Bathtub laundry, aka my fave thing (not)

Remember when I was all excited that everything I needed for my 3 week trip fit in my carry-on? It worked, but it also meant that I had to plan to do laundry twice along the way. I was able to do it at my parents’ house after the first week, but my plans changed last weekend and I wasn’t able to do it when I was with friends who have a washer and dryer. As a result, I got to spend my evening last night washing my clothes in the tub – the same soaker tub with jets that I was hoping to actually soak myself in! Good thing I have a lot of sink-laundry experience.

 

In other news, read on if you want to know what I’ve been up to lately.

Two weeks ago, I left Vancouver for Regina, Saskatchewan. This also meant leaving +6 weather to go to -44 weather. Let me just say, at this point, that Regina has a lot to make up for when I’m back this summer. I was only there for a day for quick meetings, before heading on to Saskatoon where I got to hang out with a good friend, check out Canada’s largest independent bookstore, interview a couple people for work, and stay in a lovely boutique hotel (boutique hotels are my new favourite thing.) Saskatoon more than made up for Regina, and I’m excited that I get to go back next month.

From Saskatoon, I got to go home for two very packed days! I saw my nephew a lot, and a bunch of friends, and my parents. I feel super lucky that my job allows me not only to spend time travelling, but also to go home more than I expected. From there, I went to meetings in Montreal, which was great – I got to spend the week there. I ate way too much poutine, and way too much dessert, but I have no regrets.

Yesterday morning, I left Montreal for a much anticipated trip to Edmonton. I’ve actually been talking about how excited I was to come here for weeks, because I’ve always wanted to go to the West Edmonton Mall. I also got an email a few days ago from the Delta hotel: I booked my room here because they had great rates and aeroplan points. Turns out I was upgraded to a premier one bedroom suite, for free! Needless to say, I was looking forward to a great couple of days in Edmonton meeting with new staff and shopping.

Unfortunately, my first day here didn’t turn out so great – my work credit card is maxed out. Luckily, the Delta was very accommodating and I was able to check in anyway, but I haven’t been able to rent my car, which I need to get to Calgary. Hopefully everything will be sorted out today. If they don’t sort it out, it means that I can’t go shopping, and if you know me, you know that I’m devastated.

I guess I can’t really complain: my room is wonderful, the hotel is in a mall (not THE mall, but a mall nonetheless), I’ve had great interviews and meetings already, and I was allowed to order from the kid’s menu for dinner last night (grilled cheese and a sundae ftw). As long as I can get to the mall today, all will be well.

Day 4 : Music to live by, and other large attractions

Since there’s nothing to do but drive and no one to talk to as I do it, I spend all of my time listening to music. So far, there hasn’t been a moment of silence in my car. Here are some of my faves this week :

First of all, I need to talk about Passenger. All of my Katimakids know of my obsession with this singer. He’s been a fave since I saw him busking in Brighton a few years ago, and his music has made the past 30 hours lovely.

I always listen to this song at the beginning of a trip. Always always always.

And I love the lyrics of this song :

Mumford and Sons is another obvious choice. I love that their new album came out right before I left, and it’s currently being played on repeat.

And finally this is a new song in my repertoire – I first heard it at Marina’s wedding, and it makes my day start super well.

Also, there was no time to take a picture with the giant red paper clip from One Week, but I did find the world’s largest coke can!

Day 3 : 2130 Kilometres

2350 to go.

It has recently been brought to my attention that what I am doing may not be considered normal by a lot of people. Right before I left, I had breakfast with a friend, who expressed concern over my 6 day, solo road trip. I hadn’t really thought about it, I just saw it as a series of six days of driving for 8-10 hours. I guess that most of what I do isn’t what a lot of people would do (drop everything every six months and move to England, Africa, New Brunswick…?), but I don’t notice anymore, because I’ve just been surrounding myself with like-minded people, and so my lifestyle hasn’t seemed extraordinary (my friend Jason just completed an overland trip from Zambia to Egypt!). I understand everyone’s concern, but this isn’t just something that I’ve always wanted to do – this is something that I’ve always known I would do one day. So that day has come, and I’m doing it. Pretty simple, yes? Well, it is to me anyway. I’ve flown across the country, I’ve taken the train from Vancouver to Halifax, and now I’m driving it. Maybe one day I’ll be really fit and I’ll ride a bike across. (Ha!)

The other things I’m hearing are incredulous comments about how long I’m spending driving. Believe me, I get it. I used to HATE driving. Just ask the girl that I went to Cape Cod with last year – I made her drive for the entire 8 hour trip back. And now, 8 hours seems like a breeze! Let me be very honest. I don’t always enjoy the driving. When it rains for 8 hours straight, I want to punch myself in the face. More than once, out of sheer boredom, I’ve wanted to pull over for a nap, only to find that it’s impossible because all of the stuff that’s in my car. My back hurts on and off, and when it’s really bad, I want to just leave my car somewhere and fly to Vancouver. I drive myself crazy because I can’t make up my mind about what music I want to listen to. I get angry at annoying drivers. Have I mentioned the rain?! When it rains, I want to punch the world in the face (which, on another topic, has me a bit worried, considering the weather patterns of my final destination…). 

But you know what? I’m so happy that I’m doing this, especially solo. Believe me, I’ve spent some time wishing I had a partner in crime, but about 90% of the time, I’m super happy with my own company. I don’t have to talk, and most of the time I don’t even think. I can listen to whatever I want, and sing along in stupid voices and accents. I can listen to the same song on repeat 10 times, or skip songs every 25 seconds. I can say “Ooh! My boyfriend!” every time a Darren Criss song comes on. I still get really excited that my car only has one windshield wiper. I’ve named him Carlos, and he makes the rain slightly easier to bear. It’s like he’s waving at me every time he swooshes by. I can stop 10 times a day to stretch my back or go shopping or just look at the scenery. The scenery! When it’s not boring trees, it’s beautiful. I just got to the Prairies, and there’s so much sky! And old abandoned farms, and bales of hay everywhere. And because I’m by myself, I can stop and take pictures. I can take 100 selfies and not feel stupid, because no one is there waiting. I can take pictures of Carmen (my new car) and not feel weird that I’m taking pictures of a car. (To be fair, I’ve only taken two. Here she is, hiding in some tall grass. Hey, I never said I wasn’t bored.)

So, just so you know, things are great. Tomorrow, I’m heading to Regina, and I’m hoping to see more giant roadside attractions featured in the movie One Week. In the meantime, here’s a picture of me with my driving face on. (This was me being really excited to finally be out of Minnesota and back in Canada!)

See you in Regina!