Day One to Alberta

My original plan was to start our journey bright and early in the morning. So my whole trip was completely mapped out with that in mind.  By the time we had cleaned the apartment, returned the keys, returned the cable tv equipment and had some lunch, it was 2pm.  Oops!  There was no more delaying, it was time to get started!

Into the car we get - oops, better fill with gas first, or we won't be going very far!  NOW it was time to head away!

The first part of the journey was driving to Edmunston, New Brunswick.  0 - 612km.

The drive was rather pleasant, very little traffic, and good roads most of the way.

Goodbye Nova Scotia!

Hello New Brunswick!

We had some spectacular views along the way.

It was Emily who first noticed something odd about the exit signs - they were shaped to fit the numbers, rather than the standard size we were used to in Nova Scotia.

The other thing we noticed - a TON of warning signs....

....and I guess they work, because they kept the moose away  :)  I didn't see a single one - although Caitlin said she did see one in some trees.

Train tracks in the middle of the highway - thank god there were no trains coming!

And what's a road trip without a funny story.....

So I was cruising along, and we came across some roadworks.  The usual orange cones directing traffic into one lane. So I'm driving down the open lane, and have the orange cones continuing along beside me. And then there was an on-ramp to merge in - so it was here that there was a bit of a mess of cones and it was hard to work out what was going on.  There was no one else around - no workers, just the cones, and at this point, I was the only car.  I went around a bend, still continuing in the lane that was "open", and then a car went passed me in the OTHER lane.  Just up ahead, I could see another car in that lane too.  So now I'm really confused.  The cones originally were very clear that the right hand lane was closed off, but had it changed?  So now I have no idea if I'm in the open lane or the closed lane.  Still no one else around, but now we have cars in both lanes. God knows how they got into that other lane?  And then, just when I didn't know whether to panic or laugh, the cones just stopped as if they were never there..... What the heck was all *that* about?  Oh well, it gave us all a good laugh!


Now, it was suggested that I stop for the night in Edmunston, NB, as this was the last english speaking town before we get to Quebec.  Boy, were we in for a very big surprise!!  Yes, the town is bilingual, but it is predominantely French. Everyone greeted us in French first, then quickly switched when faced with the blank looks.

Once we settled into our room, it was off to find a place for dinner.  We decided to try out Boston Pizza - lovely place, excellent service. They quickly changed our French menus for English ones, which was very handy.  However, the dessert menu on the table was in French. Who needs dessert anyway  :)

Back to the hotel, a few quick emails to family so they knew we were still alive, and then it was straight to sleep for our long day of driving ahead!

The prep work to getting to Alberta

After months of paperwork, money and a fair bit of stress, my work permit was finally issued for my new job in Alberta! Once the work permit was through, it was all systems go to get everything sorted out - I had to give notice on the apartment, give my resignation at work, arrange for a moving company, decide on a start date for the new job, organise the girls......the list was never ending!!!

All in all, it took just over three weeks to get everything sorted.  Packing was the worst job ever - its amazing how quickly you accumulate junk in a short two years!  And I'd be damned if I was going to pay to move junk to Alberta!  I think the landlord was getting a little bit annoyed with the amount of garbage we were tossing.  Oh well...

I had the moving company all sorted - they would be here by the end of the month, and then we could jump in the car and start our little trek across country.  If only it were that easy....

I still hadn't had a date confirmed by the moving company.  So I called them, and was again assured they'd be there before the end of the month.  Then on the 30th, still no word, so I called again and asked if they realise it was the end of the month now?  To be told that the moving truck was over on PEI for the day.  I was then given the option to PAY a priority fee to get him to come out that night between 7pm - 11pm.  Yeah, that would go down well having a moving company show up that late in an apartment building.

Thankfully they showed up the next morning, bright and early.  Yippee!!!  I had all my boxes sorted and ready to be loaded!

The guys were pretty impressed at how organized I was, even to the point of dismantling everything myself.  The only problem I had with them - they showed up with no tape!  Who goes on a job with NO TAPE?????  Thankfully I had a TON of rolls of tape, which I gladly donated.  In return, I scored premium packing on the tv and keyboard, and didn't get charged for the extra bits and pieces.  And as a bonus - I now didn't have a dozen rolls of tape to bother with!

Once the movers had gone, we were left with a rather empty looking apartment with a ton of cleaning to do.  The worst of it was the kitchen.  Now, due to the move, I hadn't really been buying much in the way of groceries.  I was trying to clear out the freezer and cupboards from the hoards of stockpiling I had accumulated (thank you Costco!).  Unfortunately, now that we were down to the last couple of days, it was obvious we weren't going to be able to eat it all. So I "donated" to everyone at work, and chucked the rest.  Such a waste, but had to be done.

Next up was sorting out the stuff to go in the car.  I had decided to limit the car packing to one suitcase each - even though its a decent sized car, the luggage space is pathetic. Plus we were taking a few things with us that we'd need straight away when we arrive in Alberta.  Yeah, great plan....

So I get home from doing a chore, and Emily had come up with a great plan to put ALL the stuff to go in the car into the now empty living room.  OMG!  What a mess!!!  Time to start panicking - how the HELL are we going to fit ALL that into the car!!!???

So after a bit more rearranging, throwing out a lot more unnecessary stuff that doesn't need to make the trip across country, and quite a few promises of "yeah yeah, we'll buy a new one when we get there", it was time to now play tetris - adult style!!

It took almost an hour, but I did it - everything loaded in, all nooks and crannies totally filled, and still able to see out my windows and mirrors!

Filled to the brim!

Even the gerbils get their own little space

And yes, I can still see fine!

So now the car was packed up with no room to spare, it was time to head off!  WooHoo!!!!