400th Post

It is fitting that my drive from Ottawa to Victoria end with my 400th post since I started this blog. The blog has been quite a journey as well over the past 2.5 years.

The day started out sunny in Kamloops, which is actually located in a desert but most of the 4 hour trip into Vancouver was driven in heavy rain. As I approached Vancouver, the rain let up and disappeared by the time I approached the ferries to the island. I lucked in and hit the ferry 15 mins before sailing time.  The ferry was also much improved since I last took it 20 years or so ago. 

I arrived on the island and I am now in Victoria typing out this entry. I am quite tired and will be asleep by 10 pm.

TTYL,

Jim

Calgary to Banff

I decided to travel to Banff the next morning and then on to Lake Louise. Starbucks has discovered Banff and Banff has grown up over the past 15 years since my last visit. Ditto for Canmore which is now much larger and way more commercialized now. Lake Louise was no different and I decided to push onwards to the Columbia Ice Field and Jaspar until I hit the roadside update sign that announced that the road conditions were poor up ahead and travel was not recommended without tire chains, so I decided to head to Kamloops.

The drive to Kamloops from lake Louise was awesome and when I arrived in Kamloops I discovered it too had grown in size since my last visit. I spend the night and was up early to head to Vancouver and eventually the ferries to Victoria. What the heck, I figured I might as well go as far west as I could on this drive.

TTYL,

Jim

Booted from Brandon to Calgary

Apart from some oil pumps plugging away in Saskatchewan and Alberta, there was not much to see in the 1200 kilometres between those two cities. However, the 110 km/hr speed limit was appreciated as I dialed in 123 kms and cruised all the way, stopping only for coffee and gas as required.

I spend the night in a Quality Inn and was up early and hit the treadmill in the gym. Ouch, had not run for a month and it hurt. As soon as I get to B.C. I have to get into my routine again. I was afraid to get on the scales and rightly so, as I had crept back over 190 pounds. At least my breakfast was free - no cost, included in my lodging, and I burned 425 calories, so no cost to my weight :-)

Today I plan to visit Banf, Lake Louise, the Columbia Ice Fields, and Jaspar. Not sure where I will spend the night, but Kamloops is calling my name, and I love the desert.

TTYL,

Jim

Spending the Night in Brandon

I had originally planned to spend the night in Winnipeg but I gained an hour on the time change and decided to press on to Brandon, 2.5 hours down the road. I managed to get the last room at the Motel 6 for a decent price but the internet here is slow. Must be the 4 basketball or hockey teams (girls) that checked in. They are all probably on the net downloading the latest 'Glee' show :-)

I will be up early and plan to scoot across Saskatchewan (with a quick stop in Regina) and head into Alberta and spend the night somewhere there, depending how far I get. The driving is certainly easier on the prairies as you just point the vehicle in one direction and drive straight until you need gas.

Manitobans pay about 15 cents less per litre for gas. I assume that is because of fewer provincial taxes on gas. Their roads are as nice as ours so I wonder what gives?

TTYL,

Jim

At the Lake Head

I am now in Thunderbay. If you have never driven around the top of lake Superior I strongly suggest you do it. It is a very scenic drive and is not busy in October and the colours are beautiful.

I found another Mom and Pop motel and they all seem to have very fast internet that works - and is free unlike the more expesive hotels which seem to want to charge for it. Go figure!

Tomorrow I head out to Winnipeg and my first visit is to Bulk Barn because Jaime has placed an order for some 'Fruit Salad' candy. I also need to pickup gravol and advil to bring to Malaysia for her.

I will head out tomorrow about 7 am dependent on when Starbucks open up.

TTYL,

Jim

In Sault Ste Marie

I left Ottawa at about 8 am and 2 Tim Hortons and 12 hours later I pulled into Sault Ste Marie and found an inexpensive Mom and Pop Motel for the evening. I had previously done this trip 5 years ago when Jordan was playing with the Ottawa GMEN in the provincial Div 1 championships where they won the Gold medal. 

Tomorrow will be more interesting as I head off into the unknown (for me) around Lake Superior. I am quite looking forward to the middle part of the trip as it is all new ground for me.

It is now 8 ish and I will read my new book, Terry Brooks Legends of Shannare, The Measure of the magic. All of Terry's Brooks books are highly recommended!

I am out the door at 7 am tomorrow morning, so TTYL,

Jim

Off Across Canada

I plan to leave Ottawa about 6 am tomorrow and drive to first North Bay, Sudbury, and Sault Ste Marie which will take me about 10 hours.  plan to spend the night there and drive 9 hours the next day to Thunder Bay. Day 3 will see me in Winnipeg after another 9 hours. I have don ethe Sault Ste Marie trip twice before but the loop across the top of Lake Superior is new to me as is the segment to Winnipeg and across the prairies. I am quite looking forward to it.

I had a great time in Ottawa and saw lots of my mom, sisters, and friends. The weather was great for the most part, and I plan to get back for Christmas.

I will try to keep you informed of my progress across Canada whenever I happen across WiFi.

TTYL,

Jim

Loose Ends

I am still working on cleanup. I was at the lawyers for almost 4 hours yesterday. I hate to think what that cost me. Last night I bought new tires and that bill came to $922.00. I went with Canadian Tire as their warrantee is good across Canada. SUV tires are $$$.

Today I am getting the right brake light fixed. In case you think I am automobile repair impaired I want you to know the screws are all rusted in and I can't get at the bulb to change it. Ka ... ching. I was to lazy to clean the interior so I paid to have it done ... love the smell of armour-all :-)

I am seriously considering buying another GPS (mine seems to have headed south with the females) and I don't know what to get. I have used Garmin mostly and they work but there has to be something better. I guess I will look for a sale and get whatever is the best deal.

I will leave Ottawa to drive across Canada on the 25th of October. I am leaving myself 6 days and that should be fairly easy. Jaime and Jordaan did it in 3 days but they went through the states. I want to do it all in Canada.

I am planning on flying back to Malaysia on November the 11th to close out my condo and start shipping books and things home. Maybe I will bite the bullet and just chuck it all :-)

TTYL,

Jim

Getting Stuff Done

I am finally getting all the loose ends tied up. Johnson Insurance is just plain stupid. I can't cancel the insurance on my house even though I no longer own it unless both Shelley and I send in a cancellation form. I even sent them the sales closing document.

I managed to get all my automatic house related payments stopped. Now I need to decide on a cell phone plan. $1,500 later, the SUV has passed its eTest, had its left front wheel bearing replaced, and all transmission hoses are secure, replaced and not leaking. All I need now are 4 new tires at a $1,000 total. Did I mention I did not miss car ownership in Malaysia?

Liz Klassen is hosting a get together at her place on the 21st of October in the afternoon. I have not seen Liz for over 2 years and I am looking forward to seeing her.

I will spend the first 3 days of this week at the public school board working on their software as I customize TPA to work with Active Directory. IT nerds will understand the quest for a single login to all software applications.

I am reading the last book in the Sword of Truth series, called 'The Omen Machine' which is book 12 in a great series, much better than Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' series which probably outsold it but is not as good a read.

TTYL,

Jim

In Canada :-)

I arrived in Vancouver on the morning of October 3rd, picked up my car rental and checked into my hotel. I had previously scoured the internet, mostly CraigsList for apartment listings and managed to see about 4 listings over the next 2 days. I was looking for downtown, fully furnished, and a short term lease (4 months or less) and was expecting about $2,200 per month in rent and that was what I found. It is not as bad as it sounds as it is all inclusive, heat, hydro, high speed internet, cable, parking, swimming pool and fitness centre. I really did not want to tie myself up in a 12 month lease as I am still not sure of my plans for the next year.

I flew to Ottawa on the 6th, checked into my sister Ann's condo, recovered on the 7th, had a 90th bday dinner for my Mom at a local restaurant in New Edinborough, got my motorcycle runnning, blew 4 transmission hoses on the SUV and spent $900 getting it fixed, got license plate stickers for the SUV and the motorcycle, and booked yet another emission test for the SUV as they gave me a 10 day temporary permit which is just enough because of the long Thanksgiving day weekend. It is funny that we worry about our carbon footprint when there is close to 3 billion asians fouling the planet in an unbelievable manner!!!!

Today is Sunday and I am just taking a break and tomorrow I have Thanksgiving dinner at my sisters Ann's log house in the Val Des Mont woods. On Tuesday I meet with Brent over Intelliga business, take my Mom to her physiotherapy appoint over lunch and continue with Brent in the afternoon. My schedule is enough to make me yearn for a SouthEast Asia beach with nothing to do but put lime in the coconut and spread a little suntan lotion on every now and again.

TTYL,

Jim

Last Night in Malaysia :-)

It is Saturday, October 1st, and it is my last night in Malaysia. I leave for the airport at 10 pm Sunday, Oct 2nd and my flight is at 1:30 am on Monday, Oct rd. I arrive in Vancouver at 9:30 am on October 3rd thanks to the international date line. I will spend 3 nights in Vancouver looking at places to rent to determine if I can afford to live in Downtown Vancouver.

I leave for Ottawa on October 6th and will be staying at my sister's. Don't forget October the 8th is my Mother's 90th birthday and Monday Oct. 10th is Thankgiving day so there is lots going on.

Of course, a quart of beer and a meatball sandwich from the Prescott is also high in my priority list. It will be nice to be home for a while.  Send me an eMail if you would like to get together. I will be leaving around the end of October as I am driving across Canada to Vancouver which is something I have always wanted to do.

Take care, TTYL,

Jim