Cross Canada 150

So the trip has begun! Yeah :) All in all a good day of driving... now to relax and get ready for most of Ontario tomorrow! Day 1 by the numbers: Km: 499 Time: 5 hours Wildlife: 0 (I was surprised too) Roadkill: Lots... even saw a porcupine... Accidents: 1 (no one injured, but a lumber truck smashed into a guardrail and jackknifed on the side of the road. I arrived headed the opposite direction shortly after it happened) Hotel/Motel: Comfort Inn (comfy and clean) Surprise 1: Val D'Or has a multi-ethnic population Surprise 2: the drive was actually quite scenic  The accident in my side mirror... no one was hurt, but I felt weird taking a direct photo. The guard rail saved a nasty and dangerous trip into the lake. I hope the driver is as uninjured as he appeared...   There were hundreds of lakes and rivers and small rapids and falls... really nice!  I liked the pine in the front one the other trees (poplar?) in the back... they bare branches look like s

Tomorrow is (inshallah) departure day! So I am getting everything into suitcases and boxes and even a few bags (those who know me, know I never travel light or arrive empty handed!) I also decided to get my car washed and vacuumed - best to start the trip with a clean car right? Of course I was surprised to see that the car wash has followed the unicorn trend blindly! Check out this view from the inside: I promised my nieces they can come the next time I wash the car! #Unicorns  Now, I had to pack all the weird things I pick up that I know my Mom and Dad like, but are not able to buy in Cold Lake.  First up mushy peas!!!! We LOVE mushy peas :) These are from Norwich.  Next - anchovy stuffed olives, which if you must know I buy by the case as they are loved by all those with Van Horne blood I think...  My Mom follows a gluten free diet and this is a new mill in the region. I love oat cakes... so will experiment with this!  Preserved lemons... my parents are not really f

I have called the Province of Quebec "home" since January 2000 - of course with an extended break in Abu Dhabi for seven and a half years. However, there is still so much of the province I have not visited and I am looking forward to passing through some famous towns in the Northish/Southish West of the Province. The first town that I will hit (to gas up as it is way cheaper than places closer to Montreal) is Saint Jerome... Then Prévost (where they make the buses if I am not mistaken) and then Mont Tremblant (which I am sure you have all heard of) and #funfact opened its first ski lift in 1939! After this will be new territory for me - and it really looks on the map as if I will be entering the Canadian Shield of many lakes and rivers and few human settlements! Learning about the this huge geographical monster (8 million square kilometres) I honestly never thought I would visit it, and I always felt it protected us from something. Now I will drive through it for hours o

Hello! This blog will follow my adventures as I try to drive to all 10 provinces in 2017 - a year that marks 150 years of Canadian Confederation! I will be driving my new Buick Encore AWD (because yeah, even in late April you can hit snowstorms in Canada) from Coast to Coast and back! Hopefully doing a bit of sightseeing and lots of friends and family visiting as I go. The first leg should start next week if all goes well. I will drive from Lorraine, Quebec to Cold Lake, Alberta to visit with my Mom and Dad and brothers family. It will be a looong drive, the longest I have driven... but inshallah it will be super interesting and will allow me with many hours to practise my zen and see what I have been missing about Northern Ontario. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of my Dad doing much the same trip from Ottawa to Coombs, BC during the Centennial Year in 1967! I will look for a photo when I reach Cold Lake :) So basically 3,500 km and five provinces - with three