In which the Pot calls the Kettle Black

When I spoke at my Dad's funeral (or tribute as my mother prefers) I mentioned his love of maps and atlases.  When Caitlin and I took our epic road trip in October some of the maps we used came from his car.  Why he had a map of the north central states (including useful city maps) was perplexing but much appreciated.  Last week my sister said she had found a filing cabinet drawer full of maps so I volunteered to sort them.  It wasn't really full by my standards but since my sister's only "map" is a GPS I can see how dozens of maps and a few triptiks would be overwhelming.

I laughed while I sorted and arranged them so nicely for picture taking.  Who needs a 1987 map of Nova Scotia or Saskatchewan? And how can you see them both in the same year?  Maps dating to 1994 and 1995 included Virginia, Manitoba, Vermont and Alberta.  In 1997 and 1998 they must have come to visit us in New Brunswick because the maps were all the Atlantic provinces.  But there was also a 2004 New Brunswick map and we lived in Ontario then.

Then I decided I would go through our own map box and um let us just say it needed cleaning too.  Anyone could tell we lived out west in the early 90s since the maps are all from that area.  I couldn't find a date on the map in the top left corner but the governor's clothes indicate it is more than a few years old.  And who needs 3 maps of Fredericton?

I won the prize for the map in the worst condition.  Pretty much every corner and fold was destroyed.  Pretty useless unless you wanted to go to Tobermory.  This map was even relatively new (as in less than a decade old).

All in all I had an enjoyable time sorting the maps.  It was a trip down memory lane - remembering our postings and their visits to us.  Many of the maps were from trips my parents took with my other siblings to resorts.  Though I wasn't with them I sorted the pictures for the long memorial slide show and can see all the good times they enjoyed.

And again I found treasures.  Go back and look at either of the first 2 pictures.  See that Shell Quebec map? It is from 1967!  And the black and white map all the maps are laying on?  It is a 1964 Toronto map!  Toronto stopped at the airport - no Brampton. Those two I am keeping.

Treasures - part 2

This is the oldest picture we found.  My grandmother (my mom's mom) was born in 1906 so this picture is close to a century old!

I don't know the date this picture was taken but it shows both of my mom's parents.  My grandfather died when I was only 2 so I don't really remember him but I adored my Granny.

This is my mom and her brother Ed visiting you know who.  This was likely taken in the early 1940s.

And my mom and her baby sister Faith - likely mid to late 40s.  I laughed when I saw this one.  My mom does not like horses now!

My mom and her sister Norma.  An old family friend commented at my Dad's funeral that my mom and Norma were always fashionable in their Rose Marie Reid and Jantzen bathing suits. She hadn't seen this picture. What do you think?

Treasures

When I was going through my Dad's belongings I found many treasures. There were cemetery and property  deeds and bills of sale for many properties dating back half a century or more, love letters from my grandfather to my Nana and old resumes with lots of information.  And some old pictures I now cherish.  These are from my Dad's side of the family.

This is my Nana in approximately 1920.

There are only 2 pictures of my Dad's dad.  This is one of them.  The little boy slumped in the chair is my grandparent's firstborn John, known as Jackie.  He was a forceps delivery and that resulted in severe cerebral palsy.  We also found a letter from their doctor to a specialist requesting treatment.  Jackie died when he was 4 or 5 and this is the only picture of him.

This is my dad painting a chair when he was about 10 so roughly 1942.

This is my dad and his brother Frank with their mother at their father's grave in 1948.

And this is one of many pictures of my father as a scout.  He loved scouting and being outdoors.

Stay tuned for pictures from my mom's side!

My Dad

                                                     May 26, 1932 - December 1, 2011

Home Sweet Home

No pictures today. You have all seen it anyway.

Just a post of random reflections on our trip also known as useless trivia and facts. Things to keep my mind occupied while travelling.

We live in a really, really big country.

I am glad this trip was not in my truck.

It is almost time for another oil change and it was only done 3 days ago.

I could never be a long haul trucker. But I already knew that.

On the west coast the cars were small and energy efficient with many hybrids and electric cars. As we travelled east the number of larger vehicles and trucks grew.

Vancouver must have the most coffee shops in the world. Every block seemed to have a Starbucks, a Tim Hortons, another chain I don't remember and then there was the odd private store.

In the States we saw lots and lots of trains. Only one after returning to Canada. However, at any given point of our drive today we could see 3 or 4 semis. It would appear that Americans transport much more by train than we do.

Everyone in the US wears camouflage (at least at this time of year). Men, women, children, old and young everything from coats to pyjamas in camo. The odd person we saw not wearing camo was wearing red (presumably so they don't get shot by those who are).

Caitlin managed to drive every time it rained, except once. I got to drive through all the construction zones (and half of the continent is undergoing roadwork).

Caitlin prefers driving 70 mph, not 70 kph. I am content in the middle.

We travelled 4 days and thousands of kilometres through the States. We saw a total of 7 police cars - 3 at accident scenes in Seattle, 3 cruising around Ritzville, Washington and one that startled me just outside Duluth (he came out of nowhere and stopped the guy who had just passed me going 20 mph over the speed limit). We spent 7 hours driving in Canada. We saw dozens of police cars.

When we were in the States we saw an average of 3 dead deer a day and a multitude of dead skunks and raccoons. Today we saw a grand total of 1 dead coon. Are Canadians better drivers? Do we venture out less at night when the animals are out? Maybe our road crews are faster at removing the dead animals? None of the dead deer were anywhere near the deer crossing zones. Maybe Canadian deer are smarter and cross where they are supposed to? Maybe we don't have as many deer to start? Has anyone else noticed this? Help me or I won't be able to sleep for trying to solve this dilemma.

The price of the hotel does not reflect the amenities and enjoyability of your stay. Our favourite hotels were not the most expensive. Location sets the rate.

In the average year, I might travel away from my home 3 or 4 times. Mostly Christmas shopping or trips to visit relatives. Lately I have only had a vacation every 3 years and we have stayed in Ontario. This year has definitely been a record. Last September we drove Tori back to University and went through Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and a day trip to Nova Scotia. We spent Christmas at my sister's in New York. We vacationed in Bar Harbor, Maine in July and travelled through Vermont and New Hampshire. I flew over Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta last week and landed in Vancouver. (So I covered all but 4 of the provinces in 13 months) Then we drove through Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan (thereby visiting 11 of the 13 states that border us to the south) Anybody for a road trip to Pennsylvania and Ohio?

Duluth, Minnesota to Sault Ste Marie, Ontario

We don't own a GPS. Occasionally we debate the need for one. I borrowed my Dad's for this trip. We had a trip tik and maps but I thought the GPS might help if we were wandering in circles in a strange city after detouring for gas or a meal. It did help us find somewhere to get an oil change, but usually it would give us directions we knew were contrary to our destination. This morning we got directions to get back on the highway from the hotel staff. When that got us lost we turned on the GPS which was no help either. It wanted us to go north to Thunder Bay and all the way around Lake Superior so we turned it off and finally got on the right road 45 minutes later. We occasionally turned the device back on just to check on it and sure enough 6 hours later it clued in and gave us correct directions. Mostly I find the advice received from the GPS to be "Whenever possible, make a legal U-turn" or "turn left, turn left, turn left" which both send me back from whence I have come. What about you? Do you have a GPS? Do you love it?

Anyway, not many pictures today. Because the drive pretty much looked like this

Occasionally a train would break the monotony.Or a view of a lake
Or a deserted building.

We made it the Soo at dinner time, ate and had a swim and we will be home tomorrow. It will be a long drive since our audiotape is finished. If Caitlin is driving I let her listen to country. And she does most of the driving. Like I said, it will be a long day.

Travel joke of the day

A minister was preaching and asked, "Who wants to go to heaven?"

Everyone shot their hands into the air except for one small boy.

"Don't you want to go to heaven when you die?" he asked the youngster.

"Oh yes sir ... when I die. But I thought yu were getting a group up to go now."

Dickinson, ND to Duluth, Minnesota

We were on the road for 12 hours and travelled close to 900 km again. The days are starting to blur now. The scenery isn't as stunning and we are almost done our audiotape so the last day will be very long.

We went to the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown, ND. (Jamestown is also the birthplace of of Louis L'Amour and Peggy Lee). There are 3 rare albino bison there but I didn't get a good shot.

This pic is for my dad. More than 25 years ago my parents came to visit us in Edmonton. I took them to Elk Island where the buffalo roam free. Despite repeated warnings my dad insisted on getting out to get a better picture of a buffalo. Then I watched as he ran for my little Datsun 210 and folded himself back into the seat as the buffalo did not want a close up. Do you remember that Dad?
This was done with a chainsaw!
This picture was done on a bison hide.
The "feathers" are quite iridescent.
All being well, we enter the land of multi-coloured money and Tim Horton's tomorrow. Yippee!

Travel joke of the day

(because we have seen a LOT of cows in the last few days)

What happened when the cow jumped over the barbed wire fence?

It was an udder disaster.