- My truck was making squeaks and groans over bumps lately and I wanted to sort everything out before leaving so I took it in to have everything looked at. $1700 later it's worse than it was, and I had to keep the windows closed at all times to stop it from stressing me out. De ja vu.
- I have a feeling the guy with a lifted SUV with Alberta plates stands no chance of not getting ripped off by a mechanic in Quebec.
- It's difficult to get a good nights sleep when I'm so paranoid about my truck and everything in it disappearing. I stopped mentally calculating at $20,000, not to mention irreplaceables
- Hotels cost twice as much as motels, and they generally suck all the same.
- Banff and Jasper get all the glory, but I think Roger's Pass is my favourite part of the Rockies. BC for the win.
- Google Maps and a GPS are great for turn by turn directions between two points, but you still can't beat a good old fashioned map book for actually planning your trip.
- The 2 best skate parks in Canada are Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, 2 of the worst cities.
- Road work crews take full advantage of the short Canadian summer
- Why is it that some people drive 10 under the limit during the single lane and then speed up to 10 over as soon as you get a chance to pass.
- When you hit Manitoba the speed limit drops to 100 but the highway is exactly the same. The dirt roads that run parallel have a speed limit of 90. Figure that out.
- It might not take 2 full days to drive through Ontario if it wasn't 2 lanes the whole way. Not enough tax dollars in Ontario?
- The bags on my passenger seat make the seat belt light flash, just to remind me that I'm flying solo
- It's not all bad being alone, when Spice up your life comes on there's no awkwardness. I can even sing along if I want to. Having said that there are a lot of non Spice Girls songs that need to be purged from my ipod after this trip.
- I have a lot of songs about driving down a highway. If I start doing a bunch of drugs and become more of a promiscuous heartbreaker I'll be able to relate to pretty well all of them.
- There is a lighthouse in the prairies. It's on a small lake in Alberta of course.
- Rivers east of the Rockies look like chocolate milk
- I never drink coffee because I don't like the taste, but I've been choking back energy drinks.
- I wonder if peeing in a Gatorade bottle is included in distracted driving legislation.
- If I drive 15-20km over the limit and take the necessary gas, food and bathroom breaks I can usually hit the gps's arrival time right on the money.
- In Italy my tomtom's "shortcuts" lead us on lovely countryside drives off the beaten path. In Canada it's ridiculous and I have to ignore it anytime it veers off the norm.
- If you are proud of the fact your town won 'communities in bloom' in 1997, don't be. As far as I can tell every city in Canada has won at some point.
- Someone needs to fund a pro-abortion billboard campaign. That side of the debate is grossly under represented on the side of the highway.
- Amish people are real.
- Northern Ontario is a lot more scenic than I remember. The lakes around Kenora look amazing, and the whole drive along Lake Superior is really nice too. Just don't tell anyone from Ontario I said that.
- The drive between Ottawa and Montreal is real life frogger. It's also less than 2 hours so I'm looking forward to a couple weekend trips.
- It's a joke that from Manitoba on there has been French on the road signs, but once you hit Quebec there's not a word of English. Should come as no surprise there's already a blog (rant) brewing about this province's stubbornness about their dead language.
Bitterness aside, I'm really happy to have finally arrived in our new home. 6500km and over $1300 in gas and here I am. Montreal is an awesome city that I'm really excited to get to know better. Genevieve picked us a nice place in a great looking neighbourhood. I think it's gonna be fun.
