(Our last night in Terrace Beach)
Showing posts with label ECCJ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ECCJ. Show all posts
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Epic Cross Country Journey - fin.
So, we're home.
And the Epic Cross Country Journey?
Epic.
I don't even know what to say about it all, which is maybe why it's taken me so long to write about it. (I also feel like no one is even reading this these days...is anyone still here?)
Seeing our country, from our home right through to the most westerly part, was an amazing experience.
When I asked Griffin what his favourite part was on the way home from the airport, he said "the...everything!"
That pretty much sums it up.
When we last posted, we were in Kamloops. We travelled from there to Vancouver, from Vancouver to Nanaimo, and from Nanaimo to Terrace Beach Resort, in Ucluelet, on the far western edge of the island.
Terrace Beach was 5 days of a whole lotta nothing - just what we needed after our 14 day trek across the country.
We spent the week with Steve's parents, sister and brother in law. Griffin had a blast, building sandcastles and picking berries with his aunt and uncle, and generally being entertained by someone other than us.
Griffin came down with a fever some time mid week, and things spiraled slightly from there. We went on a beautiful wildlife cruise, where I spent the majority of the time in the lower cabin, with two nauseous children, and feeling a little green myself. Corbie actually tossed his cookies all over the lovely cabin floor, and Griffin passed out for about 20 minutes after I gave him a Gravol, and woke up feeling much better. We had an amazing dinner anchored in an inlet though, which made the whole puke fest worthwhile!
Unfortunately, it continued. Griffin's fever stuck around, and on our way back to Vancouver, there were three puke-tastrophies in the car. One single one from Corbie, and then a tandem, and epic one that required a pullover, a complete change, and $2 to fire up the vacuum at the gas station, to suck up all the nasties. Oh, and then once more on the ferry.
Luckily, there were no incidents on the plane (which might have had to do with the fact that this over-paranoid mother Gravol-ed the heck out of the children...totally warranted, I thought!)
And now we're home, and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow.
Would I do it again? Yes, totally.
Would I do it again anytime soon? Yes, actually, I would. Totally.
I have a shipload of pictures to sort through (and make a book out of, I think.) And hopefully I'll share some more at some point. But for now, it's off to bed.
Thanks for traveling with us!
And the Epic Cross Country Journey?
Epic.
I don't even know what to say about it all, which is maybe why it's taken me so long to write about it. (I also feel like no one is even reading this these days...is anyone still here?)
Seeing our country, from our home right through to the most westerly part, was an amazing experience.
When I asked Griffin what his favourite part was on the way home from the airport, he said "the...everything!"
That pretty much sums it up.
When we last posted, we were in Kamloops. We travelled from there to Vancouver, from Vancouver to Nanaimo, and from Nanaimo to Terrace Beach Resort, in Ucluelet, on the far western edge of the island.
Terrace Beach was 5 days of a whole lotta nothing - just what we needed after our 14 day trek across the country.
We spent the week with Steve's parents, sister and brother in law. Griffin had a blast, building sandcastles and picking berries with his aunt and uncle, and generally being entertained by someone other than us.
Griffin came down with a fever some time mid week, and things spiraled slightly from there. We went on a beautiful wildlife cruise, where I spent the majority of the time in the lower cabin, with two nauseous children, and feeling a little green myself. Corbie actually tossed his cookies all over the lovely cabin floor, and Griffin passed out for about 20 minutes after I gave him a Gravol, and woke up feeling much better. We had an amazing dinner anchored in an inlet though, which made the whole puke fest worthwhile!
Unfortunately, it continued. Griffin's fever stuck around, and on our way back to Vancouver, there were three puke-tastrophies in the car. One single one from Corbie, and then a tandem, and epic one that required a pullover, a complete change, and $2 to fire up the vacuum at the gas station, to suck up all the nasties. Oh, and then once more on the ferry.
Luckily, there were no incidents on the plane (which might have had to do with the fact that this over-paranoid mother Gravol-ed the heck out of the children...totally warranted, I thought!)
And now we're home, and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow.
Would I do it again? Yes, totally.
Would I do it again anytime soon? Yes, actually, I would. Totally.
I have a shipload of pictures to sort through (and make a book out of, I think.) And hopefully I'll share some more at some point. But for now, it's off to bed.
Thanks for traveling with us!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Paradise Found
So here we are, in Kamloops, on day 13 (OK, it's morning now, so it's day 14!)
We spent Monday night in Drumheller before heading to the museum, and nearly froze our patooties off. The temperature dropped down to 4 freaking degrees. FOUR! When we woke up in the morning we could see our breath in the tent, and it was downright frosty on the outside.
After a night of respite at my uncle's place in Delburne, we decided to look for a place that had camping cabins, rather than roughing it (or turning into popsicles) in our tent.
We ended up getting WAY more than a camping cabin.
We actually ended up having an afternoon/evening/morning that was by far the highlight of the trip thus far.
We ended up off the beaten path...15 kilometers down a pot holed, dusty gravel mountain road. Up and down and twist and turn, sheer drop off's at every corner. About half way into the trek down the path, we came across a sign that read "don't give up yet!" The little bit of humour was all we needed to keep on trucking.
And we were so glad we did.
Beaverfoot Lodge. A little spot, nestled in the mountains. One of the most peaceful and serene places I've ever been. There were little rustic cabins tucked into the woods. A glacier fed spring stream, bubbling away (behind the sauna!) where we filled our water bottle. Free range horses, just roaming the property, galloping past our kitchen window at random. A beautiful (c-c-c-cold!) river, wandering through the property. The most lovely hosts we've met so far. And a three year old boy, complete with cowboy gun, that Griffin became fast friends with...we hardly saw him for the whole time we were there!
We are SO glad we made the trek off the main road. We were dubious, driving down that gravel path, but it was SO worth it in the end.
Today we head to Vancouver, where we ditch our trusty trailer, and take a backstage tour of the Vancouver Aquarium. This is kind of the end of the first part of the trip, as tomorrow we head over to the island for 5 days on the ocean with the family.
So far? So amazing!
Day 10 - Saskatoon to Drumheller
Total Driving - 499 km
Day 11 - Drumheller AB to Delburne AB, home to "Big Uncle Ben."
Total distance - 120km
Day 12 - Delburne AB to (somewhere near) Golden BC
Total distance - 465km
Day 13 - Golden BC to Kamloops BC
Total distance - I'm not sure...I forgot to check the odometer when we arrived tonight...the kids were starving!
We spent Monday night in Drumheller before heading to the museum, and nearly froze our patooties off. The temperature dropped down to 4 freaking degrees. FOUR! When we woke up in the morning we could see our breath in the tent, and it was downright frosty on the outside.
After a night of respite at my uncle's place in Delburne, we decided to look for a place that had camping cabins, rather than roughing it (or turning into popsicles) in our tent.
We ended up getting WAY more than a camping cabin.
We actually ended up having an afternoon/evening/morning that was by far the highlight of the trip thus far.
We ended up off the beaten path...15 kilometers down a pot holed, dusty gravel mountain road. Up and down and twist and turn, sheer drop off's at every corner. About half way into the trek down the path, we came across a sign that read "don't give up yet!" The little bit of humour was all we needed to keep on trucking.
And we were so glad we did.
Beaverfoot Lodge. A little spot, nestled in the mountains. One of the most peaceful and serene places I've ever been. There were little rustic cabins tucked into the woods. A glacier fed spring stream, bubbling away (behind the sauna!) where we filled our water bottle. Free range horses, just roaming the property, galloping past our kitchen window at random. A beautiful (c-c-c-cold!) river, wandering through the property. The most lovely hosts we've met so far. And a three year old boy, complete with cowboy gun, that Griffin became fast friends with...we hardly saw him for the whole time we were there!
We are SO glad we made the trek off the main road. We were dubious, driving down that gravel path, but it was SO worth it in the end.
Today we head to Vancouver, where we ditch our trusty trailer, and take a backstage tour of the Vancouver Aquarium. This is kind of the end of the first part of the trip, as tomorrow we head over to the island for 5 days on the ocean with the family.
So far? So amazing!
Day 10 - Saskatoon to Drumheller
Total Driving - 499 km
Day 11 - Drumheller AB to Delburne AB, home to "Big Uncle Ben."
Total distance - 120km
Day 12 - Delburne AB to (somewhere near) Golden BC
Total distance - 465km
Day 13 - Golden BC to Kamloops BC
Total distance - I'm not sure...I forgot to check the odometer when we arrived tonight...the kids were starving!
Hey Drumheller, whadda ya say?
(Anyone else seen that show on Treehouse? OK...nevermind.)
Drumheller! A dino-boy's biggest dream.
We came, we saw, we roared!
We (and by we, I mean Corben) also accidentally pulled the key out of the computer while it was transferring the photos from the day...so we are missing about 75% of them...which TOTALLY totally sucks. Including the ONE family photo that we have (had) so far on this trip.
None the less, it was still awesome, and Griffin had the time of his life.
Monday, August 15, 2011
And the Journey continues...
Day 6 (Thursday): Total kilometers: Zero.
Winnipeg...day of rest.
Total swim time in a friend's pool: A good solid 3 hours.
Total dinners that we cooked: 0.
Total dinners someone else cooked: 1 awesome one.
Total amount of kilometers that the boys ran: At least a half marathon.
Total amount of food that the boys ate: more than they had in the first week of the trip combined.
Total amount of sleep that the boys slept: more than they had in the first week of the trip combined.
Day of rest, catching up on sleep, and buisness: priceless.
Day 7 (Friday): Total kilometers: About 450 (the map is very far, too far, from where I am comfortably seated right now.)
Winnipeg to Moosomin.
Number of campgrounds that I could find in the area: none that I liked.
Number of motels that I could find in the area: 3...none that I liked.
Number of REALLY nice hotels that I could find in the area: 1. That I REALLY liked.
Spending one night in a little bit of luxury (with an pool and a WATERSLIDE!): totally awesome.
Day 8: (Saturday): Moosomin SK to Saskatoon
Number of Moose sighted before Moosomin: none.
Number of Moose sighted after Moosomin: one.
Thank you, Moosomin.
(Oh, and this:
Wicked.)
Day 9 (Sunday): Saskatoon
Nights booked at Gordie Howe Campground: 2
Nights spent at Gordie Howe Campground: 1
Number of wasps and other random flying stinging things that I am allergic to at Gordie Howe Campground: 9,437, give or take.
Number of CCR fans at the concert just across the river from Gordie Howe Campground: It sounded like at least 8000.
but...
Totally awesome and unexpected nights in a sister's backyard, meeting new people and hanging out with new cousins: two. Wicked.
And tomorrow? Drumheller.
Number of dinoboys, ready to meet their dino buddies?
One very excited one, and his sidekick.
Awesome.
Winnipeg...day of rest.
Total swim time in a friend's pool: A good solid 3 hours.
Total dinners that we cooked: 0.
Total dinners someone else cooked: 1 awesome one.
Total amount of kilometers that the boys ran: At least a half marathon.
Total amount of food that the boys ate: more than they had in the first week of the trip combined.
Total amount of sleep that the boys slept: more than they had in the first week of the trip combined.
Day of rest, catching up on sleep, and buisness: priceless.
Day 7 (Friday): Total kilometers: About 450 (the map is very far, too far, from where I am comfortably seated right now.)
Winnipeg to Moosomin.
Number of campgrounds that I could find in the area: none that I liked.
Number of motels that I could find in the area: 3...none that I liked.
Number of REALLY nice hotels that I could find in the area: 1. That I REALLY liked.
Spending one night in a little bit of luxury (with an pool and a WATERSLIDE!): totally awesome.
Day 8: (Saturday): Moosomin SK to Saskatoon
Number of Moose sighted before Moosomin: none.
Number of Moose sighted after Moosomin: one.
Thank you, Moosomin.
(Oh, and this:
Wicked.)
Day 9 (Sunday): Saskatoon
Nights booked at Gordie Howe Campground: 2
Nights spent at Gordie Howe Campground: 1
Number of wasps and other random flying stinging things that I am allergic to at Gordie Howe Campground: 9,437, give or take.
Number of CCR fans at the concert just across the river from Gordie Howe Campground: It sounded like at least 8000.
but...
Totally awesome and unexpected nights in a sister's backyard, meeting new people and hanging out with new cousins: two. Wicked.
And tomorrow? Drumheller.
Number of dinoboys, ready to meet their dino buddies?
One very excited one, and his sidekick.
Awesome.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Epic Cross Country Journey, Part 2 (which is really part 5)
The fact that I'm sitting on a picnic table in the woods, Steve's cell phone tethered to his laptop, and I'm blogging, kind of thrills me to no end. It's hippie camper girl meets modern mom and the result?
Genius.
My hippie self is justifying blogging in the woods with the fact that there is a burn ban in effect and we can't light a campfire. So what the heck else are we supposed to do? I can't read a book (my iPad is charging...bwahaha! The fact that I didn't bring a book made out of PAPER kind of FREAKS me out, but heh, get with the times I suppose. My paperbacks don't glow at night, so there.)
We're parked at a park (ha) just east Winnipeg. We drove the pants off of yesterday to get here, just so we could park ourselves for two whole nights, without having to perform the (now) finely tuned ballet we call "Set up Camp."
It's similar to it's sequel: "Tear down Camp." (It's less finely tuned, it's been different every day.)
The only place we have to go tomorrow is for lunch at the Forks (hardship, I know.) Then a meeting at the Forks. (A bit of work mixed in here and there...that's what I get for planning a tour and then volunteering to drive the work vehicle to Vancouver to start said tour, thus traveling the exact tour route, only in reverse.) And then for dinner with some old friends.
We needed this little travel break, Griffin is doing well but Corbie is having a bit of a rough time...I keep saying that I think it's teeth, but I don't really think it's teeth, I think he may have the beginnings of an ear infection, and I think I'm going to have to take the little monkey to the walk in clinic tomorrow. Luckily we're in a good place for it - a major city with friends who have kids in it.
I haven't dragged the photo's off the camera for today just yet (blogging is one thing, but busting out cameras and card readers and uploading, that's a bit much, obviously.)
(Snicker snicker.)
Anyway, I was saying, the terrain we drove today was incredible. We finally made it out of Ontario after 1881 kilometers. Eff. That's about half the trip! But the change from "Canadian Shield" to "Prairies" is in-stan-freaking-tanious. Mountains. Flat.
Bang.
So, hello, Prairies. This is the only part of the western half of the Trans Can that I haven't driven through, and I'm kind of excited about it. Plus, it's fast. Two days, in and out if you wanted to. We're staying 5 - 2 days here, 2 days in Saskatoon with Steve's family, and one in between.
Then Drumellheller (DINOSAURS!), Red Deer (Uncle Ben!), Golden, Kamloops, and Vancouver. Then Ferry. Then Island. Then 6 days on the Island, with Steve's parents (for their 50th anniversary, the whole catalyst to this trip,) and his sister and brother in law.
Amazing.
It's been most excellent so far, it's true. We're doing something many people only dream of doing, and we are fully aware of the scope of it's awesomeness. We're trying to document, and remember, and share, but mostly, to enjoy.
And enjoying we are!
Drive on, driver!
Genius.
My hippie self is justifying blogging in the woods with the fact that there is a burn ban in effect and we can't light a campfire. So what the heck else are we supposed to do? I can't read a book (my iPad is charging...bwahaha! The fact that I didn't bring a book made out of PAPER kind of FREAKS me out, but heh, get with the times I suppose. My paperbacks don't glow at night, so there.)
We're parked at a park (ha) just east Winnipeg. We drove the pants off of yesterday to get here, just so we could park ourselves for two whole nights, without having to perform the (now) finely tuned ballet we call "Set up Camp."
It's similar to it's sequel: "Tear down Camp." (It's less finely tuned, it's been different every day.)
The only place we have to go tomorrow is for lunch at the Forks (hardship, I know.) Then a meeting at the Forks. (A bit of work mixed in here and there...that's what I get for planning a tour and then volunteering to drive the work vehicle to Vancouver to start said tour, thus traveling the exact tour route, only in reverse.) And then for dinner with some old friends.
We needed this little travel break, Griffin is doing well but Corbie is having a bit of a rough time...I keep saying that I think it's teeth, but I don't really think it's teeth, I think he may have the beginnings of an ear infection, and I think I'm going to have to take the little monkey to the walk in clinic tomorrow. Luckily we're in a good place for it - a major city with friends who have kids in it.
I haven't dragged the photo's off the camera for today just yet (blogging is one thing, but busting out cameras and card readers and uploading, that's a bit much, obviously.)
(Snicker snicker.)
Anyway, I was saying, the terrain we drove today was incredible. We finally made it out of Ontario after 1881 kilometers. Eff. That's about half the trip! But the change from "Canadian Shield" to "Prairies" is in-stan-freaking-tanious. Mountains. Flat.
Bang.
So, hello, Prairies. This is the only part of the western half of the Trans Can that I haven't driven through, and I'm kind of excited about it. Plus, it's fast. Two days, in and out if you wanted to. We're staying 5 - 2 days here, 2 days in Saskatoon with Steve's family, and one in between.
Then Drumellheller (DINOSAURS!), Red Deer (Uncle Ben!), Golden, Kamloops, and Vancouver. Then Ferry. Then Island. Then 6 days on the Island, with Steve's parents (for their 50th anniversary, the whole catalyst to this trip,) and his sister and brother in law.
Amazing.
It's been most excellent so far, it's true. We're doing something many people only dream of doing, and we are fully aware of the scope of it's awesomeness. We're trying to document, and remember, and share, but mostly, to enjoy.
And enjoying we are!
Drive on, driver!
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Epic Cross Country Journey, Part 1
Here we are! We are alive, and well, and finally in a place that allows more than a quick facebook update before losing internet signal again. I'm standing next to the bathroom sink, in a grungy motel room, the last one in town. Next to the bathroom sink seems to be the ONLY place in the room where the internet signal works, so here I stand.
And here I type fast, thus the whole precarious thing falls apart!
So...what have we been up to so far? Let me share!
Day One: We left the house darn near RIGHT on schedule, and I was impressed to say the least. The house was clean, the bags were packed, the trailer loaded, and I didn't forget a single thing on my list.
Our first pit stop came a mere 15 minutes into the journey, when we discovered that the trailer needed to be reshuffled, as the weight distribution was causing it to fishtail all over the road behind the truck, making smooth relaxing driving a near impossibility. We shuffled on the side of the road near Dundalk, and carried on.
I have to admit, there was a point about 45 minutes into the journey when I thought "what the the sam hell have we got ourselves into here?" Griffin wanted to go home (already) and Corben was chucking every toy that I gave him onto the floor below him, and hollering to beat the band. But then they both fell asleep, and I realized that they were probably just exhausted from the excitement of the morning, and we carried on. (Still slightly nervous about what we had gotten ourselves into...)
We made it to Tobermory and the ferry dock without further incident, and had a delightful little ferry crossing. Griffin spent all his time in the arcade (go figure) and Corben and I walked the lower decks where all the dogs were, him pointing out every single one to me like he'd never seen a dog before. (It was kind of adorable.)
We pulled into an amazing little gem of a park on Manitoulin Island after we finally arrived on the Island, called IcouldtellyoubutI'dhavetokillyou Camp. It was the most stunning little gem of a place that we've ever seen, and we'll most certainly be back.
Day One: Home to Lake Kagawong, Manitoulin Island. 250km by land, and a few more by sea.
Day 2: Off early, in the rain. Today saw us drive some amazing country - off the island, up through Sault Ste Marie, to Pancake Bay, a Provincial Park about an hour north of the Soo. Again, amazing. With campsites located about 50 feet from Lake Superior, it was a stunning place to spend the night.
Day Two: Manitoulin Island to Pancake Bay, 443 kms, every single one spectacular
Day 3: With Thunderstorms in the forecast, we were off early again. Hell, there has been thunderstorms in the forecast just about every single day since we left, and for the most part they start just about the time that we hop into the car.
We had a bit of a terrifying moment this morning, when we pulled out of Pancake Bay and headed west, and realized we were a mighty long way from the next town. And, a mighty long way from our first cup of coffee. (As a sidebar: if you're ever road tripping across the country, NOT traveling with a coffee maker is an excellent motivation to get up and get moving in the morning!) Luckily, we found Joe's Gas In The Middle Of Nowhere (it wasn't REALLY called that, but it should have been.) It's sign boasted Gas, Groceries and Good Coffee. Two outta three ain't bad.
First stop of the day - WAWA! And of course the Wawa goose! Next stop was the Wawa General Store, which if you ever get a chance, GO! We are currently hauling across the country some of the best summer sausage I've ever had in my life (and it's not likely going to make it into Saskatchewan.) And, for the pickle fan in your life they have a big barrel of pickles at the front door. Pickles?? Out of a barrel?? Hells yes.
We ended the day yesterday in another Provincial Park called Neys, just east of Terrace Bay. It was rugged and beautiful, complete with a bear sighting earlier in the day by other campers, and it's own herd of Woodland Caribou. (We saw neither.) Another dip in Lake Superior to finish off the day.
Day 3: Pancake Bay to Neys, 460kms
Day 4: Somewhere in between day three and day four, in the middle of the night, it started to rain. And thunder and lightening. And more rain. We woke up to a wet tent (inside and out) and a small boy with a very wet sleeping bag (unrelated to the rain...) We decided to spend the day driving in said rain, and driving some more, in order to maybe have a day off in Winnipeg tomorrow. So drive we did. The rain ended before noon, only to start again when we were hanging out at the Terry Fox Memorial (which fricking made me cry...damn thing.) After six freaking hundred kilometers we finally arrived in Dryden. (Another sidebar - in case you dont know, we're driving a pickup truck, pulling a fairly decent cargo trailer, and while some might scoff at six hundred kilometers in a day because them and their Civic can do that in an afternoon while napping, for us trailer pulling folk, it's a long slow haul!)
We had called a few hotels on our way into town, everything was booked. We stopped at a few motels, everything was booked. We finally found a room in a kind of grungy motel, ordered greasy Chinese food, and here we are.
It would appear, after all this, that my photos might just be too much for my precarious internet. Or, I might have moved from the 16 square inches that my computer gets signal. Either way, I'm going to try once more to upload, and if that doesn't work, y'all are going to have to imagine the cutest kids you know (mine!) standing in some of the most beautiful wilderness you've ever seen, and call it a day.
Because it's about time I did too!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Tick Tock...
So the clock is slowly ticking down on our departure date for the ECCJ.
(That's Epic Cross Country Journey, in case you haven't been hanging around lately.)
We finally purchased our plane tickets (Vancouver to Toronto,) and we have a bit of a route mapped out (The Roof to Vancouver, the all-Canadian way, mostly because we're driving a work vehicle that makes us look like a bunch of hippie treehuggers, and we don't even want to bother with interrogation that will likely ensue with crossing the border.)
We have the dog sitting and the house sitting mostly sorted out, and I've started to think about packing, but it would be ridiculous to actually start, especially because now that I'm an expert on packing light (bwahahaha!) it should only take me about 20 minutes or so.
I asked my friend last night if she could pick us up from the airport when we return, and she said SURE! (I'll remind her of it again when we're less intoxicated of course.)
But there are still some MAJOR details that need to be taken care of.
Like all the awesome places we're going to stay in as we camp our way across the country.
And like all the awesome places that we're going to eat in as we travel across the country.
All the hidden gems.
OH, and there is the small issue that our truck doesn't have an MP3 input, so our iPod with eighteen bajillion songs on it is suddenly useless.
And there is also the fact that we're waay too busy doing shit like this to have any time at all to think about any of this:
So, because we've been a bit slacking, and research-lacking, here's what I have to ask of you:
Do you know of any AMAZING places to camp or eat or sleep or see or whatever, somewhere along the Trans Canada highway between Manitoulin Island and Terrace Beach, Vancouver Island? Mama's little restaurant? Joey's campground? Your backyard? Whatever, we're taking ALL recommendations.
And. And.
Do you have 8 minutes, just 8 minutes, to checkmark a few of your favourite songs in iTunes, and then burn a CD and send it to me? To us? Because the radio station selection in Northern Ontario ain't so great....you hit seek and it goes around, and around, and around, and...well, you get the picture. It's going to be a long silent journey (or a loud crying one) with no tunes. Seriously...email me, and I'll send you my mailing address. Pretty please?
I plan on keeping you up to date with this whole ECCJ thang...I mean, from the day my second child was born and pretty much started sleeping through the night, there really hasn't been much to talk about around here...until now.
Epic, people. This is going to be wicked! ;)
(That's Epic Cross Country Journey, in case you haven't been hanging around lately.)
We finally purchased our plane tickets (Vancouver to Toronto,) and we have a bit of a route mapped out (The Roof to Vancouver, the all-Canadian way, mostly because we're driving a work vehicle that makes us look like a bunch of hippie treehuggers, and we don't even want to bother with interrogation that will likely ensue with crossing the border.)
We have the dog sitting and the house sitting mostly sorted out, and I've started to think about packing, but it would be ridiculous to actually start, especially because now that I'm an expert on packing light (bwahahaha!) it should only take me about 20 minutes or so.
I asked my friend last night if she could pick us up from the airport when we return, and she said SURE! (I'll remind her of it again when we're less intoxicated of course.)
But there are still some MAJOR details that need to be taken care of.
Like all the awesome places we're going to stay in as we camp our way across the country.
And like all the awesome places that we're going to eat in as we travel across the country.
All the hidden gems.
OH, and there is the small issue that our truck doesn't have an MP3 input, so our iPod with eighteen bajillion songs on it is suddenly useless.
And there is also the fact that we're waay too busy doing shit like this to have any time at all to think about any of this:
So, because we've been a bit slacking, and research-lacking, here's what I have to ask of you:Do you know of any AMAZING places to camp or eat or sleep or see or whatever, somewhere along the Trans Canada highway between Manitoulin Island and Terrace Beach, Vancouver Island? Mama's little restaurant? Joey's campground? Your backyard? Whatever, we're taking ALL recommendations.
And. And.
Do you have 8 minutes, just 8 minutes, to checkmark a few of your favourite songs in iTunes, and then burn a CD and send it to me? To us? Because the radio station selection in Northern Ontario ain't so great....you hit seek and it goes around, and around, and around, and...well, you get the picture. It's going to be a long silent journey (or a loud crying one) with no tunes. Seriously...email me, and I'll send you my mailing address. Pretty please?
I plan on keeping you up to date with this whole ECCJ thang...I mean, from the day my second child was born and pretty much started sleeping through the night, there really hasn't been much to talk about around here...until now.
Epic, people. This is going to be wicked! ;)
Monday, June 27, 2011
ECCJ - the tester
With Steve working away from home for parts of the summer, the boys and I embarked on a small road trip this weekend to go spend some time with him, in a cozy (yet rustic) cabin in the woods.
The destination was 5 hours away. Plus we went on three "side road trips" while we were there. All told, we did 16 hours of driving in the past 4 days, a most excellent primer for the ECCJ*.
(*Epic Cross Country Journey.)
It was also my first foray into "traveling light," which I needed some serious advice for. Thanks for it all, I took it all, and y'all would have been proud of the car when I pulled out of the driveway! If it wasn't for all the stuff I had to drop off in Kingston and Ottawa, along with the 40 lb dog taking up most of the back, the CRV would have been positively SPACIOUS!
It was an excellent trip, as well as a most excellent learning adventure. Here's what I now know:
- 4 year olds will not pee when you are at a service centre for a pee break. They prefer to pee when you are stuck in traffic on the 401, and despite warnings of "you'll have to give me some advance notice if you need to go to the bathroom," will wake from a dead sleep screaming "STOP THE CAR, I NEED TO PEE. STOP NOW...THE PEE IS COMING OUT!"
- Happy Meal toys make excellent car toys, since they are NEW! They are even better if they are the one given to your BROTHER!
- Happy Meal toys also make excellent projectiles.
- No matter which toys and snacks you put within reach of the driver, the children will always want the ones packed deep in the back.
- Sleeping babies wake up VERY badly when their neck does that floppy headed sleeping thing. (We need to get some sort of head support for Corben...any suggestions?)
- On the "do I really need this?" list, the playpen is a resounding YES! I thought we'd be fine, but after four months of Corben going to sleep by himself in his crib, he is no longer very good at falling asleep with space to roam. Last night, at 10pm, after bouncing off the walls for hours, I finally barricaded him into a corner storage area. A pillow, blanket, and the kitchen table on it's side to keep him there. He was asleep within 5 minutes.
- We can do 5 hours of driving at a time, and play I spy, and listen to music, and sleep, and talk, and sing, and we can do it all without any sort of media device or hand held game device that makes annoying noises. And we are going to stick to our guns on that one as we cross the country...as far as I see it, there's really no point in driving across the country if everyone has their heads buried in their laps and they don't see a damn thing. My kids have never ever watched a dvd in the car, in their minds it's not even an option. And that's how it will stay. So there.
I'm looking forward to this trip even more now after attempting a mini warm-up. It's going to be amazing. And of COURSE I'm going to blog my way across the country...seriously, you'd miss me like CRAZY if I disappeared for 3 weeks, right!?? Couldn't have that!
(I have some fantastic pictures...that I can't upload for some dumb reason...will try again tomorrow!)
The destination was 5 hours away. Plus we went on three "side road trips" while we were there. All told, we did 16 hours of driving in the past 4 days, a most excellent primer for the ECCJ*.
(*Epic Cross Country Journey.)
It was also my first foray into "traveling light," which I needed some serious advice for. Thanks for it all, I took it all, and y'all would have been proud of the car when I pulled out of the driveway! If it wasn't for all the stuff I had to drop off in Kingston and Ottawa, along with the 40 lb dog taking up most of the back, the CRV would have been positively SPACIOUS!
It was an excellent trip, as well as a most excellent learning adventure. Here's what I now know:
- 4 year olds will not pee when you are at a service centre for a pee break. They prefer to pee when you are stuck in traffic on the 401, and despite warnings of "you'll have to give me some advance notice if you need to go to the bathroom," will wake from a dead sleep screaming "STOP THE CAR, I NEED TO PEE. STOP NOW...THE PEE IS COMING OUT!"
- Happy Meal toys make excellent car toys, since they are NEW! They are even better if they are the one given to your BROTHER!
- Happy Meal toys also make excellent projectiles.
- No matter which toys and snacks you put within reach of the driver, the children will always want the ones packed deep in the back.
- Sleeping babies wake up VERY badly when their neck does that floppy headed sleeping thing. (We need to get some sort of head support for Corben...any suggestions?)
- On the "do I really need this?" list, the playpen is a resounding YES! I thought we'd be fine, but after four months of Corben going to sleep by himself in his crib, he is no longer very good at falling asleep with space to roam. Last night, at 10pm, after bouncing off the walls for hours, I finally barricaded him into a corner storage area. A pillow, blanket, and the kitchen table on it's side to keep him there. He was asleep within 5 minutes.
- We can do 5 hours of driving at a time, and play I spy, and listen to music, and sleep, and talk, and sing, and we can do it all without any sort of media device or hand held game device that makes annoying noises. And we are going to stick to our guns on that one as we cross the country...as far as I see it, there's really no point in driving across the country if everyone has their heads buried in their laps and they don't see a damn thing. My kids have never ever watched a dvd in the car, in their minds it's not even an option. And that's how it will stay. So there.
I'm looking forward to this trip even more now after attempting a mini warm-up. It's going to be amazing. And of COURSE I'm going to blog my way across the country...seriously, you'd miss me like CRAZY if I disappeared for 3 weeks, right!?? Couldn't have that!
(I have some fantastic pictures...that I can't upload for some dumb reason...will try again tomorrow!)
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Travelling light
Griffin said to Steve and I the other day, after I fixed his plastic slinky for the eight hundredth time (after Steve had declared it unfix-able,) "Mommy's amazing. Mommy can do ANYTHING."
Wow. I'm glad you think that, buddy.
Most things I can do, if not well, then at least I can give it a shot. And I'm glad that's enough in the eyes of my 4 year old.
But I'm not a very good cook, I suck at keeping the laundry folded, and I can NOT. PACK. LIGHT.
But I HAVE to pack light. This year I HAVE to.
In 5 weeks we leave on an Epic Cross Country Journey. (So epic that it needs to be capitalized, but from here on in needs to be shortened to ECCJ. Or just Epic Journey.)
(5 weeks? ACK!)
We are traveling across Canada, camping our way from Toronto to Vancouver. We are taking a truck (not ours) with a trailer (also not ours,) loaded with gear for a 3 month cross country journey from Vancouver to Toronto, that journey that we won't be on. Some of our stuff can be on it, but we will be on a plane back to Toronto, with one bag each, and car seats, and a stroller. And maybe some of our camping gear...because we need it when we get back.
Oh, and there's the nearly 5 year old. And a year and a half year old too. (No dog. Phewf.)
I think this year, I best LEARN how to pack light. We're off in the next few days for a jaunt to Ottawa. Next weekend we're going camping...Steve will miss the packing and the setting up part of that...that'll just be me and the kids. After that then there is the family reunion/camping trip. And then the Epic Journey. And then another camping trip when we get back from the Epic Journey.
Holy eff.
So instead of packing light, which I should be doing right now, I'm blogging about packing light, because I'm really not sure how to get started with it. I LOVE being that girl, who when someone laments "oh, we should have brought the 'X'," leans over and pulls an 'X' out of the nearest Rubbermaid.
I suppose I best get over that.
Can you help? Are you a packer of light things? Do you have RULES? If so, I need to know what they ARE! And just how exactly you manage it with children in tow?
Wow. I'm glad you think that, buddy.
Most things I can do, if not well, then at least I can give it a shot. And I'm glad that's enough in the eyes of my 4 year old.
But I'm not a very good cook, I suck at keeping the laundry folded, and I can NOT. PACK. LIGHT.
But I HAVE to pack light. This year I HAVE to.
In 5 weeks we leave on an Epic Cross Country Journey. (So epic that it needs to be capitalized, but from here on in needs to be shortened to ECCJ. Or just Epic Journey.)
(5 weeks? ACK!)
We are traveling across Canada, camping our way from Toronto to Vancouver. We are taking a truck (not ours) with a trailer (also not ours,) loaded with gear for a 3 month cross country journey from Vancouver to Toronto, that journey that we won't be on. Some of our stuff can be on it, but we will be on a plane back to Toronto, with one bag each, and car seats, and a stroller. And maybe some of our camping gear...because we need it when we get back.
Oh, and there's the nearly 5 year old. And a year and a half year old too. (No dog. Phewf.)
I think this year, I best LEARN how to pack light. We're off in the next few days for a jaunt to Ottawa. Next weekend we're going camping...Steve will miss the packing and the setting up part of that...that'll just be me and the kids. After that then there is the family reunion/camping trip. And then the Epic Journey. And then another camping trip when we get back from the Epic Journey.
Holy eff.
So instead of packing light, which I should be doing right now, I'm blogging about packing light, because I'm really not sure how to get started with it. I LOVE being that girl, who when someone laments "oh, we should have brought the 'X'," leans over and pulls an 'X' out of the nearest Rubbermaid.
I suppose I best get over that.
Can you help? Are you a packer of light things? Do you have RULES? If so, I need to know what they ARE! And just how exactly you manage it with children in tow?
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