hitched and gone

We were aiming to depart at 10 am this morning and were rolling down the road at 10:05. Not bad for the first time out this year. As I settled back into my seat I breathed a sigh of relief: I didn't have to remember one more thing - if it wasn't already loaded on the camper then we were out of luck. Of course I knew we had the essentials. Meds (something for everyone but Kabira), enough food for at least a few days, long pants to ward off mosquitos, sneakers for long walks and evenings by the campfire, food for the dogs, Grace's bin of fresh food, a bouquet of freshly cut lilac (which I wrecked by not giving enough water), Grace, the dogs, Carm and myself we all safely stowed either on the camper or in the truck.

It is the Monday of Victoria Day weekend and let me tell you the roads were busy. We got into the slow lane and cruised at the speed limit, letting the faster vehicles zoom past us. Actually, there wasn't much zooming as the police were out in full force. The traffic was generally orderly except for several areas where we slowed to a crawl for miles. All good though. Carm said he was doing okay, but I was exhaused by all the backseat driving that I had to do ;-) Spike was knackered by the time we hit camp too. He stared out the window for much of the trip.

It's funny and exactly what Carm predicted, the anxiety and depression that I've been experiencing for the last few months evaporated just before Kingston. I could actually feel the shift. There have been a few years where the change hasn't happened until well into the Titanium rally - those years were awful. Depressed and having to force myself to be outgoing and social - horrible. The last few years have been better and this year I'm happy to be going. This will be our 8th rally - where has all the time gone!

We were pretty happy to see our exit off the 401 and even happier to be safely in our site. No need to unhitch as we are leaving first thing in the morning. Once we were setup we took the dogs for a long walk and now we are getting ready to feed the dogs, Grace, and make supper.

It was a good day. Tomorrow takes us right through the middle of Toronto - let's hope it is a good day too.