My blog post from the Flying J just outside Tucson Arizona.
Cold, tired, relatively hungry and not at all expecting to find myself shifting through this thought process that I have wondered over to in the last few days. Who am I? What power do I have over the US government? Why would I risk losing any chance I have to come back here again and visit the great and wonderful people I have met along the way? I know it's stupid, the people I have met in the United States know it's stupid and have voiced that quiet angrily. My friends, family and everyone I have met back in Canada think it's stupid. So, I guess I will be the bigger person in all this and follow the ridiculousness that is American Homeland Security and I shall vacate the US in a an organized and timely fashion. I will not even go into the gong show that was the New Mexico Homeland Security and their bully/intimidation games with this now nervous and paranoid Canadian traveller. All I will say is I do in fact have some video footage of being tailed for approximately fifteen minutes at one point and two other situations of being tailed for between three to five minutes on both occasions. Is Canada really your enemy? Do you really want to do that? I once heard from a little birdie that people like Canada and Canadians, do you really want to go and make an enemy out of us? I can say with confidence and absolutely no hesitation that doing so would in fact be one of the dumbest things you have ever done in the history of the United States.
Ok, now onto what I have decided to do. I am as you have already read; sitting at a Flying J travel centre along I 10 somewhere between Tucson and Phoenix. Yesterday was a day that could have probably been broken up into a week but I made it through and I do actually have some amazing footage. Let me start from the point where things pick up...Literally lol Driving along I 10 on one of the windiest days in my history. I find myself yet again, face to face with a Tornado. Now, this one would probably not even registered but when you see them and you experience the brutal power of the winds and debris they produce...you don't really give a crap that it probably wouldn't register. It's violent regardless. Once I stepped on the gas and got my butt out of there (the smart girl that survives all the horror movies) I realized the fun was actually just beginning. The only term I know to use here is (shit canned) sorry! I could have gone with pelted, or bombarded or even ambushed but shit canned is what I came up with at the time so that is what I am going to use here. :-) Two words...Texas Tumbleweeds!!!! As I have told a could people, these things look so fluffy and innocent on tv lol in real life they are huge bushes coming at your car like a heat seeking missile. they hit and explode and you can see them coming for miles and no matter how you try to adjust your speed they seem to just find you. The giant weeds in my grill were tolerable it was the massive chevy sized bushes coming at me from the side. I don't know if you have ever played frogger but that was my day in a nut shell yesterday. Texas Tumbleweed frogger. I lost ;-)
Anyway, more on that day later. For now I must hit the road and figure out where to stay tonight. I should be in San Diego by tonight maybe even south of that. I am upset that I have to leave so early but I am excited to get back to Canada. Only because I said I wouldn't work in the US and I have in fact held up my end. There have been a couple people keeping this trip going from behind the scenes and I will make sure they are given the credit they more than deserve. So getting back and starting to work again will be the first step in saving money and planning my next tour. lol probably wont be called the Kindness tour but we shall see ;-)
So there you have it. My decision is made and if you are my mother or know me at you will know that once I have made up my mind there is really no changing it. Sometimes that works in my favour sometimes....not so much lol
West Coast here I come!!! anyone there wanting to meet up or shelter me and Pepper for a night feel free to email. I look forward to the final stages of this trip and other than the winter wonderland which awaits me, I am excited to be heading home. Carla...hope you are ok with getting your house painted about a month earlier :-)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Kalachandji's to King Spa & Sauna
Rolling into Texas on November 25th I was suddenly struck with a harsh reality. There is such thing as cold weather. After driving about forty five minutes, Pepper decided it was once again time to ...well...pull over. As I had just left Louisiana a short time ago I was hesitant to hit the next rest stop but as you all know, when the dogs gotta go the dogs gotta go :-) As well as having the AC cranked I had to have the window up as tight as they would go or the rear-view mirror and windows would fog up. And I mean fog up! Non of this light mist over the bottom of the glass. I mean a full fledged can't see, driving by sound kind of fog. Again, this was for pepper as the humidity tends to get to him after a little while; not because I am sick and twisted and like to freeze my butt off while driving in 80/30 degree heat. Anyway, my usual routine for that would be to drive for a bit, pull into a rest stop, get out of my car and warm up by walking around outside. Yesterday was where the harsh reminder came into play. I pulled into the first rest stop just after the state line dividing Louisiana and Texas and pulled into this madhouse of a gas station where I think everyone who lived in Texas decided to meet for the day. I pulled in took my sweater off inside the car, got out of the car to warm so I could warm up and KAPOW!!! (little Batman bubble there) I was hit in the face with a gale force wind with a temperature attached to it of minus two. much to my surprise... my already blue face and hands were now in full spasm and my poor meatless body was stuck in a position of shock and horror. I would have cried but that may have looked kind of strange lol
Now that I am over the realization that I will come across cold weather again, I can tell you that yesterday was a day of firsts in a few different ways. Great ways, but still so unbelievably different.
After arriving at my destination in Dallas I met up with Joseph; an old friend of mine from the Transrockies Mountain bike Challenge. Of course this was the American Thanksgiving and his family is mostly in Virginia so we decided to make our own (special) Thanksgiving meal. We hit the store to get the basics for a dinner of that size...Broth, eggs, marshmallows, already cooked turkey breast and gluten free chocolate chip cookies. Ok those were mine :-) can't really blame us, it was already later in the day and cooking a full turkey would have been just down right silly. I managed to make an interesting concoction of a make shift cranberry sauce, and if I don't say so myself...It was awesome!! tasted more like apple cider, but hey; who doesn't like apple cider?
Now, here is where the first's come in...actually the cranberry sauce was a first but here is where the crazy firsts come in. Joseph usually goes to bed early and when I say early I mean it. five year old children go to bed later then Joseph lol not joking. So he was off to bed and I just sat down to start editing my next video snippet. The next thing I know he is on his phone calling the Kalachandji's Resturant and Palace to see how late they were going to be open for dinner. This is at eight thirty in the evening. We had thirty minutes to get there so of course, and he said it was really a place I had to see so we had to get there before it closed. He drove. (WOW) ummm....yeah (WOW) that is all I will say. He has a dream of racing cars on day and I think he was his trial run. Needless to say, we made it one time. The place was like nothing I had ever seen. Almost indescribable. The sheer size of the palace was impressive, the pillars and cathedral ceilings alone were immense but not intimidating. Inside right next to the Palace was the little restaurant. They had a a buffet which was just getting put away, however they were kind enough to let us eat what we could and only charged us for one meal. Which worked out perfectly because the only I think I could eat there was the green salad, the sweet potatoes and the green beans. It was a cute little restaurant with no more than six tables inside and 10 tables outside. We were the only ones in the place so we of course choose to eat outside (yeah I know) it was cold, but the experience itself made up for the chill in the air. In the middle of this little courtyard was what looked like a giant bonzi tree. It wasn' but it sure looked like one. I never asked what it was but it was such a great thing to see. I of course took some film of it so I will try to get that on my next video :-) maybe, I am little behind on those. I am still at the beach on my next one. Just can't seem to drag myself away from that area.
The Temple itself was so peaceful. just standing inside the door, I had a strange sensation of being at peace with myself and a strange warm rush came over my body. Could have been the warm air built up behind the door but I would like to think that it being such a spiritual place, even someone who does not exactly practice or participate in their spirituality or way of thinking; can feel the power and the energy from what they actually stand for and strive for. Peace, Love, Understanding, Respect and Acceptance. How could anyone feel uncomfortable in that sort of setting.
One might think that having that kind of experience would have been enough to go on for quite some time. Well, for Joseph and me; it was not.
He wanted to give me a quick tour of this crazy twenty-four hour spa nestled in the heart of the Industrial section of town in Dallas Texas. Hmmmm, My first thought was he was driving to some make out point, then maybe he was going to kill me and leave me in a cement factory but much to my surprise; out of the darkness came this wild and crazy welcome sign with three giraffes sitting on top of it. If I didn't know any better I would have thought at some point throughout the evening I had dropped acid. Trust me,I am still shaking my head about the entire thing. I highly recommend you look this place up because I am not a spa person at all, but the experience itself is something I believe everyone should have. It's called the King Spa & Sauna in Dallas Texas. Now here is the kicker. Joseph knew the front desk clerk so we went in for a quick tour and he introduced me to him. He figured since I was in the Therapy field I would appreciate the healing aspects which this place had to offer. The desk clerk said we could have a tour or just come in and spend the night for free!!!! I was unable to spend the entire evening as I couldn't leave Pepper at the house for too long. But I did want to experience this place for a few hours just to say I did. The unfortunate part about it was I was not able to do any filming or take pictures. Now I have to rely on my memory which you all know is (crap) to tell you of my experience. I will keep it short for this post as it is already fairly long winded. But I will tell you to picture the color Pink, yes that's right...Pink. The women wore pink shirts with pink shorts and had a pink bracelets. The men wore grey and had a blue bracelets and the children wore yellow. I asked if I could wear yellow and the women in the bathroom laughed at me. I don't think a lot of these people had ever seen a pasty irish woman walking around in a pink outfit with a ball cap on lol Not a good look for anyone. I spent most of the time watching people. I attempted to enter the Fire Sudatorium...Wow, that lasted an entire twenty fvie seconds. Great name for it though. My favourite room in there had to be the charcoal room. probably because it was more like an Arizona Summer heat as apposed to the depths of haiti's. Unfortunately my explanations of this place will never do it justice and I will just say that to understand it is to go there and see it. So if you are ever in Dallas or Chicago, or Korea, Japan and China ...do it. Other than the pink mandatory outfit, I would go back in a second. Watching the primarily Korean families interact was a spectacular sight to see. Every corner of the building had people sleeping or doing yoga or just hanging out and talking. The one thing I noticed is they were all doing it as a family. The crazy thing about it (for me) was the kids around fourteen or fifteen were more than thrilled to sit there and hang out with their parents and just talk, laugh or even to just simply breath. What is that all about? :-) I loved it, I love it and I hope to get the chance to spend the entire night there at some point. I have never felt so warm and so calm and so at peace.
Margo
Now that I am over the realization that I will come across cold weather again, I can tell you that yesterday was a day of firsts in a few different ways. Great ways, but still so unbelievably different.
After arriving at my destination in Dallas I met up with Joseph; an old friend of mine from the Transrockies Mountain bike Challenge. Of course this was the American Thanksgiving and his family is mostly in Virginia so we decided to make our own (special) Thanksgiving meal. We hit the store to get the basics for a dinner of that size...Broth, eggs, marshmallows, already cooked turkey breast and gluten free chocolate chip cookies. Ok those were mine :-) can't really blame us, it was already later in the day and cooking a full turkey would have been just down right silly. I managed to make an interesting concoction of a make shift cranberry sauce, and if I don't say so myself...It was awesome!! tasted more like apple cider, but hey; who doesn't like apple cider?
Now, here is where the first's come in...actually the cranberry sauce was a first but here is where the crazy firsts come in. Joseph usually goes to bed early and when I say early I mean it. five year old children go to bed later then Joseph lol not joking. So he was off to bed and I just sat down to start editing my next video snippet. The next thing I know he is on his phone calling the Kalachandji's Resturant and Palace to see how late they were going to be open for dinner. This is at eight thirty in the evening. We had thirty minutes to get there so of course, and he said it was really a place I had to see so we had to get there before it closed. He drove. (WOW) ummm....yeah (WOW) that is all I will say. He has a dream of racing cars on day and I think he was his trial run. Needless to say, we made it one time. The place was like nothing I had ever seen. Almost indescribable. The sheer size of the palace was impressive, the pillars and cathedral ceilings alone were immense but not intimidating. Inside right next to the Palace was the little restaurant. They had a a buffet which was just getting put away, however they were kind enough to let us eat what we could and only charged us for one meal. Which worked out perfectly because the only I think I could eat there was the green salad, the sweet potatoes and the green beans. It was a cute little restaurant with no more than six tables inside and 10 tables outside. We were the only ones in the place so we of course choose to eat outside (yeah I know) it was cold, but the experience itself made up for the chill in the air. In the middle of this little courtyard was what looked like a giant bonzi tree. It wasn' but it sure looked like one. I never asked what it was but it was such a great thing to see. I of course took some film of it so I will try to get that on my next video :-) maybe, I am little behind on those. I am still at the beach on my next one. Just can't seem to drag myself away from that area.
The Temple itself was so peaceful. just standing inside the door, I had a strange sensation of being at peace with myself and a strange warm rush came over my body. Could have been the warm air built up behind the door but I would like to think that it being such a spiritual place, even someone who does not exactly practice or participate in their spirituality or way of thinking; can feel the power and the energy from what they actually stand for and strive for. Peace, Love, Understanding, Respect and Acceptance. How could anyone feel uncomfortable in that sort of setting.
One might think that having that kind of experience would have been enough to go on for quite some time. Well, for Joseph and me; it was not.
He wanted to give me a quick tour of this crazy twenty-four hour spa nestled in the heart of the Industrial section of town in Dallas Texas. Hmmmm, My first thought was he was driving to some make out point, then maybe he was going to kill me and leave me in a cement factory but much to my surprise; out of the darkness came this wild and crazy welcome sign with three giraffes sitting on top of it. If I didn't know any better I would have thought at some point throughout the evening I had dropped acid. Trust me,I am still shaking my head about the entire thing. I highly recommend you look this place up because I am not a spa person at all, but the experience itself is something I believe everyone should have. It's called the King Spa & Sauna in Dallas Texas. Now here is the kicker. Joseph knew the front desk clerk so we went in for a quick tour and he introduced me to him. He figured since I was in the Therapy field I would appreciate the healing aspects which this place had to offer. The desk clerk said we could have a tour or just come in and spend the night for free!!!! I was unable to spend the entire evening as I couldn't leave Pepper at the house for too long. But I did want to experience this place for a few hours just to say I did. The unfortunate part about it was I was not able to do any filming or take pictures. Now I have to rely on my memory which you all know is (crap) to tell you of my experience. I will keep it short for this post as it is already fairly long winded. But I will tell you to picture the color Pink, yes that's right...Pink. The women wore pink shirts with pink shorts and had a pink bracelets. The men wore grey and had a blue bracelets and the children wore yellow. I asked if I could wear yellow and the women in the bathroom laughed at me. I don't think a lot of these people had ever seen a pasty irish woman walking around in a pink outfit with a ball cap on lol Not a good look for anyone. I spent most of the time watching people. I attempted to enter the Fire Sudatorium...Wow, that lasted an entire twenty fvie seconds. Great name for it though. My favourite room in there had to be the charcoal room. probably because it was more like an Arizona Summer heat as apposed to the depths of haiti's. Unfortunately my explanations of this place will never do it justice and I will just say that to understand it is to go there and see it. So if you are ever in Dallas or Chicago, or Korea, Japan and China ...do it. Other than the pink mandatory outfit, I would go back in a second. Watching the primarily Korean families interact was a spectacular sight to see. Every corner of the building had people sleeping or doing yoga or just hanging out and talking. The one thing I noticed is they were all doing it as a family. The crazy thing about it (for me) was the kids around fourteen or fifteen were more than thrilled to sit there and hang out with their parents and just talk, laugh or even to just simply breath. What is that all about? :-) I loved it, I love it and I hope to get the chance to spend the entire night there at some point. I have never felt so warm and so calm and so at peace.
Margo
Monday, November 22, 2010
Just some stuff!
How to stay positive and upbeat when your financial world is crashing down all around you.
ok, so I guess it's a good thing I never had a lot of money to start out with. If this were a tour on how to show people the proper way to get ripped off...I would get the prize for sure. Hopefully it would be money lol
I just want to get this out there for anyone who has used or was thinking of using or will ever use Hotles.ca I was trying to pre book a room in Baton Rouge for tomorrow November 23, 2010 and much to my surprise the money I had for emergency fuel and motel stays was all gone. My first reaction was...HOLY CRAP someone has my Visa number and has been out there shopping and having a great time while I have been oblivious. Not the case, but close. I went back into my old statements online and noticed two things that really chapped my ass!!! sorry for the expression, but I don't think there is a nicer way for me to put it. The first thing I noticed was I had been charged over $400.00 for hotel bookings I had never even made. Another charge was for a booking I made and cancelled within 5 minutes of confirming the booking. Which of course was never returned to my account.
The second thing I noticed which is something that I am extremely upset with and would like to know why there is no legislation for it; was the over charging of hotels two or three days after I had checked out and been given my receipt. I know some of you will be thinking it is probably because of a pet fee or cleaning fee. Please let me assure you I have paid no less than a ten dollar deposit on every room I have stayed in. That is by far a sufficient amount to cover any damage Pepper is ever going to do. Of course I am now wishing I had of just let him crap on the bed and pee in the corner. Wouldn't of made the room smell any worse ;-) Now that I can see an extra charge for lol
Anyway, with all that said and done. I have had some of the nicest weather anyone could ever ask for. Start to finish. Well, Nova Scotia excluded but they had some of the nicest people so I wouldn't want to go and make anything overly nice on this trip. That was my snarky sarcastic remark at karma...or whatever it's supposed to be :-) I have some great video and snippets I am eager to get onto the web site but I have had little to no internet the last few days. Funny thing is, I am not writing this from a hotel with free wi fi lol they never seem to be working. I am actually writing this from a KOA Campground in the middle of Alabama. Well, the middle of the bottom lol never actually thought I would be using my computer while lying on my massage table inside a tent with the top tarp off and looking at the sky with the clouds rolling by every so often. really sucks to be me right now. I just can't say thank you enough for this fabulous weather.
Pepper had a rough couple days when the heat and humidity were really high and I hope now that I am heading west he will start to notice a difference. He has a lipoma in is mouth that seems to swell up in the heat and humidity, thus causing him to gag and choke. Once he is in a cool dry place he is completely fine. Great for him, not great for me as I had to drive down Interstate 10 today with the windows rolled up the AC cranked to the max and towels blocking all the windows in the back. Did I mention I had to wear a sweater with the hoodie on. Every time I stopped to take him for a walk the people at the rest stops were looking at me like I was nuts when I stepped out of the car with a winter parka and blue lips. Oh well like I said before, my number one concern on this venture is Pepper and I would never put anything else before him. I have had some people throughout this tour come out and visit and stay with me along the way and I am sure they can attest to that as well.
A quick shout out to Latisha and Shinease (sp) Latisha...When Shinease yells "WHERE YOU AT GIRL" and you are on the other side of the complex at seven in the morning.. "HEY GIRL...WHERE YOU AT? I CAN HARDLY HEAR YOU." is probably not the best response. Considering Latisha was hanging over the railing and almost fell off in the process. Only reason I know that is because of the running dialog and narration we were all pleasantly surprised to hear at 7:00am so here's to you girl !! good luck with the Price is Right, or whatever that show was you were talking about. I am sure you will be one of the best. I may even watch ;-)
As far as an update on where I am and where I am going next. Well, I am in Elberta Alabama tonight. Heading to somewhere near Huston tomorrow and on to Dallas on the 24th From there I am not quite sure. I guess I will leave it up to anyone who knows anyone between Texas and California. I have considered all my options thus far and have decided to stay down here as long I need to and get back to Calgary when I get back to Calgary. I will not over stay my February plans and if all goes well with Pepper I hope to spend quite a bit of time in the Phoenix / California area. Yes, mostly because it's not -30 I do know some people who have offered a place for me in that area so if those are still open I would love to hear from you.
Anyway, lessons learnt. Always check bank and credit card statements. Always remember that there are people out there who narrate their own lives...(MIKE/MICHELLE) (Latisha)
Always look after your pets as if they were one of the family and even if it is over 80 / 30 degrees outside, always keep a sweater and a snow scraper handy cause you never know when you are going to need them. Trust me ;-)
PS I would also like to take this time to send out a great big hello to those of you just tuning in to this little adventure. Not only to those of you from Canada and the United States but from the rest of the world as well. I am thrilled to see so many new countries added to the list !!! Thank you so much for your interest in this Blog. Please feel free to join in and let me know your thoughts. I would love to have the opinions of those who do not live in North America. How do you view us as a people. Not as a government, not as a political party but as human beings?
ok, so I guess it's a good thing I never had a lot of money to start out with. If this were a tour on how to show people the proper way to get ripped off...I would get the prize for sure. Hopefully it would be money lol
I just want to get this out there for anyone who has used or was thinking of using or will ever use Hotles.ca I was trying to pre book a room in Baton Rouge for tomorrow November 23, 2010 and much to my surprise the money I had for emergency fuel and motel stays was all gone. My first reaction was...HOLY CRAP someone has my Visa number and has been out there shopping and having a great time while I have been oblivious. Not the case, but close. I went back into my old statements online and noticed two things that really chapped my ass!!! sorry for the expression, but I don't think there is a nicer way for me to put it. The first thing I noticed was I had been charged over $400.00 for hotel bookings I had never even made. Another charge was for a booking I made and cancelled within 5 minutes of confirming the booking. Which of course was never returned to my account.
The second thing I noticed which is something that I am extremely upset with and would like to know why there is no legislation for it; was the over charging of hotels two or three days after I had checked out and been given my receipt. I know some of you will be thinking it is probably because of a pet fee or cleaning fee. Please let me assure you I have paid no less than a ten dollar deposit on every room I have stayed in. That is by far a sufficient amount to cover any damage Pepper is ever going to do. Of course I am now wishing I had of just let him crap on the bed and pee in the corner. Wouldn't of made the room smell any worse ;-) Now that I can see an extra charge for lol
Anyway, with all that said and done. I have had some of the nicest weather anyone could ever ask for. Start to finish. Well, Nova Scotia excluded but they had some of the nicest people so I wouldn't want to go and make anything overly nice on this trip. That was my snarky sarcastic remark at karma...or whatever it's supposed to be :-) I have some great video and snippets I am eager to get onto the web site but I have had little to no internet the last few days. Funny thing is, I am not writing this from a hotel with free wi fi lol they never seem to be working. I am actually writing this from a KOA Campground in the middle of Alabama. Well, the middle of the bottom lol never actually thought I would be using my computer while lying on my massage table inside a tent with the top tarp off and looking at the sky with the clouds rolling by every so often. really sucks to be me right now. I just can't say thank you enough for this fabulous weather.
Pepper had a rough couple days when the heat and humidity were really high and I hope now that I am heading west he will start to notice a difference. He has a lipoma in is mouth that seems to swell up in the heat and humidity, thus causing him to gag and choke. Once he is in a cool dry place he is completely fine. Great for him, not great for me as I had to drive down Interstate 10 today with the windows rolled up the AC cranked to the max and towels blocking all the windows in the back. Did I mention I had to wear a sweater with the hoodie on. Every time I stopped to take him for a walk the people at the rest stops were looking at me like I was nuts when I stepped out of the car with a winter parka and blue lips. Oh well like I said before, my number one concern on this venture is Pepper and I would never put anything else before him. I have had some people throughout this tour come out and visit and stay with me along the way and I am sure they can attest to that as well.
A quick shout out to Latisha and Shinease (sp) Latisha...When Shinease yells "WHERE YOU AT GIRL" and you are on the other side of the complex at seven in the morning.. "HEY GIRL...WHERE YOU AT? I CAN HARDLY HEAR YOU." is probably not the best response. Considering Latisha was hanging over the railing and almost fell off in the process. Only reason I know that is because of the running dialog and narration we were all pleasantly surprised to hear at 7:00am so here's to you girl !! good luck with the Price is Right, or whatever that show was you were talking about. I am sure you will be one of the best. I may even watch ;-)
As far as an update on where I am and where I am going next. Well, I am in Elberta Alabama tonight. Heading to somewhere near Huston tomorrow and on to Dallas on the 24th From there I am not quite sure. I guess I will leave it up to anyone who knows anyone between Texas and California. I have considered all my options thus far and have decided to stay down here as long I need to and get back to Calgary when I get back to Calgary. I will not over stay my February plans and if all goes well with Pepper I hope to spend quite a bit of time in the Phoenix / California area. Yes, mostly because it's not -30 I do know some people who have offered a place for me in that area so if those are still open I would love to hear from you.
Anyway, lessons learnt. Always check bank and credit card statements. Always remember that there are people out there who narrate their own lives...(MIKE/MICHELLE) (Latisha)
Always look after your pets as if they were one of the family and even if it is over 80 / 30 degrees outside, always keep a sweater and a snow scraper handy cause you never know when you are going to need them. Trust me ;-)
PS I would also like to take this time to send out a great big hello to those of you just tuning in to this little adventure. Not only to those of you from Canada and the United States but from the rest of the world as well. I am thrilled to see so many new countries added to the list !!! Thank you so much for your interest in this Blog. Please feel free to join in and let me know your thoughts. I would love to have the opinions of those who do not live in North America. How do you view us as a people. Not as a government, not as a political party but as human beings?
Friday, November 19, 2010
Cumming Georgia to Savannah Georgia to Tampa Florida!
Watching the weather channel today has made me realize a few things. what we as a "civilized Country" take for granted. I for one can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am to be writing this post from a lounge chair poolside in Tampa Florida with 80 degree temperatures. thank you, thank you, thank you!! I do feel for all of you back home experiencing the deep freeze and i would never dream of rubbing it in as I do know for a fact that I will at some point this winter experience the same weather.
I have been a little slow in getting this post out because for the first time on this trip I have actually been getting out and doing some things around the places I was visiting. I have been talking to as many people as I can and I am quite surprised at what I have discovered thus far. For instance, on average; Americans love Canadians. They still don't understand how we can consider hockey a sport....Note to Gary Bettman...Move a team back to Canada where it can be appreciated and enjoyed. I would like to take this time to make a shout out to Tim, a great guy from North Carolina who sees hockey as "a bunch of guys smacking around circular cow patties with sticks after punching each other in the face." He did say the one game he watched was enjoyable and would watch more if he had to lol Anyway, to you time...thanks for your input. I still laugh about you descriptions to this day.
I must say, I am in love with the southern accent. Whichever county it may be from. I am also in love with the southern way of life, the cool relaxed style and the ever famous southern hospitality. So friendly, so courteous and so extremely helpful. I met another gentleman named Tim...It's really easy to remember names out this way lol He went as far as to point out which areas of the country may or may not be safe for someone like me :-) He was a great guy from Savannah Georgia other than trying to get me to drink his homemade moonshine...(about 90 proof) I had such a great time getting to know him. Sorry Tim #2 not my cup of tea, I am a beer girl. But I do know a few people who would jump on that train in a second.
I am now as I mentioned before, sitting pool side in Tampa Florida and missing Georgia big time. I felt so comfortable there and i do hope at some point that the US Government will let me back in so I can return to Georgia and spend a lot more time exploring the area.
I have been polling a lot of people here about what they think about when think of Canada. I was quite surprised to find out the answers.
1. Free Healthcare
2. Cold Weather
3. Peaceful people who stick mostly to themselves and never lock their doors
4. No guns
5. (this one surprised me the most) I have heard repeatedly that Americans think about how frustrated they are that the US Government P.Oed the Canadian Government. They agree that we are two separate countries with similar people and similar values being separated and segregated by our own governing bodies.
I for one have not seen nor experienced any American hostility, Arrogance or Ignorance in the time I have been down here. From the people that is. i was given the cold shoulder by a deer and squirrel but I guess I can forgive them for that.
I for one have been so pleasantly surprised at the genuine kindness here. I myself would even consider packing up my stuff, applying for a visa ;-) and moving to the south. Yes, becoming an american. I know, I know, some of you just dropped your jaws and spit (beer, coffee, strongbow or Rickards Red) through your nose but I can assure you, you did read my words correctly. I would be proud to call myself a Southerner. The bad Reputation they have is strictly a media based issue and if i am accepted into film school I will be sure to come back and prove to the rest of the world; that to think like a southerner, to act like a southerner and to truly be a southerner is something we could all be proud to admit. They really are the kindest people I have met so far. A close second of course being good ol Nova Scotia but the southern accent really puts em over the top LOL just kidding. But they really do blow my mind with their kindness!
I hope to spend as much time as i can here in Florida. i don't think I really need to go into too much detail on that one. Of course they do have these weather Network segments called..."It could Happen Tomorrow" talking about huge Hurricanes and other Natural Disasters that sort of makes me rethink moving out here on a permanent basis lol. But I guess if you think about it, anywhere you go a Natural Disaster or an Act of God is an all to real possibility. I am just going to be happy where I am right now in this very moment.
So, I guess to wrap this up I would like to say thank you to everyone I have met along the way and thank you for all your input and advice. To all the Tims I have met...You guys rock and I have not laughed that hard in a long time so thank you as well for that. To the Gentleman from Delaware, Sorry I didn't get your name but if you manage to come across this blog...WRITE THAT BOOK!!! Margo said so ;-)
Ok so just a few more things I have picked up along the way in the last couple weeks.
1. Sleep may be overrated, but if I don't get any of it I tend to not like stuff.
2. If you feel like having (buying) an alcoholic beverage on a sunday in the great state of Georgia...you can't. Unless you are a member of the US forces.
3. Heated pool does not always translate into...WARM pool
4. I feel surprisingly guilty for sitting in 30+ weather when my friends are sitting in a deep freeze at -20
5. They call tuques ...Toboggans
6. They think walking around in shorts, T-shits and sandals in 65 degree weather is crazy
7. they think swimming in that weather is even crazier
8. 12 Coronas are $13.00
9. 2L of Rum are about $13.00 (no not an alcoholic ...yet lol) just an observation
10. filling your car with fuel here is a painful process because I don't have a zip code and I have yet to find a gas station where I can wash my car on my own and clean my windows with a squeegee longer than 4 inches. Wow, that is something you need to do when you have a day off :-)
chat with ya'll soon ;-)
Margo
I have been a little slow in getting this post out because for the first time on this trip I have actually been getting out and doing some things around the places I was visiting. I have been talking to as many people as I can and I am quite surprised at what I have discovered thus far. For instance, on average; Americans love Canadians. They still don't understand how we can consider hockey a sport....Note to Gary Bettman...Move a team back to Canada where it can be appreciated and enjoyed. I would like to take this time to make a shout out to Tim, a great guy from North Carolina who sees hockey as "a bunch of guys smacking around circular cow patties with sticks after punching each other in the face." He did say the one game he watched was enjoyable and would watch more if he had to lol Anyway, to you time...thanks for your input. I still laugh about you descriptions to this day.
I must say, I am in love with the southern accent. Whichever county it may be from. I am also in love with the southern way of life, the cool relaxed style and the ever famous southern hospitality. So friendly, so courteous and so extremely helpful. I met another gentleman named Tim...It's really easy to remember names out this way lol He went as far as to point out which areas of the country may or may not be safe for someone like me :-) He was a great guy from Savannah Georgia other than trying to get me to drink his homemade moonshine...(about 90 proof) I had such a great time getting to know him. Sorry Tim #2 not my cup of tea, I am a beer girl. But I do know a few people who would jump on that train in a second.
I am now as I mentioned before, sitting pool side in Tampa Florida and missing Georgia big time. I felt so comfortable there and i do hope at some point that the US Government will let me back in so I can return to Georgia and spend a lot more time exploring the area.
I have been polling a lot of people here about what they think about when think of Canada. I was quite surprised to find out the answers.
1. Free Healthcare
2. Cold Weather
3. Peaceful people who stick mostly to themselves and never lock their doors
4. No guns
5. (this one surprised me the most) I have heard repeatedly that Americans think about how frustrated they are that the US Government P.Oed the Canadian Government. They agree that we are two separate countries with similar people and similar values being separated and segregated by our own governing bodies.
I for one have not seen nor experienced any American hostility, Arrogance or Ignorance in the time I have been down here. From the people that is. i was given the cold shoulder by a deer and squirrel but I guess I can forgive them for that.
I for one have been so pleasantly surprised at the genuine kindness here. I myself would even consider packing up my stuff, applying for a visa ;-) and moving to the south. Yes, becoming an american. I know, I know, some of you just dropped your jaws and spit (beer, coffee, strongbow or Rickards Red) through your nose but I can assure you, you did read my words correctly. I would be proud to call myself a Southerner. The bad Reputation they have is strictly a media based issue and if i am accepted into film school I will be sure to come back and prove to the rest of the world; that to think like a southerner, to act like a southerner and to truly be a southerner is something we could all be proud to admit. They really are the kindest people I have met so far. A close second of course being good ol Nova Scotia but the southern accent really puts em over the top LOL just kidding. But they really do blow my mind with their kindness!
I hope to spend as much time as i can here in Florida. i don't think I really need to go into too much detail on that one. Of course they do have these weather Network segments called..."It could Happen Tomorrow" talking about huge Hurricanes and other Natural Disasters that sort of makes me rethink moving out here on a permanent basis lol. But I guess if you think about it, anywhere you go a Natural Disaster or an Act of God is an all to real possibility. I am just going to be happy where I am right now in this very moment.
So, I guess to wrap this up I would like to say thank you to everyone I have met along the way and thank you for all your input and advice. To all the Tims I have met...You guys rock and I have not laughed that hard in a long time so thank you as well for that. To the Gentleman from Delaware, Sorry I didn't get your name but if you manage to come across this blog...WRITE THAT BOOK!!! Margo said so ;-)
Ok so just a few more things I have picked up along the way in the last couple weeks.
1. Sleep may be overrated, but if I don't get any of it I tend to not like stuff.
2. If you feel like having (buying) an alcoholic beverage on a sunday in the great state of Georgia...you can't. Unless you are a member of the US forces.
3. Heated pool does not always translate into...WARM pool
4. I feel surprisingly guilty for sitting in 30+ weather when my friends are sitting in a deep freeze at -20
5. They call tuques ...Toboggans
6. They think walking around in shorts, T-shits and sandals in 65 degree weather is crazy
7. they think swimming in that weather is even crazier
8. 12 Coronas are $13.00
9. 2L of Rum are about $13.00 (no not an alcoholic ...yet lol) just an observation
10. filling your car with fuel here is a painful process because I don't have a zip code and I have yet to find a gas station where I can wash my car on my own and clean my windows with a squeegee longer than 4 inches. Wow, that is something you need to do when you have a day off :-)
chat with ya'll soon ;-)
Margo
Friday, November 12, 2010
Georgia on my mind
Following my entertaining evening at the US border and some fun and wonderful arguments with Betty Lou through New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina and Connecticut, in no particular order :-) I made my way to the great state of Georgia. Cumming Georgia to be exact. I have decided that the southern accent is a more natural way to speak and have made up my mind to try and adopt it as my own. The people I have met throughout my travels so far inside the United states have been amazing. Southern hospitality is...well...just that...Southern Hospitality lol the stereotype is in fact quite accurate. They do move at a much slower pace here (except on the interstate) a seven lane interstate moving at 130km/h can be a little intimidating but I can tell you with all honesty that they are so courteous here that in the entire time I have been driving around Atlanta and area I have not been cut off once and have been let into traffic without any sort of obscene gesture ;-) I may have found my new favourite place to be and I know I said I was coming back to Calgary but if the weather stays the way it has been and I continue to be treated as well as I have been; I may find a way to stay lol Can you really blame me? I just went on a hike up to the Indian Seats in November with a T-shirt and sandals and still found it to be almost too warm!!! Juuust kidding, there is no such thing as too warm!
I have had a few issues downloading my videos onto my blog site so I will be posting them on facebook as well as YouTube. I hope those of you who enjoy watching them can still find a way to access them.
I apologize for any inconvenience and I hope I can work these minor glitches out soon. I HATE TECHNOLOGY lol
Chat soon
M
I have had a few issues downloading my videos onto my blog site so I will be posting them on facebook as well as YouTube. I hope those of you who enjoy watching them can still find a way to access them.
I apologize for any inconvenience and I hope I can work these minor glitches out soon. I HATE TECHNOLOGY lol
Chat soon
M
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Follow up to US Border Issues
There are many reasons a person may be ineligible to enter the U.S. The legal descriptions are lengthy and complex, so to help you understand them, we are providing a general description of the most common ones. This list should not be taken as a complete list of reasons to be excluded from entry. In general, you might be denied entry if you have a communicable disease, if you have a criminal record for crimes of moral turpitude (age 18 or older), for possession of or trafficking in a controlled substance, if you have any involvement with terrorism or terrorist organizations (no waivers can be approved for this category), if you have trafficked in persons, been involved in money laundering, might become a public charge because of limited financial resources, have been previously removed (deported) or have overstayed a previous period of admission to the U.S. Again, this list is not comprehensive and you should use the above link to read the complete list.
Depending on the reason for your inadmissibility into the U.S., and if you are a class of nonimmigrant where a visa is not required (e.g., most citizens of Canada), or you are a nonimmigrant with appropriate documents who subsequently becomes admissible, you may be eligible to apply in advance of your travel directly to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for a temporary waiver of inadmissibility. The waiver application process can be lengthy (up to a year) and there is a cost of US $545.00 per application regardless of the decision on the application. Payment must be with a certified check in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank for the $545.00 application fee.
Since they know exactly how much money I had coming into the country and told me in their own words from their own lips, I have enough to get me through to my semi-planned February departure date. I really can't see why I was given such a hard time.
So the real question here is...
Why, in the name of socks would I want to stay or live in a country that makes average hard working citizens feel like criminals?
Money, Money, Money...If I weigh my options it will be cheaper for me to stay; over stay my permitted limit, subsequently be deported and pay the $545.00 to apply for re-entry. Assuming I would ever want re-entry into this county. I was told I could spend five weeks in the United States of America; December 03, 2010 is to be my forced departure date. I was told I could leave my Florida destination and drive back to the US border and apply for re-entry the next day. I was then told under breath that they would not be letting me back into the country and I should just plan on going home and forget about Christmas in Florida. Of course all this is my word against theirs and I am sure my small insignificant existence in this giant world they call the U.S of A would have less than a leg to stand on in this matter.
The WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) = Keep the bad guys out and let the good guys visit! hmmmm sure.
I have had more e-mails and conversations about this topic than I care to have or read about. However, I guess it is a sore subject for many people. I would really like to hear more opinions from Americans traveling to Canada and their experiences coming through Canadian customs. From what I have heard so far there really is no difference. Also, my comment about never being more proud to be a Canadian was a bit of an exaggeration and I was just speaking from angered passion. I am still not impressed with the Canadian government either and I think they could both benefit from a bit of a revamp.
I was told something yesterday that really chaps my ass; and it not only frustrates me but angers and hurts me as well. I was informed that if I disregard any orders I have been given by US customs the worst thing that could happen to me is I get deported and never allowed access back into the United States again. That is my burden and my issue and I have no problems dealing with the ramifications. However, I was informed that they will not even bother to come after me if I choose to ignore them. They will go directly to any contact names I gave them at the border and attack them directly. Meaning, they will make life a living hell for Alicia, a Canadian citizen attending the university of Maine on a student visa. Now, call me crazy....as I am sure you have already! But I have heard of this kind of "terror tactic" before ..."rule by intimidation," "govern by fear" and if all else fails "go after the ones they care about" ..."Capone, Luciano, (after Prohibition) Anastasia, Gambino and Costello just to name a few. Why is it OK for the US government to pull out organized crime tactics on someone who is just trying to visit and learn about their country. excess, excess, excess!!! Am I really the biggest threat to this country? Am I really someone who needs to be on a watch list? I am so glad they got all their other issues under control so they can focus on keeping people like me out of their country. I would hate to put money back into their economy and contribute to their gross national...anything!
OK, to sum this up I would like to throw out a question to anyone and everyone who happens to read this post...
What would you do?
1. Leave on date given and just ignore any sort of poor treatment you have received
2. Stay as long as you need to and deal with whatever happens, happens
3. Post blog globally and show the rest of the world what is going on
4. Televise the rest of your trip and exploit any abuse of power you may run into
5. Other
PS... remember Freedom of Speech! You can say anything you want! Consider my blog site Switzerland
Thursday, November 4, 2010
West End Girl
I would like to start this post by saying I have been a little frustrated over the past few days. I have allowed the negativity of others to take over my entire thought process and in turn I have spent the last couple of postings shedding these experiences and passing the negativity onto those of you actually reading them. I would like to let you all know that I had several hours today to think about what I share and what I don’t and I have decided to focus on only the positive but not shy away from letting people know about the hardships I do face on this tour.
Today was a day of realizations! I realized that a small town girl from the west side of Canada is no match for the big city Interstates of east coast USA. I am sure if I could have found a place to pull over between Boston Massachusetts and Hartford Connecticut I would have done just that. Once pulled over I would have probably taken the opportunity to rock back n forth in my car and cried like a little girl till I had nothing left to cry about!!! It was a little chaotic from start to finish. Hard rain for eight hours, two wrong turns which added two extra hours to my drive, interstates that have special lanes for people who are not me and of course once you manage to get yourself into those lanes it is prohibited to get yourself out. lol To top off the craziness of a drive gone horribly wrong... I found myself smack dab in the middle of downtown New York City; lost, nervous, upset and using words and phrases I didn’t even know existed. Actually to be quite honest, I don’t think they do. They did however work for the situation and I will be apologizing profusely to Betty Lou tomorrow for my treatment of her throughout the day J Trust me when I say, if you ever plan on driving alone through these big cities in the pouring rain during rush hour....Please for the love of socks, purchase for yourself a Betty Lou! Feel free to give her another name but I highly recommend having the technology. Without it I am pretty sure I would have parked my car somewhere in the Bronx; after turning the right direction down the one way street of course. Got out, walked to the air port, put pepper in my bag and flown home. I was never so happy to see a building on the side of the road as I was today. It was a strange experience to not have a view of anything but trees to the sides and semi trucks everywhere else. It was almost a claustrophobic feeling after a while. You know it’s bad when you start longing for the TransCanada highway between Saskatchewan and Manitoba lol
I am now in Hagerstown Maryland and I was quite surprised to find that the outskirts of Pennsylvania look a little like lush green Alberta farmland. Such as welcome site after the morning and the drive I had today.
To finish up this post I need to send out a great big Hello and Thank You to the Gilfoy Family in Nova Scotia. Contrary to how I looked in my video blog, I was thoroughly enjoying myself there. Joan, Tim (Timmy) and Kirin (sp) made me feel so comfortable. I was still not feeling all that well and ended up hanging out for a few days and just writing in my journal. I had no idea I could write that much and still want to write more. Joan gave me a tour of a little scenic loop they have near Antigonish. The weather was cold to start but the sun eventually came out and made the tour even that much more special. She treated me to lunch and it was so great to just sit and talk about anything and everything and just learn how someone else views the world. I managed to wiggle my way in to staying there for an entire week and I think it is safe to say that Joan and I kind of fell into an instant routine. Once she stopped calling Mona that is lol After dinner we would sit on the couch and just talk. The topics would vary but I can honestly say that I enjoyed the conversations so much, that I find myself missing them already. The Gilfoy’s are an incredible family and they come from a town of incredible people. The stereotype is not misleading at all. Maritimers, or true easterners as they say are in fact some of the kindest people you will ever meet. It really is a beautiful place and my last day there I was treated to some of the most spectacular rainbows I have ever seen. I do hope to get back there one day. There really is so much to see out there but so little time to see it. Of course I will probably make sure I return in the summer ;-) for longer longer days lol nothing to do with the warmth and sunshine.
As for the remainder of this week, I am off to North Carolina tomorrow and from there I am heading into Atlanta Georgia. I will be taking some travel time off and spending a few days there. I hope to get caught up on some videos that you have all told me you love so much. And maybe catch up on some rest and relaxation. Ok, maybe just some relaxation lol I am sure Pepper will be ready for another few days off after the last couple travel days.
Please take care and I will have another video for you ASAP J
M
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