Hello Baaaaaby!

I got my car back last night! It feels like a new car... the transmission seems to be strong and smooth, the shifting is nice and clean/crisp... it's a thing of beauty really. After driving the van for a few days, I always notice how nice it is to have all that torque that the TDI gives you... it's not the first time I've noticed this (I always make that observation when we're done a long family road trip in the van) but it was even sweeter last night and this morning gettin' to do some long drives on the highway.

We're now down to 7 days 'til we leave for Algonquin! Woo Hoo! I can not wait! I'm really lookin' forward to it... I think the first day is gonna be awesome. It's a long haul with the HUGE 3km portage that has major elevation changes on it. Jim and I were speculating on how long it would take us to get to Robinson Lake... last year it took us 12 hours (I think) to get to Burntroot Lake, which is one lake south of where we're going (and we have to briefly pass through it to get to Robinson)... we're hoping to be in the 11 hour range to get to Robinson given that we've done this route before and more importantly, know what to expect. Last year some of our progress was slower 'cause we were learnin' as we went. This year we know where we're goin' and how hard it'll be. That was one of the biggest umm... I guess, shocks of last year... this carrying a canoe on yer head for several km's at a time is hard, especially goin' uphill.

Anyway, my day is absolutely JACKED so I should stop procrastinatin' (don't get me wrong, I enjoy chattin' with ya) and get back to work.

Have a GREAT day everyone!

g.