Sunday, July 25, 2010

We Are Nomads

It is Sunday, July 25 and we are officially on the road to Calgary.

We are nomads. Vagabonds. Gypsies. (Well, in truth, we’re two thirty year olds driving their Volkswagen to a new city, to pursue new careers, with their cat in tow. But that’s not nearly as poetic…)

We left Halifax around 8am Sunday morning. Our cat Charlie immediately disapproved of his travelling quarters: a cage in the back seat. Charlie exercised his right to a peaceful protest by crying continuously as soon as we pulled out of the apartment building parking lot.

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Prior to our trip, Matt had been adamant that Charlie was to stay in the cage for the duration of the trip (seven days) when not in a hotel room.  Due to Matt’s devotion on this matter, it was not surprising that as soon as Matt left the car (the first bathroom break of the trip, approximately 1.5 hours in), Katie let Charlie out of the cage.

As a result, Charlie now roams the car freely, enjoying various nap locations, including Matt’s lap:

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The first stop of the day included a small side stop to capture this picture. It should be noted that this animal is extremely endangered, and it is rarely caught still in the wild. It was snapped by a quick hand in Oxford, Nova Scotia:

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Before noon, we had left Nova Scotia and crossed into New Brunswick. We were fortunate to enjoy divided highway all the way through the province.

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By the time we hit Fredericton we were starving so we hit up a Subway and tried to feed the kitty as well. He ate a few bites but we faired well and chowed down on our subs. Just after we got back on the road after lunch we hit a massive rainstorm.

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Here are some other pictures of our journey throughout New Brunswick. Please enjoy the beautiful scenery of one of the lovely Maritime provinces.

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The row of windmills.

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We ended up crossing over the New Brunswick/Quebec border around 3:30pm. We were making pretty good time and expecting to arrive in Riviere du Loup around 4:45 (Atlantic).

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Quebec was actually quite beautiful and we were able to capture some great images while driving.

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Lots of dairy farms (don’t worry these didn’t make Matt miss Farmer’s too much).

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We arrived in Riviere du Loup around 3:45 local and found out that we were staying in the hilliest town ever!

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After checking into the hotel we decided to walk around the town a little and try to find something to eat. We ended up at Taxi. A small diner on one of the main drags of the town.

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They even had a taxi on the ceiling.

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Katie chose a Quebec favourite: poutine.

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Matt went with a taxi burger (bacon, tomato, lettuce and ‘taxi sauce’) and fries.

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We are now in the hotel relaxing and hoping Charlie gets some sleep so he’ll be ok for the drive to Ottawa tomorrow.

Stay tuned for an update on day two tomorrow.

Love,

k&m

2 comments:

  1. Bonjour Matt & Katie! Stephy and I just finished reading your first posts and were greatly entertained :) What a great idea to keep us all up to date on your adventures. Excited for you two as you embark on this journey together. We, along with the world, look forward to more stories! Give Charlie our best :) Happy travels!
    ~Love Erin & Steph
    xoxo

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  2. Hi Matt & Katie,
    As someone who has driven across Canada before, I want to assure you that you are in for a great adventure. When I did it back in 1987, I drove from Calgary to Halifax in a Ryder moving van - just me and 2 year old Erin. Your Aunt Kim was pregnant with Steph, so she got to fly!! We had a ball, took 7 days, and I'll never forget it. Take your time, enjoy every place, and have lots of fun. I'm looking forward to your posts.
    Love - Uncle Bob

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