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.







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






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.





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.





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.

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!

Day One

Left Kamloops at 9am Pacific. We just pulled in to Strathmore, Alberta at around 6:30pm Mountain. Not bad time at all!

The weather was absolutely amazing! Nothing but blue skies and barely a cloud at all.

Gas in BC was about 106.4 but once we hit Calgary it dropped to a lovely 92.9. Excellent!

Amazing how fast the land goes from huge rocks to rolling fields as far as the eye can see.

So here's a couple pics from the first day:










There's a few for now. You can check out the rest of the pics by the Flickr Widget on the right side of the page.

Just discovered that Lightroom does mass resize and export! Awesome.

That's it for now! More to come!

T-3 Days

Well the date of departure is close enough that the excitement is starting to build.

Also! I just got a call from my friend Jon. He's decided to just go for it and join me on the trip. This is great as he can also drive stick and won't mind listening to Drum'n'Bass along the way at barely tolerable volume levels.

Another update... I've been booked to DJ at a Fundraiser in Barrie, ON on the 18th. If you're in the area, come check it out as it's for a good cause. Sleeping Children Around the World.

So I'm taking the Wagen in to the good folks at Wolverine Auto here in Logan Lake on Tuesday. Got a couple electrical things for them to fix and then fluid changes. This will have her all prepped for departure on Wednesday morning.

First overnight will be in Calgary. We're taking suggestions for cheap places to overnight and/or have a pint.

So yeah, 72 hours before we kick this blog into cruising gear!

Chariot... Acquired!

So! I finally got the mighty Steed that will carry me to Labrador.

My 1988 Volkswagen Fox Wagon. Price: $500


It's pretty solid, starts with the first turn of the key... Lots of fire left in this one. I'm rather pleased with my purchase really. A couple of my friends have laughed, others have started mourning me pre-emptively... and others still are glad they'll be with me in Spirit.

One step closer to embarking on this Trip. I get more excited every day.

My co-pilot on this Adventure and I have to hammer out the final details. It will be here, so as soon as we leave; you will know!

Until the next update!

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!