Wednesday 11 June 2014

Well it's been 16 nights on our road trip. it seems like forever and it seems like a flash. As i write this, I am hunkered down at a cozy dining table in a warm, welcmoming home in Thunder Bay - Phil's home to be exact. A best friend of Oscar's from back in the day. And seeing Oscar so happy to be here is great, really great.

It's hard to blog on the road, that is for sure. Either getting the time or the wifi connection is a daunting task. But better late than never, non?

So, let's backtrack.

First, we want to thank Karla & Hector Berganza for hosting us for three days in Barrie while we got organised and ready to leave on our trip. They hosted a great dinner where Michelle, Bert & Sarita came to properly send us off on this journey. The night before the trip was a rough one. Every doubt, every worry, every real and/or imagined problem had turned my stomach into knots. I think I would have easily just looked at the for rent signs and Barrie and called the trip quits at that point. I had realised that I had never been so scared as I was that night. Not even of childbirth, or moving to Scotland - nothing gave me the jitters the way this trip did. Then i visited this blog and they gave a bit of a pep talk about how short life is and why not do something epic right now - if it fails, at least you tried. there are no regrets in trying. It was all I needed to read to calm me, so that I could  finally try to get some sleep. Instant peace of mind. Here is their blog:

http://blog.leftnleaving.com

Our first night, we sent at a Christmas tree farm called Arrowhead tree farm located at Huntsville... check it out on fb: https://www.facebook.com/ArrowheadTreeFarm

We found this spot by being members on boondockerswelcome.com, and Mike, the owner of the property met us at his site. We were the first boondockers to stay there. Tent set up was a lengthy procedure, but hot dogs never tasted as good as they did that night.








These are our solar power fairy lights. 




Off To North Bay. Ten nights workstay with a family of five along the river - Alexandra, Lance, Adora, Ari and Asta. Oscar never cut so much wood and I have never looked after so many kids in one fell swoop. This was through the workaway.net site, where you help out a family in return for lodging and meals.We did get sick with colds and passed it around like pirates and a bottle of rum, but we survived.  The mosquitos were determined to drain us of our optimism, but they failed. There were some rough times, some good times and a nice unexpected reward from the past seven years in an office job that will make this trip abit more comfy and fun for us.

Our first two weeks living in a tent... things we learnt:

Check your van tent for gaps around the van before you settle in for the night to avoid a swarm of mosquito's waking you up.

Be sure you don't unzipped the screen at 500am when you really meant to unzip the screen cover to let some air in. You will be left wondering how to effectively rid your tent of fifty plus mosquitos.

When staying some place  with WiFi, be sure that your tent is within WiFi reach.otherwise have your game of thrones fix downloaded on your netbook in advance to avoid disappointment.

One kid is hard. Two kids are harder. Three kids are really really hard. Four kids is mayhem.I highly recommend that anyone with one kid babysits four kids for eight hours. It changes your perception of how much freedom one kid truly gives you. Kudos to the moms around the world with two or more kids. Geez Louise.

The temperature at ten p.m in the tent is NOT what the temp at 430 am in the tent will be.

Showers are wonderful, amazing and miraculous. The day you take that for granted is a pity.

Water is beautiful. A jug of sun warm water can be the delight of your day. A jump in a river. An outdoor solar shower. A jug of water to wash your grimy hands or spray on your sweaty face. Let's seriously take care of our most precious resource.

Every single noise at night is Not a bear. Actually, its most likely a leaf moving in a tree. Fact.

Laziness is not an option. Most things have to be done when staying on a tent to prevent meltdowns. Must bring water inside, must have potty close, bite cream handy, moisturizers and lip balm , ibuprofen and Tylenol close by. Rain fly zipped up, food stored tightly, the list goes on and on. Mental checklists are a must.

We learn many things every single day of what 'not to do next time'.























We also managed to meet Dee, an amzing woman who let us camp out on her horse farm while Oscar painted her white fences on the property. It was a nice couple days that also let us get our petty cash box fill up a bit more and not feel guilty about a great country chicken fried dinner we had on our last night there.






















Whew. You got this far, eh?

Well then, you certainly won't mind if I add in the photos of our lovely two night stay in Sault St. Marie, with an amzing family - Theresa, Dar, Chloe and Rowan who welcomed us into their home and to the family cottage for the day.









All in all, it's been a great two weeks.and every day is totally different, which is what we wanted - to get out of our routine. We are tired, I am down a pant-size (awesome) and or colds have taken a toll on us, one we werent expecting, the mosquitos have had their way with us and laughed, but here we are, still trucking on.

That's it for now, but will be posting our Thunder Bay adventures as they happen....

Cheers!





6 comments:

  1. Loving following your journey Cece! Brings back memories of my own adventures hitching across the country..What a wild ride your fam is on! Happy trails!

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    1. Thanks Lisa and congrats on the skincare line you've launched! Once we settle somewhere with an address, I will order some of that youth serum!! I think after a few months of camping, I will need some help! haha! Take care, ladycakes! All the best!

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  2. Great pics and stories. Thanks for sharing them. Ilook forward to reading more.

    And good for you guys for gettinf eexercise and being healthy! Bet you didnt plan for a whole new clothing budget with your new ripped bods'! Keep it up!

    Love y'all!

    Francisco

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    1. Franco! Actually, I have a small backpack in the rooftop carrier filled with 10 pairs of jeans, all of them didn't fit when we started this. They are between 1 and 3 sizes smaller, and i will take them out as necessary and leave the bigger ones in the trash. How is that for planning? this is the kind of magic my brain works on in the late hours of the evening. Crazy but ultimately useful & oh so clever.

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  3. Love the pictures! Great stories!

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    1. Keeping up with the Jones, eh! I have visited your blog and congrats! you are doing it! I feel like we are such kindred spirits, truly. Best wishes to you and to anyone reading this, please check out their blog! This family started full time travelling with kids the same time as we did!

      http://joneseh.blogspot.ca/

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