Canada 'eh?

Hellowww all!

FIRST OF ALL - THANKS: Matt and I have received many emails regarding Bailey and we want to thank you all for the kind words of sympathy. It's been different traveling without him as he's been a big part of our life for so many years and we do miss him.

ON DA BORDER: On Tuesday, August 5th we left our camper safely in Frederic, Wisconsin (for those of you that wonder why, it's because we get double the gas mileage and gas is not cheap right now - as you ALL already know!) We made it up to International Falls, Minnesota which is on the Canada border and stayed in a hokey hotel where I think most of the people staying there actually lived there full-time. We went over to the movie theater that night and saw the X-Files movie. It was boring and not worth seeing... especially if you're a big X-Files fan like myself.

ACROSS DA BORDER: Wednesday, August 6th we crossed into Ontario Canada and drove all day through the beautiful trees and past the many lakes and swamps. There was very little traffic and no big cities - just gorgeous scenery - until we reached Kenora where we were planning on staying but due to a big bass tournament, there were no rooms available. I came up with many cleavor (or you may stay 'stupid' jokes about that, but I won't bore you with that now... maybe one) - "Who's got a big bass?" We drove on into Manitoba and it was like driving from the woods into North Dakota. No trees, only farm fields and not-much-ness. We decided to stay in Winnipeg and found an old hotel right downtown. Today is August 7th and it is going to be our second night here. The Marborough Hotel is centrally located and we've had fun wandering around town, seeing the Millenium Library, Provincial Bridge, and we even had a drink tonight at the Regal Beagle Bar (Chrissy, Jack Tripper, and Janet didn't show.)

WHAT'S NEXT 'EH? Tomorrow we head West to Moose Jaw in Saskatewan and will be camping for one night. On Saturday, we have made reservations at the Banff Inn in Banff for our 11th Anniversary. We are excited about that as the place looks wonderful and it will be a perfect place to celebrate. After that, we have to travel still another week or so until we reach Alaska. Instead of going to Prince Rupert, we've decided to head to Anchorage first and then come down the Inside Passage on our way back down. After talking to friends we'd like to see, that works out better. So... we'll be in Canada a bit longer than originally planned, but it should be a great drive.

UPCOMING PLANS: We have made plans and arrangements to be in Anchorage, Alaska by August 21 where we'll spend 10 days with friends and then taking the ferry from Valdez to Cordova from September 1-7. After that we will drive to Haines, stay with friends there, and then down the Inside Passage to stop in Sitka, Juneau, Petersburg, Ketchikan and to Prince Rupert. More to come on that.

INTERESTING STORY:
While in Winnipeg, Matt and I were walking around Winnipeg and we crossed a small side street by our hotel. Right behind us we heard the squeal of brakes. We turned around and a lady had just been hit by a car on her bicycle! Now, it wasn't all gross or anything - there was no blood as she and her bike seemed to have barely been hit. Just as we were ready to run over to the lady on the bike, she was already up on her feet, as if when she hit the ground she immediately hit a patch of Silly Putty and sprung up like nothing happened. It reminds me of how people act when they are embarrassed and just try to brush it off. I'm sure she was just stunned at what just happened and was taken off-guard. Anyway, no one was hurt and another guy came over to talk to her and the driver so we stopped gawking and went on our merry way. Never seen that before...