Our posting has been slowing down as our trip has been slowly ending.
The weeks we spent in Ontario didn’t really count as White Bus Black Dog material, as it was all family visit, and the trip east from there wasn’t completely novel, either.
We have now driven the highway between Kingston, Montreal, Quebec City, Fredericton and Halifax at least 4 times, each.
Still, it was bus living, and bus living includes surprises like breakdowns (in Quebec!) and grease hunting, substandard meals out of their grocery store packaging. The breakdown was our grueling horror story of the week.
Crossing the border under the Nova Scotia flags set off a desperation inside me to turn around and go back West … North … anything but “home.” (I still can’t help myself from using quotation marks around that word).
Rolling across the MacKay bridge, our first view of the Atlantic ocean since we have spent so much time at the Pacific, was a letdown.
I don’t think either of us were prepared for how much we were going to despise familiarity. Although we had made a list in conversation of things we were excited to get back to in Halifax, this was head knowledge and the heart was saying: flee.
Although there are so many good things about being in Halifax, like barbecues with friends and bikeability of life, I’m in mourning for travel and adventure.
Then I remember the dirty floor, dirty boxes, dirty sheets in that bus. And I can think of this as a well needed break from it. A time for everything under the sun.
Is it over?
On August - 21 - 2009
hi Beth! you are back “home”!!! I just got to reading the last few of your posts…and am looking forward to talking again. can we have a skype date?! you are now 2 hours ahead of me so what do your days look like? like this afternoon? 5ish my time!!? or if that doesn’t work, Sunday or Monday maybe? i gotta go to camp tomorrow for the whole day and then try to make it to block 10 in the evening. i know you aren’t a late night person…
anyways, i hope your time with your mom and dad was cool…muddy is looking SO big. so are Katie and jono still staying at your place, or have they moved out in anticipation of your and Paul’s return!?
been thinking about you lots lately.
i didn’t send you a letter when Luke left, i know Daniel did though. i guess Luke will be coming back here next weekend….geez that month went fast.
love ya. message me.
Letdown. Except for the trouble in Quebec, the trip ended with more of a whimper than a bang but listen, you guys had an incredible experience that will only grow in its impact as you reflect on all you have seen and done. Congratulations to you both. You have a lot to feel pretty good about.
Have you found out how many (if any) other people HAVE succeeded in crossing the continent TWICE on VEGETABLE OIL?? Both abuelo and I are very impressed…we had doubts…lots of doubts back in May.
Felicitaciones!
it’s never over.
so now that i’m at a place that has sufficient internet speed (computer lab at the university i’m attending), i’m able to finally watch all your great videos. and i mean great. sitting in this giant computer lab (it’s pretty big), laughing at you guys on screen. yeah yeah i know the trip is over but because of this viewing, some of it has been relived. in my mind. in my heart. in my soul. thank you.