. Good start to the day as all the eating and playing had us leaving a little later than expected.
Before leaving Lively I made sure those bikes were buckled in tight. I was tired of stressing over them falling off so took my time to find the “optimal” configuration. I did such a good job, I took pictures so that I would remember how to replicate it.
We also realized after day 1, that our packing strategy needed to be tweaked. It was just too much effort to bring each of our luggage down from the roof each night. What we needed for the future was a grab bag of a small set of clothes for each of us together. Also, putting toiletries in the trunk was also idiotic. For the most part, we want the trunk to be storage and we need to be able to grab any gear we need from the back seat without doing all the Jenga.
Alright, enough about gear and supplies, back to our departure from Lively. Our destination for the day was Timmins and the drive would end up taking us five hours. Along the way, we pointed out forest fire regrowth, places my relatives took us when we were kids and the spot where a tornado or downburst touched down and marred the landscape a decade ago. Gotta be honest, the kids were kind of meh. Wildlife spotting was also a bust. However, Paige and I did see a couple partridges on the side of the road. Just as I was about to point them out to the kids, the lead partridge stepped into oncoming traffic. It was best not to draw the kids’ attention to the result. Paigey did her share of the driving and I botched my role as navigator as we drove right past the “watershed” sign on the edge of the highway. It had formed part of our “class” that morning. Another F performance by yours truly.
We arrived in South Porcupine (a town outside of Timmins) where we would stay the next couple of days with my family. Our family had a blast as it was Canada Day and we could watch the local fireworks show from the deck of the house. Julie couldn’t remember fireworks so the kids forced themselves to stay awake. Beyond fireworks viewing, they spend a lot of time in the pool. There were some other children their age so they had a blast and took care of themselves. They mastered the art of going in the hot tub, running through the grass and then jumping in the pool. Julie and Izzy called it: “doing the plunge!” I had to do the plunge too, Paige managed to avoid it. A byproduct of the plunge was that Julie learned to jump into a pool without a floatie!
Seeing as my family had roots in the area we had a day of sightseeing. Saw the house my grandfather grew up in, the lake he used to swim in and the place he got married in. We also got to visit the brand new tourist attraction in town, a ginormous open-pit mine right in the middle of Timmons. Yep, it is a head-scratcher but I absolutely loved it. The trucks looked like micro machines even though they are as big as houses. But then we went to the grocery store that is basically across the street. Literally a mine in the middle of a town! After seeing the machinery in action, the kids got to have their first rides ever on some ATVs with the family. Since then, I have had to explain that it will not be an everyday occurrence on the trip!
So Timmins is in the books. Thanks to the family for hosting the kids and us. I gained three pounds during this stopover which speaks to the quality of the meals.
By The Numbers:
- Total Kilometres: 801km
- Steps: 15,400 (Day2) & 17,600 (Day 3)
- In-Transit Time: 10:00 (left Lively) – 15:15 (arrive Timmons – more accurately South Porcupine)
- Expenses: $105 (all for gas)
- Ice Cream Consumed: One
Wildlife Spotted
- 2 Partridges (1 deceased)
- 1 Hummingbird
The most ridiculous thing so far: My kids getting ice cream cones and then eating them in the pool. And then for some reason, they ate the cone from the bottom so that ice cream dripped from hole into the pool. Julie can barely swim and that cone was pretty soaked. Pro Tip: the secret to eating ice cream in a pool is to NOT eat ice cream in a pool.
Ciao for now
Mike
Family Travel Countdown 