June 8th - London

We arrived back into Heathrow last Thursday morning at 9.30am and the past few days have been spent trying to get back to normality again!

I said I would do a final posting thanking all those who have helped to make the drive such a success. So here goes, starting with those in the west and ending in the east.

To Basil, Margaret and Ian our thanks for all you did to help us with the cars when they came across from the States and then your wonderful hospitality before we headed east on May 2nd. We will be back!

One of the great joys of the long distance drives we do is the unexpected is always around the corner and our meeting, on the gravel road to The Pas, Manitoba with Dearld Whitecap of the Red Earth Cree Nation, falls into that category perfectly. We wish him well and maybe one day we will meet again.

Whilst we were in The Pas we went to the Sam Waller Museum and we want to thank the young lady who showed us around. She was so knowledgeable and friendly. I don't know her name but should she read this, she will know who I am referring to.

Our stay at the Northern Lights Motel in Wawa was special because of the owner, Mo. She made us so welcome and all the little details in the room were something else!!

Next we want to thank the owners of the Algonquin Lakeside Inn, Gary, Tina and Shirley. They made our stay something special.

We can't leave out the US immigration officer at Saulte-Ste. Marie. He was the most helpful and friendly immigration officer we have ever met. It was a pleasure to enter the US.

A special thanks to Thelma for suggesting we stay at Mackinac Island. It was a wonderful place to visit and we were all sorry our stay lasted only one night. It was far too short!!

Next must be thanks to Leejun & Jim Taylor for driving up to see us in Toronto. It was wonderful to meet up with them after such a long time. Let's hope it isn't so long before we see you both again.

To Derek and Francoise, who we met last year on the boat going through the Inside Passage to Juneau, Alaska, it was so much fun to see you again, albeit briefly, at your lovely home near Ottawa.

We can't do these drives without the advice and help of our shipping agents, so thanks go to Gaby and Mike in Canada and Jeremy in the UK.

To Kenny & DeeAnne who ended their drive in Montreal it was so much fun having you guys around. I don't think either of us have ever laughed as much and for so long, as we did with you. There must be something in the Texan water, or is it the beer? We can't wait for you to join us on our next adventure.

Next, it's thanks to our great friends, Bob and Thelma. Their constant enthusiasm for everything about these drives is fantastic. Bob's humour, at times, makes me cringe, but the good jokes outweigh the bad ones!!

Finally, it's a huge thank you to all the Canadians we have met on this 5,200 mile drive across their great country. At all times we have been welcomed and not once have we had cause to be concerned. When driving for a month that is some record!

Next are some statistics. The longest day was between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, 477 miles. The coldest was in the Rockies when it fell to minus 3 degrees and the hottest in Montreal of 34 degrees. Quite a variance! The furthest north was in The Pas, the furthest west in Salt Spring, the furthest south in Toronto and the furthest east on the Gaspesie Peninsular.

Now it's all over we are starting the planning for our next drive: a circuit of the Baltic in May 2011, starting and finishing in London.