Saturday, August 27, 2011

Homeward Bound


We are currently in Iowa, USA. I must say the last week and a half has been a bit of a blur. From the time our plane landed in Jacksonville FL we have been on the move.  We had a couple of days in Jacksonville before we were able to pick up our van so we thought we would see all there is to see there. And this is it. We went down to the Riverside Arts market under the interstate bridge in town where we had our palms read and saw a great local band perform.


While waiting for our van to arrive we opted to try out couch surfing rather than staying in a hotel. Jeff and Leny were great hosts and helped us kill a couple of days before the van arrived.


The bridge to the Blount Island Port in Jacksonville, we were hoping the stars were aligned for us to get our van out of customs without any hitches.


With a little help from Julia at K Line and the awesome US Customs guys we were able to get Kumu and on the road north to Canada sooner than expected!!!


After 2 and a half days of driving a VERY uneventful drive, we saw the first hints of Canada, windmills from across the St Lawrence River. Those and the solar panels everyone in Ontario is putting up were a sight for sore Canadian eyes!


It was unbelieveable to be back in Canada after having departed Canmore AB over one year prior..... well we were almost in Canada...


It took us one more hour hanging out with these guys and then we were home!!!! By far the most intensive border crossing of our trip.


There's nothing better than coming back to a large double-double and listening to a little Hip on Q107. Home sweet home.


Our first stop in Canada was on Simcoe Island in the St Lawrence River. We met Mel Kahung and Dante in Mexico while they were driving their rig south to Panama. Here Dante was ready to go find some artifacts as he was suited up in his Indiana Jones getup.


Canadian cottage country RULES...


Trying our luck for dinner...



We said our goodbyes to the gang after a perfect couple of days on the lake and headed east to surprise Andrew's family. There was no way we couldn't make a detour there to share some of the stories of our trip. It was a whirlwind tour but we even managed to fit in a quick slide show presentation at Andrew's Oma's retirement home. It was really great to have a chance to see family and friends before beginning our journey west and home!

We did make a stop in Georgetown to see and Brady and his family. Brady is a good friend from high school and skiing. Every time I stop by he seems to have a new toddler running around. This is Lucy, his oldest daughter in her favourite Hippy dress. I have a feeling she might be in one of these vans someday!


Travelling through the US across the midwest looks a little like this so far.....


But we are planning to catch a couple more cool things along the way so stay tuned to see where we end up.

1 comment:

  1. What a unforgettable visit and reunion! Seeing the both of you brought back waves of memories of our time together in Mexico and Guatemala.

    See you soon on the Dempster!

    K

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