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!