Friday, March 26

Ouch, my neck!

Well folks... yesterday we had a nice start to the day with the most amazing Breakfast I've ever had at L'Accent. Seriously, for $12.95 you can get the L'Accent Brunch and it comes with pretty much EVERYTHING you could want for Breakfast on one plate.

After that we wandered back up to the Old City to grab a couple T-shirts emblazoned with some offensive Quebecois on them. So, with our newly acquired souveniers and full stomachs we proceeded to head towards the Plains of Abraham. We get to the intersection to turn in to the Park and oncoming traffic stops to let me turn. The lane next to the stopped car looked clear so I turned, before I could react, a newish Audi A4 nailed me and spun me a good 100 degrees to be facing the direction he was going.

I didn't manage to grab a picture of the damage on the Audi, but my poor beloved Gretchen is written off.









So there you have it. The grand finale of Gretchen.

Now I'm working on a solution to get to Sept Iles, QC where my company can pick me up and fly me to Goose Bay.

Jon is busing to Guelph, ON today to start heading back to BC. It was great having him along on this trip as I doubt I would have made it this far without him.

More updates to come as I change modes of transport and hit some new turf I've never ventured across before!

Wednesday, March 24

Vive la Quebec!

So we made it to Montreal on the 22nd. I've already been to Montreal before so I didn't really do much in the way of taking pictures there.

What I can say is that thankfully we stayed with our friend in Westmount. Checked out a Hookah Bar in Downtown called "Cafe Arabesque". It was really nice, great food and the Mango Shisha is delicious as well.

Later, Rick and I went out to Cafe Campus for a couple $7 pitchers. Did I mention how much I love this Province? C'est magnifique!

Anyhoo! Today we got up to Quebec City. I think that I like this place better than Montreal. The pace of life seems a bit slower and more what I'm used to in BC. Sure less people speak English but everyone has been polite and helped us out after we ask them "Parlez vous Anglais?". It's also amazing at the high concentration of gorgeous Women here. Half tempted to stay here, learn French nice and proper and land me a hotty of a Quebecois Wife. Alas, my job lays in Goose Bay!

Tomorrow before departing to Baie Comeau, we're going to check out the Plains of Abraham and some other sights. Here's a couple shots from our wanderings today.











Oh! I almost forgot! We checked out Pub St. Patrick which is in Old Quebec City. AMAZING food and it's also in a building that was built in 1749. So it's pretty neat to be able to say that I had dinner in a building that is older than Canada. 261 years ago they used to store ammunition to fire at the English and Americans where I sat having a Pint. Kind of neat when you think about it.

Anyways! Time for sleep! The Hostel we're in tonight is pretty decent too. More being a tourist tomorrow!

Monday, March 22

Up the Golden Horshoe

Sorry for the delay in the updates. We had a blasty blast in Toronto. Took Jon to his first Jungle Party in Toronto. It was an event filled with Old School Jungle. Very good night overall. Didn't really take any pictures since I forgot my Camera in the Car.

But! When we left London we went to Niagara Falls. I lived in Toronto for four years but had never made it down to the Falls before. So this was a great experience for me. I have to say, the Falls are more impressive in person than they are in the postcards.







I also noticed that Clifton Hill reminded me a lot of Las Vegas. Lots of lights and strange amusements etc on to the Street. Pretty neat either way. I'm definitely going to have to come check it out again and spend some time at the Fallsview Casino or some other spot.



After Niagara Falls, we headed up to Barrie. I was booked to spin at a fundraiser there thrown by a good friend of mine, DJ Yoshimojo. It was mainly Breaks but I got to rock out a set of Fidget House and Electro House. Overall the turnout was decent and all the DJs involved did a good job.







Last night we checked out a Dubstep Jam here in Ottawa at a place called "Hangover Joe's". Was a pretty good little Jam they had going on there.

Now it's time to finish waking up and head off to Montreal!

Tuesday, March 16

Bushplanes, Police Officers and Wind Farms! Oh My!

So we made it to London, ON from Owen Sound, ON today. But let me go back to yesterday first.

Checked out the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie before we left for Owen Sound. What a great spot! They have some great exhibits and it's most definitely worth a visit if you're ever in "The Soo". It was half price for Spring Break so for Jon and I it was only $10 for admission.

Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre

I love the DHC-2 Beaver

Fokker Friendship

My sweet Ride

We got there right at opening so it was great as there was no one in the Centre but us. A great opportunity to grab pics without anyone wandering in to my shots... as well as a chance to do all the Kids Activities without anyone realizing what big nerds we are.

Here's a couple pretty pictures I took while we were waiting for the Bushplane Centre to open. We went down to Belleville Park to check out the Canal.

Michigan from Belleville Park, Sault Ste. Marie

Belleville Marina, Sault Ste. Marie

We've been blessed with amazing weather for the whole trip. It's continued through today as well as it's supposed to me nice up until the weekend. AWESOME!

So after the Bushplane Centre, we headed for Owen Sound. However! We get to Parry Sound so we can trade drivers. Stopped to get gas, Jon takes over driving and about 5 minutes on to the highway again we get pulled over by the O.P.P. oh lovely. He pulled us over because we were going about 5 km/h too slow. Well, being as our speedometer doesn't work we didn't want to go screaming down the highway with a Cruiser behind us. So he let us go with no issues. I think he was more amazed that our awesome vehicle made it this far.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful except for a little confusion on the directions to Owen Sound. But we got there with minimal distraction. Got to see the Lake and some awesome beaches though.

Balm Beach, ON

So nice! I would love to have a Cottage or something near there.

On the way in to Owen Sound we saw the infamous Blue Mountain. When I was living in Toronto, people would always go on about it and the skiing. Wow, talk about underwhelming. I think the Bunny Hills at Whistler and Blackcomb (Both of which I've done) are bigger and longer. Hilarious! I'd be amazed if they had any runs higher than maybe a Blue.

Blue Mountain

Was hard to snap a picture of it because of all the trees on the side of the road and it being on Jon's side of the car.

So after getting to Owen Sound, we got our Motel, our Whiskey and picked up my buddy Jesse who I haven't seen about a year and a half. Motel Party! WHOOO! Good times had by all. Including the noise complaint.

Jesse and Myself

That about sums it up. A 40 of Wisers goes a long way apparently.

So back to today! We left Owen Sound around 11am because we decided that sleeping in and feeling 100% recovered was the prudent thing to do. The Sun was with us once again as I previously mentioned.

Wind Farm in Bruce County

We were driving along Highway 21 towards London, I'm driving perfectly behind another vehicle and an O.P.P. cruiser ends up turning on to the Highway behind us. That's fine I thought, I'm not speeding, all is grand. NOPE! Buddy hits his lights and pulls us over. So now Jon AND myself have been pulled over. The cop's excuse for it? He said I had a "hole in my tail light"... I thought maybe the red Tuck Tape I had used to cover it up (in true redneck fashion) had come off. I check it here in London and sure enough IT WAS STILL ON! There was no visible holes at all! He totally pulled us over for no reason other than probably the fact I'm running a BC plate. Not impressed.

Now to enjoy the rest of the evening and watch the Leafs v. Senators game.

Until tomorrow! Niagara Falls and St. Patrick's Day!

Sunday, March 14

Welcome to "The Soo"

Made it in to Sault St. Marie, ON. at about 17:30 today. Quite the drive from Thunder Bay. Very scenic but after Wawa, ON there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING until you hit "The Soo". Seriously... absolutely nothing. Trees, Rocks and that's about it.

Also, despite the numerous "Moose Crossing" signs we've yet to see a single one. Jon and I are both kind of disappointed. Really, after the distance through Northern Ontario we've gone already you'd think we would have seen at least ONE so far. Negative!

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So after leaving Thunder Bay it looks a lot like this. Really pretty and at some points almost reminds me of bombing along the Malahat Highway on Vancouver Island. Lots of hills and curves, totally a big change from the miles and miles of straight in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

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Just outside of White River, ON it was really odd and almost barren. Like there had been a large forest fire or someone didn't feel like practicing selective logging. (Wow, my British Columbian is showing) Anyways... this is a taste of that little section.

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White River, ON is apparently the Home of Winnie the Pooh. Yeah, I know... I was kind of amazed actually. But that's what the signs say.

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We had to make a stop in Wawa, ON because we heard about the rather large Canadian Goose there. They weren't kidding! This sucker is huge!

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There's also quite the view from the Visitor Centre next to it. Worth a short stop to at least stretch your legs.

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After going through Lake Superior Provincial Park and getting pretty much down to 1/4 Tank of gas we finally found a Service Station about 30km from Sault Ste. Marie. The funny part is, the Gas Attendant that filled us up was from Kamloops as well! What are the odds? The guy used to live in Brocklehurst. Us British Columbians are everywhere apparently. Either way, we're a long way from home!

Long way from Home!

So now we're in "The Soo" for the night at the Travelodge. Tomorrow we're going to check out the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre and take a look at the massive bridge that heads in to Michigan. After that we'll be heading to either Barrie or Owen Sound.

Saturday, March 13

Snowbirds, Womyns Day and Thunder Bay!

Okay! So I finally have some decent Internet access! We're at the Thunder Bay International Hostel in Thunder Bay... obviously. And I have to say, this place is pretty neat. Run by a very nice older couple. You have to see it to believe it and the best part it that its $20 for the night. So definitely in our budget.

Anyways! Where was I? Oh yes! We toured the Snowbirds at CFB Moose Jaw on Friday. One of my friends from Cadets is the Public Affairs Officer for them so we got a real nice tour. We met the Deputy CO of the Squadron as well as Snowbird #1. Got to check out the Flight-line and the whole Hangar.

A couple shots for my fellow Aviation Nerds.

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So, after our tour there we hot-footed it off to Winnipeg. With a stop in Rouleau, Saskatchewan aka "Dog River".

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Rouleau, SK


Heading in to Manitoba we ran into some serious Fog. It was so thick we tailed a Semi just to make sure we could follow the road without incident. We even picked up icing on the front of the Car! I'd never seen icing not on an aircraft before so that was kind of amusing really.

We actually picked up Ice!

Gretchen still kickin!

Once we got to Winnipeg, we stayed in the Hosteling International Hostel in Downtown Winnipeg. Found they had a a Bar downstairs (as most Hostels I've been to seem to have) called "The Lo"... turns out there was a party going on for International Women's Day. So Jon and I went and joined the fun after having a go at the bottle of Fireball we had from the previous evening. Have to say, the DJ they had playing at this Bar was awesome! She dropped an awesome Madonna - Hung Up v. Orgy - Blue Monday Mashup as well as some great dancefloor friendly classics. DJ Beekeeni was her name. They even had "Cunt Cake" at the back of the Bar. Yes, you read that correctly. I didn't sample any as Fort Garry Pale Ale would agree too well with Chocolate Cake.

Started off this morning after begrudgingly getting up at 8:30am. The weather has been amazing still! We must be dragging the Okanagan Sun with us. Drive from Winnipeg into Ontario was an interesting change. Went from flat with trees back into hills, valleys, rocks and trees. Very nice countryside we have here. The road in to Thunder Bay is pretty much the worst stretch we've encountered so far... well except for Saskatchewan Route 714 which was all dirt road leading into Rouleau. Amazed at the amount of Semi-trailer traffic there is in this part. Saw a convoy of about 8 of them at one point. Nothing too much else spectacular to say for this leg so I'll end this entry with a couple pics from today.

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Tomorrow we head to Sault St. Marie for our next overnight. After that... we'll see. Thinking maybe Barrie or in to Owen Sound to visit some of my friends.

Friday, March 12

Moose Jaw!

Well the Internet here is slower than molasses going uphill on a cold piece of glass so the entry for yesterday is postponed until I can find something faster.

Basically we made it from Strathmore to Moose Jaw. Once again we had amazing weather.

Got drunk at the only "club" in town and now we're heading off to check out 17 Wing at CFB Moose Jaw before heading out to Winnipeg for the night.

More to come later today!