Day 8

Thunder Bay to.......Thunder Bay 0km (Yes.....0).

Well to be more precise we did do some driving today....50km out of the city, only to turn around again. We had been given the all clear to go...but go slow, and since we still have 17hours between here and Ottawa we really felt we needed to put some distance in. We got as far as 50km and after having passed a few jack knifed transport trucks, trucks that literally could not get a grip on the road, and really big gusts of snow that rendered us blind....we (me) finally said lets call it and go back.

This is the start of the drive.....not great, but you could see the road and we had good traction.

This was when we decided to turn around. 

All in all it was a two hour exercise that left us rather drained and in need of a nap. I'll hand it to Shawn though....he did a great job driving. (Even if I did have to pry his hands off the steering wheel when we pulled into the hotel parking lot.)

The Ladies at the front desk of the Days Inn were both pleased and sad to see us back.

This has altered our drive for the next two days somewhat. We were supposed to be in Sault Ste. Marie tonight. (7hrs 30mins from here) and then off to North Bay for a night then cruise on into Ottawa Sunday. Now we will sprint for Sault tomorrow as early as possible (weather dependent of course) and then up early again on Sunday to make the now 8 hour drive to Ottawa. Ugh.

On a silver lining note we get to have diner again with our friends from last night :)

Day 7

Dryden to Thunder Bay 350km

Yesterday's drive was quiet and uneventful. This whole drive so far has been pretty good. I guess we have used up all our quiet & uneventful chips?

We rolled into Thunder Bay about 3:30pm. Checked into our hotel Days Inn  (This is a new one and we were pleasantly surprised! Would easily stay here again.)

The snow had been off & on while we were driving yesterday, but that hasn't been unusual in the drive so far. Nothing to be worried about. Well, while we waited to go to dinner (met up with one of Shawn's old collage buddies Geoff "Abby" & his Wife Laurie) the snow started coming down seriously. The front desk lady told us that there was a storm coming and we could expect to see up to 20cm of white stuff.
Of course this "storm front" is in our direct path and want's to follow us all the way to our next stop which is Sault Ste. Marie and it's a long haul too.

Here is what our car looked like when we went to bed last night. (I don't think she is too happy.)

We have indeed woken up to a winter wonderland today. Thankfully we both packed boots, mitts & scarves! We are going to sit tight till lunch and then head out. We are told this is passing and if we let it get ahead of us we should be good. Don't worry though Mom/Mum....our friend from dinner last night is well connected with the OPP and said he would update us with the best accurate road information before we go. We have confirmed that our room here is avail for one more night should we need it.

Day 6

Portage to Dryden 450km

Today we crossed into Ontario!!!! 

One more time zone to go and Ontario is so big that we still have 4 days of driving to do. Ugh.

Here is a pic of us almost at our stop today. 6 days in....we don't look too tired?!

So today we were supposed to stop in Kenora. But when we pulled up to the hotel we sort of  wondered what we had booked. It looked nice on-line.....but ick. Standards people. So, we got back in the car and said where to? We found Dryden on the map and here we are. That helped shave 1hr and 45min off our drive tomorrow. Which is good because tomorrow include another time zone. 

We are staying at the Best Western.....not much to say....the "upgrades" that were done seem to have been mostly in the lobby. But, it is clean. 

Dinner was a mistake and our taste buds are wondering what happened. If you ever happen to stay here in Dryden.....please for your health and safety....do not eat at the B&B Roadside grill. It is here at the hotel and had received some fairly good reviews. Again....Standards. I just thew up in my mouth thinking about it.

Night Night

Day 4/5

Medicine Hat to Regina 466km

Regina to Portage Le Prairie 485km

I've combined these two days because well...really...it was the Prairies. Not much to say.

3 points about these two days come to mind.

1) My Sister-in-Law Andrea is from Saskatchewan as is my Brother-in-Law Josh. This was a shout out moment for them both.

2) I left my bamboo in the car over night. Ummm....it was -10 (Celsius) and in the morning when I rescued it, lets just say it didn't look so good. 

Here is what it looked like after we "saved" it.

Not terrible, but most certainly limp and lacked a certain.....umph.

Here is what it looks like today.

I don't think it's making a comeback. Sigh.

Back story about bothering to even travel all the way across the country with this bamboo. Well, two moves ago when we relocated from Vancouver to Halifax I brought my beautiful bamboo with us. Carefully transported each day in and out of hotels. Making sure it was watered. Finding a safe spot for it in the car. (That trip across was a full car....we also had Shawn's Sister Anita with us as well as Hunter.) So, 7 days into the drive we landed in Thunder Bay. On the 8th morning we drove off and headed for the HWY. I think about 1 hour in I pictured my bamboo sitting in the bathroom sink. We did not turn around and go get it. 

This trip I was determined to not forget my bamboo in some random sink. This time I clearly decided to take the approach of torturing it. Now just on principle (no matter how dead and soggy it gets) I plan on getting this to our new house. 

3) Dinner with amazing friends in Portage. 

Thank you to Danielle & Erik for hosting a superb dinner!!! (We hope your house sold?!) And of course it was a stupendously awesome bonus to also have Robbie & Kathryn there!!!

Day 3

Calgary to Medicine Hat 294km

I'd like to start by saying that this was intentionally a short drive. We usually plan a day off during our cross country drives (yes...I know....I use the plural form because we are old timers at this. In case you were wondering...this is our FIFTH time.) ....but this time decided to have a few short days and change some of the destinations to allow for it. 

Before I go on about the drive today, I would like to reminisce about a morning in Calgary 6yrs ago. Picture it......Day three (again) and we have woken up and packed the car. Oh, and my sister-in-law has joined us for that road trip from Vancouver to Halifax. (MISS YOU ANITA!!!!)  So....before the drive begins every morning, we always make sure there is a coffee of some kind in hand. This hotel was the Westin (same one as this round) and there happened to be a Starbucks in the lobby. I LOVE Starbucks. So...I was put in charge of coffee orders....I got back to the car and handed out the coffees. We were about 5 min out of the city and Shawn sipped his....oh lord help us the noise he made......apparently his coffee was NOT to order and was only a steamed vanilla milk. Ooops. So in my mind...I'm thinking ok....well...we will need to stop soon for a caffeine hit for Shawn. But nope.....he totally blamed me for this mix up. Um....I ordered what you asked for. I can't control that that is not what they gave me. Needless to say....a huge fight ensued (sorry Anita) and the rest of the day was done.  In fact the next two days were less then pleasant. To this day I would like to stand by my point that one should always sip their coffee before departing any establishment to ensure it is what they asked for. 

So....what I am trying to say is that this time....the morning in Calgary in the SAME hotel with the same Starbucks, we were anxious to see how the day would start. Good news.....our coffee orders were made as requested.  Thank goodness. Oh, and I made Shawn go get them. 

Moving on from my rather long winded rant...sorry about that....but to this day I feel verklemt just thinking about it!

Heading towards Medicine Hat.....hmmmm....not much to report....very much an introduction to the Prairies. Long, straight and boring. Lots of trains....very long trains. Tried to count, but got bored so I just stopped cause I couldn't be bothered. 

This is why I couldn't be bothered......it really made me sleepy.

Have you ever wondered why it is named Medicine Hat? I know you have lost sleep over it. Here it is....Medicine Hat trivia. You can thank me when this comes up in Trivial Pursuit.

 The name "Medicine Hat" is the English translation of 'Saamis' (SA-MUS) – the Blackfoot word for the eagle tail feather headdress worn by medicine men – or 'Medicine Hat'.

Did you also know that Historically, Medicine Hat has been known for its large natural gas fields, being immortalised by Rudyard Kipling as having "all hell for a basement"

Ok....we pulled into the Holiday Inn Express and proceeded to relax and have a beverage. 

I won't bother you with posting the link to the hotel....it's rather self explanatory. But it was nice and new, so not bad really.

We did however eat at a particularly yummy spot. We have become slaves to Trip Advisor. They haven't steered us wrong yet. So if you are ever in Medicine Hat we would highly recommend the Thai Orchid Room.

http://www.thaiorchidroom.ca

Ok, well that was fun!? Tomorrow.....on to Regina. Yes....for our American friends.....REGINA is the name. It is not mis-spelled ;)

Day 2

Vernon to Calgary 555km

Still an un-eventful drive. This is good. Knock on wood.

Our window crack has grown by one inch. Precisely.

Every time I get to drive through the Rockies I am amazed at how beautiful they are and just how small I am.

This is but a small section of the Rockies....but loved this particular shot.

I love to think about the poor souls who had to make this "pathway" through these here GIANT rocks.

This was one of our longer drives and it included driving over a time zone. Ugh....just when your think your making great time....bamm....tack on an extra hour.

Anywho....the snow storm we were warned about didn't end up being so bad. We did however need to use our snow brush that we remembered to throw in the car at the last minute though. But, really.....it's wasn't going to stop traffic.

Calagary for me has always been a traditional stop with family. My Aunt Nancy and my Uncle Jim have lived in Calgary as long as I can remember. Same house too. So over the years as a kid I have fond memories of visiting them. Shawn and I have now made it a tradition to always stop in Calgary as we (continually) relocate ourselves across the continent.

It was a delicious visit as per usual. Thank you to Uncle Jim who always provides a feast. I relish these  (too infrequent) visits with my family. I am always pleasantly reminded how much my family resembles each other. I also cherish the stories and tidd bits that I get hear about my Dad as a kid/young man. I did learn the other night that my Dad got his love for cheese from his Father. That made me smile because I now know where that love comes from and am pleased to say that I also got my love for cheese from my Father.

Me and My Aunt Nancy XO

It has been so long since our last stop in Calgary (6yrs!!?) that a whole new person has been created and joined this world!!! My second cousin Andrea had a baby and he is already 5!!!! Joshua is his name and he is a cracker!!

So after a wonderful evening filled with laughs, food and of course wine.....we headed back to our hotel to rest our weary heads. We stayed at the Westin. It was lovely.

http://www.westincalgary.com

Official Day 1 of the Drive

Vancouver to Vernon 434km

Uneventful...which is a good thing. 

Well....ok...there is one thing. Nothing major....don't panic.  But we already have a crack in the windshield. Jumpin Jimminy.....the sound of the rock perp as it assaulted us was so loud it scared the bajezus out of us. Needless to say...we will be marking it's "spread" as it progresses into our line of vision.

Other than that hiccup we made good time. Lunch of course was Subway in Hope. There really isn't much to say about that except that I LOVE Subway and am pleased to report that my Subway count for this trip so far is 2.

We thankfully managed to avoid the forecasted snow storm on the Coquihalla Hwy (I looked up this spelling so you know). There was still lots of snow, but nothing that made us have to stop. 

And right on schedule we pulled into our stop for the evening. Check out the view from our room. Yes....we now need to come back. 

Here is the link to this little "slice" of Heaven :)

http://www.predatorridge.com/stay/vernon-bc-room-predator-ridge-lodge.php