Saturday April 4: The beginning

So, we got off to a bit of a late start. We were planning on hitting the road at 7:30 and, well, that just wasn’t in the cards. We didn’t sleep in at all, we just had so much work left to do that we didn’t get out the door until closer to 10:00. I suppose if either of us had finished packing last night, or had even figured out exactly what it was we wanted to bring, it might have gone a bit smoother. But no... we, in our infinite wisdom, procrastinated to the very end and it resulted in us scurrying around the house in the wee hours of the morning trying to get done what should have already been done. But it’s ok. We’re on vacation. =)

At 20 to 10 we had the car all loaded up and we hit the road! Our new found motivation lasted for all of five minutes when we got to the local Tim Horton’s. I mean, come on. We can’t leave the country without stocking up on some Timmies, can we?

Once on the highway, we were really starting to get excited about leaving it all behind. The wind was gusting, trying to push us off the road. And it was cold. We are really, really sick of the cold. We stopped in London to fill up our gas tank and I was wishing for my winter jacket. As we left London we literally saw blue skies ahead. It was a weird juxtaposition, with cloudy grey skies in the rear view mirror and blue skies in front of us; it perfectly symbolized our feelings about this trip. We are both just so ready for this vacation.

We got to Windsor without incident, despite passing four or five speed traps, and stopped in for our very last Tim Horton’s for three weeks. It was a bittersweet farewell. With some apprehension, we approached to border crossing. You hear so many horror stories, you can understand our misgivings. But all our worrying was in vain, as we crossed without incident. Though I do suspect our “interview” lasted longer than most as the guard kept muttering about “how familiar we looked”. Yikes. He really only warmed to us when I mentioned WoW and all the great people we were going to be meeting on the trip. Closet Night Elf Mohawk, perhaps?

Detroit was depressing, what little we saw of it, with what has to be the most complicated and confusing road system I’ve ever seen. Yes, even worse than Montreal. We dutifully followed the little I-75 SB signs and I swear it had us doing figure eights. Luckily, Chris had himself a master navigator along and we only got lost once. Onward and upward!

Over the course of the morning we’ve had an ongoing discussion about the merits of concrete highways versus asphalt ones. This discussion came to a head as we crossed the Michigan/Ohio boarder and the highway promptly changed from concrete to asphalt. I totally understand the benefits of concrete, but man, is the asphalt ever pleasant to drive on! In fact, everything about Ohio is more pleasant. It seems cleaner, more open, more inviting. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of the part of Southern Ontario where I grew up. Celer, I really like your state.

‘Cept for one little thing. The “Welcome to Ohio” center is about 30 minutes into the state. We were told to follow the ? on the first exit after entering a state. Apparently Ohio didn’t get that memo. It’s way into the state, on the side of the highway. Very nice place, though, with nice staff. We took a little break there to learn about the area, snap some photos and so I can smoke. As an aside, this trip would go a whole lot better for me if Chris were a smoker. All I’m sayin’.

We're currently enjoying some WI-Fi at a Burger King while waiting for Celer to get off work so we can hang out. More posts to follow, including a picture only post.