Freedom in a Can: Adventures with Hamlet

Some of you have asked to see more photos from our expedition, so thought we'd provide you a direct link to the entire album on Shari's FaceBook account.  Enjoy! http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100434755413758.2454915.29714272&type=1&l=9169464175

Three weeks ago, while in Massachusetts, we were requested by a good friend to update our blog on more of a schedule, because the whole irregular update thing, “wasn’t really working for me.”   In retrospect we realize that there’s a whole lot of October left out of the narrative and we weren’t keeping up with the “where are we now” vibe.   I’m not sure that we can keep up with that, because writing sometimes just has to flow and you can’t force it.   Spend too much time writing about what you’re doing then you’re missing the very stuff you came out here to do.    In the spirit of recent political pontification we suggest a compromise; we will update more frequently and ask you to keep dropping by this little blog.   Will that work for you, Jim? We’re nearly 3 months out since we left Boone.    Part of us feels as if it’s been only a few days and part of us feels like it’s been a whole year.   So much has happened; while our lives have...

While we are no strangers to international border crossings, in the past few weeks we’ve been working on some sort of record (in the non-casino, non-truck driver division of course).   The pleasantness of these crossings is directly proportional to the length of time one stands or sits in line and the attitude of the agent representing one of our two nations.    The exchanges can range from the friendly though cautious and thorough, to the outright paranoid, intimidating and just plain mean.    Let’s just say that the level of complexity of our story increased with each crossing.   By way of illustration, we will outline our itinerary and the relative pleasantness on a 5 point scale ( 1 = please enjoy these complimentary bottles of Maple syrup, 3= tell me more, you crazy tourists, 5 = spread your cheeks wider).    October 3:   Blissfully enter Canada with Buck and Hamlet via Sault Ste. Marie, CN border patrol (Rating = 2) October ...

A tale of optimism, denial, despair, acceptance, trust and action. When I last wrote about our truck, Buck, I was in a bit of a state.   I knew that he was messed up beyond a simple repair but walking away completely was a bitter pill to swallow.   Since we’ve already laid out why I might react this way to an inanimate vehicle, I won’t waste our time here.    I found the writing about the collision cathartic: it helped me move on, helped me process the priorities, and helped me let go of him.   The 2 weeks required to complete the repair at the North Bay auto repair shop (should insurance decide to repair) certainly didn’t hurt either.    Where’s Phil’s Citgo when you need it?    I love the truck but waiting around for an additional 2 weeks might be more than I’m willing to invest.   Sorry, buddy.  By Wednesday we really knew that it was a lost cause, our insurance confirmed it was totaled.   Our friends in the Franklin Mot...

While sitting at the local “Timmy’s” (aka Tim Horton’s) -- where you can get a nice café mocha for $1 – we checked our email, making use of their free wi-fi yet again.   We were excited to see an email from a lovely young woman named Sonia that read, “ I'm not sure what you have planned for the next few days, but my parents and I are having a small Thanksgiving dinner at our house in Callander on Sunday night, and we would love if you joined us! There is a cranberry marsh a few minutes away and we always go picking while the turkey's in the oven, rain or shine, so we can enjoy home made cranberry sauce for the feast!"   Being travelers, we know that reaching out to meet locals and saying “yes” to pretty much any opportunities that come our way will always enrich our lives, not to mention make for a great story! We had met Sonia on Friday afternoon on Sunset Beach on the shores of Lake Nipissing.   We had just packed up a picnic lunch and headed for ...