Road Trip Cont...

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Day 26. After the hell getting out of New York City, we made it into the state of Massachusettes. We wanted to try and make ot Boston, but after getting lost in New York, it was getting pretty late, so we decided to stop along the way at a place called Devon. It was a nice litte town on the ocean, very senic and quiet. Today, wasn't too exciting, we spent it driving through three different states, starting with Massachusettes, we went through Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. We stayed on the US side of the border that night in a place called Eddington, we basically drove until we got tired.

Day 27. This morning we crossed the US/Canadian border. We had no problem getting back through, we were asked if we had any alcohol or tobacco? Nope. And we're through. Easy. So we're now in New Brunswick, woohoo. We drove to Saint John which was a nice city, would've been even better if it wasn't raining. I was told about an attraction there called the Reversing Falls from a customer at Hell's Gate, so we thought we'd check it out. When we got there, we waked down to the lake, we had no idea what we were looking for. We went to the look out, but there was nothing. We went into the info center there and looked at the pictures and couldn't work out the whole reverse falls thing, so we pushed on to Halifax. About 5 hours later, we were in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We found a motel, then went to meet up with Nate. Yah. After picking Nate up at his university, we went to downtown to get some dinner, was quite yummy. We went for a walk afterward then took Nate back to his res. By the time we got back, it was around midnight, so we basically went straight to bed.

Day 28. After a little bit of a sleep in, we checked out and went to pick up Nate again after his morning class and went in search for Peggy's Cove. Now Nate, being a resident of Halifax, you would think he'd know his way around the place right??? Wrong. Sorry Nate, I had to tell this lol. So, thinking he knew his way, to directed for around half and hour to forty five minutes in the wrong direction. Eventually he went and asked someone, then we were on the right way and about another forty five minutes we were there. I must admit, it was worth the wait and again, if it wasn't raining, it would've been even better. But we were right on the Atlantic ocean, I could've put my feet in the water if it wasn't too cold and raining lol. There was a beautiful lighthouse there, typical of the east coast. This was an amazing place, would love to see it in summer when there lots of people, blue sky and boats everywhere. After about half an hour there, we had a look in the gift shop then headed back to the city to find some lunch, of course, being in Nova Scotia, we had to have seafood. We went back to the main street and found a fish and chip shop and had a late lunch there. Unfortunatly after that, I had to say goodbye to Nate again, I took him back to his uni and we left Halifax. It was absolutly pouring rain on the highway, it was shocking, so I stopped driving at the border of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, it was just stupid being on the road, safer in a motel room.

Day 29. Today was a better day to drive then last night, that's for sure. We left the motel early so we could make it to Qubec City. So along the way, we stopped in the city of Fredericton in New Brunswick. It was nice little city, but is was pretty cold and windy, we didn't want to do anything except get lunch then get back in the car. Within a few hours we hit the border of Quebec, we were in french land now, hopefully they weren't as rude as I'd been warned. Our first meeting with them was at a gas station, and they were pretty friendly, first impression on Quebec, nice. That night we made it to about an hour outside of Quebec City where we stayed in a very nice motel, very comfy, loved it, apart from dinner. We went to a supermarket and got a couple of frozen meals, they meat pie's so naturally I got one. When we got back to the motel, I put it in the microwave, when it finished, the pie had gone flat and the pastry wasn't even cooked, it tasted like dough. I can't wait to have a real Australian meat pie, god I miss them.

Day 30. Today we headed into Quebec City. Not really know what there was to see and do there, we pretty much just drove until we found something. We eventually found Old Quebec City, which was really nice although they were doing construction on the fort wall that was there which was a shame. We wandered up and down the main street looking at the shops and cafes and stuff, bought my souviners then left. Next stop Montreal. The drive from Quebec City to Montreal was only a couple of hours and we were there by 5pm. We looked a little bit around the city then found a hostel to stay at. Was a nice hotel, everyone was pretty friendly and we got free breakfast, woohoo.

Day 31. Today was spent sightseeing in Montreal. First we headed to the Olympic Park to have a look around, went up the tower thing they have there. Then we headed back into the city to do a self walking guided tour. Micha wanted to go to the Montreal Notre Dame, when we got there, they wanted to charge us to go in and she didn't want to pay so we didn't go in after all that. We wandered around the city until we started feeling hungry then faound a Italian restaurant for late lunch, early dinner. After that, we stupidly went up to a lookout. 1000 stairs and a very red face later we were at the top, there was a very nice view of Montreal from that point, the sun was starting to go down and the sky was pink and really pretty. After about half an hour being up there, we headed back down the stairs and all the crazy people running up and down them, went back to the main street and did some shopping. I got my souviners and a new pair of jeans, Micha bought a new blazer that was 50% off. We then headed back to the hostel, finished of the bottle of vodka that I had left from res and headed out for the night.
We went to a restaurant/bar and had a margarita, then they were closing so we had to move on, we found a bar that was ladies night, so it was free entry, bonus. I went to the bar to get us some drinks and found out that if we bought vodka, gin or whiskey, it was to our discretion how much we paid, even bigger bonus. $1 drinks, we ended up having three vodka's each, I actually had three and a half as Micha couldn't finish hers. She actually wanted the cocktail Sex on the Beach, but they were gonna charge her $27 for one. Screw that. After we finished our drinks, we wanted to dance, we left there and moved on to next door, again, we got in free and went straight to the dance floor where two guys started dancing with us. They bought us a couple of drinks and we later found out that they were from New York City and were in there 30's, too old for poor Micha, just right for me lol, too bad they both smoke yuk. After a couple of hours, we decided to our seperate ways even though I had argue with guys about going back to their hotel room. By the time we got back to the hostel, it was around 3.30am, we'd been out since 9.30am, we were so tired and hungry, unfortunatly, where the taxi driver took us to get food, the line was out the door and down the street, so we decided against getting something to eat.

Day 32. When we woke up, we both had hangovers, Micha way worse then me. I decided we weren't gonna drive anywhere until after lunchtime. So we went and found the place the taxi driver took us last night, he told us they had the best poutine in the world so of course we couldn't leave with out trying it. For those who don't know what poutine is, it's basically chips and gravy with cheese curds in it. It's pretty good. Although, I'm pretty sure I've had better poutine to what we had there, of course I didn't say that too loud. By the time we were done, it was after lunch time, so we got back in the car and headed towards Ottawa, the capital of Canada. It only took us about two hours to drive, so we had a look around the city, saw parliament house, the war memorial and a few other attractions, then left to find somewhere to stay for the night. We ended up about 60kms from the city in a place called Perth.

Day 33. The next morning, I went to get some milk for our breakfast. I got in the car and started to drive and instantly knew something was wrong. I stopped then started again and I though, flat tire. Shit! I made it across the road to a gas station, got the milk and put air in the tire again, unfrotunatly, I heard air coming straight back out of it. We tried to change the tire and put the spare on, but of course, there was no jack in the car. We went across the road to Canadian tire and tried to get them to change it, by the time I booked it in and got back to the car, the tire wa changed, so I had to go back across and cancel it. I called hertz and they told me to go into the closest hertz center which of course was back in Ottawa. By the time we got back to Ottawa and found the hertz center, it was lunch time. We could've been in Kingston by now. The hertz guy basically told us, with the insurance that we took, there was nothing they could do and to just get the tire patched which would cost about $10. So then we had to find a tire place again and book the car in, we could've just done it in Perth instead of going all the way back into Ottawa. When the tire guy saw the tire though, he said it was irreplacable and we'd have to put a new tire on it. Great! $116 and an hour and half later, we were on our way to Kingston to ML's place. Both of us very annoyed. ML texted me directions to her house and we found it ok, we got there about 5pm. It was so good to see her again after so many years. We went out for dinner just down the road from her place, we spent the time catching up and tellng her about the road trip. We then head back to the house and watched a movie then finally went to bed after a very long day.

Day 34. After ML made us pancakes for breakfast, we got ourselves organised to leave. I was meeting Danny in Waterloo between a certain times otherwise I would've missed him. So, I said goodbye to ML and headed off, making a stop at the Big Apple. No, not New York big apple, the real Big Apple, a bit like our Big Banana. We had a nice piece of caramel, apple pie then hit the road again. We got to Waterloo around three and Danny met us at a Tim Horton's. I was so excited to see him again, I love his hugs. We caught up with him a bit then made our way to Sarnia, Danny's home town where we stayed the night. Sarnia is really cute little town, they already had their Christmas display up which was really nice, I'd love to get some of thir lights for our place lol. Evenually we found a hotel for the night and relaxed. Next stop, US of A.

Day 35. We got to the border around 10am and sat in a line up for about an hour. When we got to the customs guard, he asked the usual questions like, where are you going in the states? how we know each other? when was the last time you were in the states? blah blah blah. He then sent us to park the car and go into the office. Oh man, not again. I then had to give a guard the keys to the car and go inside and wait to be called. This time it was Micha's visa that had expired. We waited in line for a 40mins. The lady at the desk was a complete bitch. Asked us all the same questions as before. How do you two know each other? she asks, we're friends, I reply. That's not what I asked. HUH!!! That's how we know each other, hello. She then went on with other questions, then went and searched our car, I asked to watch but they wouldn't let me. Do you have something to hide? They asked. No, but it's my personal stuff and I don't like strangers going through my stuff without me being present. They made me stay where I was, I was not happy, on top of all that, I was busting to go to the bathroom, do you think they'd let me. How rude! The lady then found my resume and documents for finding a job in Canada, she bought them in with her and started asking me if I was planning on working in the states. No, I said, I have a visa for Canada,all that stuff is for there. Well, there's nothing there for you when you get back, what's to stop you from getting a job here? She asked. Ok, fair enough, I say, but one, I have to take the car back to Vancouver, two, my flight home is from Vancouver, and three, I have a couple friends that you can call as I plan on staying with them when I get back. She then had to go and talk to her supervisor, I felt like I was on Border Security, now I know how those people feel lol.
Anyway, after about two and a half hours all up, from when we started lining up to when we were aloud to go, we took off. It didn't even take that long going in and out of Russia! We were pretty hungry by the time we got through and the gas was low yet again, so we found somewhere to get gas then found a diner for lunch called Applebes. Delicious food. I wanted to go back there just for the dessert, we couldn't fit it in when we were there. We then headed in the direction of Detriot. Wow, what a scary city. We drove around to have a look, but weren't brave enough to get out of the car and look around, it was really sketchy. So we headed in the direction of Chicago. Hopefully it's a bit better there.

Day 36. Today, we visited Chicago. Pretty cool city, couldn't live there though. We spent a couple of hours there, had some lunch at a poplular pizza shop, I now know why it's so poplular. It was time to keep driving across the states, we had to get half way across the country in the space of four days, should be interesting. We drove over the Mississippi River, saw some canyons and few little towns.

Day 37. Well today was pretty exciting. We set out from the motel at our normal time, around 9am and headed west on route 90. Our destination today? Mt Rushmore. I'm loving driving on route 90, the speed limit is 75 miles an hour, which appoximatly, 120kms an hour and people are still passing me, I can't believe how fast this country drives. From Mitchell, it took us about 5 hours to get to Mt Rushmore. We stopped at a dinner for breakfast/lunch which ws pretty good and cheap. Then we were back on the road. Eventually we made it to Mt Rushmore, just before was got to the presidents, we went through a cute little town that looked like a ski town, unfortunatly, everything was closed, as usual. So we carried on up the viewing area, $10 to park, I later found out it was an annual pass, so I didn't think the price was too bad, but for a one time visit, I think there should be a cheaper rate. It sounds funny, but I thought it was gonna be bigger lol. I was thinking that it was gonna be to whole mountain, but it's just a part of it. It was pretty cool to see though. After that, I got my souviners and we left to go and have a look through the little town, there were a couple of shops open.
When we were done, we headed out of town along highway 16 and came into Wyoming, it was just on dusk, so were weren't able to see much, maybe in the morning we'll see more. Snow predicted for the next couple of days, yipee!!! That was sarcastic, it can snow all it wants after Monday, till then hold off the snow PLEASE!

Day 38. Well, my prayers for no snow were not answered at all today. We started out at quarter to eight and the weather was cold but not snowing. About an hour and a half into our drive, we hit some snow that was just on the side of the road, then it started being on the road, oh yeah. We stopped for gas and something to eat around ten thirty, by the time we came out it was snowing, Micha's turn to drive. We were mostly just driving on snow, but for a little while it turned to ice, not good. We did almost lose it actually, Micha tried to moved the car so the wheels were off the ice and the back of the car started to slide, with a bit of overcorrecting, she almost lost control, but eventually we came to a stop in the middle of the highway. Thankfully, the only car around was a little further back from us, so we were able to correct or direction again. As the car went passed, they signaled to see if we were ok, I gave a thumbs up and the passed. Phew! Have I said lately I hate driving on snow? We swapped over driving around three thirty, when I pulled back out onto the highway, I was still driving on the snow for about an hour, then it started to clear up a bit. I drove for about two and a half hours before we pulled into a town called Deer Lodge in Montana for the night.

Day 39. Well, I must admit, today was alot better on the roads then yesterday. Not much snow and no ice, yeh. Today we made it to just outside of Seattle. I haven't been feeling well today, so Micha did a bit driving. When we got to Columbia River, we stopped to get gas, last gas stop of the trip woohoo, the lady in the shop told us that going over the mountain pass to get to Seattle was really slushy and ice and everyone was told to put chains on the wheels. Oh great, we're not aloud to put chains on the car as it's a rental. What do we do? Risk it, stay somewhere and drive it tomorrow? Tomorrow could be worse. Risk it. It was very slow drive as everyone was taking it easy which was good, the road wasn't anywhere near as bad as they were in Saskatchewan, we made it through ok which was good, although for some reason, I really wasn't feeling too good, I had a headache, and was feeling sick in the stomach, to the extend that the sight and smell of food was making me queasy, I managed to have some soup for dinner though, not that that mad me feel any better. I went to sleep at 8 o'clock to try and get over whatever it is that I have.

Day 40. Last Day of the Road Trip. Wow, what a huge five weeks. Over 20,000kms through Canada and the USA. We really are crazy. Today, I still wasn't feeling all that well, but managed to drive. We went into Seattle and went up the Space Needle Tower where we had some pretty cool views of the city and harbour and all the houses with white roofs from the snow. We then did a little bit of shopping in the souviner shops and headed in the direction of Vancouver. We then stopped at Bellingham so I could post most of my souviners and christmas presents home. We eventually found the post office and a box to fit everything into, then I had to fill out custom slips and the guy that I went to was so slow. I think a snail could've moved faster. He kept asking me questions about Australia like, what's the unemployment rate? and are clothes more expensive there? What? Just process my damn packages and let me be on my way dammit. We were in the post office for just under and hour, it's the longest I've ever spent in a post office. Ok, back on the highway, back through the border which was as easy coming back through as it was the last time which was good. We headed straight to Jenn's place to dump off my stuff as there was alot, then took the car back to the airport. Next stop Micha's place, then Earl's for dinner, then seeing Harry Potter, yah.

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