Ontario: 250,000 bodies of water, 2400 km, 1 week of travel and 1 transport truck vs. 1 pickup truck!

Until we planned our journey and began to set the itinerary for travel, I had no idea that Ontario was such a large province. With us traveling about 6 hours per day and pulling the trailer we expected it to take about 5 days to drive across. We were going a bit out of our way to stop in Toronto to see new baby Ethan and we were eager to meet him.

As mentioned earlier we were happy to wave g'bye! to Manitoba. Now to my friends who live in the province of wheat I know it is not a bad place, on the contrary the people were awesome, but we were two weeks into our trip and had not even reached Ontario. We were thrilled to reach Kenora and kept on moving. 

It was Saturday, July 10th and we left Nanaimo on Monday, June 28th. We just wanted to hit TO and go forward with our lives. We had canceled all of our other tourist plans and promised to the kids that we would go to Niagra Falls and of course downtown Toronto. Len and I were still chipper, well I was, I will admit he was getting a bit discouraged at this point. I don't know if any of us really believed the trouble was over but seriously, what else could possibly happen? So far we had broken down or needed a repair in every province, Ontario means good luck doesn't it?

It was a warm afternoon, I drove with the windows open for air. The air conditioning worked but we were nervous to push the truck too hard and didn't want to cause any overheating. I guess when I was in grade school I remember more about studying Mesopotamia than I do about Canadian geography. I know where the provinces are but did not know Ontario had 250,000 bodies of water or that if you drove straight it would take 24 hours to cross it. Ontario also has about a kazillion truckers on the road at any given time. They race up behind you, pass on a double line and create pressure for the driver as you try to travel. All day long I was pulling to the side or slowing down to let them pass me. They were very intimidating and for the first time on our trip I was getting annoyed with them.

I decided to take a break and nap before we moved on to the next town. We drove by a few pullouts that were on the lake side and I thought we should turn around and get some air at one. The kids could swim, I could rest, stretch and get some air. The girls and I had seen a good rest area but Len thought we should just stay where we were. Len was out voted. We decided to go back to the rest area. I had driven past the pullout on route 17 and looked each direction then turned my big rig around. I was driving pretty slowly about 30km per hour since I was watching for the turn and there was no one behind me. About 500m before my left turn I put my left signal light on. I looked in both mirrors and checked behind me. Nothing. Nada. Zip. It was clear and safe to turn.

I turned the steering wheel and rolled it left as my truck, then trailer followed me. Just as my cab hit the entrance of the road I felt a big SLAM! on my drivers side as my head rolled forward then back. I yelled "It wasn't me! I didn't do it! I was safe! I looked, signaled and had my brake light ON!" Len yelled "I told you the other place was fine!" Jessica screamed and Rachel said nothing. I asked everyone in my family if they were OK and it seemed we all were. I then looked out my window and saw a big orange and black transport truck with two men yelling at me. 

The rig had ended up in the ditch on quite a slant. My ass end was still hanging out on the highway so I gently pulled forward off the road more and tucked all my pieces in as tight as I could to prevent any further traffic trouble. I hopped out of my truck and saw two women standing in front of the vehicle. A minute ago the highway was empty. Now, the semi and us were on the left side of the road and two other semi's of the same make and a car with some women were on the right side. 

The women were sisters and their first words were to say they would be witnesses and had seen me slow down and have my signal light on. They said the semi had been speeding up and down behind me. It was surreal since none of us had seen anyone. I went to the passenger door of the transport and asked if they were OK. The two men would not answer me. I yelled again "Are you OK? Is anyone hurt?" The next thing I knew the men were yelling again. I have to admit with the accent, speed and loud voice I had no clue what he was saying. I asked them to roll down the window and they finally did. They would not answer if they were OK, but they appeared to be unharmed. I said "I am sorry, I can't understand a word you are saying, I will be back." I then went to my family and the witnesses.

Another car drove by and said they had seen us all there and had called 911 and police, fire and ambulance were on the way. The sisters were on their way to see their dying brother. They did not have a lot of time, so I had them write out their statement including name, address and phone numbers. The fire truck arrived and the nicest volunteers hopped out to help. It seems during the whole hullabaloo the other two semi drivers claimed to have seen the whole thing and we were at fault. I was very grateful for the two women who recorded their statements because the other witnesses were false and did not give true information as they were connected with the driver who hit us. 

The paramedics arrived and checked us over. We were fine so we let it go and the other driver did not claim an injury. I mentioned that my neck had jolted and I already felt sore muscles but they said this was normal. The police officer arrived and much to his chagrin he had to take a full report. The officer was an hour from ending his shift to begin 4 days off so not really a very happy camper! Poor him!

While I wrote down a four page statement including time of day, direction we were headed and road conditions for the officer, the local fire department volunteers took off our ruined tire and rim and replaced it with our spare. They also helped pull off the broken piece of the front grill and do anything else they could to help us. Like me, the fire department was tired of the long haul truckers rushing along the highway, exceeding speed limits, not slowing down and being a hazard on the road. The fire department chief said there had been an accident the same time of day, the day before we were hit. (Later we found out that another accident in the same location happened the next day, Sunday. Sadly, this involved a motorcycle and transport truck and a fatality. We were So lucky!)

The other drivers were in collusion and backing each other up. I was informed by one of the follow up drivers that they made the trip regularly from New Brunswick to Vancouver in 54 hours. They had two drivers and only stopped to fuel up. (The locals informed us that the drivers had holes in the floor to relieve themselves and also kept a 5 gallon bucket for this purpose. So if you stop at a rest stop and see  a 5 gallon bucket sitting there... leave it alone!)

This put us behind about 2.5 hours that day. The officer determined the following: I was NOT at fault. The other driver was guilty of several violations, however, since neither of us were from the province of Ontario he cited the violation as "Following too close" to prevent us from having to return and go through the court system. It was kind of funny because we had left Vancouver, the truck driver was headed there, we were headed to New Brunswick, the truck drivers rig was from New Brunswick and the truck driver lived in Quebec. Kind of an inter provincial accident!   

We were exactly between Rossport and Schreiber, Ontario. It was now almost 7 pm. We were tired, hungry and I was a bit sore. We limped in with the truck to Schreiber and Len booked us into a motel for a couple of days. It was very considerate of him since we were all tired from the journey to date and I was sore and had to deal with insurance companies. This also gave us an opportunity to do some laundry before we headed on to Toronto.

I could not believe how exhausted I was the next day. I slept in, chatted with Len and Jessica for a bit, drifted back to sleep and woke up a couple of hours later. I guess it was harder on me than I thought! Jessica and I went for a walk later that day and flinched every time a rig went by. It was so scary! I was not sure how I was going to continue to drive or even if I could but I kept that thought to myself since there were not many options.

We left Schreiber mid Monday morning after talking with ICBC. We wanted to head on to Alton, Ontario and hour from Toronto, but that was still about 3 days away. We were all pretty quiet for the first three hours of driving. I was nervous. My heart was palpitating, my breath was shallow, my skin was clammy and I was having an anxiety attack. Everyone was in the truck and I doubt anyone felt great. We were worried about the truck. The transport trucks were back and tail gating again. I was starting to feel dizzy and wanted to cry.  I considered saying NO! I can't do it! Figure something else out. James (our son in law) can come drive or someone else. I AM TOO SCARED! How was I expected to keep going along these winding narrow highways with these truckers??? 


I pulled over and told everyone I needed a break. I told them all to go away. Walk in the bush, find a creek, talk to a bear, I don't care! I had to be alone. I got some fresh air, then curled up in my driver's seat. I slept, deep sleep. When they all came back, I got out stretched, peed (we were getting to be very talented at peeing beside the road!) and told everyone I was ready to go. 

I guess my little breakdown was over. I began to get my confidence back and I knew I could do it. I am WOMAN! Hear me ROAR! No dumb ass poorly trained hazardous trucker was going to stop me! I am going to Toronto and then on to New Brunswick. I am not letting my family down. It was bad enough that we never had any touristy fun but I was getting them all safely and securely and ALIVE to New Brunswick. 

Now, here I am! In New Brunswick! That is as much as I shall blog about our trip!

Now a QUICK question!

I have finished the journey and that is what this blog was about.

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Have a great day and if you see any orange and black transport trucks...!

New Years, Robbie Burns, Guy Lombardo & Dick Clark!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 
and never brought to mind?  
Should auld acquaintance be forgot  
and days of auld lang syne? 

 Listen to Auld Lang Syne

Thank you Robbie Burns for taking an old Scottish song in 1788,   researching the lyrics, history and documenting for the first time on paper "Auld Lang Syne". Thank you Canadian, Guy Lombardo, for taking the song in 1929 and declaring it the annual New Year's Eve tradition to play upon the stroke of midnight. What a great song! It is the quintessential tune for celebrating the old and welcoming the new! Thank you Dick Clark for making it a part of every Rockin' New Years Eve! 

Who doesn't acquaint this song with the New Year?

This year has seen us leave much of the old which will never be forgotten. Of course it will fade and the next time (if) we see our friends again things will have changed. Our friendships remain in a holding pattern and yet we both have moved on with our lives... though the friendship remains.  Should it be forgotten? I don't think so. We may never regain what we had, however will always value how we touched each others lives. Everything we have gone through makes us the people we are today, for better or for worse. Friends change, family is here forever. To my family and loved ones, I miss you and I am glad you are all just a phone call away.

2010 was a year when my job ended, my hopes of ever owning a home in BC demolished, our family welcomed new babies, I traveled to the Atlantic for the first time, I uprooted my loved ones and transported them across the country to our new home, I finally owned a home, and amidst it all the disappointments, the apprehension and the excitement, I knew that my family was all that really mattered. 

For auld lang syne, my dear,  
For auld lang syne,  
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet  
For auld lang syne

As they say, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Some days I made hard lemonade to get through! Other days were so sweet it didn't need any extra sugar. No matter what   we were drinking that day, we were still alive and well to enjoy it. Of course there were times that we threw our hands up and yelled "WHAT THE HELL HAVE WE DONE?" and then we laughed because there was no turning back.

I believe I would take the last year and do it again, however a little differently. As we all know hindsight is 20/20 and we think we would not make the same mistakes and would learn and change. In the last year my high school reunion was over due  one year for the 25th reunion. Having never been to a reunion, knowing that I was moving and this would likely be my last chance, I jumped on board to get things rolling. I was dismayed and let down to be unable to attend, I knew the timing might be off and it was. I was grateful to get to be a part of the committee, reunite with some long lost friends and find some new friends as a result of Facebook among some of our research techniques. Thank you to those Grads that have offered me friendship and encouragement. I wish you all many years of health, family and doing what you love.

Facebook is a great way to connect with people. I don't play games on it, rarely chat, nevertheless I enjoy seeing how people are, feeling connected through cyberspace, watching us all grow old together, seeing our children grow and remaining in touch. Thank you Facebook friends, family and everyone else out there! So, again this begs the question "Should old acquaintance be forgot?" I say NO! Let's stay in touch, enjoy each others successes, grieve together and cheer on through the hard times. 

The Chinese calendar shows that 2010 was the year of the Tiger and 2011 is the year of the Rabbit. I wish you a peaceful and successful year of the Rabbit after we leave the wild Tiger behind. Much peace, love, joy and prosperity to you and your family! I plan to start my website business to work from home, plant a large garden, preserve more food, get my chickens and continue to develop my farm. I also plan to try to enjoy more, stress less and remember that the times my kids drive me crazy will end. 

Now get on with it and make this year mean something!

 

Learn more about the Chinese calendar and meanings 

7-7-7 my wedding day AND the number of hits!

I find it very exciting to see today that my blog is at 777 hits! That is the day I got married 7-7-7! Not blogging today, I know everyone is busy, have lots to do... Clean up the Christmas decorations, get ready to get the kids back to school, get ready to go back to work and have a wonderful New Year's Eve! So thanks for reading it makes me feel like I might actually write something amazing some day. I do hope you have enjoyed the blog or portions of it to date! I like to write fact but I am now working on poetry and plan to enter some competitions. I don't expect a great deal from that, but this is the first time I have ever had poetry jump out of my head onto the screen. It is true, poignant, raw and I have been told lovely! We shall see! I said I wasn't blogging today but in my thank you I have blogged, ironic? I think!

My kids are home for another week. I have had a little (HUGE) shock and found out I lost my income about 6 weeks earlier than planned! So when we shop today, nothing for mom! Oh well, that is the story of a mom's life right? The kids have some Christmas money and are hoping that the roads cooperate and we have  nice day in Fredericton! (I have heard from a shoe-a-holic and world class shopper that shall remain nameless! P.Casanave!) That Fredericton has her Favourite shoe store in the world so I must get there someday! Today, we hit boxing week!

Have a great day all! Feel free to leave comments to inspire me and I can only hope that from time to time I make you think deeper or have an amusing anecdote that you enjoy! If you don't like it, you can tell me that too! (I will try not to cry TOO loudly!) Have a wonderful day and I wish you and yours an amazing 2011!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE .... tomorrow!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP, This survey and website are now closed

New Website and Evaluation Survey

Good afternoon! If you have finished reading my blogs I would very much appreciate it if you could have a look at my new website! I have attached the link and would ask that you complete the evaluation of the website: thoughts, ideas, information, ease of navigation, etc. by Saturday, January 1, 2011. I would like as much input as possible from as far away as possible so feel free to send to your friends and acquaintances!

Have a great day! Now go grab a coffee and take a peek!

How did your trip end Sarah?

 

The year 2010 is coming to a close and 2011 is on the horizon. I realize that I must finish the saga I started to tell and left off with us escaping Saskatchewan.  I sit here in my kitchen in the overstuffed chair, watching my fire, listening to the winds whip by my house, enjoying the snow falling and relax through my first New Brunswick blizzard. I am sipping on a strawberry margarita with Fireball Whiskey in place of the tequila  as I reflect on the year that has gone by I realize that I never finished the story of how we finally arrived in New Brunswick. So please, get your coffee and Bailey's or grab a beer and pull up a chair to sit comfortably and learn about the trip that almost ended before we got through the fourth province. It is a bit long so perhaps have a quick pee first!

I shall do my best to tell a truthful tale of what transpired as we pioneered across this great country, Canada. Knowing that we got off lucky in Saskatchewan we approached the Manitoba border and decided to spend the night in Saskatchewan and hit the road early the next morning. Based on my Google map search it should only take about 6 hours to travel through Manitoba. This meant that we could drive as far as Brandon,  stop at a travel trailer sales and service centre, get the new axle on the trailer greased and torqued and carry on our merry way! Easy!

We arrived in Brandon just before noon and had to wait about an hour and a half for service. All was done, on time, on budget and we proceeded on our trip. I was a bit concerned about driving the truck and trailer through Winnipeg but had learned that there was a "ring road" that virtually bypassed the city. I know that Winnipeg is not even close to the size of Vancouver where I have driven many times, except it was more precarious with the trailer behind me and changing lanes could be troublesome and scary. I was happy to go by Winnipeg and stop on the outskirts of the eastern side of the city. It was only 4:30 but I suggested we stop at the Humpty Dumpty Restaurant to have an early dinner and then motor on until we hit Kenora, Ontario and stop for the night.

As we pulled into the parking lot I noticed the trailer had a lot of black dirt on the hitch end. I said mildly "The trailer sure looks dirty". My loving husband looked at me and said "It's a trailer, who cares if it is dirty? You girls! Geesh!" I was suitably quieted and took no more notice of the dirt. We went into the restaurant where Rachel was happy to find they had her favourite, Eggs Bendedict and Jessica was disappointed that having traveled half way across the country she could still not find a simple bowl of tomato soup. I just relaxed. After driving all day I liked to take about an hour at dinner, sit, relax, have some coffee and prepare for the next leg of our journey.

We ate, fueled up the truck, got the kids settled and plan to drive the next 3 hours or so before stopping for the day. I couldn't wait to get to Ontario! It felt like a milestone in our journey. We would see family there, Len's daughter, son-in-law and brand new grandson! We piled into the truck, got to the traffic lights, pulled into traffic and away we go! NOT! (Remember, this is OUR story right?) Throughout the journey I had been watching the gauges and levels carefully. After running low on oil and running out of anti-freeze near the beginning of our expedition we were very cautious. 

We had no sooner started down the freeway when I looked and saw the oil gauge drop drastically until it said empty. This happened in literally seconds! Len yelled "PULL OVER! Pull over!" I screamed back "I can't there are cars behind me. I have to get to the road up ahead!" The kids groaned "NOT AGAIN!" Len kept urging me to get to the side road before I blew the whole motor. Panic set in! There was no way we could possibly afford another $2,000 in repairs. What happened? What would we do???

I managed to exit safely and turn the 38' rig around. I had a pretty good idea we would be needing a tow truck and figured while the truck was still moving I could at least help the driver out by positioning the truck for hook up and departure. By now we were getting used to tow trucks, drivers and knew what to say. I was happy to know I had just bought a new phone card and topped up my Virgin Mobile pay as you go phone so I had lots of minutes available to call for help. NO! (Remember, me?)

I attempted to use my cell phone to call for help. I had learned by now to first get out Maggie (remember her? My GPS unit?) search for businesses and numbers close, then use the phone to call for help. My phone was dead. Finished! Kaput! Unresponsive! Exhausted! Obsolete! Goodbye! Well, there was $25 down the toilet! No! Wait! It is ok, because I bought Rachel and I the same plan, same phone, same company so I could just transfer the minutes. No problem! As I was going through this mental process Len, my 68 and 3/4 year old husband with the bad back and weak hip, was lying on a piece of cardboard under the truck on a gravel road with oil dripping on him attempting to figure out the problem.

I called the GOOD PEOPLE at Virgin Mobile. You know, with the slogan "You Rule." OK here's a heads up, You DON'T rule! Nope! Not at Virgin as I was about to have a 20 minute argument, wheedling, whining, lying, manipulating conversation! My phone didn't work but had minutes. Rachel's phone did work but was almost out of minutes. My call to Virgin went something like this:

Me: Hello! I am so glad to get through to you! You have no idea what kind of a day I have had! OMG! My truck just broke down in the middle of a big dangerous city! It is night time and I have young children with me. I don't know what to do! Can you help me? I am sure you can! Cuz, I rule, right?

Them: Hello Mum! May I help you? I would very much like to help you. Please tell me what you need.

Me: Thank you so much! Yes, what I need you to do is to take the minutes I just put on my pay as you go phone and transfer them to my daughters pay as you go phone. I have all of the account information and it should be easy. You see we are stranded and just need some help. I need to call a tow truck before it gets dark and the gangs come out. I am very afraid to be stranded here with my family! So, Yes you can help me, right?

Them: Oh Mum! I am sorry Mum! But we cannot do such a thing. We cannot transfer the money and the minutes. No Mum, I am sorry Mum!

Me: No, I think you can. You see I have seen Richard Branson on TV and he is a very nice man with a very large empire. I am sure you know he is your boss right? So you see, it is nothing to him. He is not out any money, if you could just transfer the money I already paid that I can't use because my phone is broken and put it on my daughters phone account so I can get help. Thank you so much, I know you can help me right?

Them: Oh No Mum! I can't possibly do that. However, have I helped you with everything today? Is there anything else I can do?

Me: Excuse me? Helped Me? You must be kidding you have not helped me at all yet. Now, I would like to know your name?

Them: Renan. R E N A N. Renan.

Me: Well,  Renan. R E N A N. Renan. This is not ok. I am stranded. My poor family has been through a terrible time. Do you know how big Canada is? We have caravaned across the country. We have broken down every few days. Do you have any idea how steep the mountains of British Columbia are? Then we broke down again and again. My poor children are starting to think we will never get to the other side of the country. Well, we are just distraught I tell you, distraught! Renan R E N A N Renan, I NEED you to help me. Please. 

Them: Well Mum, I am not sure what to do. 

Me: Renan. R E N A N Renan. Where do you live? Are you even in Canada?

Them: Oh No Mum. I am in the Philippines. 

Me: So you are completely clueless to what I am going through? I want to speak to Richard Branson please.

Them: I can get you my supervisor.

Me: Thank you! (I shall save you the remaining details but we did finally get SOME service!)

Now, keep in mind, during this entire exchange, the sun is setting, Len is sweaty and oily and Rachel is laughing hysterically next to me while I try to reason with RENAN! AAAAHHH! Finally they gave me 5 free minutes to try to get help.

Upon calling the tow truck, I didn't completely know where we were but I gave the GPS coordinates. I also asked the driver to have room for the four of us in his truck so we could get a ride to a hotel. The driver finally found us an hour and a half later but he brought his wife. However we were very fortunate because you know what? Friendly Manitoba IS FRIENDLY! People kept stopping to help us. One man and his wife had 20 acres next to where we broke down and lived in their motorhome. They offered to let us stay there for free for the night, but it was too far from town and there was no power or water. They did let us leave the trailer though which helped drastically with the towing bill. Another man from up the road came and offered to drive us to the city. We followed the tow truck and were dropped at a hotel.

We ended up not leaving Winnipeg and staying for the night downtown at a hotel. We were very happy that the truck was dropped off at Midas Muffler because 1) they prioritized our truck and got us out of there by mid afternoon and 2) they had the best magazines yet in a waiting room! In fact, Rachel even jacked a Lou Lou magazine which I would normally say no to, but I kind of figured my $600 in repairs paid for it!

WE FINALLY LEFT MANITOBA!

To be continued... 

One more time!