long live Canada

Things sometimes get out of chronological order on this blog and I apologize for the confusion. Sometimes we get so excited about one thing that we skip something else and have to go back. In addition, these posts are always written and scheduled at least a few days after we are in a particular place.

Anyhow, as I write this we are on our last full day in Canada. A week has been much too short and we knew that when we planned all this. We have had only an appetizer taste of Canada and we know we will be back for more.

So, why am I writing this ahead of the posts about the specific places we visited in Canada? Well, I just have a head full of things about the whole week and they need a place of their own, so here's my hindsight preamble to the Canada posts:

Long live Canada. I love so many things about my U.S.A... and then there's the wad of things that make me worry and frown. It's a mixed bag. Please, don't get the idea that I think I'm well versed in all things Canada and capable of characterizing the whole country, but Canada is swell. The same but very different. People here have their troubles, political fights, and awkward moments and all the shades of society that come with a big place with lots of people. The cities have traffic and the farmland is green.

But.

It's different. I'm going to sound like a dope here, because I can't quite put words to what I am thinking. Canada (and the Canadians that have been our hosts, granted, a tiny sample) see and do things from a different angle. There's some Europe here, some Asia, some Africa, and some South America like the mixed nuts in the U.S... BUT... still it's different. Can't figure out quite how to describe it in a meaningful way. At least stating that in a vague sort of way gets me to the thing I really want to tell everybody:

Thank goodness there is a Canada and Mexico (and Guatemala, Belize, Honduras...) so that manifest destiny didn't eat the whole continent. When I was a kid I was fascinated by maps and geography has always been a strong suit for me. I recall looking at a map of North America and wondering about the long horizontal line between most of Canada and the U.S. What happens when you cross that line? When I learned that Canadians speak English and French it brought home to my new little brain that the language I spoke came from another country and it introduced me to the big wad of colonial history.

So, Canada... North Americans that speak English (and French) like me (not so much the French... I learned Spanish living in Southern California) but they are not part of the U.S.?! My new little brain reeled. Over the years I've always been a bit delighted when I hear of Canada NOT going along with everything dictated by the U.S. I like that there is someone to say, "yeah, maybe that's not such a hot idea." Canada says it to London sometimes too.

OK, let me repeat, I still like the U.S. and don't want to live anywhere else, but I wish we weren't such excellent fodder for all the "Oh you self-absorbed Americans" jokes. Canada doesn't hate us (though I'm sure there are a few Canadians who do) but I think Canada just wishes we'd pay just a little more attention and not assume so much. This Superpower business and the 20th century I know has blinded the U.S. to so much detail in the world, but with all the paranoia about "The New World Order" and some kind of world government taking over we should glorify the differences and see all the facets of where we disagree.

So... Long live Canada and all the other wildly different places and people in the world. Any where you go, the troubles are all the same. We need all the points of view to see the way through.

snappers in Stowe, Smuggler's Gap, and crossing the border

7/8 Arlington, Mass. to Montreal

Boy, some days on the highway you just don't get a chance to stop for "Welcome to (insert state here)" signs. We missed a sign for both New Hampshire and Vermont. For some state line crossings we have taken the time to get on a back road where the welcome sign is usually easier to stop for, but for this leg of the journey we just didn't have the time to spare. We stayed an extra day in Arlington, Mass. and had an all day drive to Montreal.

We did take the time for a lunch of New England style hot dogs at Stowe Dogs (in Stowe, Vermont naturally). For those of you who haven't had one and are curious, hot dogs New England style seems to be mostly about the bun (there may well be a New Englander or two who will correct me). The buns are a nice soft, slightly sweet with an amber tanned top. Imagine a standard bun baked shoulder to shoulder with its neighbors so that each bun has an almost square cross section and two long sides that have no crust. These are sliced down the middle of the brown top and grilled/toasted on the two long sides. This adds a grilled cheese sandwich (or grilled panini) kind of toasty crunchy (sometimes buttery) thing to the completed hot dog. The buns also seem to be a bit smaller and matched to the size of the dog. A bit less bun per dog ratio. At Stowe Dogs we had the snappers with natural casing. Very tasty on their own, but I went for my personal favorite toppings, spicy mustard and some sauerkraut. Nyom nyom nyom.

After Stowe Vermont we drove through Smuggler's Gap. In the winter this is a ski area, but after passing under the ski lift cables we passed through the gap's summer cool green coat.


Just a bit north of Smuggler's Gap interstate 89 carried us to the international border. There must be more traffic here sometimes but the road was eerily empty. To add to the peculiar atmosphere all the road signs were covered with black plastic. We got a bit spooked and wondered if there had been some horrible international incident and we were naively heading for a closed border. At last we saw the customs plaza and a few cars waiting to cross into Canada. We showed our passport cards* answered a few questions and the Canadian official wished us a pleasant trip (after shaking his head at hearing that we had indeed driven all the way from California). I asked him, "Say, how do we get to Montreal, anyhow?" He chuckled and said, "That-a-way."

*So, if you're a citizen of the U.S. and you are planning to drive (or bicycle or walk) to Canada or Mexico absolutely do not forget to apply for and obtain a passport of some form, well in advance. These days you must have a passport or you will be turned back. The Canadians and the Mexicans really don't want you stuck in their country and they know that the U.S. officials will not let you go home with out a passport. The standard Passport book will do the trick BUT there is a cheaper option these days if you are going to drive (or bicycle or walk) to either Canada or Mexico. The new Passport Card costs less and will fit anywhere a credit card will, so you can keep it in your wallet. For more info see the Passport site. You will still need a birth certificate, and some small photos, and a fee, but get your act together and do it early. It takes at least a month by mail.

more good times in old mass...

july 6 & 7

the original plan was to hit Canada right after Massachusetts but an opportunity came to visit with my best friend from way way back in the eighties. we're talking junior high folks! and so, with much schmunking and emailing we managed to squeeze in a byway visit that was originally one day but became two because how do you not do that when you see someone you adore to pieces?

we didn't plan for much, just some quality time hanging out, talking, and looking at old yearbooks. i cannot explain how easy and comforting it was to see someone who was so important to me and who holds pocketfuls of moments that i thought i forgot about. i am so so so happy we headed her way!

but of course we did do a little something...

middle of the trip

So it's July 5th as I write this and not exactly the middle of the trip, more like the middle plus a couple of weeks, but I've been thinking of doing a post like this for a while. We're in Hatfield, Massachusetts right now and had a nice Fourth of July with a barbecue, corn on the cob and a fireworks show at U. Mass. in Amherst.

Rodney's trip meter has turned past 6,000 miles. I glanced at a map last week thinking about the next leg of the trip as we head to Canada and start West to the Great Lakes and then the northern plains. We are about as far from home as we will get on this trip and the distance is a bit overwhelming. The map browsing included looking over the $$ diary to see how the finances are holding out, and things look good even with some surprise expenses. The lap top hard drive took a dump, a few too expensive motel rooms, and after getting punctures in two air mattresses... some new closed cell foam pads (not to mention meds for mrs. a-go-go). After Chicago our route is rather open and we have to decide when we get there if it's time to run for home or take our time with some national parks and the pacific northwest. Won't know for sure until we get there but it looks like we'll have some time and $$ to spare. From the get go we've had a vague goal of getting home in mid August... six more weeks to go for a total of 14. Yep, we're two weeks past the middle. The actual middle slipped by me about when we crossed from New Jersey to New York. The trip meter will keep rolling higher but our distance from home will get smaller from here on.

So what have we done? what have we gained?

This is only the second trip I've ever taken that has kept me traveling for more than two or three weeks. I suppose any trip this long will eventually make the traveler wonder what they are up to. Why did we do all this, and when can we go home?

It's been exhausting and thrilling all at once. Traveling is hard work and I've really appreciated the chances we've had along the way to nap. We've seen places, towns, cities, parks that I probably would never have planned to visit except on a trip like this. The desert, the forest, the mountains, but our route has been determined more by the people we wished to visit than the places. In so many cases what we saw was second to who we saw.

We left Los Angeles kind of weary of many things in our life and in need of something silly to make things new or to give them a new shine. I think this silly trip has accomplished that (maybe frivolous is the word, I quit the best paying job I've had in the middle of an economic mess and it has been suggested more than a few times that this is foolish... fiddlesticks I say). We knew we'd miss lots of people and familiar places back home but the trip has put a fine point on the missing. We knew the country was huge and that we'd sampled so little of it; the trip has put a VERY fine point on that (is the trip making me eager to travel more or wish for home more? couldn't say). We knew we had to make a leap to find what we want to do with the next 40 years and the trip has put a real polish on that need (more than anything the trip has made me itch to make things... art, cartoons, musical instruments... anything!).

I turned 41 while out here on the continent. Last year the door closed on the possibility of us having children (that is, not to put too fine a point on it, any children that might come out of mrs. a-go-go) and it was part of our excuse for being frivolous. We both have lost relatives in recent years, and life is clearly way too short. We really felt that it was now or never for a trip like this and, heck, why the hell not.

As we head west we dread finding some way to make enough money to keep our heads above water while doing something creative and some place to live that we can afford. Unfortunately, for our finances, we are both sick with the need to be creative. Eh... we'll find something. We won't likely ever be wealthy and we may never own a house, but it's high time we do what we want and spend as much time as we can with the people we love.

Hey, look it's the Big Rock Candy Mountains, right over there!

good times in new england

we've spent the better part of six days hanging out with mama a and family. many many ears of fresh corn have been consumed, fireworks were watched, bikes were ridden, blocks were built with and museums were traveled to. we're going to miss you all and yer lovely town, thank you for an amazing week. it has been a highlight that will linger on for a long time. *mwah*

a fresh dose of massachusetts and more berry picking

and some delightfully good company...when my allergies were crazy scary and i was wheezing more than breathing, mr. a-go-go asked me if i wanted to go home and while i did wish for a bed of my own and the comforts i had known there was no way i would go home early before getting to see my old l.a. friends who moved to massachusetts four or so years ago. it had been a long time and i missed them and couldn't wait to meet the wee ones.we made our way to their tiny town after picking up the newly driven powerbook (daisy) and drove through a wee bit of rush hour traffic hunting and searching for a welcome to sign that we never saw. drats!since we arrived in the evening we plopped right down for bed in our borrowed room and looked forward to the next day. the next morning i got to meet the boys and we took a walk around the neighborhood to pick up a dozen farm fresh eggs...like, super fresh! after some running around and chatting we hopped into our respective autos and headed out for some blueberry picking. it was pie time! mama a made the pie and it was delicious as everything she does is amazing and simple. she's pretty nifty with a paintbrush as well and if yer into childrens books you may recognize her marks. love her style, love it!

the powers that be

after our fantastic weekend of berry picking & museum hopping we were ready for our next installment of rhode island and off to visit our online friends, the powers'. the youngest power spent some time visiting us a-go-gos three or so years ago and we were looking forward to seeing her sparkly face again.

my allergies were still acting up along with our sad little powerbook so we headed off once again to the apple store in search of a wizard or genius or something. sadly there was no ruby red heel clicking and we had to take the book (aka Daisy) out to another small rhode island town to see what they could do there. while we waited, we met with the young ivy and swept her off for a lunch for yummy sandwiches and italian desserts. we had hiked back and forth on federal hill (in the summer hot) for the deed and i found myself more wheezy than ever. since we do not have back seats in Rodney we weren't able to whisk her away for any added fun so we parted for a couple of hours to recoup and hide from the icky hot.as the mister and i began our drive to their home the craziest of rain storms slapped us up silly but we managed to make it the colorful house with the crystal chandelier on the front porch full of happy friends and kooky animals. hiding out from the rain we hung out and chatted as the mama powers dazzled us with her plans for our visit. the rain had put a slight damper on it all so for the first night we chattered ourselves silly and hit a local spot for burgers and wings and beer and things. we crawled into our makeshift beds with full bellies and smiles. fun was in store!

well...sort of. i suppose me dry heat west coast sensibilities had finally had their fill of all the humidity and pollen that my body had been collecting since south carolina and i had the mother of all asthma attacks (for me at least). even with the puff puff puffing of my beloved red rescue inhaler i was still miss wheezy and my ears had clogged up to boot and i felt like someone had pulled my batteries out. i really was in need of a recharge. i was out of commission. no ifs ands or buts. simply out. poor mr. a-go-go, the worry on his face made me want to cry if i had any energy for it i would have. the adventuring plans the powers had made were dashed and we spent a good, if not snazzy, day hanging out in some delicious tea shops with our gracious hosts. after much battling with various doctors' offices, i was able to finagle some antibiotics and icky toxic other stuff to put me back on the healing path. and if yer wondering how i could diagnose myself this way i will tell ya that this happens every year and this is what does the trick. seriously folks i was OUT OF COMMISSION. not as bad as the month before we left but oh so close. so close. asthma and menopause do NOT mix. aack! sadly our stay was cut short both by my allergies and our dead powerbook. i recouped a wee bit camping out in a motel room watching the food network and taking the mother of all naps. after a hot breakfast of motel waffles and a trek to target for my antibiotics we made our way for one last hurrah with ivy and family. we did manage to squeeze in a photobooth strip and a jump shot (as high as my meager breathing would allow) and another hug and a couple of squeezes.so my lovely hosts were unable to show me their beloved rhode island and i feel awful for that but at the same time, my goal for this trip isn't the places i've been it's the people i've seen and hugged and squeezed so i hope they do forgive me my sad allergies and shoddy immune system. we'll be back for a true rhode island tour we will. after all there was a lot to see and i didn't even get to take pictures and you know that if i failed to photograph all the good stuff i MUST have been sick. i'm already mourning the pretty pretty row houses and colorful gingerbread details...sigh.