Canada, oh Canada! Let's leave today!

It's official! Keith and I are leaving for Canada on August 18th and returning home sometime around Thanksgiving. After much reserach, we figured out it will be a lot cheaper to drive instead of fly. So we're taking a road trip through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minesota. If all goes as planned we should arrive in Vermilion Bay late Wednesday night.

We have recently become addicted to "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on the Food Network, starring the wonderfully cocky Guy Fieri. I have planned our route through the US so that we can have meals in at least three of the diners featured on the show. We'll actually drive past 12 so I've been having a tough time narrowing it down.

Right now our day 1 itenarary includes a nutritious breakfast of Egg McMuffins at McDonalds, lunch at Clanton's Cafe in Vinita ,Oklahoma and dinner at 39th Street MaMa's in Kansas City, Missouri. We'll stay for one night at the La Quinta in Des Moines, Iowa. (No we will not be eating at the Denny's next door.) Day 2 will probably begin with a complimentary hotel breakfast and then a lunch at The Wienery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Truth be told, The Wienery was the deciding factor in my decision to undergo our adventure to our neigbor to the North. Last Sunday Keith and I were watching the Burgers and Dogs episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and The Wienery was one of the featured dives. I decided I absolutely had to have a specific hot dog that includes cole slaw and there homemade chili sauce. Normally that kind of thing wouldn't sound good to me, but this looked amazing!! So I said "Keith, thats it, we're going to Canada. I MUST have that dog."

I'm not sure what we'll do for dinner that evening. There are five or six diners in Minneapolis, but none any further north. So I had tentatively scheduled a stop in Duluth at Hell's Kitchen, a restaurant that I found on-line. But Duluth is only about two hours north of Minneapolis. We won't really have made enough progress in our drive to warrant a stop, nor will we be hungry. I can't find any information about any of the cities further north. Its mainly small Minnesota towns. So, at this point, I'm thinking we'll drive till we hit the Canadian border and go through customs, and surely there will be something near there suitable to eat. Rest assured, I will take LOTS of pictures to document our journey.

Meanwhile, I have about a million things to do between now and when we leave. It's one thing to move to a different city for a few months, it's quite another to move to a different country. I know Canada isn't that different from the US, but there are so many logistical things that have to be taken care of. We need international travelers health insurance. We need to figure out how we'll get money into our US bank accounts. I have to find a home for my kittens while I'm gone, which, to me, is like trying to find a home for my children. We have to arrange for people to pick up our mail and check on our apartment periodically. The list goes on.

Bottom line, I am SUPER EXCITED and I cannot wait to leave!