Vic Pollen

tdv95

Vic Pollen


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Former TravelPod Member: tdv95


Joined: October 28th, 2009
From: lives in Canada



North America » Canada » New Brunswick » Moncton July 23rd 2016

Geo: 46.0884, -64.7783We have done a number of trips to Quebec before and given our tighter timeline, we zipped right through the Belle Provance and straight into New Brunswick. NB is the only truly bilingual province in Canada but, for me, it always seemed to have the personality of someone's far-too-serious Aunt. To be sure, the province does have a number of odd ball items that require investigation like a Noah's Ark shaped seniors home or a magic hill where you can coast uphill in your vehicle (even Billy Thunder is putting on roadtrip weight so we didn't quite make it all the way up the hill). But when a small town in the Province claims to be the supplier of a third of the world's French Fries you know that the local Potato Museum is ... read more
Our First Hotel In New Brunswick
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

North America » Canada » Ontario » Kingston July 19th 2016

Geo: 44.2315, -76.4794We only had a short time for the wedding in Toronto. How short? Well DH, in her role of Godmother was supposed to sit down with Devin (her Godson) before his upcoming nuptials, with an eye to coaxing out his inner choirboy but that was going to take significantly more time than we had. We did attend the wedding (social event of the year) and were hoping that our man would make it through the day without ending up in a puddle of tears (very sensitive young man)- he actually did quite well until the father and brother started with the lip quivers and the boys all ended up in a drenched group hug. The Killer B women (including the newly adopted Melissa) all seemed to be coolly checking their watches, hoping the dishes ... read more
Boldt Castle On Heart Island
Celebrating Canada Day
"See You Soon"

North America » Canada » Ontario » Kapuskasing June 5th 2016

Geo: 49.4178, -82.4252From North Dakota we popped north of the border, resumed our Tim Hortons coffee addiction, and did a quick stop in Winnipeg to visit with family and friends. From the corner of Portage & Main we made our way through the wilds of Northern Ontario. We had to pick up the pace a little in order to make the only hard coded deadline we've had since we started this roadtrip- the wedding of DH's Godson Devon B (yes, another member of the Killer B clan). This was a really big deal given that Devin has found a very nice girl, Melissa soon-to-be B, who has experienced the entire Killer B clan up close, and yet is still willing to tie the knot with Devon??Our journey through the north was a bit repetitive since we ... read more
Husky the Muskie
Gas Station Inukshuk
Not PFC- Hitchhiking Bigfoot

North America » United States » North Dakota » Fargo May 29th 2016

Geo: 46.8759, -96.7823We are getting a little short of time so after a quick visit to the Mall Of America in Minneapolis, and a lunch with our two favourite Minnesotan bikers we had to make our way to Fargo North Dakota. The last time we had lunch with Kevin and Art, we were dining at a café in Havana, Cuba and they were trying to find materials to build a life raft since they were running low on currency and were getting concerned about being permanent guests of Fidel. It was good to confirm that they had made it out and that they were cautiously planning their next out-of-country experience. So let's be honest. North Dakota, the least visited state in the Union, is only known for 2 things- the movie 'Fargo' and the fact that ... read more
The Woodchipper
Great North Dakotan Name
Auto Repair Advertising

North America » United States » Minnesota » Austin May 26th 2016

Geo: 43.6667, -92.9744Yes, yes, I can now officially confirm that I am months behind in my postings but apparently it's not all that easy to purchase a condo , make move arrangements, and wrestle with a number of other never-ending issues , all while continuing our North American road trip. I was tempted to pack it in but the noisy demand from our follower convinced me to try and catch up.And while I'm busy making confessions, I would also have to admit to the deep dark secret of liking spam (coffee, popcorn, and spam fuelled my moderately successful University campaign), so when the opportunity to visit the world's only Spam Museum (how can there be only one?) presented itself, we had to make the detour. Spam has to be the Twinkie of the meat world. DH ... read more
Corn Palace
Corn Palace Murals
Corn Cob Art


Geo: 43.5453, -96.7313We started this roadtrip in Dec of last year so, for the most part, we've been traveling in the off-season and we haven't had to book ahead for either hotels or attractions (DH might argue that many of the things I want to see are always off-season since no one else wants to see them). It has been a great run of seat-of-the-pants travel up until now but all good things come to an end and, tragically, we are going to have to blow by one of my must-dos. The original plan was to zip across the top end of South Dakota and, just inside Minnesota, there was going to be an opportunity to drive a WWII tank (if Martin W was doing particularly well with our investments, there was an extended opportunity to ... read more
The Road To Wall Drug
The Road To Wall Drug
Wall Drug


Geo: 43.8804, -103.453I thought it was pretty cool that Buffalo Bill Cody had an entire town named for him, and Wild Bill Hickok had the card hand he died with memorialized, but DH was thinking bigger than that. Having your big head carved into a mountain was a much more unique and better way to be remembered in her view. Mount Rushmore might be the only place in the world where this has actually happened (on purpose). After putting up with me (at very close quarters) on this non-stop 5 year trip and after visiting Mount Rushmore, I get where she might see her big head carved into a mountain as an appropriate tribute to her patience. More importantly, I also now get why Native Americans are not all that enthused about this particular set of ... read more
Crazy Horse Memorial
DH With Worlds Biggest CC Cookie
Mount Rushmore


Geo: 44.3767, -103.729As we were leaving Wyoming a short side trip took us to the Devils Tower and it's not a bad name given that one of the theories around its formation is that it is a volcanic plug or that it is the neck of an extinct volcano. It must have something to do with the Devil because we saw a number of Hells Angels types cruising around. Apparently the tower is part of a motorcycle circuit that originates in nearby Sturgis, South Dakota, and bikers are drawn to the area as soon as the nice weather appears. Sturgis is the magnetic centre of the earth for anyone owning a motorcycle and the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally draws 450,000 participants to a town with a population of 6,600. Like our friends Art and Kevin in ... read more
Wild Bill Hickok Watches Over Deadwood
Wyoming Countryside
Wyoming Countryside

North America » United States » Wyoming » Cody May 18th 2016

Geo: 44.5264, -109.056It seems to be a relatively easy task to get a street named after you these days but to have an entire town named for you is a bit of a big deal. Cody, Wyoming was founded by its favourite son- Buffalo Bill Cody. William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was an American scout, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Iowa but he lived for several years in his father's hometown in Canada (so we have some claim on him). Back in the U.S., he started working at the age of eleven, after his father's death, and became a rider for the Pony Express at age 14 (Leila E. is 14 and I think she just skis and hangs around on the boat??). During the American Civil War, he served the Union from ... read more
Wyoming Roadtrip
Wyoming Roadtrip
Wyoming Horn Stack


Geo: 44.6622, -111.103The big reason for our detour back into the U.S. is Yellowstone National Park. DH was eager to see how it matched up against her memories of the Saturday morning adventures of one of her favourite childhood heroes- Yogi Bear of "pic-a-nic basket" fame. The plot of most of Yogi's cartoons centered on his antics in the fictional Jellystone Park- a variant of the real Yellowstone National Park. Yogi, accompanied by his constant companion Boo-Boo Bear, would often try to steal picnic baskets from campers in the park, much to the displeasure of Park Ranger Smith. In the early history of the real park, visitors were allowed, and sometimes even encouraged, to feed the bears. Slightly stunned visitors welcomed the chance to get their pictures taken with the bears who had learned to beg ... read more
Mammoth Hot Springs
Yellowstone Bison
Getting Close To Yellowstone




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