Notes from the Passenger Seat

Blogging from the road, good tunes, feet on the dash, hot coffee in hand…or, you know, cross-legged in the passenger seat with warm-ish tea next to me, but those are minor details really.

I’ve got a few days of catching up to do, which is good ‘cause we’ve got a long drive today: Thunder Bay to Winnipeg (~8-9h).  It’s taken us a week just to get out of Ontario, and it’s definitely going to be bittersweet crossing that border into Manitoba; really time to say goodbye to the province that’s been home for the last twelve years…

The past few days we’ve made good time and distance.  After spending two days in Owen Sound exploring the Bruce Peninsula, we set off for Sault Ste. Marie.  Arriving in the evening, we found a cheap/decent motel and crashed for the night before setting off for Thunder Bay.  Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay was a long haul, but made infinitely better by the addition of a few hikes and a few sightseeing stops along the way.  There are two parks en route to Thunder Bay, Pukaskwa National Park and Lake Superior Provincial Park.  Not enough time to see both, we decided to go with Lake Superior.  More specifically, we wanted to see the pictographs and Old Woman’s Bay in the Park.

Bruce Peninsula: Take II

Yesterday we decided to tackle Bruce Peninsula for the second time.  We drove about 1.5h from Owen Sound to Cyprus Lake (Bruce Pen) in search of the grotto and were the only two kids crazy (stupid?) enough to start our hike as the drizzle turned to sheet rain (not surprisingly, we returned to an empty parking lot, save for our trusty Suzuki).  But, we didn't re-route through Owen Sound in order to not see the Bruce Pen., and so off we set.  Our decision to brave the elements proved 100% worthwhile as forested path gave way to a rock beach along the shores of the Georgian Bay, water a turquoise-y blue.  We had certainly found what we came in search for: an escape from all the people and spectacular views of both Indian Head's Cove and The Grotto (even made the speeding ticket worthwhile...just kidding Mom and Dad, we didn't get a speeding ticket!)

First stop: Toronto

Kingston to Toronto, 263km and the first leg of our 4700 km road trip complete.  We spent Friday and Saturday in Toronto, being tourists and saying our last goodbyes to the last of our friends, on our way out of town, before embarking on this crazy roadtrip.

A few of the things we got up to:

FRIDAY
-the Ripley's Aquarium, we were both mesmerized by the jellyfish wall.  I think you could stare at that wall for hours and never get bored!

Sawfish and shark

Let's do this crazy thing we talked about that one time

{Oct. 15th, 2014}

In less than one week I’m packing up my life to fit into the back of a car and driving across the country with a friend-turned-boy-who-I’m-kind-of-into (like, a lot). I’m packing up my life with a rough idea, a final destination, and a plan to figure out the details along the way. At the very least, I must “have a job lined up? Or a place to stay when I get there, right”.  Nope.  All I can offer in response is a nonchalant shrug and a big grin.  It’s a crazy plan and it’s going to be an even crazier adventure. I can hardly wait!

1 more sleep!

1 more sleep and 1 step closer to making agenda notes, scribbles, and dreams a reality.  Here's to hoping the adventurous spirit doesn't wane anytime soon: