Day 2: I think I can...

Day 2 (Saturday, as I am now a few days behind on the blog) saw me safely and comfortably settled in Thunder Bay... watching the sun set over the horizon and eating chicken dogs roasted over the fire... The drive was unimaginably beautiful. I have never been this far north in Ontario, and I have to say that it was breathtaking. I wish that I had been able to get more pictures, but there was very little room to pull over on some roads, and pictures wouldn't have done it justice. There were moments today where I felt like I had never seen anything so serene and untouched – I don't attend church on Sundays, but I felt like I had found my own piece of heaven.

My first stop was at a lookout between Sault St. Marie and Wawa... forest that stretched forever...

I stopped in the little town of Wawa to have breakfast at Tim Hortons (thank you Amy!!), visit the goose and let Charger exercise his legs near Wawa lake... but quickly continued on, because I was worried about timing and wanted to make it to Thunder Bay in good time.

There was almost no one on the roads, and the one thing I have discovered about driving is that it gives you ample time to think... I haven’t yet decided if this is a good thing or not?! My mindset alternated between... “Wow, this is amazing” to “Holy shit – what am I doing?!”... It made for a somewhat confusing drive, as I decided whether to proceed or turn around and go home! However, a very special person wrote to me that “The hard is what makes it great. If it was easy, everyone would do it”. He is the bravest person I know and his words of wisdom got me through today – I just need to hold on to that when I think it's too difficult.

Around two o'clock, Charger started to get restless so we made a stop for lunch and some down time at Aguasabon River Gorge (just after Terrace Bay). It was gorgeous! The lookout was quite high, and Charger was a bit nervous at first, but I managed to catch a picture of him overlooking the view!

After that, we drove straight to Thunder Bay, checked in at the camp site and set up camp. This campsite also has a dog park, so Charger made friends with two golden retrievers (neither of which he tried to make babies with – I suppose he is loyal to Roxy that way!) In the midst of writing this blog and eating my chicken dogs, I met a nice man named Angelo who is also traveling alone to Banff. His wife vacations in hot beach places, but that isn't his style, so he is road tripping it all the way from Massachusetts! He has a 20 year old daughter and a 16 year old son. It was nice to finally talk to someone besides Charger!!

Overall, not a bad day! No speeding tickets at least... Next, Charger and I cross the border into Manitoba... I miss everyone terribly, and wish I could bring you all with me on this journey, but I hope in writing this blog that I can share at least some of it with you – and just know you are not far from my thoughts. Tune in later, for a new day and a new time zone! xo

Day 1: My first speeding ticket and other uneventful errata

First of all, I apologize if this blog posting seems rushed or there are spelling/grammatical errors. It is written somewhat in haste, because currently I am sitting at a picnic table in a Sault St Marie campground with 59% of my battery power! In typing that, the power has diminished to 58%!

So, Day 1 – Interesting, sad, happy, rushed, blissful, eye opening, maddening, bittersweet. Those are only a few of the words I can use to describe the way I have felt in the course of this day. The day began at 7:30 am as I said goodbye to my mom and dad. I would like to take this portion of the posting to say thank you to both of them – they have been supportive, loving and completely on my side all of my life – and they made this decision easier because I knew they would be there for me, no matter what! I know how hard this must be for them, and it means so much to have them on my side! 

Charger took it all in stride and slept most of the way!

The first part of the drive was quite uneventful – no traffic, and generally uninteresting. As I approached Parry Sound, I realized that I was quite low on gas, and asked my (supposedly) smart GPS to find a gas station for me. I pulled into the gas station only to find that they had been closed for the last year and a half. Thanks Magellen. Luckily, a Petro station was not far, and I made it into the gas station on fumes and pure will alone.

The next leg of the journey also proved to be fairly uneventful... A hop, skip and a jump had Charger and I in Sudbury, where we visited the Big Nickel...

A few hours later, we drove through Blind River, where I decided my poor dog could use some food and a swim. Water had been a left side focal point for much of the drive, so I pulled aside and found a small beach for him to have dinner and relax for a while... He came out of the water a happy puppy, and quickly proceeded to roll in the sand. :P

Next stop – Sault St Marie!! On the way to Sault St Marie – I received my FIRST EVER speeding ticket! (This is where the maddening adjective comes into play). Now, some of you may be thinking “Oh Amanda – why were you speeding?”, but the truth is I DIDN'T KNOW! I know, this sounds like an excuse – but I swear it's true!

The story goes something like this: The route to Sault St Marie takes you along Highway 17. At one point, I had to turn off onto a small road, that led me to another highway (17b). The speed limit along Highway 17 was 90, so when I turned onto Highway 17b, I assumed the same (not having time to see speed limits). About a minute after I turned onto highway 17, an unmarked police car pulled up behind me (which I realized right away – he wasn't fooling me – YET). I made sure to drive 95 km/h, so that I was close to the speed limit, but didn't look like I was trying to go too slow, and next thing I knew his lights were on. I pulled over to the side of the road, and he came over to explain that I had been driving 95 in a 70 zone.... Huh?! I explained what had happened, but he wasn't buying it and went on about clearly marked signs and no exceptions etc... Looking back, I realize the mistake I made was not crying – it's exempted me from every other ticket I have (almost) received... $120 ticket later, I was on my way. Needless to say, it did make the day more interesting...

Upon arriving at the campground, I checked in, set up my tent and took Charger over to play in the dog park! This campground has a dog park, dog groomer and an agility course! It's a dog dream world! I also started a fire and broke into a bottle of wine... It's somewhat lonely, as none of the campsites near me are occupied, and I am missing everyone tremendously... however, I am going to make the best of it and take it day by day! Tune in tomorrow... for a (hopefully) less costly and more exciting day!

It's not goodbye, it's "see you later"...

See you later cottage on Duke St, friends and family and Guelph...

Day 1 of packing was interesting, challenging and somewhat bittersweet (to say the least!). Let's be honest... I walked around the house, head in hands, while my wonderful mother put things into motion. We got three rooms packed into boxes, and 5 trips to the Goodwill later, I feel plenty purged and on my way to organized chaos! However, that did not come without some sadness...

It's going to be hard to say goodbye to this wonderful little house. I've lived here for 2 years, and I am taking away so many good memories. This was the first place I ever lived in on my own, I painted it and put up every picture, curtain rod, towel hook and shelf (with some pointers of course ;)). This house has hosted many great nights to remember (because as we all know it's not far to downtown), and been a place where I felt safe, comfortable and at ease. It's not without some regret that I walk away from my little cottage on Duke, only to find out what “out of car and suitcase living” feels like and re-enter the world of shared housing.

Day 2 of packing was especially difficult, because this was the chosen day to tackle my closet. Shoes, jackets, dresses, winter and summer attire... You name it – it's in there (and the tags might still be on it!) I will admit, my clothes hoarding is a bit of a problem, and before today I would never have imagined that I would have to whittle my wardrobe to a suitcase and a bin (small bin – just saying)... However, when all was said and done, it's finished!

On Thursday, my mom and Craig spent the hottest day this summer helping me move my stuff to Burlington! I couldn't have done it without them and they deserve a huge thankyou :)

An additional thanks to all those that came out to wish me good luck and send me out in style on Saturday night! It means a lot and I am going to miss you all so much! I'm not going to say much more than that, because I hope I said it to each of you separately (and every time I try to say more I get emotional :P) You all know you are loved and will be missed very much. As Sara said to me yesterday, it's not goodbye – it's see you later!

And so it begins...

Wow. My first blog posting and 2 weeks to go... I thought I would start out with a bit of background about how this whole crazy idea came together...

I have to say that in the planning of this adventure, I never believed that it would arrive this fast. Time has all but disappeared, and all of a sudden I am feeling overwhelmed, excited, scared and somewhat nostalgic. If I hadn't walked into the principal's office in September and handed in my leave of absence, I am somewhat sure that I would have changed my mind, and never have gone through with it!

I have always admired adventurous souls though... There are so many people that have inspired me to do this – friends that have entertained me with stories of traveling with no plan and no destination or true stories retold in books or movies of people that left their lives behind to explore new possibilities, and “find themselves” (no matter how cliché that sounds!). I have always been jealous of their ability to throw caution to the wind and make a giant leap like that!

It is for that reason that I'm very proud that this idea has actually come to fruition. I remember trying to decide where to spend my intended year off, and realizing that I have never seen half of my own country. In that moment, I was Alberta Bound. I called my parents and friends and told them what I had decided – they were all excited, but I'm not sure they believed that I would actually do it. This is something outside of my comfort zone, outside of what I believed would be possible for myself. However, I felt like I needed my own adventure before I could with certainty begin to put down roots in one place. I not only needed the adventure, but I needed to know that I could do it.

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting.
~Buddha

Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

How often I found where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else.
~Buckminster Fuller

 Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.
~George Moore