En Francais S'il Vous Plaît!

Montreal it is! It was only 7 hours from Cambridge so I headed down. Another great drive.

I was on the 401, which is an amazing highway. Everyone speeds, at one point I was going 140 km per hour for 45 minutes in crowded traffic. It went through Toronto, though I didn't turn off cause Mike is gunna show it to me after the 12th. Eventually it reached it's full width of 18 lanes and I drove down the exact stretch I had on video in an earlier post before the trip. Kinda cool to find yourself doing something that intimidated the crap outta you not to long before!



Ontario is beautiful! At one point I was driving through lush forest and suddenly the road descended and cliffs started to rise on either side of the road, at the end of it I could finally see it in it's entirety and realized I'd been on the top of some plateau and it'd just spit me out onto some plains. It was light a giant wall covered in lush forest jutting out of prairies, like something out of Lord Of The Rings. It was truly epic!

I've been driving so much I'm starting to get a driver's tan. My left arm is noticeably darker than my right, lol. And it's only going to get worse over the next week.

Once I entered Quebec all the signs were in french and for a second I felt like I was back in school, since that was the last time I really read french. As I entered Montreal I immediately realized I'd underestimated the city. It's an actual metropolis. My hotel was downtown and as I went further into the city the roads got more insane. I never expected Montreal to be the most intimidating city. At one point a biker gang of Chinese guys came by. It was like 6 guys on racing bikes and one guy in a Lamborghini and they kinda hassled me for a bit, circling my car and pointing at me. It was a little scary.

So as I mentioned before, there's a huge F1 Racing thing in Montreal right now. Like an idiot I did not call hotels in advance... When I got to Vieux Montreal the sun was going down and there we're people EVERYWHERE. Saturday night... Montreal is like one giant party. There were fire blowers and guys on stilts, the whole deal. And all walking through the streets while I inched through.

Eventually I parked on a side street and called hotels. All were booked, the only few I could find were like 500$ a NIGHT! The prices quoted in my travel book were double or tripled cause of the F1 thing. Finally I found Le Hotel Du Fort and got 2 nights for 500$. WAY more than I was hoping to spend but it was night now so I had to stay in Montreal and it was the ONLY one I could find after almost an hour of calling hotels. Looks like Montreal is as far as I go...

Actually works out OK though, cause I'm here for 2 nights, then Sherry is available in Ottawa from the 9th to 12th, then Mike is open in Toronto for a few days, then I can start the trek back to Winnipeg. I decided to come back through Ontario, not the North but the highway along the lakes. I have A LOT of highway experience now, and will have even more by then, so I think I'll be OK. I won't drive at night though, cause of deer and moose.

So once I had my hotel booked I started the incredibly slow drive through centre-ville. Finally reached my hotel and checked in. Got to speak french which was cool. My hotel is really nice; better be for 500$! It has an amazing view, unfortunately I can't upload pix on the internet here. I walked around downtown a bit last night, the women here are gorgeous! But was pretty burnt out so came back and went to bed.



So last night was a little stressful. I'm kinda glad some things went wrong though, cause I showed myself I could handle it. But today is a new day and I'm gunna go enjoy Montreal!

On The Road Again...

Back in Canada! Writing this on the laptop (Chad, you rock for lending me this, and don’t worry, it’s in one piece!) in the basement of my Dad’s girlfriend’s daughter’s house. Her name is Ashley and she had a daughter named Emily. I don’t know them too well, only met them a few times when they came to Winnipeg, but my Dad knows them well, as does his girlfriend, obviously. They’re really nice and very hospitable.

Weird to think I woke up in Chicago this morning. I was up pretty late working on the photos from my day downtown (still not done) but had to get up at 9:30 AM to pack all my stuff into my car for 11:00 AM checkout. Once I was checked out I went to a nice restaurant and had some breakfast. The owner of the store was really nice and I ended up chatting with him for a while. Talked about 9/11 and the war for a bit, then he told me about how he started the restaurant from nothing. Told him about my little adventure and he though it was really great. He ended up giving me a little American Flag thing to keep as a souvenir, lol. Cool guy.

After I’d digested my meal and our conversation wrapped up I jumped back in the car. I only realized my car doesn’t have A/C right before my trip. Never needed it until this season. Let me tell you, I woulda liked to have it today. 9 hour drive from Chicago, through Indiana and Michigan, back into Canada at the Ontario border up the 401 to Cambridge. It was hot and humid the whole ride. Once it was past mid-day it wasn’t too bad with the window open, but for a while I was dying.

I’ve gotten a lot better at the long hauls. Only stopped twice on this leg of the trip, and I easily coulda gone another 3 hours of driving if I had to. First stop was at some rest stop in Michigan for a bathroom break and to stretch my legs. Got a popsicle too cause I was so hot. Second stop was at a Wendy’s for some supper.

I actually really enjoyed the drive today. Chicago left me with a glow that I think will last for the rest of this trip. The trip didn’t feel real before Chicago. I had a lot of fun visiting my aunt and uncle in Minnesota but it just felt like a family visit. Now I’m on my independent adventure. I’m doing things I never thought I’d do in places I’d never expect to find myself ALONE! For the whole drive I just listened to great music on my Ipod and reflected on that. Some more great scenery. Took the Skyway in Chicago, some cool stuff passing by Detroit (passing, no way I’m going to Detroit), etc.

After a few toll roads I came to the Canadian border. It was a really cute girl at the gate I pulled up to and deprived of company as I’d been all day, I smiled like a fool the whole time she asked me questions, which eventually made her start blushing, lol. She let me go on and I was back in my home country. We drive slow as molasses here. Thankfully once I was on the 401 on my way to Toronto everyone completely ignores the speed limit and goes up to 130, which is what I’m used to now.

This side of Ontario had some great scenery too! Once I was in Canada the traffic loosened up a bit and it was straight the whole way. I put on Terria by Devin Townsend, had my polarized aviators on which gives everything that epic sepia tone, recline my chair, steered with one hand and watched the sun set over Ontario. Fuckin’ A.

Cambridge is about 100 km before Toronto, so I turned off the 401. I realized I was now in a new time zone and called Ashley to explain why I’d said I’d be there at 7:30 and it was now 8:30, lol. I stopped at a Rogers Video on the way, lol. Rented Season 3 of Weeds to rip to my laptop to watch over the next week. Got my rentals for free when the imported my account, lol. I know for a fact I was supposed to pay for em, but I’m not complaining. I chatted with the folks at the Rogers for a bit about what things were like at my store in Winnipeg, ol’ 536. They were store 471. They were pretty cool, Rogers seems to hire cool people.

Got to Ashley’s around 9:00 PM, local time, lol. They let me have a shower, cause after 9 hours on the road in the humid heat I needed one. After that I had a drink with her and talked for a while. She’s cool and we had some laughs. Eventually they set me up in their basement on a futon. I have a huge tv down here to watch Weeds on, lol.

Just here for the night; couch-surfing. Tomorrow I head to Montreal most likely. At this point in the trip my plans have started to become more from the hip, and tomorrow after I leave here I’m going to hit up a starbucks and use the wireless internet to check my banking and make some decisions about the rest of the trip. If I’m not mistaken, Prince Edward Island may have to be cut. But on the bright side it will give me more time to check out Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City! I just don’t know if I have the time and money for Prince Edward Island. I’m not that upset though. I’m having an AMAZING time already, honestly better than I ever expected. And there’s still a lot to come either way. If PEI has to be cut, this is an incredible experience already, so I’m just thankful for it. By the time I upload this entry (no internet at Ashley’s) I’ll know how far I can make it and add a post-script at the end.

I feel invincible right now.

P.S. Now I'm in a mall in Cambridge using their free wireless internet and I was looking at my finances and even thought I could in fact make it to PEI I'm thinking I'm gunna cut it anyway. It'd be A LOT of extra driving and I wouldn't be able to really check out Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto like I want to. I could always take a flight to PEI some day cause I have family in Halifax I could stay with. But I think I'm just going to enjoy the Ontario/Quebec area. So I'm heading out now, and I'll either be going to Ottawa or Montreal. Once I get the in the car I'll get my GPS to calculate driving times and then I'll call hotels to make sure they're not booked. In Montreal there's an F1 race thing going on so hotels may be booked. My next entry will let you know where I ended up!

Scruff Magruff, Chicago Illinois, 60652

I'm writing this from a cheap motel in Chicago! Yesterday morning, as planned, I woke up early and packed. I said my goodbyes to my Aunt and Uncle and cousins and packed up my car.

It was a 7 hour drive from Minnesota, through Wisconsin, to Chicago in Illinois. The interstate through Wisconsin had tons of awesome scenery. It was very hilly, like miniature mountains covered in lush green forest. I was racing from a thunderstorm behind me, so it was really humid, with tons of mist rolling in through the valleys.

Once I entered Illinois there were toll roads every 10 minutes and no lie, 20 miles of construction that took a 45 minutes to get through. It cleared up for a while until I came up on Chicago. The highway kept getting wider until before I knew it I was on 14 lanes going deeper into Chicago. I had been nervous about the highway driving and city driving, but I've actually surprised myself; I think I'm pretty good at it! You have to be a bit aggressive, and you're constantly going 130 km per hour, but I feel totally in control.

I got to my hotel easily enough. Dragged my luggage and stuff into the hotel and checked in. They told me my room wouldn't have wireless internet because I was getting a cheap motel room next door to the actual hotel, but I quickly found that I could get the signal, even though it's unreliable and weak. The thunder storm I'd be racing from finally caught up and it was a big one. So that night I just got settled in and uploaded pix to flickr while chatting with people on MSN and Facebook while watching American TV. It was sort of neat to be in America while Obama wins the Democratic nomination. It's been cool hearing Americans opinions right from their mouths.

I was nervous because the next morning I was planning on taking the El-train to downtown Chicago. So, as planned, the next morning I woke up early and left my hotel. I went to the station, bought my ticket and waited for the train. It's essentially an above ground subway. When it came I boarded and took a window seat. There were definitely some shady characters, but I figured as much. The train actually went right through one of Chicago's slums and... Wow. I mean, the houses were all boarded up, mattresses right in the street, stripped cars in the 'lawns', which were just mud, and groups of black people (just saying what I saw) sitting on the front porch drinking 2 litres of beer and smoking pot, at 11:00 AM!

I accidentally got off a few stops early, so I just walked around downtown. It was incredible. The buildings were HUGE, the roads were PACKED and so were sidewalks. So busy and bustling. I always thought a big city (and I was in one of the biggest in North America) would be intimidating or claustrophobic, but I actually loved it. Everything felt important. People were walking out of the Chicago Stock Exchange, and the Chicago Tribune building, etc... Eventually I asked someone for directions and worked my way to Millennium Park.

Millennium Park was designed by the same guy who did Central Park. It was amazing. I got to see The Bean and The Crown Fountain Monoliths. I wondered around the park for a bit with a nice cold drink. It was extremely hot and humid out. It really felt like summer for the first time. I wonder what it was like back in Winnipeg.

Eventually it got so hot out I needed to go indoors. I found the Chicago Institute of Art and bought a ticket. It was really cool. Got to see a lot of great art including some really famous ones.
It was really neat looking at a Van Gough, Picasso or Salvador Dali and realizing that was the ACTUAL painting, the artists themselves had sat in front of that canvas for hours, the same one I was now standing in front of.

I had a Chicago deep dish pizza for lunch in the in-museum restaurant. Very different from the pizzas I'm used to, but it was great. Very filling. After that I continued looking at the different exhibits for a while and eventually headed back outside. I just walked around downtown for the next few hours, working my way down to the waterfront and following a few walking paths. I had my good camera around my neck and was snapping photos like crazy, like a true tourist. But everyone was, so I fit right in. Downtown Chicago is huge! I must have walked like 10 miles today!



By around 5:00 PM I was beat. I'd been walking all day in the sweltering heat. So I hailed a cab, which in itself was awesome. I felt like such a big city kid, lol. On the cab ride home I listened to my Ipod and just reflected on everything. I'd had a freakin' great day! I can honestly say today was one of the best days of my life. I'm really glad I ended up coming on this trip alone. The idea had always been to go myself, but the thought of going alone scared me and I ended up inviting people. But when people backed out I forced myself to go anyway, and I'm so glad I did. It was surreal. I kept having to remind myself who I was and where I was. I never thought I'd be alone in downtown Chicago, miles from ANYONE I know. And all on my own steam. To think not all that long ago I was scared to leave my basement.

This trip is turning out to be exactly what I wanted it to be.

I talked to my cab driver for a bit as we got closer to my hotel. As he dropped me off he told me I was the nicest fare he'd had in months and asked if I lived in the city. When I told him I was from Canada he said "Ooohhhh! That explains it!"

I dropped my stuff off in my room and headed down to the hotel bar and had a drink and chatted with the bartender for a bit. I ended up getting a little drunk. Finally I came back to my room and started the long process of editing and uploading my photos from today. I started at 6:00PM and it's 1:00AM now and I'm still not even close to done. I might not get them all finished tonight...

Tomorrow morning I have to check out by 11:00 AM and then I'm heading back into Canada. Driving is going to feel slow when I'm back in Canada! I'm going to crash in Cambridge at my Dad's girlfriend's daughter's place. Really cool of her for letting me stay there; I've only met her once briefly a year ago. I'm going to bypass Toronto because Mike said he'd show me around after the 12th, on my way back. So after Cambridge for a night, just for somewhere to sleep, I'll head to either Montreal or Ottawa.

This road-trip is turning out to be the single best idea I've ever had. I'm having an amazing time, and getting exactly what I wanted to get out of this!

Well back to uploading photos...

Busy Day

Today I really felt like a tourist. First I headed down to the Mayo Clinic and had a guided tour, which was really cool. I've seen pictures of the place many times on the news and then standing there in person was weird. Once my Uncle was on his lunch break we all went for lunch at a really nice Italian restaurant, then when he went back to work we headed to the Mall of America!

I'd been there once when I was really young, and barely remember it. It was a huge mall, lol. It's like consumerism incarnate. Not to say I didn't think it was awesome. I bought a necklace and a souvenir shot-glass (SO touristy), and that's it. Pretty proud of myself for not going on a spending spree. I'll probably pass by here on my way back though, so if I have a ton of money on the way back, I may splurge then.

Lego Land, one of the few things I remembered about the Mall Of America, was still there. It was pretty cool. The other thing I remembered, Camp Snoopy, is no longer there. The amusement park is still right in the middle of the mall, but now it's a Nickolodean theme park. Dora, Diego, etc...

There was an Apple store which was cool. They were giving some lectures about future Apple products too, and there were some cool ones. The nerd in me was beside himself, lol.

After that we came back to Rochester and went to a couple places to take photos. Sadly I haven't been able to edit or upload any photos taken with my Digital SLR, only my point and shoot. Hopefully I'm able to at some point, but lack of time makes it hard. I was gunna work on some tonight, but realized I don't have the plugin for my monitor (I can only edit my real photos on my trusted monitor from home, which I brought for just that reason). So on my way to Chicago I'm going to try and find an electronics store so I can get the adapter and work on them at a hotel one of these nights. So far I haven't been able to get any amazing photographs. I've been having too much fun to really get in an introspective artistic state. I've been with family I don't see enough of though, once I'm alone in other places I'm sure I'll produce some more artistic shots.

Sadly my Aunt and Uncle couldn't take me to Chicago to show me around, but they might have someone I can stay with, I'll find out tomorrow morning before I leave. If not I'll just get a hotel near an L-Train station and take it to downtown Chicago. That should be a real experience.

Rochester

So today was a slower day. Took a bit of a breather after the 9 hour drive last night. My aunt showed me around Rochester during the day, a beautiful city that is so green it doesn't feel like a city. Very hilly, which is a nice change from Winnipeg. The whole city exists because of the Mayo Clinic, so it's neat cause the entire city revolves around medicine, and it is apparent. To an outsider it's like they picked a random profession and dedicated an entire city to it.

Tonight my aunt and uncle threw a dinner party to introduce me to a bunch of people they thought I'd like. All about my age or just a few years older. They were all really cool. One of the couples was really into the music scene. Had a philosophical conversation with a pastor about Nietzsche, good times. And they told me of some people I might be able to stay with in Chicago!

Tomorrow I'm waking up bright and early and taking a guided tour of the Mayo Clinic, then having lunch with my Aunt and Uncle, then heading to the cities (Minneapolis and St Paul) to see the Mall of America and a museum I was told to check out. I'll sleep here that night, then the next morning it's off to Chicago. Like I said, it's beginning to look like I might have people to stay with in Chicago. They might even show me around, but if not I got some good advice on how to see Chicago alone if I have to.

It looks like I won't make it to Toronto in time to stay with the police officer. That's too bad, but I'll still find a way to see Toronto. I have someone I can stay with in Cambridge, and I could just take the Go train right downtown from there.

Loving this trip so far, though already itching to get back on the road. But my aunt and uncle are really excited to have me here, so I decided to stay a little longer. Day after tomorrow, bright and early though, off to Chicago!

Dale vs 900 Km

So June 1st. At long last. Woke up early and packed the car full of my stuff. Tim treated me to breakfast which was awesome. We were gunna go to a place he recommended called Cora's, but it was way too busy, sadly. So instead we just went to Sal's. Good stuff. I dropped Tim off and said goodbye, and hit the open road! A full tank of gas and 0 on the trip odometer. I was curious to see how many kilometers to a tank I get, to see if my worst-case scenario of $1500 for gas was in fact the realistic scenario.

Headed south from Emerson, cranked the tunes and drove. And drove. And drove. When I finally reached the border the GPS was a little wonky but I figured it out. Of course they searched the car. They always do for young people. At least I assume that cause every time I've gone we've been searched. Could be the tattoos I suppose, though I dunno if that's just me being defensive.

From the border it was hours of straight line. But at 120 km. I had been nervous to drive that fast, but in no time I felt myself fighting the urge to speed. Driving in the U.S. is so much better than Canada. Their signs, road conditions, and overall system is just way better. I stopped at a few rest-stops to eat, drink and pee. There seems to be a rest-stop every 50 miles on the interstate and each one has FREE WIRELESS INTERNET!

After 6 hours on the road my brain was turning to mush. Eventually I noticed the roads seemed to be busier, and there was a lot of traffic on the overpasses I went under. After a while I realized the interstate was taking me right beside downtown Minneapolis. That was when it all hit me. I was driving by myself in a country I don't live in, and out the side window was a freakin' metropolis. It was awesome. The Minneapolis skyline looks really impressive.

Thank God for GPS. Thanks to it I was navigating the 12 lane highway near downtown Minneapolis like I'd lived there my whole life.

As I was leaving Minneapolis (the aunt and uncle I'm staying with live in Rochester, 2 hours outside Minneapolis) it was beginning to get dark out. But suddenly red and blue was flashing in my rear-view. I was being pulled over! Had I been speeding? I thought I got the whole kilometers to miles thing down pat... I pulled over onto the shoulder and waited. The cop turned on the flood light so I couldn't see back in the mirrors. Eventually he came up to the window and asked if I knew why he'd pulled me over. "Speeding..." I answered apologetically. "Really? Not that I noticed!" Great, lol. I explained that I thought maybe I had been cause I was from Canada and was getting used to the coversion, but if I wasn't speeding then why WAS I being pulled over? My new Ipod holder... Apparently you're not allowed to have anything attached to your windshield, lol. So I took it down :P There was also some confusion over my insurance cause apparently in the states you get a card, but in Canada its just a big folder up paper. But the cop was nice, he actually lived in Winnipeg for a while, so it was no big deal and eventually he sent me on my way. Already an interesting story to tell.

So finally, at 10:30 pm I turned onto the street my aunt and uncle live on. It was so dark I couldn't see the numbers so I had to call them and get them to come out and wave at me, lol. They have a really nice house! So I sat and talked with them for a while, and one of my cousins, Jordan, was still up so he sat with us too.

They went to bed and I've just been uploading pix and videos, checking email and writing this blog. And even though it's only midnight, which is usually really early for me, I'm exhausted so I'm going to bed!

Oh btw, I made the whole trip on just over a full tank. So I get 900 km to a tank on highway! That's over twice what I'd figured in my worst case scenario!!! This trip might actually be comfortable now! Also, I'm uploading all my pix and videos to flickr, so check em out if you have time! http://www.flickr.com/photos/notme2000/

Final Night

So I leave tomorrow morning... Tim is taking me out for breakfast before hand which is cool of him. That should be around 11, after that I'll drop Tim off and hit the road. 8 hours of driving, give or take, to my first destination, Minneapolis. I'll be staying with my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins there. They're great family, but since they moved there a few years ago I don't get to see them much, so this will be cool.

I was looking at my money, and realized there is a good chance it won't last to PEI, so I might not get that far. It's 50/50 right now. I will definitely make it to at least Montreal, so even if I only make it that far, I'm willing to bet it'll be a great experience. I do hope I can make it to PEI though. In my worst case scenarios, gas would be $1500, and I have $2000, so $500 to last 2 weeks for food and hotels is pretty slim, lol. But if I sleep in my car when I don't have anywhere to stay a few nights, and eat from grocery stores instead of restaurants it's still doable. But I'll wait till I'm a few drives in to estimate if my worst case scenario is reality or not. Hopefully I get halfway there and am amazed at how cheap it's been and get to PEI no problem. And then when I'm there, on a whim, I buy a lottery ticket and come back a millionaire!

Jenna baked me cookies for my trip, which is awesome of her. Everyone at work has been really supportive of this trip, except for Craig, but that's only cause he's terrified I'm going to die, lol. Good peeps I work with.

Chad dropped off the laptop yesterday, so I'll be adding entries and photos along the way, so please check back often and leave comments. The majority of this trip will be pretty lonely, so if I have a few followers over the net, it won't feel quite so isolated!

Wish me luck!