Rite of Passage

Today was a happy and somewhat bittersweet day. Four weeks ago, my engine disintegrated while driving home after climbing one night. Upon hearing the price to replace the engine, I went out and bought a new car. It was the third time I've bought a car, but the first time I didn't need help with the financing. I even chose a practical car with less power, concerned instead with things like safety features and mileage. Perhaps I was finally maturing.

I've joined the Subaru club. Bring on the snow!

For over two years now, my parents have been getting by with one car. It worked since they worked (relatively) near each other and could carpool, but things like shopping, errands, and shuttling grandparents around made life difficult. Even on his day off during the week, dad would have to get up and drive mom to work so that he could do his errands during the day, then go back and pick her up. It was a crazy shuffle. When mom got laid off and found a job further away, dad started taking the bus to work. It was madness and it couldn't go on.

Through some good fortune, my insurance decided to cover my car as a flood loss and put in a used engine. Finally, they had their second car! Along with the engine I had some other repairs done (7 years on the clutch that I taught myself to drive stick on), trying to get the car into as perfect shape as I could for them. I had just replaced the struts (remember that time lapse?), the tires were a year old, and with the repairs there shouldn't be any major work needed for a long time.

Tonight we went to pick up the car and put dad's new plates on. I remembered the day I bought that car, how happy I was. It was such a great car and I have so many fond memories. With that car I became a cyclist, a kayaker, a climber, and a business owner. Unlike the MINI, I never had a single issue with it. It just went, and went well. It was the first car I ever paid off, and the first one I cracked 100k with.

Seriously, why the hell was my hair that long?!

I really thought I would drive this car into the ground. Now, nearly seven years and 107,000 miles later, it begins its second life. There was no guarantee insurance was going to cover the repairs, so I'm glad I got the other car. More importantly, it's going to people who need it more than I did. I can only hope it treats them as well as it treated me. I guess that's another sign of growing up, being in a place where you can help your family. Goodness knows I needed my share of help over the years; it's good to give back.

Farewell, Mazda. May you live another 100,000 miles (and more!). I'm glad I'll get to see you continue on in your faithful service! :)

Am I supposed to have a bruise there?

I certainly pushed myself this week! Outdoor climbing on Sunday, climbing again Tuesday, a nice hike Wednesday, more climbing Friday, and today I topped it off with some tree climbing. Remember how much fun it was to climb up a tree? If you were like me, you would climb, look down, and start crying until dad came to get you down. I know I'm not alone in this. Well today I was able to go to the tippy top and not have to worry about falling!

The Fairfield climbing Meetup hosted this event at Tree Climb Connecticut. Our guides, Gary and Mike, host this course and help train professional landscapers and arborists to get their certification. We just took the adventure course which didn't go over all the knots and cut right to the fun part - climbing trees!

I'm glad I didn't have to do all of that

To say we climbed the tree would be misleading. We actually climbed the ropes which were hung in the tree.  A lot of the same principles as climbing are used, but it was still different enough to challenge us. There were several different ways to ascend/descend and we got to try them all. We all started off the hardest way, by having to pull up both a loop for our foot as well as the top knot. The idea was to slide up your foot loop so your knee was bent, then stand up while simultaneously sliding up the other knot. It took a LOT of effort and you only moved a few inches at a time. My arms were certainly exhausted by the time I got anywhere near the top! The next way was to use a device that pushes the knot up for you, so you only had to pull the rope down. I also decided to ditch the foot loop and do it the old fashioned way by locking the rope with my feet. I actually found that method to be very natural and was able to go up the rope much quicker. The final time involved a device that pulled the knot up as well as let you descend when you squeezed it. It seemed to make going up slightly easier, but was by far the easiest way down.

Of course we weren't going to put in all that effort of lugging ourselves up just to go right back down. Once we reached the top of our rope, each of us spent a good deal of time just hanging out enjoying the view. One of the ropes went quite high, 50 or 60 feet, and even though I was tied in much like I am while climbing, for some reason I felt less comfortable with it. Occasionally the wind would spin me so that I wasn't facing the tree, and that seemed to enhance the feeling. By seeing the tree right in front of me, I guess it made me feel more grounded.

Just chillin

It's a looooong way down!

There was a nice picnic table and Gary surprised us with burgers and dogs and sodas, which we happily ate after a few climbs. Well, except poor Despina who has to go vegan until Greek Easter. We spent as much time asking about their gear as they did ours. Gary was a character and made the day very enjoyable. We were also happy to learn that our fee for this course would be applied to the full class should we ever decide to take that. I know I plan on it!

I also learned (the hard way) that there's a big difference between climbing harnesses and tree harnesses. A climbing harness will support your weight but the leg straps are fairly small as you're not sitting in the harness for very long. Most of the time your weight is on the wall and you take occasional breaks. Today, my weight was entirely on the harness and I quickly felt the straps digging into my legs. I tried one of the tree harnesses and immediately noticed how much more support it offered. It was much more comfortable while in the tree and allowed for hanging around a lot longer. But the damage had been done. I have a pretty spectacular bruise on my thigh, as well as up and down my leg from the rope.

Once we were done, I took a trip the the nearby REI. I now have rope and webbing for my own top rope rigging. No more waiting around for everyone to use one rope when we go climbing! If I'm not too sore to get out of bed tomorrow, we're supposed to be climbing at Chatfield again. I have no idea how I'll manage to grip anything, but I'll give it the old college try!

What are you waiting for?

Today I took advantage of the spring-like weather to take a hike on the Supply Pond trails. I took the time to reflect on the events that have occurred over the past month. Things really hit the fan around home, and I haven't quite been sure of how to take it all in. Last week it was all put back into perspective when a coworker passed away in a car accident.

Tabitha and I started on the same day at UI, and immediately bonded over our sporting endeavors, as she was training for her first triathlon. Over the last two years, she was seemingly always training for some new event, and always raising funds for some charitable group. Just last Friday she had a very successful fundraiser for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. It was hard to imagine someone so full of life gone just like that.

In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Ed's passing. Someone so full of energy and a childlike enjoyment of life shouldn't have been taken from us so soon. We feel robbed. But why? Obviously we mourn the loss of our friend and all the good times we shared. But what was it that made them so special, so different? For Ed, it was the way he always made time for his friends and was willing to try anything. On more than one occasion when I wasn't well, he'd take a "lunch break" and we'd go out for lunch and some duck pin bowling. We'd be gone for hours and he would saunter back into work without a care in the world. My favorite was when he drove up to New Hampshire for lunch with friends, and then back, again on a "lunch break". Spending time with Ed was equal parts laughing until it hurt and cringing while you waited for security to escort you out. His motto was "What's the worst they can do, throw me out?"

The way he treated his family and friends was truly special. While he never got to meet the MINI group in England, he spoke frequently with them online, and on one of their large events arranged to pay for a round of drinks at a stop on their route. If I ever posted anything that indicated I was stressed or upset, there was always a phone call and a heart-to-heart over ice cream at Mortensen's. His children were wonderful people, a testament to the quality time he spent with them. When he was suddenly gone, there was a gaping hole in my and many other's hearts. The one bit of solace I had was that he lived without regrets. It was at that time I decided to honor his spirit by living as he did.

So many of us get wrapped up in our lives and set things aside for some special time. But what if that time never comes? Do you want to look back on a lifetime of things you wish you'd done? The first question everyone asks when I announce my next destination is "Why?" I say "Why not?" The worst that happens is I go through a few days somewhere I'm not fond of. But it's also supplied me with a wealth of happy memories, great stories, amazing sights, and lifelong friends. I couldn't imagine living any other way. However, this week reminded me yet again that I still need to do more. I'm probably more guilty than most of getting wrapped up with work, be it my desk job, N'oap, or the pizza cart. I don't spend enough time doing the things I truly enjoy, and certainly not enough time with my friends. It's so easy to say "We have to get together soon", but what needs to be done is to set a day and just do it. Grab a coffee, go for a walk, invite them to dinner, it doesn't matter, just do it. And then before you leave, pick a day to do it again. We make dates with our hairdressers, doctors, dentists; why not our friends?

So get out there and start living! Really living. Go try something new. Take that trip you've been thinking of. Try a new restaurant. Visit a new park. And spend time with the people dearest to you.

So much work, so little time

Today was another busy one. I had to be in Groton for 8:30 to meet with Scott. After way too long, we were finally going to replace my useless struts. Back in October 2011, I had to work the storm center for that freak snow storm that caused so many problems. I left work at midnight after 16 hours on the job, and wasn't far from the office when I drove through a puddle. Only it wasn't a puddle, it was a massive pothole filled with water. The noise made me think I had blown out the right front tire, but I realized that my suspension was jacked. After that driving was somewhat uncomfortable, but I got used to it. Hard right turns were particularly tricky, as my tire would just skip over the pavement rather than stick to it.

"Yeah, that's not supposed to do that."

Where did you go? What the hell am I supposed to do with this?!

After some asking around, I decided on the Koni FSD's over OEM replacements. I plan on driving this car into the ground, so I should get my money out of these. Scott got us onto the Subase (I learned today that that's the correct way to spell it, not "sub base" as one would expect), and we got a spot in the shop garage. It was a pretty cut-and-dry job, once we figured out the right method. That right front strut just didn't want to come out, and then the new one didn't quite want to go all the way in. Several prybars later, we got the strut to go in and the rest went with no problem. I took it for a spin around the building and immediately noticed how much smoother the ride was. Total cost: $9. Try getting a complete set of struts installed at 3 hours in a garage for that amount.

We were done by 11:30 and I took Scott out for lunch to repay him. I enjoyed a smooth ride home and decided it was time to tackle some of the mess here. I put a bunch of clothes away, did some laundry and changed the sheets. Then the day caught up with me, and a nap was needed. I was awoken by a hungry and pestering Ruthie. While she knows the automatic feeder provides the food, she hasn't caught on to the fact that I don't control it, and still bugs me to feed her.

I figured that was as good a time as any to run to the store and get some groceries. I never get around to shopping during the week, so if I didn't go tonight I knew it would mean a week of eating out. I got pretty lazy about the whole cooking situation last year and despite burning some serious calories climbing, still managed to gain weight. At the beginning of the year I finally cracked down and started being better about bringing lunch to work and making dinner. I'm not sure if I'm saving any money, but I've lost weight and have been more conscientious about eating healthier. I miss the days when I cooked all the time and made all sorts of delicious meals, using a lot of homemade and local-grown foods. Starting N'oap put an end to that, but I want to get back on track this year. I think I'm going to join a CSA, it's just a matter of finding one that's reasonably priced and provides a good selection.

Healthy? No. Amazing? Yes.

The cat laying across my arms tells me it's time to stop typing. This week heralds my return to climbing after a bit of a break, plus bowling and soap/lotion making.

Sugar Shackin'

It was a long week at work, definitely a hard one after being away, so I was super excited when my friend invited me over to a maple syrup making party at her house today. Fire, food, alcohol, and syrup: sounds like the recipe for a perfect Saturday!

I know several people that make syrup, so I knew the process. Stand around, watch it boil, add more. It's not the most exciting thing in the world. But if you invite people over and make a party out of it, you can make the time pass quickly. Make no mistake, making your own syrup in no way saves you any time or money over buying it. Forty gallons of sap needed to make 1 gallon of syrup. Boiling down 40 gallons is not a quick process, and with the amount of wood you go through, you could have easily bought plenty of syrup from your local sugar shack. But that's not the point, is it? It's nice to say you made something, it's nice to know the process, and it makes you appreciate the way things used to be done.

I always have great ideas and intentions, but I'm either too busy or disorganized to pull them off. My friend is me with focus. There was a wonderful brunch, thoughtfully selected to include foods that went well with maple syrup. Homemade hard cider was on tap. Handmade and wrapped salted maple caramels, and maple sugar cookies kept us going through the afternoon. There was even a hand-drawn mural in the mudroom and print-outs of maple leafs that you had to color in and write your "sugar" name on. That's the type of thing I would think was cute to do, but would never get around to putting together. Best of all were the whiskey teas, a wonderful combination of whiskey and syrup from the most-cooked tray in the fire. Cures what ails ya!

Can you say "Perfect Saturday?"

This was one of the more organized set-ups I've seen. Fire blocks creating an area to place the fire, just long enough to fit three pans. One end was open so we could feed the fire, the other end had a chimney. The idea was to have different levels of cooked material in the pans. The one closest to the opening was fresh sap from the buckets. The middle one had been cooked slightly longer, and the one by the chimney was the good stuff, the most boiled-down material. As that tray boiled down, you would then add a few scoops from the middle tray, then replenish the middle tray with sap from the first one, and restock that with sap from the bucket. There was also a strainer so you could skim off the foam, in theory increasing the surface area of exposed sap which should make it cook down quicker.

The challenge seemed to be in getting the fire spread evenly. The middle pan was always boiling at a good clip, but the outer pans were hit-or-miss. You really had to be diligent about moving the wood around and keeping it hot enough to really boil. It would be going well and then you'd walk way to grab a drink or play some cornhole, and all your work would be undone. We definitely went through a good number of buckets today, so I think good progress was made. They said they would probably have it going again tomorrow, as there was more to boil off and still buckets hooked up to the trees.

I had a grand idea of hooking the GoPro up and getting a neat time lapse of maybe the syrup cooking down, or everyone around the fire. Knowing the batteries were crap, I brought my solar charger thinking I could keep the camera going. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and we had neither the warmth nor the sunshine we were promised today. So the camera died after almost 2 hours, and it was the 2 hours right before all the action started. A little disappointing, but what's to be done?

Now I'm all warmed up again, reeking of maple and smoke, and there's a sleeping cat on me. I'm oddly sleepy considering I did nothing more than eat and drink today. But it was lots of fun to hang out, and I got to spend time with a friend I don't see nearly enough of, as well as meet some new ones. That's a pretty good day to me!

No rest for the weary

It's been a busy week since returning home. Work has been non-stop, with reviews, reports, and projects aplenty. I've only partially unpacked, and everything is strewn about my living room. I've been going to work later than normal so I can sleep a little extra, but by the time I get home I'm wiped and don't have the energy to tackle what needs to get done. The good news is that all this laying around means I can work on going through my photos and getting things posted, always a tedious task after any trip. This year, I found that I took fewer photos because I had the GoPro running through the most interesting stretches. And until the last few days, most of the scenery just wasn't all that interesting. So my job is a little easier this time.

The first thing I wanted to tackle was the time lapse of the ferry ride from Newfoundland. I tried GoPro's software and was getting an error after the conversion step. Nothing seemed out of place, as all of the files had images with them, and you could even watch the time lapse within the software, but trying to export it in any way caused a crash. After a day, I gave up on that route and figured my fancy new copy of Photoshop must be able to help.  I found a tutorial somewhere and followed along, but found I could only add 1000 photos at a time, and then I was still having issues getting it into a video. Worse, my brand new high-power laptop was maxing out and having all kinds of issues. Then I realized I was following a tutorial for an older version of PS, so I found one for PS6, and had an easier time of loading all the photos. But there was still an issue somewhere and it told me there was a gap. Some more Googling (seriously, what did we do before that?) told me I should try renaming the files. Did a batch rename and before I knew it I had a complete, functional time lapse. I even had a song picked out, and popped that in, worked out the timing, and was exporting within minutes. This was a good learning exercise and will make my life easier in the future.

There are still hours and hours of other videos to go through. I'm not sure how I want to tackle those, either as separate videos for that day, or try to make some kind of compilation video combining all the videos and some photos. I think I have a song in mind for that, as well, but the task of putting it together is daunting. One clip I did get up was that one of us nearly hitting the plow on Esker road. It's not my smoothest work, but anytime someone stuffs a car in a snow bank it's entertaining.

So far I have up to Wednesday loaded on my Smugmug site, and may even get Thursday up tonight. That's good progress for me. Hell, I think I still have a day or two from last year's trip I never got around to uploading. You can view what I have so far here: Labrador photos.

Much like last year, I came back from this trip with a desire to do something greater with my life, and more importantly, to do a better job of strengthening the relationships I have. I do think I took that to heart last year and spent more time with my friends. If that means I have to be the organizer that tracks everyone down so be it, because in the end we're always glad to have spent the time together. This year, there were several people from CT on the trip, so there really is no excuse to not get together. I look forward to seeing what this year brings. I also hope to do a better job of updating the blog with the smaller outings I take. Maybe it will inspire you to explore what's around you :)

 

So who's going to clean this mess?

Sorry about the missing post yesterday, we were busy driving. The timing of the ferry meant that we were now 12 hours behind schedule, and had some catching up to do. I'm happy to say that I'm typing this from the comfort of my couch in Branford, and I'm eagerly awaiting sleeping in my bed tonight!

The second ferry ride was very, very different from the first, and even from my last time crossing this channel in 2006. After verifying that we weren't trying to start a black market Newfoundland potato farm with smuggled soil and potatoes, we pulled up to the dock to find what appeared to be a small cruise ship. Also of note was that this boat opened on both ends, meaning we didn't have to replicate the elaborate turning around and backing in process of the previous day. Not that it would have been a problem, as there was all of 20 cars on the boat, and 5 of them belonged to us.

Now that's a ferry!

When we got up to the main level, we were smacked in the face with luxury. Computer center? Check. Lounge complete with coffee and snack bar? Check. Gift shop? What ferry is complete without one? There was even a first-class reserved seating area whose lone passenger was kind enough to let us into to snap some pictures. I don't know what animal had to die to make those buttery-soft seats, but it can rest knowing it wasn't in vain. Not only did they recline, but they had a leg rest as well. Both lounges had multiple TVs, each tuned to a different channel that you could listen to ala airline headphone style. There was a second lounge that was closed for the season and we couldn't get into, plus a third one that was a smoothie/ice cream bar, also closed. Then there was the formal dining area, where we could get lunch. There were several options, but I went with one last taste of cod since I figured it would be cooked properly and finally wasn't fried. We were all rather excited by the option of a side salad. Greens! Fresh, wonderful veggies! Plus it came with strawberry shortcake, complete with real whipped cream. There were two major disappointments: 1) Where the hell was all of this when I was stuck there for 32 hours the last time? and 2) The bar would not be opening.

I'm pretty sure these are made with unicorn, they're that awesome.

Dessert is part of the meal!

There was a seating area with a great view ahead of us, so we commandeered a few tables and chairs and quickly mounted our GoPro's. I went with a full time-lapse of the voyage, Blaine shot a time-lapse in facing our table, and Ben moved his around several times. As soon as I can figure out how to speed up the time-lapse and output it, I'll post it, but so far it looks cool.

Blaine and Ben set up their equipment

It was smooth sailing with not much to look at for a long while, but then we started getting into the ice again. This time I got by a window early and was rewarded with a few seal spottings. Soon, though, the ice thickened and there was less and less water visible. The ship didn't even slow down. Clearly, this was a heftier hull than the previous day, as this was the same type of ice that delayed us as we steered around it. This boat just plowed on through, creating some interesting sounds as the bergs banged and ground against the hull. It was really impressive, but most locals said this was an unusually warm winter and the ice wasn't nearly what it should be. I can't even imagine a normal year!

Proving it's what's below the ice you should worry about. Look how big it is!

One of 3 bald eagles spotted

20 hours on boats and these are all the seals I get to see

Before docking we said a few goodbyes as some of us would be driving on while others would get rooms somewhere. Ross was able to book a flight home and found a hotel near the airport, several hours away. All of 5 minutes after leaving the boat, of all people, Dave got tagged for speeding. Blaine and I were in front of him and saw the cop driving in the other direction turn on his lights, wait for traffic to clear, and swing around to catch up. It was a bit of a trap as they pegged him on an uphill in the passing lane as we went around a semi. Thankfully, they let him go with a stern warning and a message to his friends that Nova Scotia wouldn't tolerate that kind of driving. Yeah, I'll keep that in mind.

There were some gas and bathroom stops, and then Ross, Brian, and Sarah left us. While the remaining cars were all heading in the same direction, they indicated they were stopping for coffee, and frankly I just wanted to get a move on at that point. So we took off, and embarked on a very boring drive through New Brunswick. Driving in the pitch black with no other cars and nothing but the road lines is a sure fire way to nod off at the wheel, and soon I was getting very sleepy. Thankfully, Blaine woke from his nap just in time to start talking, which perked me up a bit. We also reached St. John's, and there were finally other things to look at. Just before the border we swapped seats again, as he knew the roads home well. The guard seemed like she was going to give us a hard time, but eventually let us through and we took off, just 3 hours until we were at his house.

About an hour in, we hit some black ice and called the other group to warn them. We were shocked to hear they were just crossing the border at that point. They had fallen behind quite a bit, and I was glad for having not hung around as we were both exhausted and couldn't deal with an extra hour on the road. Blaine knew every bump and twist in the road and got us back with ease around 3 am. We didn't even bother to bring anything in, we just walked in the door and crawled into bed. Unfortunately, my stupid internal timer went off at 6:30, so on not much sleep, I loaded my car and headed home. It was an easy drive and I was back by early afternoon. Just enough time to order a pizza for lunch! Oh, it was so wonderful having flavor again! I shared it with Maggie, who was thrilled to hear about the trip. Feeling an exhaustion migraine coming on, I left and headed to the chiro. After an adjustment, I went up to my parents where I was "greeted" by a suspicious Ruthie. When I hopped into bed, she curled up right next to me, and I knew I had been missed. I woke up to the smell of sauce, and dinner was waiting. Another good meal in me, I showed them some pictures and gave them their maple goods, and managed to grab Ruthie for a return home. The house is a disaster, but I'll tackle it a little at a time. It will take a few days to catch up on sleep, especially since I have to jump right back into work tomorrow. Plus there's the arduous task of uploading pictures and figuring out what to do with all this video. Welcome home, Annette.

Hi mom. I'm going to eat you in your sleep.

I'm on a boat!

Today I learned that me and ferries just aren't a good combination. We knew we had a tight schedule to begin with, but there was a chance we would dock in time and get down to Port aux Basques to catch the second ferry, scheduled to depart at 11pm. I kind of had a feeling it wasn't going to happen, but no guts no glory.

The first indication of trouble was when we left dock 53 minutes late. But an hour was still within the realm of possibility, so we didn't worry too much. Then we noticed there was a bit of ice in the water. It wasn't very long before we were hearing murmurs from the locals that we would be delayed. At this point it was time to start thinking of contingency plans. Plan A: We dock and there's even a glimmer of hope of catching the next boat, so we Cannonball Run it to Port aux Basques. Plan B: We know we can't make the boat and have to catch the morning ferry. Do we stay in Corner Brook and get up early, or drive down tonight through some rough areas, but take it easy in the morning?

When you're stuck on a ferry for any length of time, there are only a few options to prevent insanity: Sleep, walk around, play a game, or watch whatever is on the one tv in the lounge. I went outside briefly to get some pictures while in port during sunrise. Then the brutal wind and cold got annoying, so I went in and took a nap. After that, it was back outside. Basically, Ben, Carl, and I spent pretty equal amounts of time in and out of the cabin. 

I don't entirely remember when, but at some point we went outside and were standing just below the bridge. I'm not sure if we were supposed to be there, the gate leading to it was closed, but there wasn't a sign telling us to stay out. We did notice them coming over to the window and looking at us and Carl commented on how much he really wanted to go in there. Finally, we turned around to head back inside, and all of a sudden a guy appears behind us and asks if we want to have a look around. Um, yes please!

Inside was pretty much what you'd expect, but it was still cool to look at all the instruments and charts. They weren't entirely chatty, but they weren't rude. Any question we had they were happy to answer. But most of the questions came from them about our cars. They really can't believe those little cars can handle that terrain, but they were rather excited about the horsepower and mileage. We were also informed that the ship would definitely be docking late, probably around 9 or 10, after our cut-off. After a while the inevitable question came: Could we mount our GoPros there? Sure! We practically ran back to grab our gear. Several others heard what what going on and followed us back. I made sure to ask before just barging in with 6 people, but they didn't seem concerned. However, in the five minutes since I'd left, it was a completely different mood. Suddenly we were in the ice again and there were four men in the windows looking for thick ice, with I assume the captain calling out headings to the man behind the wheel. I made a hasty retreat after setting up my camera, not wanting to disturb them while they tried to keep us from going Titanic. 

MAPS!

I don't see Ludicrous Speed

After that, a good chunk of time was killed with a disturbingly funny round of Cards Against Humanity. It was kind of surprising who the most shocking answers came from at times. A few of the locals were intrigued by our boisterous laughter and came over to see what was going on. We would show them a few cards, and every one of them broke out in a big grin and chuckled. The Newfies are not prudes, I'll give them that.

Around 8pm I ran up to grab my camera. I found it amusing and unsettling that they just didn't care about me letting myself in. Clearly security is a little different than back home. We still weren't near port, but it was pitch black so I wouldn't have been able to film anything anyway. It also appeared that while I had prepared the camera to do a time-lapse, I hit the video button instead so my memory card had gotten full at some point. We popped it into the laptop and I was relieved to find that it had stopped filming right after sunset. I have almost 4 hours of us just cutting through ice, which I'm very excited to go through. It occurred to me that since I had set up the camera inside the bridge, I picked up any conversations they'd had, including anything about us. The ole fly on the wall! So I will literally sit through all of this hoping to catch just one funny line.

In the end, we docked around 10, and I'm actually typing this in the car so that I can upload it as soon as we get to the hotel. It should take us about 2.5 hours to get there, and Ross called ahead to book rooms. They even transfered our ferry reservations, so everything is good to go in the morning. Once we get to Nova Scotia around 5, it's going to be a mad dash to Blaine's. He thinks we should get there around 5am. I'll sleep for a few hours and then head home, hopefully getting back in the evening. I miss my bed dearly, and I'll have to wait a day, but I'll be happy to see Ruthie again. More than anything, I want a giant salad and all the fruit I can find!

Imagine staring at that for 12 hours

No soup for you!

Today was an interesting one. I went to bed thinking I needed to get up and go snowmobiling. When I got to the dining room, Carl informed me that not only would there not be snowmobiling, as the guide's babysitter got sick, but we also wouldn't be going anywhere because the roads were closed. Awesome. Actually, I was pretty excited, as I loved the little hotel we were at and was kind of pleased with the idea of sitting around doing nothing all day. I had breakfast and we noticed people deicing the helicopter right outside the window. It was a good hour and a half of them prepping this thing, and during that time we decided to head to an eastern route, taking us to the easternmost road in continental North America. As we were ready to pull out, the helicopter took off. What is apparently a common occurrence there was a source of much amusement to us, and the cameras came out in force.

It wasn't much outside of town before we hung a left onto the Iceberg Alley. The roads here have such great names! It was obvious that the wind was whipping and we encountered some blowing snow along the way. But it was nothing compared to the frost-heaved, cratered road as far as hindering us. Finally, we came upon the town of St. Lewis, our destination. After getting sandblasted on an open plain taking pictures, we drove through town to check things out. We saw something called Main Rd and figured that would be a good place to head. It was a very steep slope of pure ice, and once one car lost momentum, several others required a restart from the bottom of the hill. Once we made it to the top, we were greeted by the wind, a stunning view of the bay below, and burning garbage. That's right, we found the town dump. In the middle of this pristine land, where there are signs everywhere telling you not to litter and do your part to keep Labrador beautiful, here was a man shoveling bags of garbage off his truck and lighting them on fire. Then he drove away. It was seriously the saddest thing I've seen.

Enjoy our stunning views!

Don't worry, the fire hazard is low today

 After that bit of depressingness we turned around and headed back to the hotel. Along the way we saw an oil truck going out of town. The driver was a guy we had spoken to at the hotel, and he was heading the same way we were. So when we saw the truck, we knew the road must be open again. At this point it was early afternoon and we knew it was a short-ish drive to the town we needed to get to. Apparently some people felt that a lunch break wasn't a good idea in case the road closed again, but honestly I think we could have. There were some drifts, but really the roads were fine and visibility was better than when we'd driven up the day before. However, it did provide us with some great sunset lighting over the gorgeous landscape. Today made up for yesterday's borefest and then some. It reminded me a lot of the road from Eagle Plains to Inuvik last year. Rolling hills, little to no trees, whipping winds, and massive snow banks!

We came across a guy clearing the road. He said he'd been working since Monday and hadn't been home in all that time. I guess that means I can't complain about storm duty at work anymore. He was more than happy to let us take pictures and check out his awesome snow-eating machine. Once we were frozen, we went on our way again. Eventually, we broke out of the plains and made it to the coast, and were greeted with more great vistas. Thankfully, we found asphalt again, which made driving much more comfortable. We found the B&B and learned that 3 people would have to stay in a separate cabin up the road. Carl, Blaine, and I took that option, and we're loving it. It's the most modern thing we've stayed in all trip, complete with kitchen, LCD flat-screen, two bedrooms, bathroom, and fold-out couch.

Taken while standing out of the sunroof. Yeah, it was a bit chilly.

Connecticut needed this thing after the blizzard

Before the sun totally set, we headed just outside town to find a big sign welcoming us to Newfoundland and Labrador. Took a few pictures and FINALLY were able to eat something. But not just anything! That's right, we finally found some caribou on the menu, along with bakeapple pie. Bakeapple is also called cloudberry, and as the name implies, is a berry, orange with large seeds like a black berry. It wasn't super sweet and I can't say it's my favorite, but they apparently love it up here. Also of note, Carl ordered the first-ever bacon poutine in Forteau Bay, Newfoundland. Because as we all know, bacon makes everything better.

Tomorrow is a 20 minute drive to the ferry, but we have to be there by 6am. Then it's a 12 hour ride to Corner Brook, Newfoundland, then a mad dash to Port aux Basque to catch the second ferry to Nova Scotia. If you recall, this is the ferry I got stuck on in 2006 for 32 hours. So do whatever happy sea dance you know and sacrifice something to Neptune, because I swear I'll jump overboard if I get stuck on this boat again!

If it's not fun why do it?

Here's everything you need to know about today:

Just imagine that for 10 hours, and you've got it. It was mind-numbing. It also had me thinking that maybe this will be my last Arctic MINI drive. Last year just set the bar way too high as far as scenery and adventure. Whereas last year I was scaring myself on a daily basis and expanding my driving skills, this year I've pretty much set the cruise control and taken a nap. And when you have 10 hours of driving with nothing to look at, you'd hope to at least be driving in a spirited manner to keep your interest, but it's not happening. I really enjoy once we get to town and I can hang out and chat with everyone, so I think I just want to get the driving over with and start having fun.

I did get to have some delicious A&W today, even if I couldn't finish it all. But that root beer float really hit the spot! Unlike previous years, we haven't even seen a trace of caribou. There was a fox in the road today and loads of ptarmigan, but that's it on the wildlife front. Also of note were the occasional white-out conditions on the Trans-Lab. At least for a few moments I had to pay attention to what I was doing.

The hotel we're at is a welcome change from the previous few nights. The rooms are nothing special, but they're clean and the woman running it is just lovely. She was also running the kitchen, so our large group proved quite a task for her. But I don't think they get much traffic through here in the winter and they appreciated the money we brought in, enough so to bring us a round of beer from St. John's. It's made with iceberg water!

Here's a few other random shots from today. I stopped taking pictures after a while because there are only so many trees you can look at. I didn't have an option, but I won't subject you to the pain.

Carl fluffs his beard to look pretty for the camera

We think it was a silver tail fox

 Something about a camera makes people do stupid things:

"Thanks for not being a stereotype!"

Today I woke up with one thing in mind: get the hell out of Fermont! Second on that list was tear across the 20k to Labrador City and go to the Horton's there. It's a sad state of affairs when you're excited about the food at a Tim's, but at least I know there was some form of health inspection there. As is typical, Ross had other plans in mind, and instead of the speedy escape from hell I'd hoped for, he took us on a tour of the city. Let's see, there was snow, a lot of snow, and a crap ton of snow. We even stopped at a snow mountain, an artificial mound that they build every winter with the excess snow from the town. The workers seemed awfully confused by the idiots in tiny cars watching them dump snow over a cliff. Then we saw a big truck. I guess it's a mining truck. I didn't bother to get out of the car to learn more, I just wanted some caffeine.

Did I mention how shady this place was?

Unless it was filled with coffee, I had zero interest.

 Finally we hit the road out of town and within minutes were over the border. The first thing you'll notice about the people of Labrador is that they speak English. The second thing you'll notice is that they're REALLY frigging friendly! We were pulling into a spot at the Horton's the same time as a guy coming from the other row. He saw us, waved us in, and just backed up into a different spot. People smiled and said hello and held doors for us. I didn't have to try to interpret things or use charades to order my food. It was wonderful! Also wonderful: my Bagel BELT. That's Bacon, egg, lettuce, and tomato, plus cheese, and dammit it was tasty! I started eating it so quickly, my deprived stomach couldn't keep up and it hit me like a ton of bricks. First cup of coffee in 3 days was also music to my brain.

So long, Queebs!

I saw this sign several places in Lab City. I guess the selling of cars is a big problem there.

Since we really didn't have far to drive, we decided to attempt a side route that headed toward Esker. It would take us the same latitude as Radisson, when we went to Hudson Bay, but there was no way of knowing if it had been plowed or not. We saw the turn off and figured we'd go until we couldn't. For some reason we let the RWD car take the lead, and we in the Landy followed. Brian looked like he was having lots of fun drifting around the bends. Right up until we nearly collided with a massive plow. I have video of all this, but the crappy internet here is making the upload take forever. You'll have to wait a day.

We continued on a ways and Blaine got out to have some fun with Brian on the ride back. I took over the Landy and Sarah's back got some relief courtesy of our air-ride suspension. The group split in two, those looking to have some fun and those that just didn't want to crash. I think I did a decent job of steering the boat around in the snow and nearly keeping up with Brian. When we reached the end, Carl pulled in behind me and thanked me for not being a stereotype. I asked if that was in reference to being in an SUV or my gender, and he said the latter. That's right, pal, girls can drive, too! While we waited for the last two cars to catch up, Blaine decided to chance eating one of the rather stale pastries. A few bites in he realized the error of his ways and chucked it into the snow. In a way, I feel like a missionary, converting the local wildlife with my zeppole for the Feast of St. Joseph. One little bird noticed them, and took a bite. You could clearly see his little bird tastebuds go crazy as it was unlike the usual dead things he has to scavenge for in this winter wasteland. Then his little bird friend appeared and a turf war broke out as their first introduction to sugar blew their minds.

Best day of my bird life EVER!

"I'm Carl, and I'll be your guide to Labrador today."

After that, it was a very bumpy but boring ride into Churchill Falls. We had stayed here in 2007, and I'm pretty sure not one thing has changed. This is the hotel/grocery store/library/post office/restaurant building and gets a lot of traffic. Some locals noticed Dave pull in and said "Look! A MINI!" I said more were coming and we started chatting. Did I mention how friendly the people are here? They were interested in where we were from, what we'd seen, where we were heading, and of course, if we'd toured the hydro plant. As I took the tour last time, I elected to pass as did Blaine, but the rest of the group was going later. We checked in to our smoke free rooms and met in the restaurant for a quick dinner before they had to take off. It's kind of nice to just have a night to relax and do nothing. Tomorrow is our longest day, as we pass through Happy Valley/Goose Bay and move on to Port Hope Simpson.