We're Off Again! Day...16

After a lengthy hiatus from travelling, we completed our third leg of the trip from Medicine Hat to Regina. The trip was rather straight and uneventful, which is exactly what I would expect of travelling in southern Saskatchewan. Although, we did see a couple of guys travelling in a U-Haul truck with another trailer behind them almost lose their entire trailer due to a flat. I'm sure they couldn't even see the trailer, but we saw the whole thing unfold, from the time their trailer tire was flat as they past us, to the time the tire blew off in a hail of blue smoke. They still went another 10km on the rim and axle before realizing the entire corner of the trailer was dragging. A potential flat tire was one of the primary reasons we opted to go with a tandem setup for our long journey.

As we drove along, it seemed odd to me seeing names of towns that were unfamiliar. Herbert, Chaplin, Mortalich...all towns I've never heard of mostly cause I've never driven this far East before. I've been to Brandon, MB, but it was my pre-driving years and I was likely sleeping the entire trip. I must say the roads are rather rough and makes for a bumpy ride. It's my guess that the province keeps them this way to keep people awake on those long stretches of road. One highlight of this section was the prairie sunset, which is a tough sight to match anywhere in Canada. I'm sure there will be some magnificent sunsets in store for us on the island. The moonrise was also noteworthy as we saw it's large, orange glow low on the horizon. So, all in all, Saskatchewan isn't as dull and boring as everyone seems to make it out to be.

I just heard a yawn, only 3 hours past Liam's usual bedtime. He was pretty wired this evening and had trouble going down. Little Alaina is sound asleep already and should give Shan a few good hours of shuteye at least. At least they're settled, which is why I'm able to write this. Alaina is starting to show some signs of teething already...well, almost nearly the same time as Liam did according to Shan journal. If we don't manage to find some tablets or something, it should make for some interesting driving stretches. Liam has been asking to go home lately. It's tough to explain to an almost 3-year old that our new home is far away and the old home is no longer that. He still thinks that the Brewster's is his home though. I can't really blame Liam for all the confusion...some days it feels like we are truly "homeless" in the sense that we don't have a place to call our own. Hopefully in the not so distant future we'll be able to settle once again and have some normalcy to every day life.

Next stop is Winnipeg...I believe about 6 hours from here. I'm hoping there is something interesting in between to stop at for a short while. It'll be interesting to see the landscape change from mountains, to flat prairies with no water, to hilly regions with lots of water...and then actually being surrounded by water! I'm also hoping that we can repack our 100 lb suitcase into perhaps two 50 lb suitcases because the big one is going to do a number on my spine. Until next province...good night.

Day 6

Here we are finished Day 6, at my place of birth, the city that raised me. How odd it is that we are currently staying in Shan's house that she grew up in. We're stopped in Medicine Hat for about 10 days to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday and to also help create some renovated space downstairs. Hopefully I can make Mike Holmes proud.

We stayed two days in Calgary with our gracious hosts "The Corkums", and managed to get around to a few "lucky" friends, to share some dinner and laughs before we left. Unfortunately, we missed seeing many people, as our proposed five day stay in Calgary got condensed into two days. I know you will forgive us, as you are those types of friends we cherish. Liam was very happy to see his old pals and is still talking about visiting them. I got to experience the fish shopping mecca known as Outdoor World, "a magical land of retail" that was somewhat reminescent of the fabled StuffMart. Calgary has certainly outgrown my capacity to tolerate the traffic, the construction, the hustle and bustle of the big city. For whatever reason, I kept wondering were all the water was? Oh yes, Alberta doesn't have any.

Back to the Hat. Our three hour leg of the journey East went smoothly, too smoothly on that straight, flat road. I was glad to be done driving such a small stint, however, I know that the stretch coming up will be just as flat, just as straight, and longer too! I'm hoping Shan can get some fun in while were here, as I'll be tied up with framing, electrical, and other DIY items that are long overdue.

I feel somewhat out of place right now, and I'm sure Shan and Liam feel the same way. It's one thing to long for the home you have when you are away from it, but what about when you don't really have a home? There is one waiting for us in PEI, but it doesn't seem real to us just yet as we haven't experienced living there. As much as your parents make you feel welcome in their home (by giving up their Queen bed for a futon...crazy!), it's just not your home. We've had these feelings for the past year, settled but not really settled enough to call it your own. I'm sure much of these feelings are from visiting people in the homes they've built, worked hard for, or perhaps it's from driving by our very first home in Calgary. I hope that there is some place in Canada that one day, we can call our own again.

I'll likely give a reno update or two, but not much will come of this blog until we hit the road again. 'Till next time, God bless.

Travis