Days: 15, 16, 17
Kilometers Traveled; Well over 3 000
Total Kilometers Traveled From Barrie ON to Victoria BC and Back again; 10,376
The Boate team has been home for two days now and I am finally ready to write the final installment of our cross continent adventure. I have to combine the last few days because they all became a blur! The Thursday after our Mt. St. Helen's adventure was not our finest day. The reality of how far we had to go in a very short amount of time hit us really hard Thursday morning and Nate did not feel like co-operating with our time line. For a very active three your old boy he had done miraculously well, but he was ready to be done our trip at this point, and he wanted to stop about every half an hour to escape the car. After driving for about four hours the GPS said that we had lost over two hours and the end time of our massive drive that day kept getting further away. We finally stopped some where in Mid Montana, picked up some picnic supplies and a new movie for the boys. That did the trick, it's amazing what some good food and entertainment can do for one's soul! The remainder of Thursday passed by without incident until about 8:30pm. Nate tends to have a burst of manic energy just before he falls asleep. Thursday, it was intensely manic, he was grabbing anything he could get his hands on in the back seat and projecting those objects forward to the front seat. I saw where this was going so I turned to pull the box of toys and shrapnel that had become Nate's car kit to the front just as his hands landed on his clip board. I saw exactly what was going to happen but my hands were too slow and the space was too awkward. My son with the perfect aim launched the clip board directly into my face. The corner of it made impact just below my left eye. A fraction higher and we would have been making a detour to the hospital. I let out a gasp and Ken yanked the car on to the side of the road. Nate was swiftly liberated from the car and after a tearful appology he was not left on the side of the road. He immediately fell asleep and we enjoyed a very peaceful last few hours of the day. It was during these few quiet hours that Ken and I hatched our new plan. It was obvious that the boys were tired of the car and we were too. However, we had to get back to London for 4:00pm on Saturday to attend our friend Greg's wedding. We decided that Friday would be our final day of driving and it would be a 20 hour day. Luckily, my amazing husband is a driving machine! At 1:00am (thanks to 2 nasty time changes) we arrived in Bismark North Dakota. We again fell into bed and very deep sleeps. We slept in a bit Friday morning knowing that we had a very long day ahead. At 10:15 we were on the road home. Surprisingly, Friday was a very calm day. We gave ourselves enough time to have a nice picnic lunch where the boys ran and played and then we drove and drove and drove. The boys fell asleep at around 9:30 and were out cold until we reached the bridge to Canada. I dozed on and off but I mostly stayed awake to keep Ken company and make sure he was okay. As the first rosy rays of light entered the sky we were only about 45 minutes away from the boarder. That bridge to Canada was a very welcome sight. Both boys were awake for the crossing and Will was almost vibrating he was so excited to be back home. We crossed the bridge, got through customs and began driving on the good old 401! Will said to me "Mommy, I am proud to be back in Canada." "Me too", I replied. "Me too!" The difference between the US and Canada isn't tangible but it is certainly real. For the entire trip west I felt completely at home, everything felt right and like we belonged. The US had a completely different feel, not hostile, not uncomfortable but just not right. I would do the drive across Canada again. It is a drive of interesting stops, stark contrasts in geography and intense beauty. I have never been more proud to be a Canadian. We all as citizens of this country are blessed with unbelievable resources both in land and in people, we have a responsibility to take care of it to the very best of our ability. We have so much to be grateful for!
We made it! We landed in Jane (Ken's Mom's) drive way at 7:30am. The boys were well rested so Jane took care of them while Ken and I had a good long nap! I woke up before Ken and realized that I had not been alone in two and a half weeks. I took the opportunity to sneak off to the mall and pick up a few things I needed to get ready for the wedding.
Greg's wedding was a lovely ending to our grand adventure. Ken grew up with Greg and his family, The Barnetts. This wedding meant a great deal to Ken. It was at the Barnett family home and it reminded us so much of our own wedding, it was a real gift as it is almost our ninth wedding anniversary. It was full of great friends and family, great music, fabulous food and beautiful flowers. For Ken and I it was of course a celebration of Greg and Jessie but it was also a celebration of our accomplishment. We had very happily made our way across the continent and back. The growth in our boys is indescribable. Their knowledge of the larger world has expanded exonentially as has their lust for adventure. On our way home on Sunday, after a lovely visit with Ken's Aunt Darlene and family and his cousin Jenny who lives in Australia and her two boys, Will was busy planning our next adventure. This trip has created bonds and memories that are invaluable. Will and Nate became so used to sleeping together that our first night home they had to fall asleep in the same bed! We have seen many beautiful places and done some fantastic things but home still feels like home. Ontario may not have the majesty of the mountains or the magic of the oceans but there is a quiet besuty here. On Sunday night after the boys were asleep Ken and I sat on the front porch with a glass of wine and watched the last rays of sun fade on the forest across the street and our good friend Cara popped int to say hello, there was no doubt we were home.
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