In 42 degree weather...we began to unpack and set up the new house. So far the family room and kitchen are almost complete. Next room to tackle is the office and then all of the rooms on the main floor are done! The unpacking process is much more fun than the packing process because there is less of a jigsaw to contend with!
So far we have a series of broken items from the truck and are less than impressed with the quality of service that we received on this trip. We were told that this is not their fault or their problem. We don't know what will happen, but hopefully compensation for the broken items at least!
Once we have completely unpacked the house and set it up in the way that we want it...then we'll take pictures and post them.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Day 7 - Bruce Mines to Toronto
Km travelled today: 610
Number of pictures taken today: 34
Total km travelled: 4610 (this included taking a tour of Thessalon & Parry Sound)
Total km to go: 0
Total pictures taken: 1139
Pictures will be uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 7: Bruce Mines to Toronto album.
Today was a crazy day of driving especially because with the end so close in sight....we just wanted to get home! We got an early start to the day, leaving the hotel at 7:15, as we were scheduled to meet with our landlord to pick up keys at 3:30, and there were a couple of stops that we wanted to make along the way - Colin had never before seen the Big Nickel in Sudbury, and we wanted to stop and pick up some fresh wild blueberries for Andrea's mom along the way.
We also discovered that deer cross the road at 2pm in the afternoon, which was a little surprising, but really pretty to see her dash across the highway. Luckily the other motorists also slowed to allow her to cross.
We arrived in Toronto happy to be in our new home. We unloaded the car and left the kitties to explore the new house because we went up to Andrea's mom's house for the evening as she had a bed and was willing to feed us after our long day of driving.
The A/C and firm bed was a real treat! Now looking forward to when the packing truck arrives...
Number of pictures taken today: 34
Total km travelled: 4610 (this included taking a tour of Thessalon & Parry Sound)
Total km to go: 0
Total pictures taken: 1139
Pictures will be uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 7: Bruce Mines to Toronto album.
Today was a crazy day of driving especially because with the end so close in sight....we just wanted to get home! We got an early start to the day, leaving the hotel at 7:15, as we were scheduled to meet with our landlord to pick up keys at 3:30, and there were a couple of stops that we wanted to make along the way - Colin had never before seen the Big Nickel in Sudbury, and we wanted to stop and pick up some fresh wild blueberries for Andrea's mom along the way.
We also discovered that deer cross the road at 2pm in the afternoon, which was a little surprising, but really pretty to see her dash across the highway. Luckily the other motorists also slowed to allow her to cross.
We arrived in Toronto happy to be in our new home. We unloaded the car and left the kitties to explore the new house because we went up to Andrea's mom's house for the evening as she had a bed and was willing to feed us after our long day of driving.
The A/C and firm bed was a real treat! Now looking forward to when the packing truck arrives...
Monday, July 11, 2011
Day 6 - Thunder Bay to Bruce Mines
Km travelled today: 817
Number of pictures taken today: 134
Total km travelled: 4000 (this included taking a tour of Thessalon)
Total km to go: 610
Total pictures taken: 1105
Due to the internet settings at the hotel - I am unable to upload pictures tonight and will have to do it when I get to Oro tomorrow night. Pictures will be uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 6: Thunder Bay to Bruce Mines album.
Tonight is the last night that we spend a hotel, other than the Hoath Hotel (Andrea's mom) tomorrow night! We are both looking forward to no longer living out of a suitcase, although the kitties are becoming quite the good little travellers. Tiki has taken over Andrea's pillow as her new princess perch and Ellie (who used to fight going into the cat carrier) has now taken to sleeping in the cat carrier between the passenger and driver's seats.
Today was the day landmarks, long stretches between cups of coffee, and lots of fog (but it seemed to only appear when Colin was driving!).
Landmarks:
1) Terry Fox statue & memorial - this was beautiful and very peaceful, especially early in the morning. The grounds are beautiful and the view is terrific.
2) The Wawa Goose - we first saw this while watching "One Week" and since it was just off of the highway and had a Tim Horton's down the street, it was a definitely picture stop.
3) The Carolyn Beach Inukshuk - Colin demonstrated his strength by holding it up. This was really pretty to see as the sunset behind it over Georgian Bay.
4) The Algomy Red Giant Muskoka Chair - this is a fairly new addition to the Algoma County landmarks. It was right off of the highway and needed a rest.
Other than that, we had a peaceful drive with foggy patches that made for great photos. We are both glad that our longest day of driving is over though and are looking forward to getting to the new house tomorrow! Finally! :)
Tomorrow we are visiting Andrea's grandfather's & great-grandparents' gravesites in the morning. Then we are heading to the French River to see Big Blue, Sudbury to see the Big Nickel and any other landmarks that cross our path.
Number of pictures taken today: 134
Total km travelled: 4000 (this included taking a tour of Thessalon)
Total km to go: 610
Total pictures taken: 1105
Due to the internet settings at the hotel - I am unable to upload pictures tonight and will have to do it when I get to Oro tomorrow night. Pictures will be uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 6: Thunder Bay to Bruce Mines album.
Tonight is the last night that we spend a hotel, other than the Hoath Hotel (Andrea's mom) tomorrow night! We are both looking forward to no longer living out of a suitcase, although the kitties are becoming quite the good little travellers. Tiki has taken over Andrea's pillow as her new princess perch and Ellie (who used to fight going into the cat carrier) has now taken to sleeping in the cat carrier between the passenger and driver's seats.
Today was the day landmarks, long stretches between cups of coffee, and lots of fog (but it seemed to only appear when Colin was driving!).
Landmarks:
1) Terry Fox statue & memorial - this was beautiful and very peaceful, especially early in the morning. The grounds are beautiful and the view is terrific.
2) The Wawa Goose - we first saw this while watching "One Week" and since it was just off of the highway and had a Tim Horton's down the street, it was a definitely picture stop.
3) The Carolyn Beach Inukshuk - Colin demonstrated his strength by holding it up. This was really pretty to see as the sunset behind it over Georgian Bay.
4) The Algomy Red Giant Muskoka Chair - this is a fairly new addition to the Algoma County landmarks. It was right off of the highway and needed a rest.
Other than that, we had a peaceful drive with foggy patches that made for great photos. We are both glad that our longest day of driving is over though and are looking forward to getting to the new house tomorrow! Finally! :)
Tomorrow we are visiting Andrea's grandfather's & great-grandparents' gravesites in the morning. Then we are heading to the French River to see Big Blue, Sudbury to see the Big Nickel and any other landmarks that cross our path.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Day 5 - Winnipeg to Thunder Bay
Km travelled today: 751
Number of pictures taken today: 82
Total km travelled: 3183
Total km to go: 1220
Total pictures taken: 971
Pictures have been uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 5: Winnipeg to Thunder Bay album.
After a great evening with Mel in Winnipeg, we woke up and had a good breakfast at the hotel, and got back on the road. At about 12:00 EDT (thanks for the reminder, Lawrence!) we crossed the border back into Ontario, and also got reacquainted with hills! Andrea did most of the driving today, and I valiantly tried to keep up with her photography skills.
It was a long drive through Northern Ontario from Kenora to Thunder Bay, but it was another fantastic, beautiful day with few clouds in the sky, and only light traffic.
Once we arrived in Thunder Bay, we checked in to the hotel and took back off to go see Kakabeka Falls, about 30 km outside of Thunder Bay. The sights there were beautiful, and were well worth the additional driving! If anyone is ever in Thunder Bay, we would highly recommend going to see the Falls.
Tomorrow will mark the longest day of driving since we began the trip. We are looking to get from Thunder Bay to Bruce Mines, which is about 70 km east of Sault Ste. Marie. We're hoping to stop to see a few monuments along the way, in particular the Terry Fox Memorial on the way out of Thunder Bay. It's going to be a long day, but if the weather continues the way it has been for the past week, it should be another great day!
Number of pictures taken today: 82
Total km travelled: 3183
Total km to go: 1220
Total pictures taken: 971
Pictures have been uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 5: Winnipeg to Thunder Bay album.
After a great evening with Mel in Winnipeg, we woke up and had a good breakfast at the hotel, and got back on the road. At about 12:00 EDT (thanks for the reminder, Lawrence!) we crossed the border back into Ontario, and also got reacquainted with hills! Andrea did most of the driving today, and I valiantly tried to keep up with her photography skills.
It was a long drive through Northern Ontario from Kenora to Thunder Bay, but it was another fantastic, beautiful day with few clouds in the sky, and only light traffic.
Once we arrived in Thunder Bay, we checked in to the hotel and took back off to go see Kakabeka Falls, about 30 km outside of Thunder Bay. The sights there were beautiful, and were well worth the additional driving! If anyone is ever in Thunder Bay, we would highly recommend going to see the Falls.
Tomorrow will mark the longest day of driving since we began the trip. We are looking to get from Thunder Bay to Bruce Mines, which is about 70 km east of Sault Ste. Marie. We're hoping to stop to see a few monuments along the way, in particular the Terry Fox Memorial on the way out of Thunder Bay. It's going to be a long day, but if the weather continues the way it has been for the past week, it should be another great day!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Day 4 - Moose Jaw to Winnipeg
Km travelled today: 651
Number of pictures taken today: 108
Total km travelled: 2432
Total km to go: 1971
Total pictures taken: 889
Pictures have been uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 4: Moose Jaw to Winnipeg album.
Number of pictures taken today: 108
Total km travelled: 2432
Total km to go: 1971
Total pictures taken: 889
Pictures have been uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 4: Moose Jaw to Winnipeg album.
After a long day of chasing down places that supply legally addictive hot substances (ie. caffeine!) the drive was pretty and uneventful. Unfortunately the scenery did not change much between yesterday and today! There was one discovery and that was just how many dragonflies are present and swarming in the prairies. They were like kamikaze pilots attacking the car....
The best part was that this happens about an hour and a half past Regina, which also happened to be the city where we got a deluxe car wash done as the silver paint on the hood of the Matrix was unrecognizable beneath the dead bugs.
We made it to Winnipeg safely and are now adjusting to the Central Time zone. Colin and I were treated to a "Tour of Manitoba" dinner by my dear friend (and soon to be blushing bride) Mel who loves to cook and does it extremely well (check out her food blog - A Weekend in Food). We had no problem being guinea pigs to an amazing meal of local pickeral, fresh & local veggies, tasty appies, and the BEST red velvet cupcakes that either of us have ever eaten - SO MOIST and tasty! Thank you for an amazing meal! (Please send me the recipe for those cupcakes!) Mel then took our stuffed selves down to The Forks for a tour and picture taking session. She fully fulfilled her job as our "Manitoba ambassador"! :) Thanks Melly and can't wait to see you and Darryl get married in two weeks!
Other than that, the hotel room is huge with lots of space and the kitties even get their own queen-sized bed, although I don't know if they will use it but instead take up space on our bed...
Tomorrow we are off to Thunder Bay for some sight-seeing. Unfortunately we have no friends to meet there, so we will be on our own for restaurant/meal suggestions! If anyone has been to Thunder Bay - where is a good place to eat? Also we cross the last time zone tomorrow....cannot wait to no longer do the automatic mental math of "if it is ______ am/pm in BC, what time is it in Ontario?".
The Coils' Report - safe and sound. They are currently rewrapped and the car is outside of our window with Colin promising to check them frequently. Also there is a security company that monitors the lot, but the blackout/sun shades on the back windows help to hide the big blanket-wrapped metal box in the cargo bed.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Day 3 - Calgary to Moose Jaw
Km travelled today: 704
Number of pictures taken today: 90
Total km travelled: 1781
Total km to go: 2622
Total pictures taken: 781
Pictures have been uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 3: Calgary to Moose Jaw album.
Today has been a beautiful sunny day of travelling. We got to sleep in a bit, and were able to avoid the Stampede Parade thanks to some wonderful travel advice by our friends in Calgary and made it to Medicine Hat in time for a great lunch hosted by Shannon and Rob (friends of Colin's). There I discovered a great new condiment thanks to them (go PC mango-lime salsa!), and we nearly lost a cat as Tiki decided that it would be a good idea to play Hide and Seek as we were trying to get back on the road. Luckily, Rob was able to find her tucked away in a corner of their basement and we were able to get back on the road.
There were less pictures taken today partially because the scenery was not quite as impressive east of Calgary as it had been through the Rockies, but mostly because for the first time during the trip Andrea did the driving and Colin was the designated photographer. However, Colin is not quite the photographer that Andrea is - Andrea has a great talent for taking spectacular pictures from a moving car. It is obvious that her parents are police officers, as Andrea is a photo sniper!
We made it to Moose Jaw around 5:30 and, when we went to feed the cats, discovered that we had left the bag of cat food in the parking lot of the Calgary Travelodge. So after a quick trip to Wal-mart, we were off to visit with Todd, a childhood friend of Andrea's, and his wife Meaghan. We were treated to a fantastic dinner of smoked ribs and sausage, and had a great time catching up around a campfire. Now Colin wants a smoker too once we find our "forever" house.
Tomorrow is another long day of driving - our destination isWinterpeg Winnipeg and another great dinner hosted by a friend of Andrea's. Hopefully summer has come to Manitoba and we won't need our winter coats! Until then, we are going to enjoy the beautiful hotel room in Moose Jaw (and its extremely comfortable bed).
Number of pictures taken today: 90
Total km travelled: 1781
Total km to go: 2622
Total pictures taken: 781
Pictures have been uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 3: Calgary to Moose Jaw album.
Today has been a beautiful sunny day of travelling. We got to sleep in a bit, and were able to avoid the Stampede Parade thanks to some wonderful travel advice by our friends in Calgary and made it to Medicine Hat in time for a great lunch hosted by Shannon and Rob (friends of Colin's). There I discovered a great new condiment thanks to them (go PC mango-lime salsa!), and we nearly lost a cat as Tiki decided that it would be a good idea to play Hide and Seek as we were trying to get back on the road. Luckily, Rob was able to find her tucked away in a corner of their basement and we were able to get back on the road.
There were less pictures taken today partially because the scenery was not quite as impressive east of Calgary as it had been through the Rockies, but mostly because for the first time during the trip Andrea did the driving and Colin was the designated photographer. However, Colin is not quite the photographer that Andrea is - Andrea has a great talent for taking spectacular pictures from a moving car. It is obvious that her parents are police officers, as Andrea is a photo sniper!
We made it to Moose Jaw around 5:30 and, when we went to feed the cats, discovered that we had left the bag of cat food in the parking lot of the Calgary Travelodge. So after a quick trip to Wal-mart, we were off to visit with Todd, a childhood friend of Andrea's, and his wife Meaghan. We were treated to a fantastic dinner of smoked ribs and sausage, and had a great time catching up around a campfire. Now Colin wants a smoker too once we find our "forever" house.
Tomorrow is another long day of driving - our destination is
Day 2 - Kelowna to Calgary
Km travelled today: 668
Number of pictures taken today: 481
Total km travelled: 1077
Total km to go: 3326
Total pictures taken: 691
Pictures have been uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 2: Kelowna to Calgary album.
After a short first day of driving from Vancouver to Kelowna, Day 2 was the first of our long, 8-hour or more driving days. We took off from Kelowna at about 7 am since we would be losing an hour on the time change from Pacific time to Mountain time. The drive took us through 3 different National Parks (Mt. Revelstoke, Glacier and Banff), and Andrea took almost 500 pictures of some truly amazing scenery. It was so good for both of us to see this part of our country - neither of us can believe we waited this long!
When we arrived in Calgary, we stopped of quickly at our hotel and then headed off to Canada Olympic Park to do the zip line, which advertises itself as the fastest zip line in Canada. Andrea and I saw it on an episode of the Rick Mercer Report, and it looked like it would be a great experience. The main line runs off of the ski-jump tower, and the view of Calgary from the top was spectacular. The zip line, however, was kind of disappointing. Maybe we've been spoiled by the zip lines in Whistler, but the one in Calgary was nothing special, and was definitely not as fun as advertised.
After the zip line, we met up with friends of Andrea's for drinks, dessert and good times. After a long day and a short night, we're off again this morning. We'll be avoiding downtown Calgary, as the Stampede parade is on this morning, and downtown is nuts (even more so than usual since Prince William and Kate are participating in the parade). We're heading to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan today to meet up with a childhood friend of Andrea's, and will be stopping by at a former co-worker of Colin's in Medicine Hat, Alberta. It will be another long day of driving, but we're glad we're getting closer to Toronto!
Number of pictures taken today: 481
Total km travelled: 1077
Total km to go: 3326
Total pictures taken: 691
Pictures have been uploaded to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4500kmtogo/ in the Day 2: Kelowna to Calgary album.
After a short first day of driving from Vancouver to Kelowna, Day 2 was the first of our long, 8-hour or more driving days. We took off from Kelowna at about 7 am since we would be losing an hour on the time change from Pacific time to Mountain time. The drive took us through 3 different National Parks (Mt. Revelstoke, Glacier and Banff), and Andrea took almost 500 pictures of some truly amazing scenery. It was so good for both of us to see this part of our country - neither of us can believe we waited this long!
When we arrived in Calgary, we stopped of quickly at our hotel and then headed off to Canada Olympic Park to do the zip line, which advertises itself as the fastest zip line in Canada. Andrea and I saw it on an episode of the Rick Mercer Report, and it looked like it would be a great experience. The main line runs off of the ski-jump tower, and the view of Calgary from the top was spectacular. The zip line, however, was kind of disappointing. Maybe we've been spoiled by the zip lines in Whistler, but the one in Calgary was nothing special, and was definitely not as fun as advertised.
After the zip line, we met up with friends of Andrea's for drinks, dessert and good times. After a long day and a short night, we're off again this morning. We'll be avoiding downtown Calgary, as the Stampede parade is on this morning, and downtown is nuts (even more so than usual since Prince William and Kate are participating in the parade). We're heading to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan today to meet up with a childhood friend of Andrea's, and will be stopping by at a former co-worker of Colin's in Medicine Hat, Alberta. It will be another long day of driving, but we're glad we're getting closer to Toronto!
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