Day 1

7:00am
It's -31 at my parents place and we're plugging the car in while we eat b-fast. I still haven't told dad that the only space for his luggage is on his lap ;)

9:00am

We somehow managed to fit everything into the car, un-wrap my mum's arms from around my neck and we're on the road. Dad's already into his 1lb bag of Wherther's and we're on round 1 of my new Holmusic CD's which I love! Martha, Ryan and newbies. Thanks Matt!

11:30am

250km+ and we're nearing Pembroke. There’s a sign for Storyland and I start thinking about the awesome white water rafting trip this summer. There are so many people I’m going to miss!
It still doesn't feel real. I’ve been as far as Thunder Bay before - maybe when I wake up tomorrow I’ll realise that I’m not on holiday and not driving back to Kingston in a couple of days.
We’re passing Chalk River and we just graduated from deer to moose signs ;) There’s only one other vehicle on the road right now, but it’s a gas truck which is just fine!
The trees are beautiful and the sky is clear blue. I take a deep breath and start letting go of all the stress and tension that has been building up over the last... well month at least. The houses are getting smaller and the modest churches and mini main streets all covered in snow remind me of Whooville. Ok – so maybe I’m getting a little sleepy ;)
As we drive into Matawa there’s a line of snowmobiles outside the bowling alley and another outside the curling club. There is an icy mist rising over the river and as we cross the bridge out of town I’m a little sad we can’t stop and stay in every town we pass through.
3:00pm
I see a sign for the local radio station so we tune in just in time for the afternoon announcements. “A set of keys were found on Main Street. They’ve been turned into the Post Office.....”, “A woman lost her cell phone downtown on Thursday and she’d really like to have it back. There’s a small reward for the finder...”
3:10pm
Dad cracks his first “dad joke” of the trip as we pass Dunn Lake. “Hey – they should open an Inn.” It takes me a second to groan and if you haven’t got it yet – it’s ok. I warn him that it’s going to be a long trip and give him a limit of one doozy a day, which I already know is impossible!
4:20pm
Dad breaks the limit already. “Tobler’s Road”. “Good thing there’s an S.” And seriously – he laughs about this for a good 10 mins. Good God – give me strength.
5:30pm
The sun is setting and I’m yawning so we pull over to switch drivers for the second time today. It’s so cold that we’ve already agreed who runs around the front and who goes back so we switch as fast as possible.
6:30pm
We cross the 49th parallel.
6:45pm
We drive into Cochrane and head for the lights to find somewhere to stay. Over the train tracks we see “Polar Express, Station Inn Hotel and Restaurant”. It’s SO cool! We’re sleeping above the old train station which is full of polar bears and pictures of all the old trains. I think of how much Roger would have loved it.
11:00pm
Ear plugs in, a pillow over my head and the bathroom fan on – I glare at my Dad peacefully sleeping across the room and think – holy crap my mum must love him to put up with this snoring for 30+ years!

And so ends day 1.