Day 2 - Faire pipi dans le bois

Sault Ste Marie to Lake Superior Provincial Park
750km - 956km
SSM Radio - Neil Diamond, The Band, Joni Mitchell
Buck 65 - Situation
Smog - Knock Knock
Dizzee Rascal - Maths and English
Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling



Right now we're just leaving our campsite in Lake Superior Provincial Park - Agawa Bay. There's been no cellphone reception for the past few hours of driving yesterday, which sucked because it was Nicola's birthday yesterday and I didn't get to call her. I'm sure she'll understand though...I just hate missing stuff like that and wish I'd planned a bit better for it.

So yesterday was day 2. We left our motel room around 10:30am after a decent sleep interrupted once by what we decided were a 15 member mexican migrant worker family with screaming children who figured everyone should wake up to their yelling in whatever language it was while they packed up their minivans and left.

We went for breakfast at Mary's Place, a greasy spoon downtown, and then set out...for about 2 minutes. We turned a corner and saw two cops hanging out in the middle of the road. I thought maybe the town had such a problem with drinking and driving that it was a RIDE program, but no...it was a seatbelt check. And we hadn't put ours on yet. But small town folk are nice -- even the popo. They found out where we were from and what we were doing, and after the mandatory "what, they don't wear seatbelts in Toronto?" they sent us on our way without a fine. Yay! Back onto the TransCanada. Right away, the drive was breathtaking. The trees are incredible, and the highway is slightly more winding with more rises and falls. We decided to turn down a dirt road at one point to take some photos and ended up at this hidden dam with fences and barbed wire preventing entrance. However, it was a Sunday and no one was around so we squeezed through the gate and took a bunch of amazing photos of the rushing water and amazing colours. Then we kept driving! We didn't do much driving yesterday -- we decided to go to the big provincial park that spans 90km between SSM and Wawa and find a campsite for the night. We sorted that all out -- the campgrounds were still open and fully functional, but it was first come first served to pick sites. So we got one right on the beach, facing west over the lake. It's a nice spot, but there's not a ton of privacy between sites and it's so close to the highway that it sounds like constant trains passing in the night. After figuring out where we were going to sleep, we drove to a place about 15 km north called Orphan Lake, where we went on an 8km hike through the woods, down to Orphan Lake and back. I pride myself on being a pretty good wildlife spotter -- maybe because of my good ears -- but the ground was pretty rocky and strewn with tree roots so most of the time I was looking at my feet. We did manage to find a gross little toad, what I think was a grouse, and lots of little red squirrels. So far no moose, wolves or deer along the route. We hiked past a pond and stood there hoping to see a beaver or an otter or something, but alas, nothing stirred.


We got back to the campsite around 6:30pm and Colin set up the tent while I started the fire. An older couple came and set up camp at the site right besides us, which was annoying. It's not like there were many people even AT the park. We tried to drive them away by blasting Dizzee Rascal, but to no avail. My scathing glances did nothing to deter them either, oddly enough. Soon we made dinner -- a 3 course meal complete with some nice Wolf Blass cab sauv courtesy of my wonderful dad. The first course was Miss Vickies chips, followed by fire-smoked tomato soup. The entree was semi-charred baked potatoes with melted cheddar cheese with a hint of aluminum foil, and fire-roasted cheese and tomato sandwiches. Those were definitely the piece-de-resistance. We had bought a hot dog bbq stick in SSM but then forgot to buy veggie dogs. These aren't exactly easy to come by in Northern Ontario, and we didn't figure driving past the park to Wawa was really worth it. So instead, we used the prongs to wedge the sandwich between the two forks, and voila - toasted deliciousness!

By the time we finished eating, I was so freezing cold that there was no other choice than to head to the tent. Colin had set it up perfectly, with two sleeping bags zipped together and our precious red down blanket in the middle. Unfortunately in the middle of the night we discovered that the air mattress obviously had a leak. Fortunately the ground was flat and sandy, so it wasn't too bad.






This morning we had a lovely hot shower at the comfort station and headed out. We programmed Winnipeg into the GPS but I think it may be a little beyond our driving capabilities today. Who knows though. We're thinking maybe Dryden might be the final destination for the evening, but we'll just see how far we get.

I was finally able to bring myself to read the cards from Robin and my mom and dad. This was the only time that I cried a bit yesterday...just thinking about leaving the only place I've known and starting this new chapter of my life. It's scary, but I know I have a lot of support and that I'll never be alone. It'll just be different. I'm looking forward to being able to unpack all our familiar belongings. I know this might not be for over a month, and that this traveling is just a vacation to prepare for the hard times ahead, but it'll all happen in due course and until then, I'll just enjoy the amazing scenery and company.

PS. Right now Wilbur is sitting on Colin's lap with his little frog paws on the wheel. Super cute!!



ANIMAL CORNER!!

Today wasn't very good for animal petting. Our encounters were all from afar -- the grouse, the icky toad, the squirrels. The best was at the Canadian Carver store before the park -- two beautiful husky dogs in the back of a station wagon. Oh yeah also, two stuffed wolves. Yum. Today we're on our way to see the Big Canada Goose and the Big Wolf in Wawa...hopefully I will pet some real animals too.

Shout outs to Lenny and Squiggy!! I hope Jen hasn't been scaring you with her nudity since we've left.

Day 1

Oakville to Sault Ste. Marie
750km
2pm-12:30am
The Verve - Fourth
This American Life podcasts
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day audiobook
Ratatat - LP3


After the movers left around 6pm yesterday, we did a quick sweep of the house and then headed out. We didn't do very well with our packing. I was SURE we'd have ample room for everything we were bringing in the car, but no. I got into the car in the passenger seat and let Colin pile a bag of clothes for the Goodwill on my lap, then a guitar that was to go back to Oakville, and a bag of food to be given out to various family members when we arrived. Seeing out the back window was completely out of the question. It got to a laughable point during the packing of the car, but it was clear something would have to be left behind. We decided to forget about it until the next morning and just enjoy the last night with my family. My brother had called earlier to say he was coming for dinner, but it was a really nice surprise that he brought Heidi. I haven't been able to see her much at all during her stay in the hospital, which has left me feeling bad. Moving is so all-encompassing. She's so thin and pale, but it sounds like she's finally on the road to recovery. It was great to see her enjoying an almost-full meal, and hear stories of the crazy doctors and nurses that she's dealt with over the past few weeks. Michael asked us to be the official witnesses at their wedding early next year, which is such an honour. Robin also came over, so it was a really fun dinner, and it sure felt great to eat a real meal, rather than the meals made from our attempts to use up the perishables in our fridge over the past week. Though we did get treated to an amazing dinner at Melanie's house on Thursday night. She helped me pack up the kitchen, so knew how non-functional it was. And one of my very favourite meals too -- risotto! Thank you Melanie!!

So this morning we re-packed. I diminished my clothing supply from two duffel bags and a full suitcase down to just the duffel bags. I guess I'll get the other suitcase in November when my parents come to visit. The two full boxes of records that we had opted to take with us rather than leave with the moving company were also unloaded -- they will be packed more securely and shipped out when the time is right. However, the duffel bag full of toiletries remained. Sorry Colin, in your next life you might do well to be born gay. The rest of the car is filled with camping supplies, my giant bunny slippers, Wilbur the frog, 7 pairs of shoes, tennis raquets, the Wii (remember - whatever didn't come in the car with us would be in storage for 6 weeks!) and two small computers. We can actually now see out all 6 windows! It's a miracle, to which I'm sure Andrew can attest, as he saw us pack the car in Toronto.

We finally got on the highway at 2pm.

The drive to Sudbury was incredible. The leaves are, I think, at the perfect point of change. We saw some trees that were almost neon red. As you get to Orillia and beyond, the highway is surrounded by huge rocks that I assume were blasted to build the highway. These, along with the brilliant coloured trees and mirror-like lakes, make for some stunning scenery. Unfortunately there aren't a ton of places to stop along the highway, but we were able to pull over once by a bridge in French River and take some decent shots. Jen, the camera is amazing. Thank you so much for helping us pick it out! Hopefully anyone who reads this will appreciate the quality photos too. Back to the rocks -- I don't know how long people have been building them, but we must have seen over one hundred little inukshuks built on the rocks beside the highway. They were so cute. We got a couple of photos...again, it was hard to just pull over whenever we wanted, so there are a lot of out-the-window shots of them. I drove from Oakville to Sudbury and Colin took a lot of photos during that time, and repeatedly remarked about how much he loves the new camera.

We got to Sudbury around 7pm and headed straight for the Big Nickel! Before we left, I printed out a list of the Big Attractions along the Trans-Canada, and this was the first one we got to. Yay! A giant nickel! Yeah that was pretty much it. Got some photos and then headed to the city centre to find something to eat before continuing on to Sault Ste Marie. One thing that's really hard about travelling is finding a decent place to eat! Vegetarianism aside, it's just impossible to know where to go to find a meal that isn't fast food. We ended up at a mexican place -- basically the only place we drove past that was open and served dinner. It was no Sneaky Dee's, but we were happy. :)

Now we're at a motel in Sault Ste. Marie! The drive here was so dark and a little foggy but we made it safe and sound. The first hotel we checked out only had smoking rooms, which we thought would be fine and then the desk guy basically said that those rooms are for people who go get a case of beer and chain smoke all night. Then he gave us a map of the city with other hotels marked on it. We chose the Bel Air Motel cause the name's so swank, free hi-speed, and it was the first one we saw after that. Not too shabby! Tomorrow, we will camp. Goodnight!






Animal Corner!!

This is going to be the part where I talk about the animals I've encountered in my travels. First of all, a shout out to Monster and Grumble. Leaving them behind, no matter how temporarily, was murder. They are staying with my parents right now. The plan was originally for my parents to bring them out to Vancouver when they come in November, but that may be changing as I type. See, there's a new cat in the picture at the Davies household in Oakville, and all is not going well so far between the three of them. We've decided that she's a little diva (that's the nice word for her...) and has been a little less than welcoming to my boys. I mean, it's fair enough: she's only been there a few weeks and hasn't yet gotten fully comfortable with her new digs. So when Monster waltzed into the house yesterday and did his customary I'M HERE!! hiss, he was a little taken aback to be answered by another cat who wasn't about to back down. He then proceeded to hide under the bed, so I'm told. Grumble's a little bolder, probably because he's from the streets and is a hardened cat-soldier, so he sorta follows her around and has staring contests with her, then they get in a scrap and have to be separated, and then the dance continues. When we left, we were discussing what size carrier they would need when they were shipped to us via air cargo next week. I'll be interested to see what happens there. All I can say is that I remember when Scrappy met Mo and if we'd left them alone together, Mo would have had his throat ripped out. The meetings between Sierra and my boys have not been nearly as intense. I hope to see a photo of them all cuddling together soon! The amount of times my mom and I woke up last night to separate them or deal with them doesn't bode well for that. My parents are amazing people! One of a million thank yous that you guys deserve.
Just before we left, we went over to my aunt Robin's place and met her new kitty, Taz. I'm so glad that she got him -- I kept hearing about her going to see him at the humane society but not coming home with him. But after the ridiculous adoption process at the BHS, he came home with her last weekend. He's a totally black cat with chubby cheeks and a meow that goes from small, to a squeak, to completely silent. Adorable.

We stopped at a Tim Hortons in Parry Sound and I got to pet a big mutt hanging out in the parking lot. I realized that when I talk to animals, I tend to say the same thing twice. For example "Hi puppy! You're nice! You're nice." I don't know what this means.
As I type we're driving from Sudbury, where we stopped for dinner, to Sault Ste Marie, where we're going to stay in a hotel for the night. This is where you hope NOT to see any animals, because it's really dark out and there are a whole lot of moose and deer out here.

Day 1 - Intro

***Sorry for the terrible layout and stuff -- this is as good as it gets right now***

Okay I've never had a blog before. When I was a kid, I had a diary that I named Kimber, after the "normal" side of Jem from Jem and the Holograms. I don't even know where it went, and the last time I remember writing in it was when I was in grade 8 and a kid from my school died. I might have talked to the guy once in my life, and my friend Alison had a crush on him, and he had one of those "step" haircuts -- the one that's shaved from about the ears down and then full on top. Yup. But I remember crying a lot when that happened...I think, sadly, that when you're a kid and someone that you were even remotely familiar with died, it seemed to hit harder.

When Jen and I were packing up my books and CDs last week, I mostly refrained from doing the whole nostalgia thing with old books/journals/letters/cards. The small blue suitcase filled to the brim with those things stayed closed except when I needed to put stuff in. However, I did come across this one notebook that I have no recollection of even writing in. I chose to only read the last entry before placing it in a box, but the last sentence was something that Jen and I had a good laugh over: "Radiohead, I will never forget you."

I can only hope that when I look back on this blog, it will contain similar gems to that one.

So just a quick rundown of the past 2 weeks. I left my job that I've been at since graduation 7 years ago. They gave me lovely going-away dinner, and my boss proposed the possibility of continuing to work as their sound editor from Vancouver. I'm sure I'll be writing about that more in the coming weeks as I start the actual job search. I'm really really really glad that I opted to quit a week before leaving...packing was, as is to be expected, a nightmare. I mean, it's hard enough going through everything, trying to pare down what belongings you no longer (or never did) need, but then there's also trying to decide what can go in boxes with the potential of not seeing them again for over a month, and what needs to come on the journey. I tried to get my friends and neighbours to take as much perishable food as possible, but we still ended up throwing out a lot. We had 6 bags of garbage when all was done, plus a sad bag of dead plants from the porch. I had to give up the giant rubber tree that's in our bedroom, which was pretty upsetting. That thing's been in the Davies family for quite possibly 2 decades (maybe the same length of time as my beloved couches, to which we also bid a fond farewell last week). In a stroke of luck though, for a Christmas/housewarming gift to my brother this year, I separated a small sprig from the tree and attempted to start a new plant from it. That way, we would both have a piece of the rubber plant that we grew up with. So when I learned that I needed to part with my tree, I arranged a swap with Michael. And now the new rubber plant sits in one of the cup holders in Umberto! Let's hope it survives the trip.

I've pretty much been a big bag of tears since the goodbyes started last week. Jen came out to the barn with me on my last day with Hijack and took a lot of photos. I haven't been able to bring myself to look at them yet, but I bet they are fantastic. That last walk with him to the field was a killer. I've been through a lot with him, including a year where he had a hole in his hoof so big that they weren't sure it would ever grow back. He was off for a year with that, but I visited him all the time and was overjoyed when he came back to full health. I've already told the barn owners that they can count on me coming back over the Christmas break to see him multiple times while I'm home. (Yes -- I will be coming home to Oakville for the holidays! I already can't wait!)

Anyhow I've exhausted myself emotionally and won't go through all the hard goodbyes that I've had to say over the past 2 weeks, but I've realized that it's only really a "see you later" for the most part. I'm sure that the next few months will be very telling of which relationships that have grown for such a long time will continue to grow, or branch off into a new kind of friendship, or sadly, end. It's a reality of these life changes, but I am feeling really positive about most of the amazing bonds that I've formed with those who are close to me. The sadness continues to seep in, and I'm sure it will manifest itself in a lot of different ways in the coming little while, but it will all be okay, somehow.