April and Alison Do the Country

2009-08-22T22:35:00.000-07:00

When we our eyes weren't too foggy, we spent the time looking for goodies on the ground.

We found smokes and a bunch of beer tickets which we traded for money.

These guys were amazing.

Seeing Elliot Brood sing along to Chad's songs?

sooo good.

2009-08-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

We're in Salmon Arm drinking local brews, taking in sights such as Elliot Brood, Chad Van Gaalen, mountains, and a ton of cotton tops.

pictures to follow. soon.

the lovely Destroyer

2009-08-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

this was also pretty amazing.

2009-08-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

this was probably one of my favourite
moments at sappy:

seriously,
so amazing...

2009-08-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

We made it back in three days.

First day was Halifax to Pembroke, Ont.
Second day was Pemebroke, Ont. to Marathon, Ont.
Third day was Marathon to Saskatoon.

In Marathon we encountered some dense fog and had to sleep in another sketchy location.
I've developed a fear of sleeping at rest stops, thinking RV's are kill shacks. Makes a good horror movie, doesn't it?

I LEAVE today for BC
and Alison leaves Friday.

we're spending some more time in The Shuswap.

2009-08-07T10:03:00.001-07:00

we are back at our favourite
new brunswick rest stop.

this place is FANTASTIC.

it's at king's landing / lake george
and it's called
The Acorn. It's in with the petro can. I think it's a petro can. Maybe an esso...
anyways,
if you are ever in N.B come here.

Cheap food. HUGE portions. and wifi.

the rest of nova scotia

2009-08-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

2009-08-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

our internet connection is super sketchy.

we spent the day wandering around halifax and now we are back at the guest inn watching dr. phil. i forgot that halifax is built on steep hills and resembles san fransico.

we ran into are new friend phil today. we are going to his show tonight and a bunch of other people we stayed with / met at sappyfest in sackville.

i better post this before i lose the connection.
so frustrating.

halifax

2009-08-06T04:59:00.000-07:00

we made it to halifax

and to our surpise,

the hostels were full. during our brainstorming we passed an informationsburo and we had two options within our price range. Staying at the university or staying at a guest house. The guest house was half the price, so we chose that.

we are close to downtown, just on the other side of citadel hill.

i can't remember what movie it is with the cute granny that ends up being a killer (maybe texas chain saw?), but the owner reminds me of her. i can't help but feel we are getting watched. ah, well. we have two single beds and cable TV for $50 a night.

our missions today:

LAUNDRY

and eat. we decided to have a rest once we got here and we ended up sleeping from 6 pm to 8 am. tired ladies.

again:

2009-08-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

there are apparently black and white beaches here. we are about to drive the northern tip of the island.

Prince Edward

2009-08-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

This island is filled with red earth.

We got to PEI yesterday via the confederation bridge. We are staying just by the ocean. There are no large wildlife here. Our bear count will probably stay at six until we head back west.

Jellyfish are creepy. I can't tell if they are alive or not. Dead ones float. Alison stepped on one and it squirted juice on my leg. gross.

2009-08-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

Sackville was the best. Amazing. Super fun. Best WEEKEND ever.

I took so much media THAT I can't possibly upload it.

We are also kinda on a time limit since we are blogging in a rural north-east town called Souris on Prince Edward Island. We are on our way to go see where Road to Avenolea was filmed. Alison is sitting to the left of me and the two tourist booth workers are talking back and forth in their accents. Someone couldn't understand me today when I asked for coffee and wireless. They probably think we're american AND city girls

Destroyer

B.A

Jimmie and Jesse playing accordian to one of Jimmie's videos.

so many celebs

gertrudes

eric's trip

$100

And Alison being a celebrity:

contestant number 4

2009-07-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

The sporty Michael Small -- ultimate jock and member of Meligrove Band and Sports.

New Brunswick

2009-07-31T09:02:00.000-07:00

We've made it to New Brunswick without any issues besides going through crazy Quebec!

My knowledge of the french language consists of anything I remember from grade 6.

We are currently just outside of Frederiction in a restaurant awaiting some late breakfast (we are jetlegged three hours ahead). Last night we slept in a sketchy truck stop parking lot. On our way here we stopped in Montreal for the afternoon. Pictures to follow when we're not sitting in a rural New Brunswick restaurant.

It is also Alison's 25th birthday today. We should be hitting Sackville in about three hours. So excited!

contestant number 3

2009-07-30T03:07:00.000-07:00

The lovely Mes -- political advisor and member of The Hidden Cameras.

2009-07-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

We went to the famous Horseshoe Tavern tonight AND it was pretty much a Saskatchewan party. I saw two people from Saskatoon there. Awkward. We also saw K-OS. And Woodhands. And the bassist from The Constantines. And some weird vaggy band play.

Alison is sleeping beside me.

it's super humid
and i can hear the rain
and racoons.

best truckstop:

2009-07-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

This gem is located somewhere in Manitoba near the Ontario border somewhere near some crappy snack shack you will see advertised on billboards.

Make sure you stop.

The portions are a good size, the coleslaw is great, and you pretty much are eating in a living room.

The Canadian Shield:

2009-07-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

I've driven across this country before, but I kinda forgot how long it takes to drive through the western part of Ontario. We left Brandon MB in the morning, drove all day, stopped for 5 hours during the night to sleep overlooking Lake Superior, and drove all day the next day and arrived in Toronto at 11 pm. You can pretty much drive across the prairies in the amount of time it takes to drive across western Ontario.
There aren't a lot of towns between Winnipeg and Sudbury. I'm sure glad we made a point of stopping in Wawa. I love this town.

They had a great art exhibit all throughout town on the street celebrating grandmas.

I should buy this bowling alley and just move here.

2009-07-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

We made it Toronto. And it only cost us $170 in gas.

Brandon Folk Fest

2009-07-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

We made a quick stop in

Brandon, MB at the folk fest. It was a really grass roots festival.

Above is a picture of children dancing on stage to the Constantines.

Our way to Manitoba

2009-07-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

I'm so fascinated by small town Saskatchewan so it was a treat driving through the south east. We found ghost towns, crappy towns, and really nice towns.

our generation is a ghost town

2009-07-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

Our first stop was in Bengough, SK about 5 hours south from Saskatoon for a music festival where the Constantines and Land of Talk were playing.
It was amazing. There wasn't anyone there, so it was like getting a personal concert. The Constantines rocked it.

Alison met a new friend.

Land of Talk.

packing:

2009-07-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight is going to be a late night. I am getting ready to head east for tomorrow. I have no idea if I am packing too much or not enough. I know I am forgetting things. There are so many last minute things to get done and all I want to do is sleep.
Our internet access is going to be random from now on. We should be in Toronto Monday. We kinda have a plan, but not really.
Anyways,
wish us luck.
And bail us out if you see us stranded on the side of the highway. We are in a silver honda fit.

The Boreal Forest:

2009-07-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

Saskatchewan isn't just prairie.

Ness Creek

2009-07-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

Alison and I headed up to Northern Saskatchewan last weekend. The first part of the weekend we had really nice weather. Our tans turned into super tans.
And then it rained. I have never seen Saskatchewan rain like this.
And then there were bears. Our bear count so far this summer is five.

We left Ness early and headed to Meeting Lake to a friends cabin. We got lost on grid roads, so a 45 minute trip took us almost 5 hours.

It was totally worth it.

Central Canada

2009-07-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

We left Salmon Arm about 9 am to make the journey back to Saskatchewan. We didn't end up getting to Saskatoon until 1 am. We are heading to Ness Creek (music festival) up in Northern Saskatchewan for the weekend today. There won't be any updates until Sunday or Monday.
Here, enjoy some visuals of our trip back to Central Canada:

Alison in the badlands!

home of nickleback

Us prairie girls with Alberta in the background.

Episode Two:

2009-07-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

My parents have owned this '66 Chevelle for thirty years and it's been parked in the garage for the last fifteen. My dad used to drive the hot rod (the '71 454) and my mom drove this four door blue malibu. I asked my parents the infamous question and found it difficult to get a response. Sorry for the ADHD reference:

2009-07-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

It was $2 bag day at the thrift store here in Salmon Arm. All this stuff in the picture above cost us $4.
We visited my dad at his antique store today. He has some really nice stuff. I made him give me a pair of old Aboriginal mitts that are lined with fur. This winter in Saskatchewan, I'll be able to bodly face that -55 weather.

We spent the rest of the day at the beach again. I wouldn't say we have super tans, but we are heading there...

daily activities

2009-07-13T22:51:00.000-07:00

We've been spending our days on Shuswap Lake. The water is warm and the beaches aren't crowded.

I've been taking Alison to all the toursity things around Salmon Arm. We went to Demilles and saw all the animals including emu.
We went to the cheese farm.
You wouldn't believe how hard this picture was to take.

Outlaws

2009-07-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

Of course, I made Alison go to the local bar with me. I love spying on people from highschool, but hate it when people recongize me.
I took a video so I could share how amazing this place is:

Episode One:

2009-07-13T15:49:00.001-07:00

We have decided to ask various people across our trip
this question. Here is our first participant:

West to East to West

2009-07-13T15:33:00.001-07:00

Our plan is to blog everyday, except I've had shady internet connected here in Salmon Arm, BC at my parents. Alison and I headed West from Saskatoon, SK on Friday. We spent Friday night in Edmonton with Jeanie -- just to break up the 15 hour drive. My cat, Morrissey, is also with us so travelling is a bit stressful for all of us.

There are always great sights in Edmonton. My favourite sight so far this trip was these three guys passed out on the sidewalk.

The next morning we woke up early and left Edmonton. We stopped at the Donut Mill in Red Deer, SK to meet up with my sister for a quick breakfast. This place has lots of good treats.

This is the view from Alberta entering British Columbia. It goes from flat prairie land to the Rockies without much of a transition.

We were too lame to stop at the BC sign to get a picture, but we sure captured this creep shot. We are staying four days in B.C. with my parents in the Shuswap. We are heading back to Saskatchewan Wednesday where we will be leaving for Northern Saskatchewan the next day for a festival called Ness Creek. After that we plan to head East. We had to head West first so we could drop off the cat for the summer. So our trip is West back East then up North down South to Easter then back West again. Confusing, but stay tuned.