Keith and I have been in Canada for a little over a week. As I'm writing this, this is the view I'm looking at. (I haven't quite mastered the art of taking scenic pictures on my camera, so its a little dark, but I'm working on it.) The weather has been pretty amazing. It looks like it could rain today. I walked out on the porch to take a few pictures of the sky. I was wearing some old Nike running shorts and a t-shirt and it was too cold. I had to go back in and put pants on. I'm not sure what the temperature actually is since everything is in Celsius up here. According to weather.com it is 63 degrees out. I've been meaning to post about all the happenings since we set out on our journey, but every time I sit down, I just can't bring myself to do it, so here goes...

We left Dallas last Monday. Of course it was raining and we still had errands to run, so instead of leaving at 8:30a.m. like I had hoped, we finally got on the road at 11:30. We made a lunch stop in McKinney at Taco Bueno, figuring we wouldn't see many more Bueno's as we went further north. It rained the entire day, all the way through Oklahoma and Missouri. The most exciting thing that happened on Monday was at our dinner stop. Around 5:30 we stopped in Vinita, Oklahoma at Clanton's Cafe. According to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives if you go to Clanton's you have to eat their Calf Fries. Perhaps Keith and I are just not well enough educated in southern foods, but neither of us knew what they were and the waitress wouldn't tell us. So she brought us a sample. Some of you may be laughing at us at this point. It turns out Calf Fries are Bull testicles. Yeah, I'm serious.


The rest of our drive was pretty uneventful. We stayed a night in Des Moines. We saw lots of cows and corn fields. It was a really beautiful drive, but rather boring. I really never realized how beautiful Minnesota is. I guess its since I'm from Texas and never get a chance to see rocky hills and fur trees, but Minnesota was exceptionally nice. We stopped at the Wienery and had Drive-In Dogs and fresh cut fries. They were delicious! If you're ever in Minneapolis, you should try it out.


We finally made it to the border around 10:30 on Tuesday night. Keith made me drive through because he wasn't sure if his license was valid. We had no problems at customs and made into International Falls without trouble. I was surprised it was so easy since we had an entire Jeep full of luggage. From the border we had a two hour drive ahead of us. We switched and Keith drove the rest of the way. Our drive from International Falls to Vermilion was somewhat frightening. It was absolutely pitch black and there were no street lights. The road was a narrow one lane high way and the only other cars out were 18-wheelers, and they were usually coming from the opposite direction. Let me tell you, there are very few things more scary than an 18-wheeler coming at you, going 70 mph on a dark narrow road. At one point, the road turned from a well paved highway to a gravel road. And there were still 18-wheelers coming at us going 70 mph! Keith and I were both having panic attacks. He was trying to drive slowly, but we were still sliding around on the gravel and when the 18 wheelers would pass they would throw the gravel up on us. Keith was so scared that when it was all done his brand new Jeep was going to be covered in large dings. But we arrived unharmed and Keith's car has no damage. We got to the house at 1:00a.m. and went straight to bed.

The next day the people we're staying with (Stosh and Natalie) showed us around town, or rather the surrounding towns of Dryden (30 minutes away) and Kenora (1 hour away). The city we're living in is Vermilion Bay. Approximately 300 people live here. The town consists of lots of lakes and camp grounds. During tourist season (which is apparently almost over) tourists come to stay in the camps and go on hunting and fishing expeditions. There is also a gas station, a grocery store (or co-op as they call it) and a few restaurants. The nearest Walmart is in Dryden so if we need anything beyond the basics we have to drive 30 minutes. The first evening we were here our hosts wanted to take us into Kenora to see a movie. (The nearest movie theatre is in Kenora.) All three cities (Vermilion Bay, Dryden, Kenora) are on the same highway which is undergoing major construction. So if you try to go somewhere there is a good chance you'll have so sit for at least 15 minutes while they close down your lane and let the other side pass. It took us an hour and a half to get to the movies and when we got there, it was sold out. So we turned around and came home.

It is so surreal to be here. It is beautiful and a nice change of scenery, but it is just so weird to be in such a small town so far away from the big cities I'm used to. Growing up I though Kennedale was a small town, but compared to Vermilion Bay, Kennedale is Manhattan. I have never experienced a place like this. Everybody knows everybody. The nearest major town is Winnipeg and it is 4 hours away.

So far all I've really done is work. Which is good because thats what we came here to do. I had forgotten how exhausting waiting tables is. I'm getting a pretty good work out and making good money. So is Keith. And the good thing is, there is nothing here to spend money on, so we won't be tempted to spend what we make.

I miss home so much! I miss my kittens terribly. I miss my bed and my city apartment. By the time our stay here is up I am going to be so home sick!