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.