On the ferry

Hi everyone

In our last blog we told you about our ordeals. Things have improved drastically since then and we are back to loving traveling. As a matter of fact we love it a little more every day. This mostly for three reasons: first we get to go outside more than we ever did before we started exploring the world. Second we found out (after that horrible trip across Labrador) that the rides in our fifth wheel are not all that bad after all. We are getting used to it and it doesn't bother us much anymore which is great. And third we get to see and explore new stuff at every stop we make.

When we drove across Labrador Hunter here was really scared and went to hide in the litter box as soon as we hit the road. Sue didn't like that at all. She felt sorry for Hunter and wished she could do something to make his fear go away. First she offered him another place to hide and then he found out, that the traveling is not actually scary. He now feels comfortable enough to not hide at all but even stay on the moving part of the fifth wheel when Sue or André open or close the slides. This is fantastic news. Congratulations, Hunter, for overcoming your fear! I'm proud of you, buddy.

Thanks, Trapper. I really didn't like it there for a while but now I'm fine and enjoy the trip. This includes the new stuff we get to experience. Like the ride from Labrador to Newfoundland on the ferry. First we drove a very short distance and it became dark and smelled a bit funny. Like in a big city with lots of cars if you know what I mean. Then a rumble started and a bit of vibration but nothing bad happened. After a few minutes, the rumbling became louder and then everything started to gently roll a little. As seasoned world travelers we know this is what happens when one goes to sea. It was actually lulling us into a snooze and we only got woken up about an hour and a half later when we arrived in Newfoundland and rolled off the ferry again.

Then we drove to St. Anthony where we stayed a whole week. This was very nice and Sue took us out for a walk twice! One of these two times we found out that in the next trailer there also was a four-legged occupant: a small dog. To Sue's astonishment Hunter headed straight for that little dog when he saw him! She had expected him to back off but no, curiosity got the better of Hunter and if Sue hadn't stopped him, he would have walked right up to him! I'm not as brave and kept my distance.

Anyhow we are having a great time and can't wait to see what the next campground has to offer.

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

Shaken cats

Hi everyone

It's been a while since our last post and that is because of one of the cons of being in rural Canada. When André and Sue decided to travel they checked out how best to keep in touch e.g. how to get internet while on the road. And they found a neat little device which lets them access cyberspace anywhere they can find a Rogers cell phone signal. Cool! So we were not concerned at all that we would be able to let you know what we’re up to and where we’ve been. But then we ran into the first of our problems: you can't get a Rogers signal everywhere and thus - big shock - still no access to the internet. Ok, we thought, a problem but not really. There has to be some campgrounds which offer WiFi and sure enough many of them do. Problem solved, or is it? Oh, we don't get a signal when it's raining (or overcast), sorry. These guys must be with Xplornet or something! But while it is frustrating we still can live with it. We will be connected again sooner or later. Then, about two weeks ago, problem number two occurred: Sue's computer crashed and wouldn't even let them reset it to factory default. So she had to go buy a new one. It's a cute little thing called a net book and she really likes it except it does not have the same edition of Windows 7 that her old computer had. And it does not have a CD drive and so she can't just re-install all her programs by putting a CD in the drive. She has to do it in a more time-consuming and complicated way. And she has no internet to download copies of programs or register them so they will actually work. She also can't restore all her (and our) files from the remote backup server because of NO INTERNET. Now we're really frustrated. How can we write our blog like that? And when we have a connection, however slow, how can we get one of the many pictures from the camera to go along with that blog? We think that Sue is about to trow the new computer out the window and that scares us.

What also scared us but is part of traveling in rural areas, is the roads. Man are they bad in some places. I mean, really! We drove across Labrador and thought we would never make it. 1800 kilometers of dirt and gravel roads with only a couple of places to stop along the way. We were getting shaken, rocked and shaken again until we hardly new what's up and what's down. It went on for hours on end while André and Sue first drove from Baie-Comeau to find the only truck stop on the road to Labrador City after 320 kilometers. That doesn't sound too bad but remember: gravel road, road construction and potholes the size of Lake Nipissing (or almost)! Then the next day another 270 kilometers of the same only to find that there really isn't much to be found in Labrador City. So André and Sue decided to continue to Churchill Falls. Big mistake, let us tell you that. If Lab City hasn't anything to offer, Churchill Falls is even smaller so we kept going another 531 kilometers to Goose Bay. Man, we were so done when we arrived and so glad we spent a couple of days there before we hit the (dirt)road again for another 560 kilometers to Red Bay on the south coast of Labrador where we finally found some paved road again.

Can you blame us for trying to make a run for it out the door and seek refuge in the woods every time André and Sue opened the door? We were ready to move out and not come back! Even André and Sue had enough after that. On the up-side: the landscape is gorgeous and one really appreciates the amenities of our fifth wheel and of civilization once you get back to it.
Anyhow, we now need to catch up on some sleep because snoozing was out of the question on this part of the trip as you might imagine. As soon as Sue (somehow) will be able to get back to normal with regards to computers and internet we will tell you about a campground in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and how we got there. Meantime check out André's and Sue's blog too to get their insights.

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

It's apuzzle

Hi everyone

This week we have to tell you about a phenomenon that keeps us wondering. We just can't figure it out. Here is what happened: Sue kept complaining about being hot and then two days ago this thing happened. She and André went to town and when they came back we hardly recognized Sue.
Her fur had come off and grown back in a matter of a few hours. But not just that, it had grown back much shorter and the colour has changed too. Her fur is now shorter than ours! We just can't figure out how that works. With us it's twice a year that we loose our fur and grow a new one and it's predictable when that happens - in spring and in fall. Period.
Humans are so different. First of all they only have fur on their heads (André doesn't even have that) and for that reason kind of look funny anyways. Second it seems they can change it at any time they want. We don't know if that really is the case or if it's just coincidence. And then it never seems to grow back the way it was before. It changes colour and is shorter. Almost like they loose it and then it grows back partially in a hurry but then it keeps growing until they decide to change it again. This is so complicated. With us it's simple, change it twice a year, same colour, same length everything.It's a real mystery. Have you ever thought about what you would do, Hunter, if we could change fur at will?
Not really, but if one looks as gorgeous as we two do there really is no need to change anything. It could only come out worse, don't you think?
True! And with that we leave you for today. We don't know when we will be able to tell you more about our travels because André and Sue keep talking about going into an area where there may be no internet but hopefully we will be connected again in a few days or a week or so. Boy, this makes me realize that we truly have become cybercats1 Who would have thought that?!

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

Taveling is cool

This traveling thing turns out to be very interesting indeed. While we still struggle with the whole driving part, we found out that the stays are actually super cool. No place is like the one before, they all look different and the smells! Wow, we get to sniff all kinds of new and fascinating stuff. You see, after we have put up with the shaking on the road, Sue has taken us out at every stop. So we got to explore the surroundings, look, listen and smell. My buddy Hunter here, in his usual manner, only takes a few steps from the trailer before he lays down and takes his time familiarizing himself with the new location. Then, once he feels comfortable, he gets up and starts to walk wherever the most interesting smells and sounds are coming from.
True, easy does it, my friend. You, Trapper, on the other hand seem to think that there simply is too much terrain to cover to loose any time and you get going as soon as your paws hit the ground. The other day Trapper quickly detected a squirrel and started chasing after it. Too bad Sue couldn't keep up with him and so he ran out of leash before getting to the squirrel. The little bugger then ran up a tree and mockingly chattered at Trapper. How frustrating! But all in all it is very interesting and, man, is the world big! We must have been driving 20 hours or so and still haven't arrived at the end. It must come soon, though. At least we think so. You know how they say that a cat will always find his or her way back home? If we had to start now, it would take us a long time to get back to Lake Nipissing. And we probably would get lost somewhere along the way. So the end of the world has to be someplace close or any cat would have a hard time finding the way back.
Anyways, when we're not driving or outside, we still get to enjoy the new places. Hunter's favorite spot is right at the open door. Only the screen door keeps him from walking outside. And Trapper here is all over the trailer, wherever he can see out a window. He often chases after something he sees by running from one window to the next and back. Bottom line is: traveling turns out to be fun!

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

We're gipsies

One of the horses - they are really tall!

Can you believe it: we are now gipsies! Not that there is anything wrong with gipsies it's just that we are so used to living in a house with lots of space and all the amenities one can wish for. And now we have officially moved into our new home which, while being big for a fifth wheel, is small. And it is moving and we will be all over Canada! At first we didn't even know if André and Sue would have space for us in the car for the ride to Almonte where the trailer is parked. See after they had packed everything up and emptied the apartment last Saturday, they came to clean and load the rest of their belonging and us into the truck and drive to their friend's horse farm near Ottawa. Boy, do those humans have stuff! Lots and lots of it. So much in fact that we were concerned that we would not fit into the truck anymore. Thank goodness our fears were unfounded and we got to ride along.

On the evening of June 30st we arrived at Pia and Alfons' where we will stay for a couple more days if we correctly understand André's and Sue's plans. We watch the horses and sniff all the interesting and unfamiliar smells while they put the route together which we will take to the East Coast. The trip will take us through Quebec which worries us a bit because obviously they speak another, completely different language there which we are not familiar with. So we wonder how that will work. But we will be fine just as long as we get enough treats. Speaking of treats: where is Sue? We need to go beg some from her.

Anyways, we will get to see new things almost every day from now on out and we will tell you about them. So stay tuned for more as they say.

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

Our first trip in the fifth wheel

We are back from Almonte where we spent 9 days with Sue in the 5th wheel. Actually we came back 3 days ago but we couldn't get Sue to type up our post for you. Anyways, she was there to help her friend with preparations for her daughter's wedding and we got to go along. André and Sue decided it would be a good way to get us used to living in the trailer. 

We have to tell you: living in the fifth wheel is actually not bad. What we didn't like at all was the driving! Man, there we were in new surroundings all by ourselves and then it started moving and shaking. It was scary! Thankfully we found a space underneath the couch were we could hide and we only came out when Sue came to check on us a few times during the trip. We finally arrived and, as we already said, had a pretty good time. There were horses real close to the fifth wheel which we could watch. And we had the trailer all to ourselves most of the time because Sue was at the house or running errands. But she made sure to come check on us regularly because it was extremely hot and, the first few days, muggy. So Sue made sure we were comfortable, had enough water and even ran the air conditioning when needed. In the evening she would have time for us which we really enjoyed.

So all went really well and then on Sunday, André and Sue took us back to Corbeil. But this time we traveled in the car with them. Initially Trapper whined for a bit because he doesn't like rides in the car but after they stopped and let us out for a bathroom stop (on harnesses and leashes) he settled down, too.

End of this month, in about 10 days or so, we will return to Almonte and then the fifth wheel will become our permanent home for the time being. So stay tuned. We will have a lot to tell you once the big trip begins.

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

First impression

Hi friends

Did you check out André's and Sue's new web site as we suggested in our last post? If you did you know what the two of us are facing. So you surely can understand that we were really anxious to check out the fifth wheel they've bought and, if we liked it, take possession. After all we are the bosses around here even though André and Sue don't always seem to remember that and make decisions without our input.

Yesterday they finally took us there and let us spend about an hour in what will be our home starting July. We must say, it's not half bad. Smaller than what we're used to but nice with lots of windows that will allow us to keep an eye on what's going on outside. And then there is carpet in most places which makes for softer landings when we jump down from wherever we've been. Hunter especially likes that since his hips sometimes give him discomfort and he didn't really appreciate the tile and hardwood floors in our current home. So that's a plus. Now we will have to find out what it will be like to permanently live in a fifth wheel and traveling.

We will update you when we take to the road for the first time in a few weeks.

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.