NYC, NY USA - Red Deer, AB
October 13 - 19, 2006
 
     The home stretch.  Sadly, we decided that our road trip was nearing it's end.  We did make plans for a couple more days in NYC though, so after checking into a Super 8 in MawHaw NJ, we parked our car in North Bergen and caught the bus to the city.  We did some more touring and shopping, and caught a comedy show at the Comedy Club.  Note to self: $20.00 for 2 pairs of Comedy Club tickets bought in Times Square does not include the Minimum $10/ person tab at the club! We spent the next day in the city as well.  This time we took took the train to the Bronx to see the Yankees Stadium.  On the way back, I wanted to hike through Yorkville to check out the plane crash site.  But, I got off the train a few blocks too early, in the middle of Harlem.  It was a nice midnight walk through the ghetto with my big camera and touristy clothes (a t-shirt in NYC at midnight in October is touristy) before reaching the river road to Yorkville.  (Future reference: 110th & Park Ave is not the place for some late night site seeing!  72nd & York?  that's ok!)  And yes, 72nd is a long walk from 110th, especially through Harlem. (Central Park is really big!)  I met up with Matt back downtown, and as 02:00 rolled around the clock, we were sure we missed our bus to North Bergen.  And if the driver lady didn't fall asleep while parked at the pick up point, we might have!  We knocked on the door (there was a good size crowd waiting by this point) and woke her up.  I had to wake her up again a few times after stopping at lights, and a passenger had to remind her what intersection we were at at least once, but we finally made it alive!  So, on the 15th, we checked out, and made our way North West back to Ontario.  Our highways took us from NJ through Pen., back into NY and past Niagra Falls into Ontario.  We saw our first snow in northern NY, and there was enough of it that some truck stops had lost power!  We made it to Hamilton and met up with Matt's friends again, before checking into the Grimby Super 8.  The following day was all driving, from Hamilton to St. Joseph, Il., with a long delay at the border because Matt wanted his passport stamped!  Nice one, Matt!  It was an experience worth having, though.  The next day we drove through Chicago, through Wi, and stopped for the night in Fergus Falls, Mn.  Today was our first ever "Taco John's" experience.  Mmmm, good!  October 18th, we continued North, making another Taco John's stop, crossing into Canada, and making our way to the grand city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.  We spent the night there (Super 8 again) before making the final leg of our trip back to Red Deer.  This part of the trip was sad, and went pretty quick.  We arrived home about 19:30, thus ending Trevor & Matt's 2006 North America Road Trip!  Hope you were as entertained as we were!  Keep your stick on the ice!
 

06.10.19
 

 


Providence, Rhode Island
 
     What a band!  Great Big Sea (www.greatbigsea.com), by far my favorite band of all times (oh ya!) put on a great show at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel tonight. We got to the venue early, and offered our help to a guy who was unloading merchandise from the GBS tour bus trailer.  It turned out that guy's name is Glenn McCann, Sean's younger brother.  We helped him unload the gear into Lupo's, and met Allan.  It was kinda neat being there helping out.  Best use of our time that we could think of.  Eventually we had to get in line like everybody else, and at 18:00 we found our way in to get a spot to watch the band from.  It was an awesome show.  After the show, we went to the tour bus to try and meet the band, but they were done for the night, apparently.  We were able to send our souvenirs in for signatures, and we hung out with Glenn again for a bit.  Check out the photo's of us with Glenn.  Whether or not you'd consider him part of the band as we do, he was a really cool part of our trip.  Right now we're in another Super 8, this time in West Greenwich RI.  And, it's late.  Or early rather (Yikes!).  Okay, I'm out!  Ciao.
 

06.10.12
 

 

Halifax, NS - NYC, NY USA
October 6 - 11, 2006
 
     So, here's the basic rundown on the last few days.  We left Halifax Friday Morning (October 6th) and made our way through Nova Scotia & New Brunswick to the USA, with our only sightseeing stop at the Bay of Fundy.  We crossed the border from St. Stevens, New Brunswick into Calais, Main.  We made our way through Main and into New Hampshire (where their license plate slogan made us laugh), to the HI (Hostelling International) in Conway.  We left there Saturday morning and headed to Boston Massachusetts.  We arrived early and toured Harvard University in the day and downtown at night.  Sunday morning we had breakfast at IHOP where we met James & Laurel (read their feedback to us!).  We then drove the short drive to Salem MA just to see what it's all about.  We didn't stay long before heading towards the Big Apple.  We got into New York City HI Sunday afternoon, but because of the cost we booked a Super 8 hotel in North Bergen, New Jersey, a few minutes away.  So Sunday night we drove around Manhattan to get a quick viewing, but Monday after we found our hotel and rested for a bit, we took the bus to the city and rollerbladed around checking out times square & the Chrysler building (which is big, but not the Empire State Building, we got corrected on this).  Then we went to see the Empire State Building (found it!) and the library.  We also saw Grand Central Station from the outside, among other big city sites around town.  Supper at Applebees.  Tuesday we toured around via the subway after taking the bus in again.  After checking out the World Trade Center grounds and Wall Street, we took the ferry (no charge) to Ellis Island & back to see the Statue Of Liberty.  We then went to Times Square and had supper at McDonalds.  Very fancy!  Wednesday we bussed into the city again with roller blades and toured central park.  We left central park and headed east into downtown to wait in the "Will Call" line at the Cobert Report.  Once there, we heard the news that we just missed seeing a small plane owned and occupied by Cory Lidle, a New York Yankees pitcher, crash into a high-rise apartment building.  And, while in line, it started to rain.  Then it really rained.  And, when we were told all the seats in the Cobert Report were full, we endured the rain and hiked to the bus terminal to get back to our hotel.  We tried unsuccessfully to get to bed early in able to hit the road to Providence Rhode Island.  Now it's really late, and we're still awake.  Owell, why sleep when you can stay awake, right?  (That makes no sense.)  Okay, good night!
 

06.10.11
 

 

Halifax, Nova Scotia
October 1 - 5, 2006
 
     We spent the day around town and hanging out at the hostel, after getting food to go from Apple Barrel (oh yes, I do like it there!)  Later, we all went to the Palace night club, where Brian works.  The next day was mostly spent relaxing, and dealing with my car.  Spent time at Future Shop, Superstore, Canadian Tire (got a new shower curtain for the hostel, gross!) and got to bed early the next morning.  We played taxi again to the airport, this time for a family we never met before, who had been waiting on a taxi for a long time, so we offered them a ride.  I found a good free parking lot just off of Gottigen, the street the hostel's on, rather than 2 blocks away in the dark.  I spent the day hanging out, and took a late night walk to the harbour with my camera and tripod.  I visited with a harbour seal (I think) before catching the last ferry to Dartmouth.  I took a good walk and came back on the MacDonald Bridge.  I hung out with Brian for a bit (walked to McDonalds for food) and drove Matt, Patrick & Andrea back from the casino they were at.  The next day was uneventful, other than being told my car was ready (too late to get it and get the stereo installed today, so we'll do that tomorrow), but today is Wednesday Pub Crawl night (Wednesday Oct. 4, 2006)!  I met everyone at Peel's Pub for some billiards, and than I drove Matt to Wolfville to see a friend of his.  I dropped him off, checked out the town, and headed back to Halifax and to the hostel.  The next morning (always too early) I got my car from Honda and made it to my appointment at Future Shop.  Finally got my car all back together, and after a bit of fine tuning, the car was ready to be loaded for some more road trip!  We got all packed up and ready for a morning departure.
 

06.10.05.
 

 

Halifax, Nova Scotia
September 30, 2006
 
     Today Matt & I had separate agenda's.  Mine included bed late last night (technically this morning), and sleeping in today.  His didn't include either, apparently.  So, after I got up and ready (up at about 12:30), I had brunch at a great all-day-breakfast restaurant called "Apple Barrel".  Not the first time this week I ate there.  Good food!  After I ate brunch, I planned on checking out the sailing ship that Ben (who's staying at the hostel we're in) works on.  I took the tour of the harbor aboard the Mar II, and then enjoyed walking around the harbor side and boardwalk with Nat & Amanda, also staying at the hostel.  We got to watch a peculiar and random show by a couple of Atlantic Towing's tow boats from the boardwalk.  Really neat.  Most of the rest of the day was spent hanging around the hostel and visiting, other than my 1:30am Tim Horton's run for a late chilli supper.
 

06.09.30
 

 

The Bad With The Good...
September 29, 2006
 
13:52
     My original plan was to start from day one and try to keep updating this page in order, but I decided today's events where worth sharing now.  I unknowingly donated my car stereo to someone who apparently really wanted it.  Ya.  Wanted it enough to smash my window, rip my dash out, and take off without all the parts.  Owell.  So, now we're driving a... white Grand Prix for the weekend.  Oh, and we're spending a few more days in beautiful Halifax.  The extras that the new owner of my stereo got included my heating & air-conditioning controls, my rear defrost control, my 4 way emergency  flasher control, and the console that they all fit nicely in.  And, Colonial Collision Honda, Future Shop, Discount Rentals, & Speedy Glass are the companies so far in Halifax that get business from me.  It's good for everyone, it seems! lol.   And I'm really thankful that the Halifax Backpackers Hostel is being so helpful with this.  The people here are really amazing.  So, this morning was spent running around figuring all this stuff out.  SO, it's 14:14, and I need to shower, and I need to eat.  And maybe see Halifax from a new perspective, the front seat of a 4 door Grand Prix.  I'll keep ya posted!
     Tonight is BBQ night.  Matt and I went to Apple Barrel again, I did some driving around for the evening, enjoyed the BBQ, and then a bunch of us went to Tribeca Club for some fun..
 

06.09.29
 

 

St. John's, NF - Halifax, NS
September 25 - 28, 2006
 
     Up, up and away!  We made it out of our wonderful hostel, and headed for McDonalds before taking to the Trans Canada Westbound.  We made various stops on the way back, we booked our spot on the ferry from Port Aux Basque, and stopped for our first official "Goobies Stop".  This stop was at the actual "Goobies" hwy stop, where we used the facilities and stocked up on snacks for the drive.  Hence forth, all "facility & snack stops" will be known as a "Goobies Stop".  At 12:34, we picked up 2 German hitch-hikers near the hwy 1 "Splash & Putt".  They travelled the rest of Nfld with us to the ferry, making various stops along the way.  The car was a wee bit crowded, as they both had gear and guitars!  We thought we had a full load before that.  Wow.  We slept the night on the ferry, and headed toward the Cabot Trail.  Due to hunger pains, and road construction, we became diverted from the famous trail, and found McDonalds instead (Port Hawkesbury).  Word of advice:  just because the highway is over run with signs stating there is a Smitty's ahead doesn't mean Smitty's is still in business.  Cause in Port Hawkesbury, it's not!  We made our way to The Halifax Backpackers Hostel after checking out the HI, and got ourselves settled in.  We got cleaned up, found a laundry mat, and then had pizza at "Randy's".  We met some of our room mates, and were invited to go watch a local rugby match.  So we drove our new friends (Brian from Ontario, Nat From Australia, and Kat from England I think) to the pit, and enjoyed the game.  We had a good night (short) and in the morning Matt and I split up for a bit.  I walked a few blocks to "Apple Barrel" for breakfast (really good!) while Matt and Zoe (from Calgary) went out walking.  Back at the Hostel I met Matthew from Toronto, who is also staying with us, and hung out visiting for the afternoon.  I found out that Wednesday's at the hostel is pub crawl night, so we got ready to go out with the group.  I met Tony (also from Australia) who works and stays here, and was offered by her and Nat, under Matthew's supervision, to cut my hair.  I also met Will, who's birthday is today, but who we had cake with last night.  We headed out on the crawl at about 19:00, starting with Locas for some pool and games, then to Peddlers Pub so everyone could have cheap drinks, then to the Ale house, but Deirdre (from Ireland, travelling with Rita) didn't have ID, so we headed to stage 9.  Tonight is reggae night!  I enjoyed the live bands for a while before heading back to the hostel with Rita & Deirdre, to have some more cake and visit for a bit.  The next morning, Rita, Deirdre and Matt joined me at Apple Barrel before we all drove to the airport to see the girls off at about 15:30.  We got back to the hostel and hung out for the evening.  I expected to go out driving again tonight, so I parked a couple blocks away and left my faceplate and GPS still installed.  Back at the hostel, Natt and Matthew cut my hair for me (good job, too!)  The night went on, and at about 02:30 I remembered that I left my faceplate and GPS in the car, and decided to move my car.  That's when I realized what had happened...  (See 06.09.29 entry above)
 

06.09.28.
 

 

Moncton, NB - St. John's, NF
September 21 - 24, 2006
 
     We left Moncton, PEI bound.  We crossed the confederation bridge after stopping for photos around noon-time.  We made our way to Charlottetown and found the Salvation Army church.  We visited for a bit before heading south to catch the 16:30 ferry to Nova Scotia.  From there we headed East, stopping in Antigonish, and then to North Sydney for the long ferry ride to Newfoundland.  We set sail at 23:30, and slept on the chairs for the duration of the trip.  We had to change our watches in the morning, and drove onto the island at 07:14.  We wanted breakfast, but neglected to stop in Port Aux Basque, so we had to make a long side track to Stephenville, and to McDonalds.  I was glad we detoured, it was a nice place to see.  Besides, it's a road trip!  Our main destination today was St. John's though, so we ate our food and continued east just before 10:00.  We continued driving, with pit stops in Deer Lake (Gas & Tim Hoton's), Bishops Falls (visited the Salvation Army), Gander (McDonalds & Honda), and Port Blandf (Gas) before arriving in the capital city and finding our hostel.  The staff and other guests made our first hostel stay amazing.  Although the hostel was old and out of shape, Jack & Bill (the staff that greeted us) and Myriam (a guest there) made our stay one we'll never forget (in a good way!).  We all decided to stay in tonight, and visit George Street tomorrow.  So, after everyone else was in bed, I ate at Tim Horton's, played on the computer, and finally crashed around 04:00, Sept.23.   I got up just before noon, about an hour after Matt, and we went out for brunch at "K Cafe" downtown.  We went into the SA thrift store, and Matt got a t-shirt.  We headed to the famous George Street, stopping at Christian's to find out about getting properly "screeched in" to Newfoundland.  Around 18:45, we drove with Myriam to Signal Hill to see the sites and take some photos. It was a lot of fun.  We stopped on the way back to the hostel for supper at Pasta Plus Cafe, and then at the Legislature, which was boring, as it turned out to be just a modern office building.  We got ready at the hostel to go out, and walked back to Christian's, this time with Myriam, for our screeching-in ceremonies.  It was a really cool experience, of course I didn't have any screech, and then we hung out on George Street most of the night enjoying the party scene. We enjoyed some live bands (one really neat Celtic band), and took in a couple clubs.  I left Matt & Myriam around 03:30 to go to Tim Horton's and to play on the computer,  and they got back at about 04:00.  I went to bed around 05:00, and Matt hiked to Signal Hill to see the sunrise.  I got up around noon, as Matt was getting into bed, and got ready for the day.  After a couple hours, Matt got up and we went back to K Cafe.  Now, both visits there we enjoyed the food (mainly because it was all day breakfast), but the service was very slow, and our drinks were always empty, but our waiter Colin had the "St. John's Best Server" award.  Interesting!  At about 15:00, Myriam directed us to "Cape Spear", the eastern most point of North America.  We took a lot of photos, checked out the amazing scenery, and headed back to town.  This was the scenic highlight of Newfoundland for me.  We were hungry, so we decide on Chinese food at "Magic Wok Eatery".  It was very slow service lol.  Maybe we're just to fast paced?  Hmm.  We did finally eat, and made it back to the hostel.  Tomorrow we start our backtracking journey to the west.  We have reached the end of the continent!
 

06.09.24.
 

 

Montreal, PQ - Moncton, NB
September 19 - 20, 2006
 
     We checked out of our hotel and headed out of town on the #10 to the #20, and into Quebec City.  Amazing city.  We toured the old city walls and learned a bit about the old city history, and enjoyed some poutine at "Cedre du Liban".  After an afternoon in Quebec, we got back on the 20 and headed NE to our hotel in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli.  Not much English spoken at that hotel, but we managed.  I had to check around the small town for an open wireless connection, but it didn't take too long.  And then, of course, I found out I could get a signal in the hotel lounge.  Convenient lol. We stayed the night there, found breakfast at a place next door called "Normandin Restaurant", and headed east, still on the #20.  We turned around to take pictures at the "Quebec" welcome sign, but entirely missed the "New Brunswick" sign.  We made our way into Fredricton (on what has become Hwy 85/185) and down to the Legislature Buildings (not really all that amazing).  We intended on getting into PEI and maybe further today, but by the time we made it to Moncton (passed it, and came back) it was late enough to make a decision to stay for the night.  We drove on the Magnetic Hill, and then checked into the brand new "Future Inns".  We checked online info about the PEI & NFL ferries, then headed for supper at BP's.  We played some pool, ate some food, and were served by Amanda, who actually works at the Halifax Boston Pizza.  Maybe we'll see her there!  We made it back to the hotel, and finally hit the hay.
 

06.09.20
 

 

Hamilton, ON. - Montreal, PQ
September 16 - 18, 2006
 
     Here's a quick rundown on our trip for the last few days.  We hung out on Hamilton for the day (Saturday the 16th), bought a pair of Edmonton Eskimo jerseys and watched the Ti-Cats beat the Eskimos.  We even had our faces painted for it!  Owell.  We hung out down at "Tailgate Charlies" for the night with Matt's friends.

     The next day (Sunday the 17th) we almost drove North without seeing Niagara Falls!  So, we headed South on the QEW to Niagara and spent a few hours site-seeing, including our "Journey Behind The Falls".  I'm glad we did it, but I think next time I'll skip it.  We then went North to Toronto, stopped at the base of the CN Tower (right beside the Rogers Center), and then headed to "The Docks" on Cherry St.  We enjoyed the batting cage and met a few nice people and a few interesting ones, before getting back on the road.  We went North on the 401 to Ottawa (via the 416) and checked into our Econo Lodge on Rideau St. for the night.

     We Checked out, had breakfast, did some banking, and toured Ottowa.  Matt went to the "National Art Center", and I checked out the "Rideau Canal" and "Parliament Hill".  I skated over to the Art Center to meet up with Matt, and then we headed up the canal to the car.  We drove to "24 Sussex Dr." (our leader's home), and because of a dispute between me and the GPS, we did a couple loops through Hull, Quebec and back before hitting the 417 eastbound.  We made a pit stop at "Herbs Travel Plaza" at the Hwy. 34 Junction (if you're ever driving that way, be sure and stop.  They are so friendly there, it was great) before continuing the hour drive to Montreal.  We got into the city at about 21:00.  We checked out the "Forum de Pepsi" (now called the "AMC Forum") before getting a room at the "Clarion".  We checked out Montreal's night life (on a Monday night, hmm) before getting back to the hotel, calling it a very late night.
 

06.09.18
 

 

Sault Ste. Marie - Hamilton, ON.
September 15, 2006
 
     We left our Sault Ste. Marie hotel with a decision on our hands.  Cross into the USA and shave some time off of our drive to Hamilton, or continue through our beloved country.  I made the deciding vote to continue through Canada.  From the start, it was my goal to cross Canada before heading south, so that's what we did.

     We stopped at a massive loonie on the side of the highway.  Matt hurt his foot jumping from it's pedestal, but all in all, it was worth it for me.

     We made a few pit stops during the next bit of driving, but nothing that exciting.  Near Sudbury, we left the Trans Canada #17 to go south on the Trans Canada #69.  Almost immediately, we stopped at "Variety 69" to use the bathroom, but due to limited water, I had to find somewhere else.  A bit further on, we stopped at the Sudbury Information Center, but it was closed.  So I peed outside.

     We stopped at 18:22 near Perrytown at Tim Horton's & Wendy's for supper, then at Shell in Barrie for fuel.

     After checking into our hotel at 21:10, and contacting Matt's friend 'Cranberry', we decided to drive around and locate the Tiger Cats Stadium.  We got back to our Comfort in (183 Centennial Pky N) and crossed the street to Kelsy's for supper.  We then headed downtown to check things out, and found a club called "Tailgate Charlies" that we hope to checkout after the game tomorrow.  While down there, we watched a raccoon rummage through the trash.  Kinda neat lol.  We got back to the hotel, hung out a bit, and turned out the lights around 03:45ish.
 

06.09.15
 

 

Dryden, ON. - Sault Ste. Marie, ON
September 14, 2006
 
14:00 MB Time, 15:00 ON Time
     We left the Evening Star at 10:46, and carried on east.  We stopped at Kakabeka Falls, ON.  It was really nice, check the photo's!  See this website (www.rvtravelog.com) for more info on the falls, and about the "Legend Of Greenmantle", that Matt was really fascinated with.  We haven't had breakfast yet, and we're on our way to Thunder Bay to get it.  We're so close, I can taste it!  Man, I'm hungry!  Oh, and we realized that Kakabeka Falls is on the time zone line.

17:28
     We arrived in Thunder Bay and went to Tim Horton's and ordered our food.  Then, we realized that Ontario Tim Horton's only accept cash.  So, at about 3:45, we found a TD bank and got some cash, and went back to get our food.  I think they were surprised to see us back.  We got our food, and headed east on the TC17, which is now joined with the TC11, and from Thunder Bay to Nipigon is the Terry Fox Courage Hwy.  We stopped in Nipigon to get gas at the Husky House Restaurant.

18:48
     Matt wanted to build an inukshuk, so I stopped to take some photo's of Lake Superior and Matt built his work of art.  We were at N 48° 58' 6.5", W 87° 59' 10.3", in case you want to find it lol.  While stopped, I did some rock climbing for fun, and for better pictures.  Peter, a guy from Northern BC stopped on his motorbike also for photo's, and we chatted about the drive for a while before getting back on the road.

21:39
     We made a pit stop in Schreiver at Esso for snacks & an Ontario map.  They have cool electric one person train cars there. (not functioning, mind you)  Neato.  We left there at 19:37, and we hope to get to Sault Ste. Marie at a reasonable time.  Sue (the GPS) says about 5 hours to go.  We stopped in White River for some snacks and, as they saying goes, some time away from the group.

12:35 - 06.09.15
     We coasted into Sault Ste. Marie on the fumes left in the gas tank, and stopped at Mohawk to fill up.  On the way in, I noticed that a Future Shop was being built.  Wow, they're going up everywhere!

12:48
     We checked into our hotel (Travel Lodge Downtown) and we where very impressed by the quality.  I actually had to double check the price at the front desk to make sure Matt didn't hear it wrong.  Great price, and great quality.  Wow.

2:00
     We just finished our late night meal at a cool little 24 hour place called "West Side Cafe", recommended to us by the lady at the hotel desk.  Rhea was our waitress, and we really enjoyed her friendliness.  Great place.  Go there if you ever have a chance to visit.  Now it's back to our hotel, and off to sleep.
 

06.09.14
 

 

Regina, SK. - Dryden, ON.
September 13, 2006
 
10:35
     We checked out of the hotel at 10:32, and ate breakfast at McDonalds next door.  Last night I updated the GPS software, and so far today it isn't able to acquire satellites (it's not working).  We got on the TC1 (Victoria Drive) and headed east out of Regina.
     Matt's Note - Trevor almost ran over a (construction) pylon, but he saw it at the last second and only ran over the base of it.

11:45
     We stopped on the side of the hwy to try and fix the GPS ourselves.  I was able to uninstall the updates using the computer and we finally have Sue (the GPS's voice & personality) guiding us once again.

12:57
     We made a "pit stop" at Shell in Moosomin, SK.

13:25
     Hello, Manitoba!  We stopped for photo's at the "Welcome To Manitoba" sign.  This is a very long stretch of road.

14:14
     We realized that we're in a new time zone (first time change of the trip!), but neither of us saw a sign.  We almost ran over a tumble weed, but just barely missed it.  Would've been our first road kill.  This place is flat!  23km to Brandon MB!

15:40
     We saw smoke, again.  This time we were sure that it was at the airport, so we took hwy 10 MB (1st street Brandon MB) north to check it out.  We discovered that it was a fire fighter college beside the airport.  Kinda neat.  Anywho, back to TC1 and eastward!

17:30 FUEL
     We got onto TC1A into Portage La Prairie at about 16:50, and stopped at Tim Horton's for me and McDonalds for Matt.  We went to Mohawk and got gas.  Bill (the employee) insisted on filling my car for me, and chatted with us about our journey.  He gave us some suggestions and pointers for our trip.  TC1A rejoined TC1 east of Portage La Prairie.

17:50
     We passed rows and rows and piles and piles of hay bails near the TC1.  I thought it was funny, because it looked like we were in the land of mini-wheats.  Very large mini-wheats.  I guess you could just call them wheats.  Winnipeg is so close we can smell it!  lol.

18:15
     We're now in Winnipeg, taking Portage Ave (TC1 & TC16) into the downtown area to the William And Catherine Booth College, and the Manitoba Legislative Buildings.

23:39
     We drove past the Salvation Army College, and then we stopped at the Legislature.  That was pretty neat.  We met 2 security guards there who gave us a lot of neat info about the building's history.  We had to sign in, and Matt made a mad dash to the bathroom.  He came back all excited and said we had to go down there and take pictures.  Sure thing! lol.  We toured the building, and Matt got his pictures of the bathroom (it was a little awkward for Matt when a guy came in and saw him snapping pictures!)  We made plans to rollerblade down to the Forks (where the Assiniboine River meets the Red River) but Matt saw a soccer game in the park out front of the Leg, and he asked to join in.  So, while he stayed and played soccer, I discovered that downtown Winnipeg along the Assiniboine River, the trails are mostly dirt.  Owell.  I did see some neat sights, and played in the amazing skate park for a bit before heading back to meet Matt.  We met back up at about 21:55.  After Matt finished playing soccer, we chatted with the other players.  One guy was attending CAC in Lacombe AB, and knew Red Deer well, and knew who my Mom is from the soup kitchen.  He offered to pray with us before we headed out again.  It was really cool.  We had a bit of fun getting out of downtown and back on TC1, but we did, and then stopped at the SS Cafe for food and internet access.  We continued east on the TC1 and we're almost at the Ontario border.
     Matt's Note - I scored a goal, gotcha!

Time Unknown
     When we got into Ontario, there was a worn out welcome sign that was plastered with paintball shots, but we stopped to take some photo's.  We had a good laugh when, about ˝km east we came across a nicer Ontario sign.  We have photo's of that one, also!  If you're ever driving this stretch of TC17 (the TC1 becomes the TC17 at the Manitoba / Ontario border) in the dark, look out for deer!  I think I saw more deer eyes in my headlights then ever before on one stretch of road.  As we drove on, and the time got later, we started phoning ahead to hotels, but we began to think we might have to sleep in the car or pitch our tent in the middle of the night in the great Canadian Shield, or just try to drive non-stop.  We went through Kenora, ON, but we passed up the first motel in hopes of one a little nicer, but by the time we realized there was no vacancies, that one was closed.  We got gas at 1:24 at Mohawk.  I said to the cashier that I shouldn't have assumed that I could just drive in and get a hotel, it's a busy place!  She seemed offended, and asked me what I expected in the middle of summer!  Someone should tell her it's the middle of September.  Owell, back on TC17.  Somewhere on the hwy during the next few hours, we were driving along in the night when a K9 of some kind ran out in front of us from the woods as we rounded a bend in the road.  I played the "I go right, you go right, I go left, you go left" game with it for a fraction of a second before I felt the thud of it under my front bumper.  We were both shaken up by this, and pulled off a few km's up the road at a truck stop.  I checked the bumper for damage, and we decided to go back and see what we hit.  Matt was a little concerned about turning around on the highway, which made sense, but I was determined.  We drove west until we knew we went to far, and I decided to turn around.  At the last second, I noticed an approach on the left side of the road, but a turned too late and ended up stopped across the hwy.  Matt was a little panicked, but I knew that neither of the trucks from either direction would hit us!  Somehow I managed to sneak off into the approach as two trucks went whizzing by from both ways.  On the road again, we saw my tire marks from where I hit the animal, but no body.  We are optimistic.  We kept driving, until finally, after many hotels and motels, found a vacancy in Dryden at the Evening Star at about 3:00am.  Good Night!
 

06.09.13
 

 

Red Deer, AB. - Regina, SK.
September 12, 2006
 
     We started our trip heading South on Gasoline Alley, and our journal entry reads mostly as follows.  Keep in mind, Matt did the writing, I did the typing, so although the perspective has changed from Matt to me, this is mostly Matt's writing style.  I made miner alterations to some entry's for clarification and made some omissions to protect our reputation!  Enjoy!!!

12:59
     Got journal from Staples.  We're going to look at smoke (SW of Red Deer)  God speed Trevor & Matthew, God speed!

13:07
     We left staples west on Mackenzie Road and headed south on Alberta 2A.  We went west on hwy 42 to see the fire, which was a farmers field We headed west on Alberta 42 then south on C&E Trail.  Smoke was just from a farmer burning his field.  Saw really scary scare-crows in a yard on the corner of Hwy 42 & C&E Trail.  We went south into Innisfail and then east on 50th Ave (Hwy 54), then south on QE2.  We went East on Hwy 27, then south on Hwy 21.  At 2:55pm we started our TC1 (Trans Canada #1) journey East.

16:00
     Stopped at McDonalds in Brooks AB, Matt saw a guy he knew (Adam from Leon's).  We went through the drive through, and back on TC1.

17:55
     We stopped on the Alberta/Saskatchewan border and took pictures.  Odometer was at 134327.  Matt says "Man, it's flat"  I said "It's not as flat as I've been told.  Check the pictures for yourself.  The roads are as bad as I've heard though.

18:14  FUEL
     We stopped at Esso in Maple Creek SK for gas and to pee.  The gas  jockey guy talked with me about self serve and gas costs.

19:00
     We saw the first windmills of our trip.  They were about 1km west of Gull Lake, SK.  They don't look like they do in story books!  Check the photo's!

21:16  FUEL
     Stopped at Caron Port at "The Pilgrim Centre".  Rick Cochrane from Red Deer saw us and because I know him he came and said hi, and we talked for a bit.  We drove to Brier Crest Bible College, which was a few minutes away in Caron Port.  We got gas at Husky (part of "The Pilgrim Centre").  This place is a perfect stop, because it has Husky, Starbucks, Internet Cafe, Subway, and a convenience store.  Great stop.

22:30ish
     Checked Sandman Hotel in Regina, it was $110.  The Howard Johnson was $80, so we stayed there.  Nice place, wireless internet, so I started on the website.
 

06.09.12
 

 

1st Entry
September 12, 2006
 
     It's been a fun day 1.  For now, check out the photos.  We're keeping a detailed journal, and for only a small fee, you can read it!  Just kidding, I'll post it as soon as I have more time.  But, for now, it's bed time.  I need to crash before Matt starts snoring!  I'm out.
     Oh, this site is really non-functional right now.  I'll do more as I have time.  K, um, bye bye now.
 

06.09.12