Road trip Update

We have made it this far!

We landed in Ottawa and picked up the rental, and made to the hotel! A victory!

We had a light meal at the D’arcy McGee pub where they have mold of his hand on display. I was able to share a little of what I knew about him with my mom. It was good timing as the 150th anniversary of his assassination was Saturday.

The following day we paid a visit to my relative who will be turning 105 later this month. Edith is a lively person and brings a smile to everyone’s face with her bubbly personality. After some teasing she very willingly spit into the tube and I will be forever grateful to have her DNA in the Ancestry database. It was very hard to leave Edith but I was so pleased to see she keeps her copy of the Jordan book right beside her chair. I could tell by the wear on the pages that she has studied her copy and delights in its contents.

Our next stop was Toronto and again much to my surprise we arrived without incident (credit to Google Maps).

After quickly checking in, depositing my bags and getting mom settled at the hotel I hoofed it to Blaine’s talk on DNA. I was late and almost didn’t go in. I knew I didn’t want to miss so I managed to make myself go in. Thank goodness I did.

Blaine was discussing Triangulation which I would like to try my hand at. I learned a lot and feel I can get started.

Day 2 with Blaine was also well worth my time he went over Chromosome Mapping and it’s benefits. Blaine like many of us is a big fan of DNA Painter and one of his tips was to make good notes when painting people.

Dinner last night was with my daughter-in-law who is studying dental hygiene in the area. It was great to catch up!

Today we leave Toronto, first stopping to meet a DNA cousin who is adopted. Being adopted is pretty difficult in itself when doing genealogy but the kicker is her mother was also adopted. I believe her connection to me is through her mother’s adoption and I look forward to meeting her.

Our final destination today is the home of my mother’s third cousin John McMahon. My mother’s McMahon family settled in Grey County but this branch went to Norfolk. My mom has never met a McMahon cousin so we are both looking forward to seeing John and family for the first time.

I am so grateful to be able to take this trip with my mom.