An inauspicious start to the day. At 6am I decided to go down to the Landy and get the Sat-nav to update it while we had wifi. While there, put the key in and started it. Everything seemed fine. Went back up to the room and managed to get a few more zzz’s. Checking the TV for the latest news is a waste of time. All sorts of commercial rubbish. There was a newsflash item on another more serious earthquake in Southern California before cutting to much more important stuff, one of the local basketballer’s decision to move down to the States for more dosh. $142m. Then the item dances across to Ohio where there is the threat of tornado’s. Sensationalist stuff and nothing of substance. Call me a grumpy old fart but this crap drives me to distraction. Off at the wall with it.
Porridge is next on the agenda at 9am. Cooked in the back of the Landy in the motel car park. Once done I decided to start it. A couple of revolutions and it wouldn’t budge. Damn! Somethings not right and I can’t fathom what it is. Since I changed the battery’s over a couple of days ago one of the charge check lights on the solar panel controller is showing red. The other green. Yet, the panel is still charging the extra battery and the fridge is working great? So, I changed the batteries back to how they were because the extra battery is fully charged. It started and the panic was over. I’ll need to get an Auto electrician to check things out. My suspicion is that the heater/cooler fan has been on while the key is in the Auxiliary position. Though that does not explain why it wouldn’t start this morning.
So, we are off to Ottawa with the sat-nav programmed to take us the shortest way. Mistake, because it took us 14k through the middle of Toronto and through every street light, on a Saturday morning. Two or more hours later we are parked on the north western fringe of Toronto doing some grocery shopping. The forecast today is for another scorcher and high humidity, 83%.
Did Jen mention that this is a multicultural city? According to Lonely Planet, The Most multicultural in the world. Difficult to find a Canadian core, or heart, though. From the tower last night, what you could see at 350m through the smog haze, it’s a lovely city. We saw the heart of it on the way along Queensway and Queen Street which combined must amount to about 25k’s, with a street light every 100m! People of all hue’s and attire wandering the pavements on a warm sunny day.
It’s now 9pm and I think we would be still battling traffic lights if I hadn’t reprogrammed the sat-nav to take us to Peterborough, the Fastest route, from the Shortest. The influence of the city didn’t start to wane till we were more than 100k’s east.
Bob, this is for you…:)
Stopping for lunch at the roadside at 3pm. By 5pm a camping site is our focus. Two camps we stopped at were heaving and neither had space for a tent. On the way to the second we noticed an empty field surrounded by scrubby trees. Stopping at the nearby house to enquire if we could camp in the field, a little old lady came to the door, sleepy looking. She said she had been dozing in front of the TV. I can understand that..:) I apologised for disturbing her but she was quite sparky and interested in where I came from. She was obviously alone and I asked her if there was anything we could do to help her. She said if anyone comes and asks you to leave the field, came and camp on my section. How sweet of her.
Do you know what! I think we are close to finding the hard starting problem. Since playing around with the batteries it has started immediately. The problem is electrical, not fuel/air.
Visits: 19
I seem to remember you mentioning that it may be electrical, I would have thought you would take after your father and be methodical, or was that my father? Back on the road west then north and loving it. Keep up the good work bro.
Methodical…can you explain it…:)
Watch out for those Cane toads!!! Avoid eating them, they’re poisonous.:)
Glad to hear you are making progress on the fuel issue!!!! Great news!
If you have time in Ottawa visit the Canadian Aviation and Space museum. It’s quite impressive (not as good as Duxford…but still good).
Hi Bill, about to head into town now. :). We’ll keep you posted.