Ready for another adventure!

It's hard to imagine that a whole year has gone by since my epic adventure to the Arctic. Life got pretty busy after that, and I regret not keeping up with the blog. After all, you don't have to leave home to have an adventure!

I've taken today off to tend to the 500 things that need to get done before I head to Maine tomorrow. It's a busy morning when you need a nap at 10:30. Laundry is in the wash, rent is paid, ran to the store for coffee for the Jetboil, got the car gassed up. Last night I took care of the really important stuff and got a batch of soap made.

Isn't this part of everyone's pre-trip checklist?

So, where are we off to this time? Labrador! Haven't we been there before, you ask? Yes, but we have good reasons to return. First of all, the Trans-Labrador highway has expanded since we were last there. Now we can go even further into the middle of nowhere! But the real draw lies in the Ice Dragon. If you're into driving fun roads, you're aware of the Tail of the Dragon in North Carolina, with its 318 curves in 11 miles. We found something similar, only on ice and without the overwhelming police presence. After this year, it will be replaced with a very boring and safe stretch of straight road. We simply couldn't resist another pass (or two).

A while back, our fearless tour guide Ross created a Google map of our route. I'm not sure how accurate it is at this point as several plans had to change on account of the terrible winter they seem to be having. Our ferry ride down the Gulf of St. Lawrence is not happening due to ice, so we will be making a return to Newfoundland. If you know of my last attempt to take a ferry to Newfoundland, you'll understand why I'm a bit apprehensive about this leg of the trip.

I will NOT be eating the eggs this time!

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I'm again hoping to keep updating from the road, but can't make any promises. Internet connectivity is pretty hit-or-miss up there. There will be a lot of video this year as I've finally purchased a GoPro. No more holding my camera on bumpy roads trying to get a steady-ish shot. There will definitely be pictures from Quebec City on Sunday, as the Winter Carnival draws to a close. We caught this the last time we came through and it was a lot of fun. Hoping to actually see the Ice Hotel this time, and there's a lot of talk of "Maine tuxedos" being broken out for our last real dinner before leaving civilization. We've got a great group again, and I look forward to laughing until it hurts.

There is much packing to still be done, as well as house cleaning. No one wants to come back from a vacation high and scrub the toilet. Good thing I have my trusty helper to assist me.