Last Day Across Canada: Sudbury to Montreal yay!

So my last night on the road was in Sudbury. I regretted choosing it, cause the bigger the city, the harder it is to find where the motels are, and find the better ones. I did find a motel strip, but they all looked skeevy. I didn't care, just chose one. It was laughably terrible. The wifi and tv were both crap, so I didn't post. But that helped me get to bed, and then I got the hell out of there in the AM. Determined to make it to Montreal!

So... what are these? I kept seeing them.

I drove in my socks most of the time. 

Hard to see, but this is one of those blue road signs with the Helpful Tips! 

Smoke shacks, I think.

I started crossing off the cities I went through.

Nice sunny day.

I always made one little stop along the way, in search of gas or coffee. I think this was Mattawa. very cute. I drove around a bit.

They had these wood statues all over town. 

Then back on the road...

Water water everywhere...

 I thought I had a picture of the lines in the road they make for air patrolled traffic. Whenever I'd see a sign saying the traffic was tracked by a plane, I noticed yellow lines on the road. I wonder how that works. 

North Bay... Mattawa... Deep River...

More construction! Good heavens. There were a lot of bridges being improved or widened or something.

I decided to go through Ottawa, rather than around it. Cause it's very cute, our capitol city, and I hadn't been in awhile. But they had major construction going on. Got stuck in bumpery to bumpery stuff... nothing like that in Nanaimo!

Swiss Girl was complaining that terrace season (sitting outside a restaurant) hadn't started. I told her it would come when I did, and to prove I was right I took a pic of this terrace in Ottawa.

The big fancy hotel. Swiss G used to live there--in Ottawa, not at the hotel. Though it was her fave spot for a drinkypoo.

Can just see Parliament behind this wall.

Great art museum.

Stuck in traffic, I was able to get you a nice picture of Mother, who stands outside the museum. I saw one in London too.

In traffic, I was stuck behind a super villain.

One of the many embassies.

The mint.

The construction.

I just wanted out of there so followed my nose to a route I was pretty sure headed eastward. Well, it did--it went along the river. But at some point I zigged when I should have zagged and ended up in... the sign says Orleans! I'm in France! Actually it appeared to be the Suburbia Capitol of the World. I got stuck, driving around in circles, lost, and the whole town was a middle class suburb. Weirdest thing I've ever seen. Ever!

Finally got the hell out, and onto a little country highway headed for Montreal.

I couldn't tell which province I was in, but the farmhouses changed--they were these cute little brick things.

  

 

I made sure to have one peanut butter cookie in each province, and here we have the celebratory Quebec cookie! We're homes! 

How did I know I was in Quebec, when my route didn't pass the official signage? Well the signs all turned French, with the occasional wee English at the bottom. (Sorry, it's very hard to photograph things on the fly, trying not to get distracted from one's driving.)

And that's it! Home home home! 

It's been great. I have a lot of organizing to do in the apartment, but I'm very happy. I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be. And should soon have a job with a thrift store charity here, so no job hunting to do.

And I gots my fambly back. :-)

Second to last day: Nipigon to Sudbury

Alright, we're back in the cowboy hotel in Nipigon...

Cut my bangs using nail scissors.

Very scenic driving--looked more like what I expected the Rockies to look like, than the Rockies did. Forest and lakes and steep hills. I stopped at a cute tea house in the hills and had Godiva Rooibos in a disposable French press cup! Look at that!

My colleague-friendies' Tim Hortons and Subway gift cards kept me in food through the whole rest of the trip.

This whole area of Ontario is lake lake lake.

Some frozen.

The first gas stop I made, in Kenora, it was all full-servicey which caught me off guard. I commented on it and the guy said, "This is Ontario." And indeed most of the gas stations were full service. Well, at least this way I got someone else to check my oil.

Doo doo doo traveling along!

We had fun, my stuffies and I.

There were a lot of Moose warning signs, so I was determined, I was SURE, I would see a moose. A moose moose moose! I was determined!

Huzzah! [These pics are all bigger if you click on them.] This truck and I stopped and waited for this moose who walked slowely and carefully across the road.

Then just when the truck was going to start again... bing! Out came a littler moose, running across! It hadn't learned yet that you're supposed to go slow. "Mommy wait for me weeeee!" 

It stopped at the side of the road and tap danced a bit, and then followed the mommy. Yay! Mooses!

This drive was beautiful, but it was challenging. Like, you couldn't do it on auto-pilot. Lots of twists and hills and construction.

Many times it was overcast, but that made for easy driving at least.

I listened to an audiobook, but the rest of the time I listened to music. I was really enjoying myself. Singing, driving.

 More of these mispelled-for-no-reason businesses. Cruz Deliveries.

Mohawk Motel. Dude with a headdress. Guys, we are not in the Prairies anymore, and that is not the kind of headdress a Mohawk wears. 

 Even though the Aboriginal community of Kenora is 15%, but half the townies I saw were Native. In fact I saw a lot more Aboriginal people throughout most of Canada, than I do in Montreal. Quebec has the second lowest population in Canada, and I would guess that many of them are North of Montreal.

Sunset! Time to find a town and a motel.