TGTH: Day 27 (October 26th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 3,386/11,978

Route: Winnipeg, Manitoba to Davidson, Saskatchewan?!

We missed our hosts as they left just before we got up, and missed their daughters because they probably got up right after us. We folded up the hide-a-bed and were on our way. After a slight issue escaping the city we managed to get clear of Winnipeg.

We headed towards Regina and were faced with a slight rain. This then became an issue when it began to freeze. Slush began to build up on the roads and ice began to build up on the car. We drove into the storm without thought with the rest of the traffic. It was not too bad getting into Regina, but it was getting pretty slippery when we were there. We could not find a good spot to pull off there so we continued passed the city and then got some food at a Subway in some tiny little town. This is where it got dicey...

Back on the roads we started to notice that the conditions were not really there good. It was blizzarding now and the wind was rushing over the Prairies unchallenged. Snow blew with the wind and looked like ghosts or spirits racing across the ground. The highway speed was 110 km/h but we were reduced to somewhere between 70 and 80. Jerusalem is front wheel drive with most of the weight on the back wheels. Those wheels, I think they are summer tires. This whole combination was not good. On the way to Regina we had already counted 3 semis in the ditch, and 4 cars. Driving through the slush and the blizzard we began to swerve. I corrected but it did no good. Our back end kicked out and though we were going straight down the highway the front tires hit the deep snow and sucked us off of the road and into the median between the two directions of traffic... If you are going to go off the road Saskatchewan is about the best place you can do it. For one, there are very few people, and for two, there is nothing there. We were pulled off the road and onto the nothing where we gently pulled to a stop in the deeper snow. We tried to drive a bit but Jerusalem was thoroughly stuck.

If you do not have a CAA (AAA for you Americans) membership I recommend you get one. Maybe you need it once a year. Maybe once every five years! The point is, that when you need help, it is there. It would have cost a fortune to get a tow truck to help us. We were 100 km from Regina and 150 km from Saskatoon, but I was on my cell phone (thank you Saskatchewan for being so flat and having reception everywhere) and to CAA. I called and asked for my second wish, to get a truck to come and pull us out. I was told that the truck was on its way.

We were still there for about an hour and fifteen minutes, but at least we had help. The tow truck driver told me that he had passed many cars in the ditch on his way to help us, and he was delayed because he was helping others in our same predicament. It did not take long for him to haul us out of the ditch when he arrived; not that we minded waiting with Grey’s Anatomy and Jerusalem’s heaters blaring. The tow truck driver got us out of the ditch with a calm efficiency, and was careful of the road around us. We might have been in the ditch, but even with his lights going people were not being safe while passing us.

Out of the ditch, turned around, and on the road.

Visibility: 0 – 50 m

Safe Driving Speed: 0 km/h

Our Doable Driving Speed: 30 – 40 km/h

Other People’s Speed: 50+ km/h

With our four-ways on we continued on. Saskatoon was 150 km away... 150... gah... We messaged ahead to our host for the night and told him that we might not be able to make it. I focused hard on the driving, but even at 30 km/h I could feel the car gliding on the road with the back and front swerving ever so slightly. It was not a good feeling. The blizzard shone on our lights and the spirits crossing the road made it almost impossible to see the lines, or the road, or anything. People were passing us, but I do not know how. We could not see anything and we were sliding everywhere.

I have never pulled off of a road for safety before, I usually just drive a little slower for a little longer. This was insane. We knew that we would be at a town called Davidson soon and that they had accommodations. That was our goal. I messaged my dear friend Colin and told him not to expect us. I used all of my concentration and focus to see the road and to get us closer to Davidson. We saw the first sign for it, but could not see the road clearly enough to pull off the highway (we had to cross the highway to pull off the left). We almost ended up off the road again in this manoeuvre but somehow managed to keep going.

Farther up, we could see the lights of the town. There was enough light to see the turn off the highway and without hesitation we took it. There was a motel but it was tricky getting there as we could not see the road. We followed another car that managed to see the road and pulled in. We went to the front desk to ask for a room. We got the second last room.

There was a bar/grill 100 m away from the Motel. That was the furthest 100 m I think I have ever walked. We trudged through the storm after getting our suitcases and settled in for warm soup and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.

Exhausted. Full. We trudged back through the storm and to the Motel. Our smoking room had aired out a bit with the window cracked, and sketchy as it was, we managed to sleep...

TGTH: Day 26 (October 25th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 4,099/11,978

Route: Thunder Bay, Ontario to Winnipeg, Manitoba

French Toast. Yum. Sure, the host was still strange, but still nice. We got into the car and headed out.

Thunder Bay sits on/near one (if not the) largest Amethyst deposits in North America. There is a mine that you can go to during the summer, but this being off season we did not get the chance. We did manage to make it to the mine’s store however where I was able to buy a piece or two of Amethyst. Unfortunately, stuff costs money, and when you don’t have much money you don’t get to buy much stuff. Oh well.

We headed out of Thunder Bay and towards Kakabeka Falls which is evidently the “Niagra of the North,” and the second largest natural waterfall in Canada (next to Niagra). Yep. It was pretty... awesome. So, the weather was still gloomy, and overcast, and wet, but we managed to stand of the edge of these falls and ogle the falls. The water at the top was still as glass, and then the pored off in a white torrent breaking down the broken stairs of the crumbling rock. Again, this is one of those things that I cannot describe that well, if you want to see, look at the photos and you will get it. Wow.

Now it was time to drive. And drive. And drive. There was not much to see but the gorgeous wild and the waving arms of the Inuksuks as we passed them. We stopped for lunch in Kenora, Ontario which gave us a bad impression. That Boston Pizza will forever haunt my memories of Kenora. Ok ok ok, it was not that bad, but it was not good.

We continued driving for just about forever and then made it to Winnipeg. We were to stay with some family, but this was our closest connection. By that I mean that we had not really sorted it out before hand and that we only had a brief e-mail to say that it would work out. Stopped on the outskirts of the city we called and got no answer. Oh well. There was an A & W there to give us fries, and we were able to watch Grey’s Anatomy in the car. We called again with success, and got the address we needed.

We headed to the house of our hosts and mingled. I had not seen them for many years (I think my grandparents 50^th Wedding Anniversary, which is almost 10 years ago given their 60^th is next year). It was good to re-meet the extended family and to get to know them. We ended up mingling for a while and then watching Blood Diamond (which was exceptional). Afterwards we headed to bed on the hide-a-bed in the basement.

TGTH: Day 25 (October 24th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 4,797/11,978

Route: Around Thunder Bay

Being in Thunder Bay it made some sense that we should see what the area had to offer. We rose and had an excellent bacon and eggs breakfast made by our strange but earnest host. He told us that people come to Thunder Bay to hike, and we were glad for that because that is what we were going to do.

We headed first back East out of Thunder Bay. We went to Eagle Canyon. It was a fair sized canyon with a little lake running down the middle, but what it is known for is the longest foot suspension bridge in Canada (600 feet long). On top of the canyon we crossed on a shorter bridge then walked along the far side. We came to the long bridge and crossed the canyon again. We followed a long set of stairs down to the bed of the canyon and walked along the lake. We walked out of the canyon and back to where we started. The views were great, the bridge was great, it was great to see some trees clinging to the rock, and somehow, just somehow we inherited two pine trees along the way. How? Who knows!

Leaving Eagle Canyon we were near to Ouilet Canyon and headed there. It was pretty quiet and there were not many people exploring. There was a little box asking for $2.00 as an entry fee, and the complied. Oh how I love the honesty system. We walked through the trees and across a wooden bridge then through some more trees. It was not far to the canyon, and though Eagle Canyon was impressive, this one was very impressive. There were lookout “pods” that were stretched over the very edge of the canyon. We stood and looked. Awe. It was amazing. We could see lakes in the distance, and at the bottom of the canyon we could see the fragments of boulders that had fallen and shattered. There was a board that told us that on the top of the canyon the climate was boreal forest, but on the bed of the canyon the climate was sub-arctic tundra. This means that while flowers might bloom in the spring on the top, those same flowers would not bloom until late summer or fall on the canyon floor.

Having seen what we could we made our way back toward Thunder Bay and stopped at the Terry Fox Memorial. For Canadians Terry Fox needs no explanation, but for everyone else, Terry Fox is a Canadian Hero. He got cancer, and instead of taking it laying down he decided to fight that cancer as hard as he could. He lost a leg due to cancer, but even that would not break his spirits. With his one good leg and one prosthetic he set out to do something that had not been done before, he set out to run across Canada. Having dipped his foot in the Atlantic Ocean in St. John’s Newfoundland he headed west. His run, called the “Marathon of Hope” took him far across Canada, engaging the entire country in the fight against cancer. He crossed the maritimes, Quebec, and Ontario. As he neared Thunder Bay the cancer forced him to stop. The very memorial where we stood was near to where Terry Fox took his last steps on the “Marathon of Hope.” On June 28^th, 1981 Terry Fox succumbed to the cancer... It may have taken him, but with that courage and that vision Terry Fox kicked off the fight against cancer... over $500 million has been raised in his name...

It seemed strange standing at that memorial. I had done Terry Fox Runs as a child at school, we had tried to raise money for cancer, I had seen movies about Terry Fox, but in all that it only seemed real to me standing at the monument. Terry Fox was not some mythical heroic man that all of these stories were about, but just a man with the courage to make a difference.

Moving away from the memorial with is figure of Terry Fox looking over Lake Superior and with the amethyst of Thunder Bay lining its base we headed to Cascade Falls Conservation Area. We had been told about the area by Tribe Sensei, and we followed an excellent map that he had drawn for us to get there. The conservation area was packed. There were people with dogs, people with kids, and people with people. We walked in and to the cascading falls. It was a popular place and we could see the remnants of many campfires. There was graffiti on the stones where people made their mark, but despite this it was still beautiful. We walked on barren rocks beside raging waters and back through the trees to the car. We took some dirt to put the trees into and then were back on our way.

We headed back to the B & B, getting KFC on the way to satisfy the craving that the Double Down could not quench. We relaxed, and blogged, and watched an episode of Lie to Me, and then rested... and blogged... can’t forget the blogging...

And then slept.

TGTH: Day 24 (October 23rd, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 4,797/11,978

Route: Thunder Bay Iaido Seminar

I got up early and missed the “& B” part of the “B & B.” I headed to the other side of Thunder Bay to attend an Iaido Seminar. It was a full day of training, and I needed it. Ohmi Sensei was flown to Thunder Bay from Toronto and I was very lucky to receive feedback from both he and Tribe Sensei. This feedback (and the feedback from other people at the seminar) had all been added to a list of notes for me to go back on in the next few weeks to improve my Iaido. We trained in the morning, took a break for lunch (ham and buns... mmm...), and then trained more in the afternoon. Mostly we trained Seitei Iai (the standardized techniques), but then continued onto Koryu (style specific techniques). I was the only Shinden Ryu practitioner so my Koryu looked a little different from everyone else’s, but it was great to see the differences, and the similarities. I continued with the group for as long as I knew the techniques and then sat on the side to watch as the participants did the more advanced techniques. It was the first time I had been able to see so many of the advanced techniques.

When the seminar was over I headed back to the B & B to pick up my better half. The restaurant that we were all going to turned out to only be a block away from the B & B so we walked over. We did get lost once on the way but made it eventually to Tony & Adam’s (T & A... get it?!).

Supper was a flat rate with all you could eat food. There was first some veggy pizza as an appy and then pasta, chicken, salad, etc. for the entree. It was excellent. Part way through the supper Ohmi Sensei asked me to sit with him. He gave me some pointers to help me with my grading in December. I thanked him profusely and made a note to write down everything I could remember from what he and Tribe Sensei said that day (which I have now done). I hope to make all of the changes that Ohmi Sensei recommended so that I may improve my Iaido and pass my grading.

Following supper we returned to the B & B and went to sleep.

TGTH: Day 23 (October 22nd, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 4,797/11,978

Route: Wawa, Ontario to Thunder Bay, Ontario

Yep. Breakfast in Wawa.

Wawa... oh ya...

Anyways, in the night time we drove passed Wawa’s famous Canada Goose, which happens to be the largest in the World. No, it is not a living goose, but a statue. On the way out of town we went to the goose and got our photos. It was pretty impressive. It was put up on the completion of that section of the TCH and in itself was quite a feat.

As usual the weather was not great, but we made the best of it anyways. Other than the goose, Wawa is famous for a set of waterfalls. That was out next destination. Magpie High Falls are set over a reservoir so when the water level is low the water merely trickles down the falls, but when the water is high the water is a raging torrent. You all know our luck, so that means that the water was low and was just a trickle down the face of the rock. It was still worth seeing and we could imagine the raging torrents of water even though we could not see them. We took some photos and then set to pilfering baby trees (which were in unusually high abundance). With the trees and the dirt in the water bottles we hit the road and pointed to Thunder Bay.

I am sure you are getting tired of reading about driving. It seems that no matter where we go all there is to talk about is driving driving driving. Oh, the road trip woes! Well, I know that you will be shocked, but we were driving. We were driving through the beautiful province of Ontario. At some point the road nestled up against Lake Superior and we were able to see the water stretch off into the distance.

We were driving along it for hours and hours, and before we ran out of time we decided to stop and to walk to the lake to get some photos. We pulled into the shoulder and got out of the car with our cameras. Just then another car pulled up behind us. It was just some guy... he got out of the car and started to ask us about a another guy who was wearing a checkered hoodie. Evidently they have been having issues with this gentleman where he has been breaking into places. The guy said he just saw this other guy run away from his place and was wondering if we had seen him. We said no, but we could see the guy look into Jerusalem to see if we were secretly harbouring this other guy... we weren’t. He drove off and we walked across the highway to go and see the lake. It was beautiful, as my photos well show.

One more thing that I ought to mention is that there are inuksuks all over the place. People seem to just go to the side of the highway to build them. This has resulted in hundreds of them being built along the various highways going through Ontario. As you drive you see these little monuments in the jagged edges of the Canadian Shield giving the feeling of being protected and being on the right track. I am sure we were on both counts.

We stopped at a ski hill (emphasis on hill) and then finished our route to Thunder Bay. We made it to our very affordable B & B and were greeted by the owner. He was (is... not dead yet) an elderly gentleman who is retired and who rents out rooms for the company and the fun of it. It was a bit strange, but we could not complain. Everything was great and beautiful except for the faint smell of smoke and the sketchiness of the area.

He recommended a place for us to go for supper which served Finnish food. We went early because of the evident popularity and were able to get in with only a few moments of waiting. We sat down and had Finnish Pancakes (the specialty) which were just like crepes (or English Pancakes I am told). They were good. Everything was good. Everything was cheap.

Yay!

TGTH: Day 22 (October 21st, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 5,275 (uh route change through Wawa)/11,798

Route: Guelph, Ontario to Wawa, Ontario

Up at... gah... who knows. Early... we tossed everything back into the car and then we hit the road.

Driving.

Driving.

Driving.

We wanted to stay in Canada, so we had to trick the GPS. We told it to get us to Sudbury, and then when we were there we told it to take us to Wawa. We had to do this because the shortest route was in fact through the United States... but... this is a cross Canada tour... not a cross the US and Canada tour.

I don’t know what to say here. We drove North. We managed to take the 407 around Toronto (though I am not sure how the billing works on that since it is a toll road that works off of your license plate...) and then kept going.

We made it to Sudbury and stopped at a KFC. There I found a Double Down, a sandwich with two pieces of chicken for bread and with bacon and cheese in the middle. It was good, but not that good. Frankly I was saddened by it. It looked more bigger and more better in the picture. More bigger. More better. Gah. Damn advertisements. I should have known...

Oh well. We continued on our way.

It was a spectacular drive. The colours were phenomenal as one might guess and as we drove along Lake Superior we were confronted with incredible view after incredible view.

We drove on and on and on. The lights rose and sank and before we knew it we were in Wawa. We were going to sleep in the car, but on a last minute whim we decided to splurge for a motel. It was splendiferous luxury, and oh was it enjoyable... so so enjoyable.

It was a nice soft bed. It was a bed. It was great. It makes me wish that I could sleep better to enjoy such. Well, who knows if I could, but... I tried...

TGTH: Day 21 (October 20th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 6,300/11,978+

Route: Toronto to Guelph, Training with Taylor Sensei, Movie Night with the Taylors

We wanted to leave Toronto early, but with the 401 and with rush hour, early was like... 9 am. We had breakfast with Auntie Anne, thanked her profusely for all of her generosity, and were on our way. It did not take long to get to Guelph, and even though I had a minor disagreement with the GPS we had no issues.

We pulled up to Kim Taylor’s house at about 10 something in the morning. He invited us in and we relaxed a bit with some drinks. Kim had to do an errand so he headed out for a bit while we used his computer to try and sort out our accommodations in Thunder Bay and Winnipeg.

When he returned we had some pizza for lunch and headed to the University of Guelph to train. My better half watched for a while and then went out to explore the University while Taylor Sensei helped my work on my Seitei Iai. I tried hard to take his feedback as he gave it to me and to bring it into my technique, but it will take some time to fully internalize his teachings.

After a few hours it was time to go. We found my better half and then we all returned to Kim’s house. Kim went out with his children briefly while we again worked on our travel plans. One of Kim’s students, Pam, met us at Kim’s and we chatted while we waited for the rest to return. Once we were all together we headed out to a Chinese Restaurant called Sun Sun. I thought there was some parallelism with Wawa (our next destination) so I thought I ought to write a song including in the lyrics “Wa Waaaaaaaaa, Sun Suuuunnnnnnn!” I will have to work on this masterpiece when I return...

Supper was excellent, as was the company. It was an incredible treat.

We headed to Pam’s house following supper and watched “The Last Starfighter.” We had some decision making issues on picking the moving (and the restaurant for that matter) but deciding that everyone should see The Last Starfighter at least once we watched it.

It was a great night. Pam headed out mid way through the movie (on her way to Thunder Bay for the Iaido Seminar on Saturday) as the rest of us finished the movie. As the movie ended we said our good-byes (until December when I return for my grading) and the Taylors headed home.

I headed out in the rain to grab the sleeping bags and we set up camp on Pam’s floor. After that much excitement and that much training, I was ready for sleep. So... I slept.

TGTH: Day 20 (October 19th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 6,393/11,978+

Route: Toronto, Up CN Tower, Down, Around, Etc... etc... etc..., Met a Friend for Coffee, Trained with Cruise Sensei

We got up early... but not eeeeaaarrrlllyyy – for once.

We had seen a great deal of downtown Toronto already, so we went again at a more leisurely pace. We got off at the same station as before and headed around on foot. In Dundas Square (the baby Times Square) there was a huge Uncle Ben’s promotion. There were huge signs everywhere and a little restaurant thing where people were serving Uncle Ben’s for free. It was totally hardcore. We headed back passed the Bay Building and to the CN Tower. We went up and enjoyed the view of Toronto, and of the ground when we stood on the glass floor. Back on the ground we headed past Much Music, CBC, and over to the Kensington Market. We went through the heart of China Town, and around the rest of the most of the downtown. Somewhere in there we had some street meat and more Marble Slab ice cream.

It was busy. It is hard to express the busyness because of the going to so many places just to look, and just to see, but it was super busy. The photos might speak better than my words, but so much of what was seen was just seen and taken to memory. Toronto is a big city, and it has the feel of a big city. You can see the modern people and the hip people going about their business. It really makes me feel... uh... un-hip... I guess I don’t really fit in with the world of fashion and whatever... I think I am better in the woods with a blade, or just in a suit in the world of production. Oh well.

That afternoon we met an old high school friend of mine at Union Station and went for coffee. I am used to seeing this friend only once every few years, and yet, within a year’s span I have now seen her twice. It is a nice change. She still lives on the other side of the country, but seeing her twice in a year is nice. But. For the rest of the time there is e-mail and the like.

We had to wrap up our coffee pretty quick because I had somewhere to be. We hopped back on the train and made it back to Auntie Anne and Benny’s house. I grabbed the car and headed up Yonge to the Jung Ko Kendo Club where Cruise Sensei was teaching Iaido. Somehow finding the place I met Cruise Sensei at the door and headed in. I trained with a few other students and under Cruise Sensei’s instruction I should be able to greatly improve my Iaido. I will take his feedback and work hard for my upcoming grading in December.

After training the lot of us headed to an “authentic” Korean restaurant. When I say “authentic” I mean it. The server spoke Korean... and only Korean. The guys from the Kendo Club ordered some food and we ate. There were some cold dishes like appetizers and then the server brought a little heater to the table. He put a beef dish on the flames and left it to us. The food was spicy, but good. I enjoyed the company of the guys and of Cruise Sensei and then headed back to Auntie Anne’s.

On an interesting side note, Cruise Sensei is the artist who created the Fire Sticks at the University of Calgary’s Engineering Building. There is more to the story that I would like to write up, but now is not the time.

It was a late night, but a good one. I slipped into the house, into the bed, and into a deep (as deep as I get) sleep.

TGTH: Day 19 (October 18th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 6,393/11,978+

Route: Ottawa to Toronto... uh... walked around Toronto

We were up at 6:30 am and packing. We had set up the tent in the backyard to let it dry out (having been wet for ages because of the pouring pouring rain). I took a handful or two of dirt for the trees I had pulled from the soil in Northern Quebec, and we said our good-byes.

Our 7 am departure was at 7:30.

Rush hour in Ottawa held us up for a while, but it was not long before we were on our way to Toronto. The colours were as impressive as ever as we rushed through the countryside. We passed two very clever speed traps (which had already attracted prey) and one semi trailer that was burning up in an inferno of fiery flames (don’t ask me the why or the how, all we saw was the fire and the opposing lanes of the divided highway stopped dead). Passed that much craziness we made it to the 401.

Wow. If you have never driven on the 401 that is certainly a very... special driving experience. Like... wow... like... ... ... wow. There are more lanes there than I have fingers (and toes) to count. That is a lot of people! Somehow we made it into the city and to Auntie Anne’s house. Auntie Anne welcomed us to their home and made us a quick and amazing lunch.

Always on the move we did not stick around long but headed to the subway and then downtown to meet my long time friend Cam. We met at the Bloor-Yonge subway station and then proceeded to tour Toronto on foot. It was very similar to our Ottawa tour in that we got to see an enormous number of things in a very short time. We got to see more than I could name, but we got some ice cream at Marble Slab (a rare (and expensive) treat), and then continued passed... everything... the Husdon Bay Building... the Kensington Market... China Town... a 7-11 where we got slurpees!!!!!!!!!! The First Slurpee Of Our Trip Home!!!!! My First Slurpee Since August!!!!!!! Uh... where was I? Oh yes, then we saw Cam’s apartment (which is a cozy dungeon at the U of T), the water front, then CN Tower, and Queen’s Street. With our feet screaming at us we said our good-bye’s and then headed on the subway back to Auntie Anne’s.

We had a wonderful steak supper with Auntie Anne and her husband Benny (oh how I have missed steak), and then did some laundry (pffft.... not that my clothes needed it... I mean... I had only worn most sets of underwear forwards, backwards, and inside out-forwards... I still had inside out-backwards!), then, like always, I tried to update you, my faithful readers as to my whereabouts and adventures.

In this specific case we changed our route. We decided that it would be best to head first through Calgary to leave Jerusalem there and to get the Jeepaloskophy. This is for the reason that we will be crossing the rocky mountains twice in fall with uncertain weather, and as we saw in Labrador and Quebec, Jerusalem is really really not suited to winter conditions. This will change only the times of our visits, and not the wheres of them...

With feet still screaming. We headed to bed.

TGTH: Day 18 (October 17th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 6,376/11,978

Route: Montreal, Quebec to Ottawa, Ontario (Ottawa, Parliament, Etc...)

Another amazing meal, this time of scrambled eggs and toasted croissants. I guess that is not that impressive, but the presentation was quite good. We packed our things and said good-bye to Montreal, its amazing botanical gardens, and its insane drivers.

We were in Ottawa by noon and under the advice of friends we parked in the World Exchange Plaza. We grabbed a quick lunch at the staple McD’s and then headed to Parliament. We were looking at Parliament and wondering what there was to see in Ottawa (since the tourist office was closed (presumably (because it was Sunday)) and we had no idea where it was). I was talking to a friend in Calgary (my dear friend Chloë, the same friend who changed by life by introducing me to Double Rainbows) on my Crackberry and the managed to get her cousin (Amy – who I had met before out West) to graciously spend a few minutes of her day showing us around. We waited at Parliament for our impromptu tour guide and then headed around.

We saw the Parliament, the Market, the Canal, City Hall, some parks, some etcetera, and the general area. It was a great tour and gave us an idea of what Ottawa had to offer. This was fantastic because we had no idea what there was to see... Our excellent guide concluded the tour be returning us to where we started and then left us to our own devices.

Still having some time we returned to some of the places to get some more photos. We headed back to the market to buy Beaver Tails, which, contrary to their name are just a pastry covered in some kind of... sauce... like... chocolate... mmmmmmmm...

We wandered around a bit and then noticed that the time was ticking. Our hosts would be home from Montreal. We drove to their place which was a beautiful home in what was once the town/city/thing of Orleans. Now part of Ottawa they live in Ottawa. Our hosts were my sister’s best friend Courtney and her boyfriend Jason. They took us into their home and we enjoyed some fantastic pizza to the movie Snatch. The movie was... wild. And... awesome...

Exhausted as always, we went to bed.

TGTH: Day 17 (October 16th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Left: /11,978

Route: Montreal, Quebec (Old Montreal, Biological Gardens)

Our B & B was truly a good choice. We woke up and headed upstairs to a breakfast of French Toast with some of the best presentation I have ever seen. Our host was in a chef’s jacked as he served the meal with slivers of fruit purposefully decorating the plate. It was one of the best breakfasts we have had yet.

We made a plan and jumped into action. We returned to St. Catherine’s Street and towards the Eaton Centre. We were inside and downstairs into the Underground City. For those who have not been to Montreal this is quite a thing. It is um... huge. Nearly the entire downtown spans underground and connects. It is like Calgary’s Plus 15s, but uh... Minus 15.

Eventually we found uh... well... we didn’t know where we were, but we popped out of the Underground City and back to the realm of surface dwellers. When we found ourselves we headed to a nearby church. The first church we saw was a pretty impressive church, extremely impressive actually, as it is a ¼ scale version of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. At ¼ it is enormous, and I cannot even imagine the immensity of the actual Basilica.

We took a few shots of another church and then headed to Old Montreal. It is not as impressive as Old Quebec in the walled city kind of way, but it has its own value in that it looks like an old metropolitan centre that was well used, well loved, and outgrown. I took special note to find the Bank of Montreal Building at the advice of my Father and tried to take photos amidst the construction. We then went to the famous cathedral where famous people get married – Celine Dion for example! Some while later we stopped for lunch, and being in Rome we did as the Romans did, and had some French Onion Soup and Coc au Ven (sp.?). Being overly fed and watered we continued through the Old City, and then, having our fill, we headed out towards the subway (seeing China Town... French China Town... on the way).

We took a train to the Olympic Park and took a few photos. We could not go in because of some strike nonsense and repairs or something like that... anyways, that did not stop us as we headed to the Botanical Gardens instead (3^rd largest in the World). We wanted to see the Biodome, but there was a similar story to the Olympic Park so we stuck with the Botanical Gardens and Insectarium. It was amazing. You may notice from my photos that I thought it was hugely amazing as there are about a thousand photos of flowers and bonsai trees. That kind of place... is my kind of place. It was great to see the trees and plants and trees and everything! There is so much life in those kinds of places, it is hard to miss. We also managed to see many pumpkins in a pumpkin carving contest and some Chinese lanterns as the sun went down. It was a fantastic afternoon... it was not hard to understand why the people we saw getting wedding photos taken were getting them taken there.

We took the train back downtown and tried to make it to a game store that sold all sorts of game related things... like Legend of Zelda stuffed animals. We missed it by five minutes. Literally. Oh well, it is probably a good thing or else I would be broke, and Jerusalem would be full of... Legend of Zelda stuffed animals.

We headed back to the B & B exhausted, and well... exhausted. We did not need supper. We tried to write down the accounts of the past days and post photos on the blogs and then fell into a deep slumber... well... as deep as I get nowadays...

TGTH: Day 16 (October 15th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 6,576/11,978

Route: Lambton, Quebec to Montreal, Quebec

I woke up pretty early, but just when I got up I saw Gilles leaving from the kitchen window. I was glad we had said our good-byes the night before. We had a light breakfast with Francine and then were on our way. The weather, as it has been for most of our trip, was foul. Don’t get me wrong, I love all kinds of weather and think it is delightful, but, by most people’s standards, the weather was foul. It was dark, it was gloomy, and as has been our norm... it was pouring rain. I loaded the car in quick spurts and then we were on our way. On our way out of Lambton we took a final photo of Gilles’ church and were on our way to Montreal.

Montreal is not that far from Lambton so we would get there relatively early in the day. The trip was rather difficult. It was a beautiful trip as the rain had made the colours clean and pure, but the water was a bit extreme. We pushed on through the water and dodged the sketchy Quebec drivers. It was at its worst when we got to Montreal. The rain was pounding down on us and as the roads and highways converged all of the crazy drivers were pushed into one place. Since Montreal is an island we had to cross a bridge to get there; a bridge with too few lanes and insufficient drainage. The rainwater was making it difficult to see (even with the wipers on full) and when a semi drove by our windshield was covered with a layer of water so thick that I could not see through it. I gauged the distance from the car beside me to maintain a safe course while the wipers did their best to clear the view. We were crammed in like water under high pressure laminar flow – running fast across the bridge in fluid streams that could not be stopped. As soon as we crossed the bridges and the pressure decreased we broke into a turbulent flow pattern and exploded into a number of different directions. My GPS (thank you Granddad!) safely directed us through the chaos and to our B & B. I will admit, it had a hell of a time doing it, since I took a wrong turn in my attempts to keep us alive as the cars scattered about and the nutty Montreal drivers did their thing.

The rain was pouring and we were in Montreal before the actual check-in time. There was no one staying at the B & B so the manager said that we could check in early. It was a good little B & B called Repos & Manna, and it was just on the edges of Montreal’s downtown. We got settled in and were given a brief overview of Montreal.

Having some time we headed out. The rain was terrible. The umbrella I had purchased in Chine (which is the best umbrella I have ever owned) did a great job to keep the rain away, and the wind breaker did the rest. The combination of the two kept the two of us mostly dry as we headed to St. Catherine’s Street (a main shopping street). We tried to find the Museum of Architecture but a lack of signs thwarted us. We tried to walk around to see what there was to see but the weather stood in our way. The rain was still coming down in thick streams and the wind was so severe that umbrellas were being ripped to shreds. It appeared that half of the people on the street with umbrellas had them turned inside out, and the other half were struggling to control them. There were umbrellas scattered in the garbage piles along the street and soggy people rushing about. Most restaurants were not yet open (because it was too early) but we managed to slip into a Mexican restaurant that was surprisingly busy. We figure it was busy because of it being the only open restaurant and of all of the people trying to escape the rain.

After a great meal we retreated (defeated) to the B & B. We resolved to catch up on blogging, and to enjoy another fantastic episode of Castle.

I Heart Castle.

TGTH: Day 15 (October 14th, 2010)

View Larger Map

Kilometres Remaining: 6,826/11,978

Route: Quebec City, Quebec to Lambton, Quebec (Saint Sebastian and The Sugar Bush!))

Up pretty early and out of our hotel. Checking out was easy since it did not require too much... uh... talking. Key from my hand to the hotel guy’s and then we were gone. Getting out of the city was pretty easy, and I have noticed a trend that leaving cities is much easier driving than entering them.

We were out and on the highway and on the way to Lambton. Lambton is a small town with a few thousand residents. There are actually many towns like this. We drove through a region called the Eastern Townships where there was town after town. Each one was more picturesque than the last, until we hit Lambton at least, which might be the pinnacle of picturesqueness. All of these towns have one enormous Church and then a bunch of smaller buildings and are quite something to see. The colours were fabulous and the weather was decent for once.

It took us until about lunch time to get to Lambton and when we arrived our friends were waiting for us. Gilles and Francine were our neighbours when I was growing up. I have many fond memories spending days with Francine when I was sick (or my parents were sick of me) and of learning about hunting and bows and arrows from Gilles (who actually made me arrows for the bow my Dad and I cut from a piece of Willow). There were a big part of my growing up, and though I was young I have many memories that I shan’t forget.

Francine greeted us warmly and with a big hug. I had seen her and Gilles a year or two back when they returned to Calgary, but even that was too long. We were welcomed to their beautiful home and came inside. Gilles joined us and then headed off to run some quick errands as we settled in. We had some amazing hors d’oeuvres and a salad for lunch when Gilles returned and then a fantastic dessert.

We had no plans in Lambton except to see Gilles and Francine, and we were very fortunate that Gilles had some time to show us around. Gilles is a very busy man, and among his many activities he is the director of the church choir. Lambton has an enormous church for when people attended. It was supposed to be a diocese eventually with its own Bishop, that that never came to be. Anyways, back to the plot, Gilles has a key to the church so we had our own private tour. The church can hold 1200 people, but recently attendance has been between 50 and 100 people, depending on events. They now use a smaller chapel in the back of the church for more intimacy and to save on the heating of the full hall. Sad as it is that such a building is no longer needed as it was, the church was incredible. The main hall was something to see, and the organ is a Cadilac of organs. Amazing.

We left the church and headed towards Saint Sebastian. That area is a granite capital so all along the way we saw granite houses, and slabs of granite waiting to be turned into countertops. We passed the bar where Gilles and Francine met and were regaled with stories of their youth. Gilles and Francine both have their families in the area, and they moved back to Lambton as a compromise between moving to either of their birth villages. We continued on our way and passed the house the Gilles was born in. It was amazing to learn so much about Gilles and Francine’s rich history. Gilles took us up to the granite museum. He thought it might be closed but when we arrived we were able to drive right to the door. The museum was closed, but they were packing everything up so the gate was open. We made it to the top of the hill/mountain and were stunned. At the top of that mountain we were confronted with the best view that we had seen yet. We have seen a great deal of Canada, so when we say the best view, we mean it. We could see forever. Gilles pointed out local areas, including Gilles and Francine’s sugar bush. He told us of the path being built between the different exhausted quarries so that people could see them all. The view truly was... stunning.

We had to stand there for quite a bit.

Admiring.

After regaining our breaths and examining a few granite sculptures we headed down the mountain. We did not go to the sugar bush immediately but to their neighbour, who happens to have a Christmas tree farm. On the way we saw three deer, which marked the most wildlife that we had yet seen on the trip. We drove into the Christmas tree farm and Gilles showed us the trees in different batches. Some were 8 years old. Some were 8 months old. He told us that the ones flagged were measured at different heights and that was indicated by the colour of flag. Those ones would be harvested. Also, every summer a bunch of people with machetes come through and trim every tree to the right shape so that when they reach their final size (10ish years) they are perfect.

The son of the owner came to check on what we were up to and had a lengthy conversation with Gilles. He said we should go further in to get an idea about the different stages of growth. We did and it was very interesting.

Then, we headed to the sugar bush.

In New Brunswick I got to see a small sugar bush of maybe 100 taps. Gilles and Francine’s sugar bush has 6000, which is quite a large operation! The taps are not in right now, but we could see the hoses that go from tree to tree to collect the syrup when the syrup is running (March). Gilles showed us the sugar shack where the sap is collected, then reduced with an osmotic filter, and then evaporated to get it to the right proportions of sugar. Maple Syrup has 66% sugar in it, and it must be carefully brought to that proportion. Gilles explained the different colour of the syrup as the season progresses and how in the beginning it is a clear colour, and then more of an amber colour at the end. He showed us samples from last season’s batches and we could see the difference. Gilles also told us about how the inspector would come and grade the syrup. The inspector would use a bunch of scientific methods to grade it, and then a final taste test to check for unknown flavours like wood, or unknown... The entire process is very impressive. It can be done with one person, but is best with four. If you do not have enough people something gets neglected and it can be difficult to produce high quality syrup.

Another thing that is very interesting is that animals can be a bit of a problem. Gilles used to have an old kind tubing that the squirrels use to love getting into. They would see the salt water in the lines (used to clean them in the off season) and they would bite into the line to get it. The technology has changed so Gilles changed the lines to the new and better material. Now the deer see the water in the lines and pull the lines down to get them. They are a nuisance, but part of the whole equation.

We walked around the sugar bush and left some apples near the salt lick... hopefully to get the deer to stop pulling on the syrup lines... and then down to the pumphouse (where the vacuum is created to help draw the sap, and where the sap is then pumped to the sugar shack).

Having learned an enormous amount, and having gained a sudden desire to return during the season to help out (which we may do in the future, well, I certainly hope so!) we headed back.

We reconnected the trailer to the truck so that Gilles could get away early the next day for his hunting trip in New Brunwsick and then went into the house. We entered Gilles’ trophy/work room from his hunting exploits and I remembered many of the trophies from when they were situated in their house back in Calgary. Gilles gave us an incredibly generous gift of a box of maple syrup (half light syrup for cooking and half dark for pancakes), and then we headed into the house. Francine had made us an incredible feast of a pork roast with a sweet glaze, and veggies in rice. It was finished off with an amazing dessert made of maple syrup. I cannot possibly express how well we have been treated on this journey.

We sat and talked with Gilles and Francine and then retired for the evening.

What an incredible day! It was so amazing to see Gilles and Francine, and the things that we got to see (not to mention eat!).

For the first time in a long long long time, we went to sleep in a home.