The End.

So, Zach demolished the camper. It was falling apart, and leaking, and there were bugs, and Kevin offered a room to us inside his house, and that was it. Zach has spent the past couple weeks turning the scamper camper into a fully functioning flat bed trailer, in order to haul our belongings back to Vancouver Island. He does good work.

We have spent the past few days in Kamsack visiting family and friends, getting in one last walk and scenic drive at Madge Lake ( seriously people, enough with the mansions and pavement already! Leave the trees alone!) , and finishing up some packing and trailer building. In less than 12 hours, we will be on the road back west, to our new, although temporary, home in Sooke, BC, which is just outside of Victoria. We have found a nice home to rent while we look for something a little more permanent, and we're both excited to be settled down, and have a kitchen, a bathroom and more than 6 feet of space to move around in.

Living in a 16 foot camper for a year, sure makes you appreciate the little things in life, while at the same time teaches you that material things really aren't all that important when it comes to general happiness. We have had our fair share of arguments due to our close proximity, but overall, I think that we came out closer than ever. We are a better couple, and better friends, and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. We have met interesting people, we have had the opportunity to see parts of Canada we had never seen before. Our journey did not go as originally planned at all. I don't think that anything, other than heading west, went as planned. We didn't go to the States. We didn't visit a lot of people we said we were going to. We stayed in the camper for 4 months longer than we had planned. But that's the way life goes, sometimes the universe just throws you in the opposite direction and you have to learn to just go with it, whether you like it or not, and for the most part, we're happy with where the universe guided us.

We are very excited to get back to Vancouver Island, to see our friends and family, to meet our new cousin, to take the dogs to visit their canine friends at Malahat Mountain Meadows. We are already looking forward to visits from Saskatchewan family and friends this winter, getting back in shape after a long summer of fun, but unhealthy living, and being able to be outside in the winter. Most of all, we are excited to start the next chapter in our lives, and even though it takes us far away from many people that we love, and will miss, we are thinking of ourselves, and know that we will be happy where we are headed.

Thank you for reading this blog over the past year. Sorry we were at times absent with updates, but that's just the way it goes. We hope you enjoyed what we did give you, and we are grateful for all those who supported us in this journey.

Catch you on the flip side.

*Want to know what's going on with the Scamper Campers? Check out their blogs at http://abigailroad.ca and www.zachogilvie.com

Summer Update

In less than a month, we will be leaving Kevin's back yard and heading back to Vancouver Island to put down roots. So much has happened this summer, and it seems like we have been back in Regina forever, even though it hasn't been that long at all. It wasn't the summer I envisioned having here. At first I thought it would be three months of partying and working and catching up with old friends, but then we got pregnant, and I expected a summer of sober activities, and checking out all of the Regina summer fun...and getting to hang out with family and friends. Both scenarios are pretty similar, one just has more booze in it.

And then, we lost the baby, before I even got a chance to blog about it. I just read (and deleted) the post I wrote when we were about 6 weeks along, and wanting to tell the whole world about our big news. It's heartwrenching to say the least to read those joyous words, when these days, it's all I can do not to be a total negative fucking Nelly about all things baby-related. Everything changed, and went back to normal all at once when we miscarried. We have spent our time mostly at home with friends since then, and other than our annual camping trip at Madge Lake (that was very different than previous years), we haven't been up to much. A few nights out here and there, an adventure at Fort San, a much needed weekend away in Gravelbourg. We're working to save money, and go back west, and hoping that things will start to work out for us soon. Please universe, let things start to work out for us soon.

Thank you to everyone who has been there for us this summer, and to those we haven't had a chance to see yet, we're leaving at the end of the month, so give us a ring if you want to get together.

Until then, I'm going to try to keep enjoying this glorious hot and dry weather, before we head back to the rainforest!

Back to Regina

We arrived back in the city that rhymes with fun on Saturday evening. After giving up parking the camper properly, we sat down and had some beers with Kevin and visited before passing out on our faces.

Our original plan had been to take it easy and not visit anyone for the first couple days, just so we could have time to unwind and unpack and such. However, during a nice long walk early Sunday morning around downtown, we got the idea to ring my brothers doorbell and yell "Watcha!" and then run away. We decided not to run away when we saw my mom's car parked near his building, and had a nice surprise visit with a good chunk of the Smandych-Ogilvie clan! Thank you Kyleah for the impromptu breakfast and coffee! Visiting with the family, led to visiting with DK and Paige and then we passed out on our faces again.

We've been busy little bees since we got here. I've had a bunch of meetings to attend and errands and chores to take care of and have been slowly putting the inside of the camper back together, while Zach got a job straight away when we got here thanks to Mr. Walker, and has been working 16 hour days. I go back to work tomorrow, doing that group home thing that I do. It is going to be strange being away from each other every day, after 6 months of rarely being apart.

I've been lucky enough to have visits with a bunch of people the past couple days, some on street corners, some here in the sunny backyard of Casa Vidomski, and I spent a lovely sunny afternoon visiting with a few lovely lady friends at our old building. We will be out at O'Hanlon's on Saturday night, as requested by some of you. Everyone is welcome to come out and buy us drinks...I mean visit with us. ;) I may even shake a tail feather or two, if you would like to come and watch.

We are excited to be home, if only for awhile. Huge thanks to Kevin and Paige and the kitties for letting the Ogilvie family crash in the yard, and use things in the house. We will try our best to earn our keep and be the best roomies ever.

Life

Bye Bye

We'll be leaving the campground and heading to the ferry at Sidney in less than an hour. So much to say about this winter, so little time to type, so I am stealing Zach's Facebook status for now:

Goodbye to the frogs that live in the pool. So long to the trees and rocks and the carpets of moss. Catch you later maple leaves as big as my head. Later, you magnificent rocky beaches, big fat robins on the lawn and fresh mountain air. Let's do this again some time.

Packing Up

In five days, we will be leaving our campground that we've called home since November, catching the ferry and heading to the mainland. I think we are both excited to hit the road again, even though our funds are low, and the weather back home is still touch and go. We both like to be on the move, and even though I am not quite mentally prepared to move back to a winter wonderland, we can feel it's time. We are going to be taking our time on the way home. We will be in Vancouver on Monday and Tuesday, so if anyone wants to get together, email us and let us know, and maybe we can plan something, and if all goes to plan, we will be in Armstrong by Wednesday night, and we'll be staying there until I get paid on Friday. We will be doing a short stop in Regina to drop off the camper, if it doesn't fall apart before then, and then we'll be going to Kamsack for a couple days before we both have to get back to work.

It's amazing how fast time flies. The past six months have been all about seeing new things, and meeting new people, and rubbing all our good weather in Saskatchewan's face. The next three months will be all about seeing old friends and family, going back to old jobs, and enjoying the hell out of a Saskatchewan summer.

Leaving is bittersweet, but knowing that we'll be back in the area in a few months makes it easier. So highway drivers, keep your eyes peeled for a patched up little green bean next week, and instead of pointing and laughing, feel free to throw gas money at us. Or do both. Whatever floats your boat.

Wordless Wednesday