It’s begun.

Our stuff is in storage, except for our clothing and personal technology (phones and ipads) and a few things Ted and I consider “nice to haves” that we can keep while we are travelling by car.

Ted’s list: his Cappuccino maker, and the tripod for his Digital camera.

My list: a sturdy corkscrew, our one-cup “travel” Keurig, my wooden rolling pin (so I can make pie crust wherever we go), a springform cake pan, and way more shoes than I truly need.

For now, we are still in Ontario, although in a new location. This month we moved into the Collingwood townhouse that will be our summer base of operations this year and next.

Unlike last winter’s accommodations, where we had to place our trust on the photos on VRBO and email communication with our hosts (the place was even better than the pictures, and our hosts absolutely amazing) we were able to visit this condo before renting. Since it is only a couple of hours away from our previous home, we were able to meet the owners in person AND tour the house before finalizing our rental. Not only were the amenities, size and location perfect for us, but we bonded with the owners right away. That was especially important since we were interested in booking two years in a row in advance. Knowing where in Canada we’re going to spend our first two years means we can concentrate on exploring winter options, and also ease our grandkids’ minds as to when they are going to see Gramma and Gramps again!

So here we are.

In the spirit of starting the way we want to continue, we are going to be “tourists” in this beautiful town, but also take advantage of all the amenities it has to offer to its full time residents: community centre, library, health care, and the farmers’ market – things we hope to find in all of our travel destinations. In our first week, we have already enjoyed “As You Like It”at the amphitheatre across the road, discovered the groundhogs at Millenium Park, and explored some of the local shops. Tonight there is an outdoor pipe and drum concert, this weekend both Ribfest and classic movies under the stars, and next Wednesday Jazz and Blues in the train station park…..all that within a walk without even heading to Blue Mountain Village for all of their events!

We’re going to take advantage of the beautiful 10 foot long table in the townhouse kitchen to entertain family, use the barbecue often (we haven’t had one in our 8 years in condos), hopefully meet the neighbours, attend the grandkids’ soccer games, walk the gorgeous Georgian Bay shoreline, hike Blue Mountain, and host a wonderful family Thanksgiving before leaving for the winter.

Are we going to miss having a “home”?

For us, home is no longer a particular physical space. There is an adage that “Home is where the heart is”, and we have each other, so home will be wherever Ted and I are at any given time.