Just around the corner now...

I'd been on the road for the better part of three weeks now.  Seemed like all I have done since "retiring" is work my flippin' butt off!

Having lived in my house for 17 years with, at various times; Holly, Lisa, Deb, Harold, Joanne and her guy, and plenty of visitors; Rock and Lantie, Liz, Ron, Frenda etc... it seemed like a major chore to make the decision to leave it all behind.

Since Brenda and Anna's arrival, shortly after I made the move to move on... there has been non stop packing/unpacking, donating, selling stuff, buying stuff, dealing with Realtors, lawyers, trips down east to find and buy the land, to Arizona and the beat goes on...

Like the old saying goes; I'm retired and have no time for myself!

I do sometimes envy those people that trip through life with nary a care, plan, back-up plan or money in their jeans and yet somehow they never seem concerned.

Being a Hungarian and a Capricorn to boot... I have never enjoyed that luxury!

So... after spending a month on the basement reno, a lightning fast trip to Phoenix to wrap up a few things and get my XT sorted for the year, while trying to get in one or two or three rides of which I could only manage one (lousy Pacific storm weather!) here I was nearly to my destination.

Canada for those that don't know, is a hell of a huge country.  Even when you fly it almost seems like days, imagine driving it?!

Yet here I was on my 11th X country road trip, within sight of my goal.  Having driven from Rouyn Noranda, south through the Laurentians and skipped across of the city of Montreal, I'd crossed the mighty St Lawrence at Trois Rivieres and followed the river to Riviere du Loup.

I had hoped on camping (ok Motelling) in Edmunston but the driving snow, pitch blackness only punctuated by the complete white out and fear of crashing the Blazer into a moose, halted my advance for the night while still 15 kilometers short of my goal.

The following day, my fifth on this road trip, showed some of the best driving and scenery of this entire expedition.  The Maritimes is actually much more rugged than many think.  N.B. has more than muddy 36' tides in the Bay of Fundy (although that's really cool too) Mountains may not have the majestic brilliance of the Rockies, but the driving is beautiful nevertheless.

MY final fill-up was at Salisbury just prior to Moncton and in a very short tome the Island was nearly in sight.