I bloody made it!

Whew - for all those who survived my April 3rd post, things have finally turned around. I worked day and night finishing my floor and it now looks uber-spiffy - I was able to enjoy it for approximately 12.3 nanoseconds before I was out the door and on the highway south.

I packed my car with essentials for the 3 and 1/2 day drive, as well as all the gear I would need for 5 months 'Outside'. Food: sandwich essentials, licorice, olympic trail mix (which was my sustenance for 90% of the trip) and oodles of Dite Coke (with an IV attached); Clothing: swimsuit, fleece, workout gear, various standard shirts and pants, and twenty million pairs of shoes (no I don't know why - it appears my shoe obsession has resurfaced); Other personality-defining must-haves: books I want to finish, knitting projects I want to finish, bike, computer, dog....and of course, my PS2 and Guitar Hero (yes I really did this).

The drive itself was beautiful - though mind-numbingly long. My mom and I viewed wildlife (elk, moose, buffalo, and - on the prairies- an unfortunate number of roadkilled deer), and narrowly missed a real rockslide (okay not narrowly, but we were there watching guys try to roll the giant boulders off the highway by hand until actual machinery arrived). We also passed an inordinate number of RCMP trolling the highway for speeders. We were finger-waggled at once by one such patrolman.

We had no trouble at all finding places to stay that would allow the dog, though the last place - a motel in Lloydminster - was a bit sketchy and I half expected to wake up to giant cockroaches trying to wiggle their way into my mouth. To make matters better at this place, the last thing I literally saw before switching off the lights for the night was an appropriately creepy trailer for some new slasher movie called, yep, 'Motel'....

I am now safe and sound in Saskatoon, hiding out at my parents' place and pondering what I will learn about myself over the next few months. For all 1 and a half of you that may be reading this, stay tuned - I am sure some incredible insights are in store....