Snow Day!

Just thought I'd share some pictures of what we did with all the snow that resulted in an instant winter!

Max with his favorite duck toy...


Hannah had a grand plan of a snow fight, working in teams we would see who could knock down the others mini-snowman first. Of course we were using Max to help destroy each others forts by tossing his duck toy into the other camp.












Our gigantic snowperson




And the snow dragon on the front lawn:

Stretch run to cross the border

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8

After breakfast with our friends Fran and Kristie (unfortunately JJ couldn't make it), we got on the road around 11am, and as planned, stopped about a half hour later at the Albertville Outlet Mall. I told Leasa to take her time, as we only had 3.5 hours of drive time to Fargo, so two hours later we were back on the road.

The farther we traveled onward, the farther we seemed to leave civilization behind. I was getting a bit antsy when the fuel gauge dipped below a half tank but, not wanting to venture to far off the highway, we kept going, eventually stopping at some just off road truck stop. I didn't go in, but Leasa claimed the 3 booth restaurant and clientele were horror movie worthy.

We reached Fargo around 7. I opted not to go for a cheapo hotel simply because of all the bed bug news you hear these days. So, we stayed at a newer La Quinta. Again, gotta love the smaller town hotels with parking right outside the door. Didn't book it, but we were upgraded to a corner style jacuzzi bath with a tv in the mirror. We watched a bad Star Wars movie, meaning it was one of the prequels, and I totally, once again, space on the time zones and missed the first Conan on TBS. First and only for me since you can't get TBS up here. Doh!

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9

The free breakfast was good, and the older attendants very friendly. We rearranged the packing of the car a bit and gathered our papers for the car export/import since we were going all the way to Regina. I asked the front desk where I might find a magnet that said Fargo, and she suggested the visitor center, which was a waste of time. We gave it one last shot at a gas station/travel stop to no luck. Not one magnet with Fargo, or even North Dakota, wth? We had even given Walmart a shot the night before, guess Fargo just isn't a big tourist town, but throw the movie fans a bone for pete's sake!

The final 9 hours or so of driving began around 815, and thank God we didn't start an hour later, or stop in Minot like we had thought about. Nope, pretty much a straight on drive of monotony where the only other vehicles we saw really were either farm machinery or towing farm machinery.



Finally, we reached the border. I was supposed to stop and get my vehicle title stamped on the U.S. side but didn't even realize I had driven up to the Canadian side until she sent us back around. So, got that taken care of, where the border agent who came out to check the VIN remarked to Leasa that I must be a pretty nice guy to give her the car, and her response was:

"Well, you know, nothing is really free." Nice.

So, hanging a U and back to the Canadian station, for a nice long trip inside where I once again had my nice long conversation with an agent about immigration. She was nice enough, didn't even write up a visitor report on me. We waited while a couple of agents tried to figure out whether to charge just GST or add in PST and we still aren't exactly sure what they did, need to look over the paperwork. But a stamp here and a signature there and we were on our way to Regina.



Our good luck with the weather was about to come to an end, or so I thought, as we ran smack into a driving snow squall. I was just glad as hell it was still light out, but that light was fading. About 30 minutes out from Regina the snow slacked to a trickle and we made it home.....2250 miles or so later. And I guess our luck held out, as it began to snow in earnest about 30 minutes after we arrived and on through the night, waking to about 4 inches on the ground and more falling through the day.










One of the many toll roads we went on....



Bong Recreation Area... bwahahahaha - course we didn't stop



7's are lucky right?

Of fireworks and outlet malls....

Too bad we were on a tight schedule to hit Bloomington before dark. Never seen SO many fireworks places and outlet malls, but we didn't stop for any. Bah, just not that kind of trip.

Weather has been exceptional. We stopped to stretch our legs in Wisconsin and didn't need a jacket. I was able to listen to football the whole way and keep track of my fantasy teams while Leasa read the last The Girl Who...book.

Got into Bloomington right around 530, again, parked right near the entrance and had a ground floor room about 30 seconds from the lobby. As fate would have it, friends of ours from Arizona were in town, so we got a room at the same hotel (really if was for the free waffles). Great to see them and meet in person a friend of a friend who we've gotten to know virtually.

So the plan for today is to take a shorter drive of 4 hours and stay in Fargo, so Leasa can spend some time at the outlet malls on the way. Then an early rise on Tuesday for the last 9 hour leg, with the border stop and car import fun on the way. Understand was warmer here this morning than in Virginia, heeee heeee.

Exciting pics of rocks and road signs later.

Go West!

After a night of snow showers, woke up to find the car slush covered, but the roads clear. Off to McD's for a quick breakfast, where, this happened: I got into the restroom, and I'm standing at the urinal. There is another urinal beside me and a toilet stall. I hear the door open behind me around a slight corner, then I hear]:

"Hmmm. Well. Ooooohkay." Then I hear the door open again, and the person leave. WTF?

Back onto the Ohio Turnpike toll road we go. Traffic out this way seems nothing like I'm used to on 95 heading north or south. Gas prices are creeping up near $3 a gallon. We stop, grab travel food, McD's wraps and a DQ shake. Leasa innocently asks if I want to trade my chicken wrap for her Angus beef. Seems the beef here tastes "different" than Canadian beef. I say sure, take a bite, and almost heave. It was like biting in a mayo filled tortilla tube. Thought Leasa might heave too....from laughing.

Not long after we hit the end of the turnpike, we hit another toll, then after crossing the bridge into Chicago, another toll. Land of the tolls. The traffic around 5pm, even on a Saturday, is insane around Chicago. Again, the TomTom kept us in the right lanes to navigate through the mess.

We made it to our hotel in Vernon Hills, the Indigo, around 630. Nice boutique hotel, chique, comfortable. Love these smaller hotels where you park about 30 feet from the front doors and zip right up to your room

Found a nearby movie theater showing Due Date at 700 and 730, so I jumped on Fandango, wrote the confirmation numbers down and we were off. Popcorn in hand but with 20 minutes to spare, we walked into the theater but, the movie was running. Hmm. Ticket said theater 1 at 730, but it was showing at another theater at 700, maybe they mixed up? Sat in the other theater, 730 rolled around, 740, no movie. I went back out to the ticket booth and suddenly realized....DOH! Time zone change! So, 20 minutes later, the 7pm movie started.

Stocked up on yogurt, fruit, Hawaiian buns, peanut butter, grapes.....7hours tomorrow to Bloomington, Minnesota, where the stars have oddly aligned and we'll be meeting up with some Vegas friends.


Snow on the car - good morning!





Sausage and Egg McMuffin on a bisquit! YUM!




a mini snowman at the service plaza




I swear I did not order the beef mayo wrap! It was suppose to be mushroom and swiss - totally gross. Thanks D for eating it!






The Indigo

Where will Susan take us now?

NOVEMBER 5-FRIDAY

So, Thursday night, we got on Priceline and went for an area around Akron and ended up getting a Courtyard Marriott for $60. We programmed the address into the TomTom and just let it decide the route. Hit the road around 11am. Cloudy skies but only a bit of rain here and there. Beautiful views of the mountains painted with fall colors, none of that in coastal Virginia yet, and Leasa says no leaves on the trees in Regina...

Stopped at a gas/food plaza outside Philly, and I went over the counter after the guy at Roy Roger's when he wouldn't serve me my egg, ham and cheese on sourdough. It was ugly, but we got out before security arrived. Also discovered that the soft pretzel booth guy was either a bit challenged, or living in his own private hell.

I can't remember ever doing the ticket thing at a toll both. The tab after basically running the length of the Penn Turnpike was $22. Gas prices have gone up as we've gone west, from $2.73 in Va. Beach to the last stop just over the line in Ohio, $2.90. And as I was filling that last tank, got pelted by wet snow, and ran through a squall that was starting to stick to roofs and grass. Great. The TomTom, this time, led us right to the door of the hotel, freaking awesome. I can't see every traveling again without this freakin' miracle of technology.

Hoping for an early start tomorrow so we can we spend an hour or two in Chicago, but that will depend on whether we wake up to a couple inches of snow, which is what is in the forecast. Doh!



A sign of where we are - even on the garbage container!




Almost there... just in time to beat the rain/snow combo!



Our great room, thanks Captain Kirk!

The Road To Philadelphia

NOVEMBER 4-TUESDAY

My 10am departure turned into a noon dash for the bridge tunnel. I hate the drive up the Eastern Shore, lots of stoplights, lots of boring. Drizzled with drizzle.

Rain picked up around Dover and I headed into the doomsday scenario I had really wanted to avoid: rain, getting dark, and rush hour traffic heading into downtown Philly.

Thanks to Leasa’s suggestion, I picked up a refurbed TomTom off Amazon, got it Wednesday, updated the maps, figured out the basics, and stuck it on the windshield. No way I could have looked at paper directions going into Philly. Susan the computer guided me in….until I hit a slow crawl under an overpass, lost my signal, and found my car floating in the river. Well, the little car icon on the TomTom was in the river.

Hooked back with the satellites just in time to make the next turn onto Ben Franklin Parkway, and after a few blocks, Sue announced I had reached my destination. Only, I hadn’t. Now I’m in rush hour traffic with about 15 minutes of light left looking for the Embassy Hotel, and wondering whether \I should heed the green light or the red light that was directly in front of me. A blaring horn said go, so I went. Spotted a small Embassy sign, circled the building, and squeezed into a bit of driveway for some of that big city $35 valet parking.

Dinner at TGIFriday (sizzling ice cream nachoes is excellent) then back to the room to relax before tomorrow’s drive. No hotel booked yet, not even sure of the direction. One last look at the weather and we’ll either be heading straight over toward Indianapolis or up toward Toledo.