The move: Canada to California

Alright guys, I’m back with the internet and I’m ready to blog again!

But where do I even start? It’s so difficult to jump right back to where I left off but I guess that is what the plan will be. Keep checking back each week day as this will be my plan – to continue blogging Monday through Friday, beginning with the adventurous road trip from Waterloo Ontario Canada, to sunny Northern California.

If you’ve been following me on twitter and instagram these next few posts may be repetitive for you, but if not — keep on reading.

We estimated our drive to be 40 hours, by the calculations of google maps. What we didn’t know was that it was going to take closer to 60 hours to do the drive, due to the fact we were towing a 17″ u-haul with a trailer on the back, where my car was.uhaul and car We did the drive in 3.5 days rather than the 5-7 days we were initially going for. As you can imagine, we were driving non-stop on the second and third days/nights, swapping seats and getting sleep in the passenger seat.

We said our goodbye’s to the Waterloo apartment that served us many good times and years at that place. packing up

Our plan was to avoid the winter weather altogether since U-Hauls are known for having bald tires and getting trapped in the snow. Instead of taking the i-80 across the USA, which crosses over some wintery states, we opted for the more southerly route i-40 which took us from Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, to Arizona and finally California. 

We aren’t too far from the Michigan boarder crossing, and since it was open 24 hours, we made it in there at 4:00am. Clearly we left Ontario late in the evening. I have to say, it’s pretty intimidating having your whole life packed up in a truck and having the boarder crossing guards decide whether or not to let you have an American visa for a few years. Right then and there they decide whether to turn you around, or let you into their country. When we arrived the boarder crossing was pretty much empty due to the hour we arrived at, so it didn’t take too long for us to have everything done there. Quite honestly, my knees were trembling while I was waiting for them to go through the process with us standing there in front of them. I couldn’t get my legs to stop shaking. The guys working the night shift were making a few funny jokes to us, and broke the ice a little bit. Perhaps he saw a terrified look on my face and decided to take action.

Once leaving the boarder, we thought everything would go smoothly from here. However, the boarder crossing was the only thing that went smoothly throughout the drive. When you look back on it nothing went terribly wrong but at the time we were down in our spirits. Close to 22 hours of being in the vehicle and losing just HOURS of precious driving time (sleeping at rest stops and going to  Walmart to get a sim card for our phones took up way too much time) we  ended up calling it a night when we arrived to Indiana and arrived at the Clarion Hotel in Terre Haute around 9pm the first night. sunset in the uhal

Tons of sleep later we woke up, ate a huge breakfast in the lobby. Scott and I took turns eating solo due to the fact we had Alfie and didn’t think the dog-friendly hotel would enjoy dogs being in the eating areas of their hotel. We were absolutely famished in the morning, and the woman in the kitchen made a funny comment to me when she saw my plate filled to the brim now empty, saying I was small but could pack away the food. Sure can missus. I was starved b’y. big breakfastCome back on Wednesday and I’ll fill you in on the details of day two.

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I almost cried at the sight

It was one of my last days in Newfoundland and I had the opportunity to pick up the youngest one from school while the other kid (a year older) came with me — he was out of school that day.

The school bell rang at 2:45 and my little 5 year old nephew spotted me down the long hallway. After spending hours playing the evening before, and all the days prior he was genuinely thrilled to see me. The look on his face was so priceless that it truly brought tears to my eyes to see how excited he was to see his “Ancy Nancy” picking him up from school.

ruairi stepping on my bootGotta say the little buddy takes after me with his many facial expressions (as he steps on my boot purposely in the above pic lol). When he spotted me waiting in the lobby of the school, his face dropped into a shy but expressive jaw-dropping smile. It was adorable. Once he got close, he starting running to me. I bent down to my knees and gave him a warm bear hug. One of the best moments of my trip.

It’s so bitter sweet. I almost cried at the sight. I’m not a crier. I was ecstatic picking up my nephews from school, but sad in a way that I don’t get to do it more often.taking off ruairis cap

I have to say that is truly one of my favorite things about being home. The joy of picking up my nephews from a full day of school. A school that I went to Jr High (grades 5-8) in, now turned into an elementary school. The hallways back then seemed long, the classrooms seemed extraordinary large. Going back into that same building, with that same foul apple-smell in the hallways (why do all schools SMELL the same?) brought back so many memories of attending that school. Plus omg not to mention — the hallway is SO LITTLE. It’s funny how your perception changes as you grow.

It’s also a little disheartening cute how kids see adults as all the same age. I even went on a FIELD TRIP with my nephew’s 7 year old class. How crazy is that? His mother (my sister-in-law. Duh) attended as well. We the class learned about the weather and had some cool experiments that I gladly participated in. My nephew blurted out a question while we were on the adventure walk with the class “Who is older? YOU or my MOM?” Legitimate question, I understand your concerns kid. But omg there’s a freaking DECADE plus a few more years tacked on between our ages. I suppose he thinks me and my own mother are only 3 years in the difference too. Right?

Either way. Won’t be that log until I’m back again. 7 more weeks til I’m home for Christmas and get to see these sweet faces again.nephews and i smiling

Huge thanks to my Mom for taking all these fantastic candid shots of my nephews and I that day in Bowring Park, St. John’s.

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