Through my personal adventures, challenges and experiences I have met some incredible people. People who have inspired me and touched my heart. As much as this blog is about my personal journey, I want to share some of the stories from others that I have met. Kaylee is someone who just seems to jump in. I met her about seven years ago during my first fitness competition. Since then, she has joined the army and just moved across the country. This is a story I asked her to write specifically for my readers. She is a wonderful human and I am grateful to call her a friend. If you want to read some other wonderful stories her personal blog is at the bottom. If you are looking for some daily inspiration, find her on instagram @kayleenorton ENJOY!
“One of the things I was really looking forward to moving to Ottawa, was the travel it would open us up to. We never did much on Vancouver Island as the Island itself wasn’t that big – and we’ve seen it from Victoria to Tofino, to Port MacNeill, and even part way out to Tahsis on a floating lodge you can only get to by boat or float plane. I’ve been lucky to call Vancouver Island home for most of my 42 years – but when it costs almost $200 (round trip) to get off the Island with a vehicle, we never strayed far.
Canada is a BIG country and both my husband and I were looking forward to seeing a different part of it.
The drive was met with a little trepidation… we averaged 500km a day – not a personal decision, but a military requirement. Though we knew we could do it much quicker, by the third or fourth day, I was happy for it. by the half way point, we were tired from driving and wanted to be in Ottawa.
The drive itself was beautiful. We’d lived in Calgary for a few years, but that was the furthest east we’d been. We were able to connect with a friend we haven’t seen in 11 years during our stop in Calgary – that was the best! Once we got past Calgary, it was all new territory for us.
Everyone who had made the drive warned us about the prairies – how boring they were. I found them to be quite the opposite.
Yes, the roads were straight, but I loved the gentle rolling hills and the different crops being grown; rapeseed/canola, alfalfa, flax seed, and wheat. They were the tapestry of the vast area. I took dozens of photos of the different crops and run down barns.
Once we crossed into Ontario, everything changed. We went from vast prairies and fields of wind generators (which was pretty cool! They’re HUGE!!!) to dense forests that reminded us of BC. It’s no wonder that Canada has the longest coast line with the number of lakes in Ontario! I found the color of the rocks fascinating, and the color of the roads seemed to match it. Little lakes peeked between the trees and I would have loved to have stopped to take photos, but that would have meant stopping every 5 kms or so – it’s very pretty!
My biggest concern was finding bathrooms. I didn’t drink coffee much – unless we were in an area I was somewhat familiar with, such as the BC/Alberta side. Thankfully bathrooms were not an issue… though the mosquitoes were another story!!! A couple places we stopped in Ontario, as picturesque as they were, did not allow for lingering – either on the toilet or by the creek/pond/lake.
The route we took was “boring” – pretty much the Trans Canada highway the whole way! We know there were more scenic ways to go, but as this was the first time we’ve traveled that far, we were trying to do it the easiest way possible. Our stops went to Kamloops > Calgary > Swift Current > Moosomin > Winnipeg > Thunder Bay > Hearst > North Bay > Ottawa. Hearst was my least favorite stop. I would have liked to have seen more of North Bay and Thunder Bay.
The neatest part of the drive was getting into Ontario – and the inukshuk. They were everywhere along the drive once we entered Ontario! The rock that was there was perfect for them! I wanted to stop and make one, but it wasn’t entirely safe to do so. Once we got to Thunder Bay, we noticed several signs for amethyst mines – you could literally go and mine your own amethyst! Unfortunately, we didn’t have the luxury of time.
I think we would have enjoyed it a little more if we had more time to stay in places – but by the time we got to the next location, we were tired and just wanted to relax. The most I saw of any place was from the inside of the car getting to the hotel or to and from the grocery store, fast food restaurant, or liquor store! We only ate at an actual sit down restaurant a couple of times – and that was usually because we saw a place as we were driving to the hotel and it was close. We took advantage of “skip the dishes” and East Side Marios delivery.
The best part of the 9 days of travel, was our kitties!
Everyone was shocked by how well they handled being in the car and being on harness and leash. They were in the kennel for the drive, and not a peep out of them – like turning around and checking to make sure they were there! They did so well! Unfortunately, the worst part of the travel was the hotels. Because the kitties were sleeping all day, they were up all night – and keeping us up! Even then, they were amazing!
The nice thing with being in the military is that I could easily end up on the East Coast – in Halifax – which would mean driving the rest of the way across the country – which I’m looking forward to!
Until then, we get to explore this new province we call home!
