The TransCanadian Journey: Entry the First

Zen and I started our odyssey on October 28. We left almost on time, by which I mean we left less than an hour later than we'd planned. It was a chaotic morning, but I managed to get ready, and Zen managed to cram all of our stuff into the car. The morning was sunny and beautiful as we set out, which I decided to take as a good omen. The mood in the car was jubilant as we began, as we were both excited to finally be on the road after talking about it and planning it for so long.

We saw the road to Damascus on the way to Arthur. I wish we'd taken a picture. Once we got past Linwood, everything was covered in frost. I told Zenon that it looked like the world had been dipped in icing sugar. My favourite place in that early pre-Barrie part of the journey was Grand Valley, a tiny little town. There was a gray house on the edge of town that overlooked the valley and the river, trees an cemetery contained within. With everything frosted, the scene looked like something out of a book. I could imagine myself retiring there to write a novel about elves and romance.

We made it to the 400 highway without a problem, singing and being silly and enjoying ourselves. I rested for a while on the 400 while Zen drove, and when I opened my eyes again we were in the Muskokas, which were as beautiful as ever. We stopped in Parry Sound for lunch and photo ops, as that is where Bobby Orr is from, I learned, and Zenon wanted proof that we'd been there. We didn't see Bobby Orr, but Zenon did get a picture of the water tower. I took over the driving after lunch. Zenon put in a Great Big Sea CD and there was much singing and rejoicing done by all. The drive to Sudbury was peaceful and uneventful.

In Sudbury, we of course had to stop and take pictures by the giant nickel, which, by the way, is not as easy to find as you'd think. After that it was off to Sault Ste. Marie, which we found without a problem. We stayed in the Howard Johnson at the edge of town, which, though cost effective, was not the nicest place that we were to stay in during our travels. I don't recommend it to others.

Once we were settled, I got a hold of Ken for our first rendezvous in almost 4 years. He looked good - content. I also got to meet his partner Liisa for the first time. I liked her. She was giggly. She gave me a picture of the kids, which I've been waiting for. The four of us parted with Ken and I promising to write each other more often and Zen and I returned to our room to prepare for our next big drive the next morning.