Thanks to our wonderful neighbour Patsy, we were driven to the Ottawa International Airport to catch our direct flight to Ft. Lauderdale Florida yesterday at 1pm.

A brand new WestJet 737-600 delivered us on time..... wow! it is great to ovoid the mess that is called Toronto...

Our rental car from Alamo (via www.priceline.com) is great and we motored north to West Palm Beach to our Marriot Hotel (again priceline.com), to enjoy a very busy day provisioning the boat..... it wasn't all work...

Louise and I treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at Charlie's Crab Restaurant on South Ocean Blvd in WPB..... the food was great, the service spectacular.... great fresh oysters, yellowtail tuna, and vintage Napa Valley chardonnay from 1996..... next time I'll have to try the crispy duck!

We spent today visiting Home Depot, Walmarts, Total Wine, West Marine (three times), 6 different health food stores, pharmacies, the port of Palm beach, etc.etc, etc....

Our hotel room is "packed" with baggage and boxes.... I hope it is a BIG freighter....

As you can see from the photo, this is not the busy time of year in Florida. The US thanksgiving is this coming Thursday so folks are focused on other things.... the roads, hotels, restaurants are almost empty and there are too many for sale/rent signs visible.

The size of meal portions is incredible.... Louise and I cannot finish our meal even if we split a single order....

Given my beautiful bride's newly developed sensitivity to food we need to purchase large quantities of "non-standard" food types to ensure she will be happy for the next several months.... we're bringing 30 litres of almond milk to the Bahamas, so she can have wet granola...

More to follow....

I hope the snow stays away until the foundation at the farm is completed....

glen

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With four days left before our flight south, the usual mad scramble has commenced with trips to Perth, the cottage, the farm, the bank, doctors, dentists, vets, etc.

Somehow we'll survive and endure another mad scramble in Florida before our departure via freighter to the beautiful beaches of the Bahamas....

Our daughter Michelle is enjoying the process of raising the old farm house and building a new footing and foundation for her new home.

The weather has been unusually mild, so I'm hoping that things can get finished before the "white stuff" arrives....

I think I need a holiday!

glen

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With less than a month left before our departure to the wonderful relaxed Bahamas, Louise and I decided to buy a farm.

It is only 30 minutes from Ottawa, on the way to our summer cottage, located just before the thriving metropolis of Mayo, Quebec (population 2).

The farmhouse features outdoor plumbing, outdoor electrical wiring, and no foundation..... a classic piece of Canadian history.... all original from late 1800's.

Work has begun, the building has been raised and a complete new footing and foundation will be poured this week. Our daughter Michelle has moved in with friends, and the plan is to completely renovate the house, barn, and outbuildings.

Goats, apple orchard, horses, chickens, dogs, cats.... good wine and good friends are planned.......never a dull moment!

It will be wonderful to walk the long beaches of the out islands!

glen

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