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Newfoundland

So we took the bus from Deer Lake and finaly made it to St. Johns Newfoundland. The buses in Newfoundland all stop at the Irving Gas Stations and pick people up there and then they pay on the bus once it gets back on the road again. You don't have to mark your luggage or book ahead of time. The bus comes everyday at the same time.

Here's the area were going to try to live in. We have an appointment tonight to check out a loft in one of them. On the second floor with sky lights and hard wood flooring. We really hope we get it because trying to find a place to rent here is no easy task. Most places to rent are over a grand a month.

Also most stores have help wanted signs in the front windows. So it shouldn't be to hard to find work here, tonight we'll print off resumes so that tomorrow we can hopefully get jobs. There's a lot we need to do now that were finally here.

It also feels weird being so close the ocean and so far from British Columbia. Though at the same time it's all exciting and new. We got a deal tonight on our hotel room. They only had two hundred dollar rooms left, and when we went to leave one of the hosts saw all the stuff we've been carrying around and gave us a one of the two hundred dollar rooms for just over one hundred.

Homeless

So we left the van behind in Deer Lake to be towed to St. Johns a few weeks from now. We took what we could carry and drag our things from place to place. Here were waiting for the bus from Deer Lake to St. Johns, in the rain of course. Not a sunny day here yet.

Troubles in Deer Lake

So thirty kilometers from Deer Lake was the last bit of life out of the van. We had it towed back to Deer Lake, where in two weeks it will be towed to St. Johns once we settle down (if we do). It was sad to see it being towed, but even more sad to leave it behind. One grows quite attatched to their vehicles, especially the ones you can live in..

Nova Scotia

So we arrived in Nova Scotia and suddenly, the skies cleared, the sun shone, birds chirped. When suddenly, we ran into Mr. Earl. Hurricane Earl. All the power was down which meant we couldn't get any more gas, not that we could really keep the van on the road anyways the wind was blowing so hard. So we stopped and found a campsite. In the campsite everyone was walking around in shorts and t-shirts drinking beer while kids in bathing suits swam in the puddles made by Earl. Even though the wind was howling and the rain coming down in sheets, everyone seemed to be having a good time.

We stayed in Northern Sydney at the closest park to the ferry. And then the morning of the ferry we got there on time, got in line and then waited about two hours if not longer for the ferry to finaly start boarding. Once on board and on the go we got called to the office to be told that the van was leaking gas under the deck. But that wasn't the least of our worries.

Lots of ducks were attracted to the cement from the sea. Actually theres a lot of birds here that we've never seen before, and were almost positive we seen a stork a few days ago. We havn't seen any puffins yet, only eaten puffin poop (Yogurt covered raisons).

Here's the ferry that we took to Port Aux Basques. It was about six hours to get there and I was sea sick for about all of them. Which was weird seeing as how I lived on the Black Sea for two weeks through storms and all, and then one measly ride to Port Aux Basques and I can't look out a window or stand up without feeling queezy.

Waiting For Hurricane Earl

So tonight there's supposed to be a hurricane hitting the maritimes. The worst of it is supposed to hit from eight tonight until two in the morning. So far, all we've had is a nice warm breeze. But here's a picture of where we'll be waiting it out anyways. Nice little camping site.

I guess the worst of it is supposed to hit Newfoundland. We never thought we would finaly arrive and there would be a hurricane. It's only a class two so it shouldn't be too too bad anyways. We had steak, caeser salad and chef salad for dinner.

Here's a picture of Keenan flying into the van.

Gunther's Shop

So we stopped in at the Volkswagen dealership today and they told us about Gunther. He printed us out a map and all the directions and wished us good luck. We got lost a few times trying to find the place (story of the trip) We arrived to a lot filled with Volkswagen everything.

Here's our rearview mirrors new mystical dreamcatcher that we found for two bucks. In the background though you can see the shop. They have so many Volkswagen parts that they even fill up the other Volkswagen's on the lot up to the roof with them.

Here you can see just some of the old Volkswagen's on the lot. Also you can see in the vans all of the spare parts. They even had some diesel cars. They sound like little tracters.

Here's there most recent project. This van was super nice with a brand new paintjob and everything up on the hoist. I didn't ask about the year or make but it definitily looks a lot like our van. I would say it's a seventy something.

So the verdict on the van is that to fix the misfiring and compression problems, we would pretty much have to rebuild the motor and order in the very rare fuel pump. So they took everything apart anyways and checked to see if there was anything they could do to make it run at least a bit better but it's pretty much hooped. So they put it back together for free and said to just take it easy the rest of the way.

And here is the first and probobly only Volkswagen truck I've ever seen. It was a little standard and looked like something probobly from the eighties. It actually had the similar looking front end as the old 86' Scirocco.

New Brunswick

So were in Fredrickton, New Brunswick for the night. New Brunswick is beautiful. We havn't seen the ocean yet but were getting close. Were having a bit of trouble with the van so we're going to make a trip to the Volkswagen dealership tomorrow. Yay! Other than that were actually making pretty good time.

Poutine Dans Quebec

So of course we stopped and had some good old fashioned poutine in Quebec. It was fantastic. They had the real cheese curds and everything. I found it's not as filling as the poutine in British Columbia, you can actually eat that and feel like you've had just enough. Not eat that and feel like your going to have a heart attack.

Gas Stations In Quebec Sell..

Giant Beers!! Seriously though, every gas station you hit has beer of all sizes, even ones bigger than this. We bought one just because we couldn't believe the size of it. Were going to try and save it for Keenan's upcoming birthday.

I mean look at the size of this bad boy. Thats roughly three regular size beers in one. And why do they sell them at gas stations? Are they promoting drinking and driving? And for a case of twenty four, its about twenty five bucks. That's like a buck a beer!!

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Quebec Road Signs

So we've been brushing up on our french. All of the signs in Quebec are dans francais! Actually Keenan learned to say "Anglais" french for English. Went to a gas station and the lady started talking to him in french, and he points to himself and goes, "anglais".. and she pointed to herself and said "francais". It was pretty funny..

And in Quebec not only do they have the maximum speed limit but the minimum speed limit. What would you call the ticket you get for going to slow? A turtle ticket?! And in the van when it overheats Im sure we were in the red zone for that ticket a few times.

We didn't take any pictures of Montreal. We drove through it in the middle of the night so there would be next to no traffic. But even then, your on overpass over overpass over overpass over highway, with planes taking off overhead and lights flashing from buildings into the smog. It was insane.

Waiting For The Van To Cool Down..

So one of our recent past times is waiting for the van to cool down. In which we pass the time reading or playing guitar. Or just doing nothing really. We usually go about an hour at a time driving and then a half hour to hour waiting for the van to cool down. It's been super humid and hot so the heat is unbearable. Here is Keenan playing some tunes for the other people in Quebec pumping gas, or waiting for their vehicles to cool down.

Here is me dying in the heat waiting to get back onto the road. Quebec was tricky to get through. Montreal is probobly the biggest city in Canada I've ever been in. It's overpass over overpass over highways, while planes are taking off overhead and flashing lights light up the smog.

And here's how clean we keep the van on the road. And for those of you worried that we drink and drive if you spot the beer, don't worry were saving that for Keenan's upcoming birthday. And the size of that beer will go in another blog.

The Traczyk Family

This was taken right before we left Geulph, Ontario and headed back onto the old dusty trail. Though Sandra left early for work and isn't in the picture. :(. From left to right, Keenan's Uncle Jeff, Cousin Dylan, Uncle Andrew, Cousin Colton, me, Grandpa Ed, Grandma Joan & of course Keenan.

It took a while for our photographer to get the shot of the whole family. So we had a few takes before actually getting Keenan's family all together. But we did it! We had such a great time in Guelph. Thanks again to everyone for an awesome time.