The Canada Trip

The weekend of March 6 was quite memorable. Jacob had just arrived by plane from Kentucky and we abruptly left on a road trip. The first stop was to see Julian. He took us to Blue Ben, a kickass diner in Bennington. I had one the best breakfasts of my life. It was the California Eggs Benedict and it had sprouts (yum!) and avocado (yum!). Of course it was also awesome to hang out with Julian and Jacob. Julian shared a desire of his for the three of us to visit Saigon, rent motorcycles, and then drive up the coast of Vietnam. He later admitted to taking the idea from an episode of TopGear. However, his determination to promote the plan never wavered. The conclusion of the conversation was that Jacob needs to get his passport.

Jacob and I left with Julian's car and we drove to Syracuse, NY to see Bonnie. I visited for a short while and then left Jacob there and continued on to Waterloo, Ontario.

I made it across the border ok and after about 1.5 hours I arrived in Waterloo. First I must say that driving in Canada was both scary and nice. It was scary because I wasn't familiar with some of the road signs and I was afraid that some unfamiliar traffic pattern would arise or that I would screw it up somehow after coming so far. In a way, my unfamiliarity with everything made the drive more exciting. The advertisements, road signs, and stores were all different. The drive was also nice because I have gotten used to the metric system and to see kilometers and Celsius everywhere was kind of a relief.

The biggest relief was seeing Monica and knowing my trip was over. 850 kilometers had passed and I was tired. She looked great and I probably looked terrible, but anyway we went out to a local Irish pub. First of all, I loved it there. The pub sort of had a lodge feel to it with its dim lighting log beams stretching along the ceiling. On the walls there were tvs with a hockey match, a large Canadian flag, and a Guinness banner. Sitting at the table to my left were a couple of rowdy Scottish guys who were laughing and cracking lewd jokes in thick accents. Monica and I got some food and talked. It was really a nice way to end the day.

The next day, we worked indoors much of the day and then went into town for lunch with a friend of Monica's. I had a delicious schnitzel. In the evening, we went out to a different bar. The atmosphere was much quieter than the night before; after all it was a Sunday evening. After a long debate within myself, I ordered a large salad. It was the perfect choice. During the meal, I texted a friend about my potential plans for work. By the end of the meal, I had made a big decision regarding my future. I have decided to move soon.

I had a 10 hour drive the next day to think about it. As the Sun came up, I passed by Niagara Falls. I was tempted to stop there for a while just to think, but the day would have been too long if I had. Besides, I had the peace of a long car ride. I filled up the gas tank and then proceeded to cruise at a speed of about 63 miles per hour for the entire trip to Syracuse. Doing so set a new record for Julian's car in gas mileage of 37mpg. Anyway, I made it to Syracuse, had some lunch, picked up Jacob and continued onto Julian's. The rest of the ride home was fairly dull, as my car was winding through the mountains of western Massachusetts. Also, the day seemed shorter, but I determined that I had experienced about 30 minutes less sunlight than the people in Waterloo and in Worcester.

I spent the week working on my plans. Moving soon means that I have to visit everyone soon. I drove to Maine for the following weekend (last weekend) to see the family. I spent a lot of time stacking wood and relaxing with my dad, stepmom, and sister. I really liked it up there. At the church down the road was an open mic night and the music was really fun to listen to. I realized that I would probably miss that small-town community feel despite running from it (or trying to) from about high school onward.

On the drive home, I saw a van with a license plate that read "1ST 86" When I first saw it, I thought the 1 looked like an İ, which might make it a reference to İstanbul. Of course '86 is my birth year. The vehicle wasn't just a van, it was a caravan indicating moving somewhere. To top it all off there was a big American flag sticker next to the plate. I am not superstitious and I don't like to read into these things, but it was a nice set of reminders about my plans to move. I am tempted to interpret it as a sign for me to move, but I admit it could have easily been a sign not to! Of course if the vehicle had been a say a Dodge Ram, I wouldn't decide to become a goat herder.

Signs from the Universe aside, I proceed with my plans. I got my phone unlocked today, which means it will work with a foreign SIM card. I also applied to a TEFL/TESOL course. Some lunch, some shopping, out to dinner with dear friends, and then some weekend planning will commence. Wish me luck. In the meantime, I'll work on a post that more precisely describes my plans.