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.









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.





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.



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.



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.



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.



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!

Prologue to the Great Journey

So here's the Story on why I'm planning on driving across Canada in March.

Last September, I was laid-off from my job as an Aircraft Refueller because after Fire Season there wasn't enough work to keep me on full-time. So I've been job hunting since then with little result. Having been working in the Aviation Industry for the last seven years, I've pretty much painted myself into a corner with my work experience.

Earlier this month I recieved an enticing job offer from a company in Goose Bay, Labrador. Having nothing keeping me in beautiful British Columbia, I've decided to take the job and go.

I'm heading down to Vancouver next week to find the Chariot that will carry myself, my stuff and probably one of my friends with his stuff across this mighty nation we call Canada.

Sure, a trans-national roadtrip in March probably isn't the best of ideas. But I can certainly think of stupider things to do. Running with Scissors for example... Oh, and maybe eating Blowfish prepared by an uncertified Chef.

After perusing Craigslist for possible vehicles, I've set my sights on what appears to be a 1988 Volkswagen Fox Wagon that is in decent shape. Waiting for some pictures of the interior... it looks promising so far. Will be checking it out next week, if it's kosher, it'll be mine!

This Blog will document the trip from beginning to the end. There'll be pit stops, food breaks at most likely questionable establishments and stops to visit some of my Friends in other provinces. With my trusty Canon 450D and my Laptop with Bell Turbostick, I'll do my best to make it as if you're stuck in the backseat with me. Don't worry, I won't be singing "The Song That Doesn't End." However! If you do, we're turning around and leaving you in Winnipeg.

Until next week!