This could be The One!

The offer is in....and accepted....the only thing standing between us and this place are the results of a home inspection, hopefully to occur on Monday...

We were struck immediately by the "right" feeling of this property, even before we stepped inside the house.....nearly 1.5 acres in the country, just ten minutes north of Wheately, along with two barns and shed. The roughly twenty minute scenic country drive to work is more than offset by the very mature trees, privacy, and tranquility of the location. Lots of places for bonfires, gardens, and perhaps a few grape vines eventually...

The house itself is over a hundred years, with lots of character, original wood, and charm. Everything just felt right, with old trees and a rustic house in the solitude of the country, with a conservation area and several national and provincial parks (and Lake Erie!) nearby. Don't want to get too excited yet, but so far so good....

The view behind the house

Still looking back....shed and barns

Dining room, with Ceilidh potential!

The front of the house, and our realtor Eugene

It's Official!

So we've known for a week or two that the place was basically sold....but there's something remarkably soothing about seeing the actual sign when you come home....and our neighbour Jenn was kind enough to capture the moment. We will miss her so....

Now we just need to find a place to live near Leamington!

Finishing out May 2-4 Weekend...

A walk in the woods....while waiting for the pork marinade to work its wonders, we opted for a two-hour walk in Copeland Forest, just outside Craighurst. The last day of the long weekend was quite beautiful, yet not so hot that things got uncomfortable. After sleeping in on the heels of last night's dusk-til-dawn at the drive-in, a mellow afternoon was just what the doctor ordered.......

Down the trail

A canopy of green

Trilliums abound!

House Hunting near Leamington...

So after a weekend in Tilsonburg helping Jane's parents move....and Waterloo visiting Keith and Tanya...and Ilderton visiting John and Julie....we carried on to the Leamington area to hunt some houses.

Did I mention that over the course of the weekend we sold the house? Yep, conditional offer, full asking price, less than a week after listing. Suddenly our harmless scouting trip became a little more serious....

We toured eight houses, two of which we could see ourselves living in. Our favourite is a beautiful home on Talbot Trail, across the street from Lake Erie....25 minutes from Mike's new office....passing LCBO, vineyards, fresh fruit, vegetable and fish stands all the way home....hoping to make an offer in the next day or two.....

Yep, that's our closest neighbour in the distance

An acre of paradise plus two barns

Lake Erie from the living room window

Nice house....wanna buy it?

So we finally got the house listed on the market....and a flurry of agent tours and viewings have followed, forcing us to frequently evacuate the premises on short notice. Luckily, Mark and Jenn across the road are very cordial, and not only do they let us hang out and drink their wine, but they even give us the best spots on the couch to spy on the prospective buyers!

We expect to sell fairly quickly, having been only two days thus far....and hopefully for near or even at the asking price. Mind you, we are not above reaping the benefits of a bidding war either....

Now we try to live in a house every day that must remain for all appearances....unlived in. Tricky business, that. But hope is on the horizon...once we sell we can go back to slobbin' it up again, and we have the day off Monday to visit the Chatham-Leamington area in search of potential houses in the country....

You can just make out the "For Sale" sign there, to the left....

Journey's End!

FRIDAY, APRIL 6

After waking several times in the night to start the car for warmth, we awoke for good at 8am, and drove off to check out several potential homes along the Lake Erie shoreline. Despite being only a scouting mission, we even managed to get a tour of one beautiful home along Talbot Trail, with a full view of Lake Erie......a little higher price than we were looking for....but still....

The View of Lake Erie

After lunching in our new favourite diner in Merlin, we made the trip to John and Julie's place in Ilderton, for some much-appreciated home cooking. After a nice visit, we headed on in early evening, growing eager now to be home. Stopping briefly in Fergus, we traversed the final few hours to Barrie, encountering nasty rain and snow from Fergus to Barrie, making the last two hours of our long trip easily the worst.

Pulling in the driveway to the most snow we had seen in two weeks, we entered the house and collapsed wearily on the couch. The cats were happy to see us again (we think), and we regaled Kevin with stories of our travels over a few tasty beers.....after all ,unpacking the car could wait!

21 States + 10,540km = 1 Great Trip!!

Yet Still More Road Trip!

THURSDAY, APRIL 5

So began the longest day of the trip...starting out in Nebraska with a bit of snow on the car and a nasty windchill, we headed across rolling plains of grain and cattle, angling towards Omaha. Our goal was to reach the far side of Iowa, or perhaps western Illinois, before stopping fopr the night. Just before reaching Omaha, we skirted the city to avoid mid-day traffic and crossed the Missouri River into Iowa, hooking up with the I-80.

Nebraska

Making good time across the plains, we traversed Iowa at high speeds on the interstate, until traffic chaos at Des Moines slowed us considerably. Before long, we had reached Davenport, and this time crossed the Mississippi River for the second time on the trip, stopping a short ways into Illinois for more food and gas. Given the cold temperatures, and our general state of mind, we decided just to keep driving....

Mike's Eye-View

Iowa

Enjoying a beautiful sunset in the rearview mirror, we plunged on into Illinois, skirting Chicago, and then found ourselves ensconced in the industrial complex that is lower Lake Michigan. In growing darkness we forged ahead, thinking perhaps to stop in rural Michigan once we had cleared the urban areas of Chicago and Gary, Indiana.

The Weary Travellers

Out of the traffic and into the wilderness again, now in utter darkness, we drove on. With only one headlight and flagging strength, we began to conceive of actually crossing the border this very night, so as to avoid the traffic of morning rush hour in Detroit, and longer wait times at the bridge to cross the border. Flying across 94E in the solitude of night, we made one last fuel stop in Ann Arbor, MI, to fill up on cheaper gasoline.

Utter annoyance set in as we searched in vain at several exits for a McDonalds, that signs kept declaring to be open 24 hours - it was late, and we needed a washroom stop! After about seventeen hours of straight driving, Mike muttered something under his breath about how he was going to "punch that &*#* clown in the mouth!"....and got back on the highway. Shortly thereafter, we found the Ambassador Bridge easily, with no hindrance of traffic or line ups....and stopped just long enough to visit the duty-free shop for $17 cases of Alexander Keith's!

Crossing the border without incident, we motored east on the 401, back in familiar territory, stopping finally at Chatham for the night. With plans to do some general house-hunting in the morning, we grudgingly ate Tim Horton's chili at nearly 4am (there was nothing else open in Chatham!). After 19 hours of driving, we fell asleep quickly in the car at a truck stop on the 401, in sub-zero temperatures......