Our Christmas Trip...

If you ever complain that driving to a particular destination is too long, try driving 2,300 km to spend xmas with your loved ones...then 2,300 km back to your southern home base. 
As you can imagine,
the drastic changes in temperature between Alabama and Ottawa were slightly shocking to the system.  Over a three-day period, the temperatures ranged from +30 to -8.  Then 7 days later, we would brave the return trip...although a bit easier to digest.

In closing, we would like to offer a tip to those of you who  travel with their dog.  In preparation for our drive to Canada, we researched pet-friendly hotels.  The good news is many hotel chains now do accept pets. The bad news is they charge outrageous amounts for the privilege.  The first hotel we stayed at charged $8 for the night for Peanut and the second charged $25.  Others wanted anywhere from $50 to $150 per night for Fido to sleep under their roof!  We kid you not!