Made it to Thunder Bay.
It was a hard start to my trip.
Saying goodbye is always hard.
Around Parry Sound my check engine light came on in my car. Not wanting to turn around, I decided to see how it went, and get it checked out in Sudbury. An hour later and nothing really seemed to be rattling, and it seemed to be driving fine, so I decided to keep going to Sault Ste. Marie. Still nothing seemed to be wrong, so I kept going to my campsite at Pancake Bay. I figured once I got to Thunder Bay, my friend Richard might know a mechanic that could check it out.
I slept in the car the first night. It was really cold! I was completely under dressed, other people were in Parkas and toques! The car was cozy with Ben and I inside and I watched Napoleon Dynamite on my laptop. Really roughing it. The car bed held up well and was comfy, but I didn't sleep very well at all.
Continued the drive to Thunder Bay in the morning.
The drive from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay is by far my favourite stretch of highway so far. With it's panoramic views of Lake Superior and large rocky faces of Canadian Shield, it's winding road makes for an interesting drive. Still conscious of the Engine light... so drove slow. Probaby for the best because there were quite a few speed traps along the way. Especially closer to the towns.
Once in Thunder Bay we checked out Terry Fox and made our way into town. Nobody was at Richard and Selina's house when I arrived. Probably because I'm an idiot and told him I would be there Wednesday, and it was Tuesday... so he was surprised when I called him to say I was there. Turns out Hinder was in town, and he had tickets. While I didn't really know who Hinder was, it turns out I'd heard their songs on the radio, and I never turn down the chance to see a live show. My ears are still ringing, so it must have been a good concert... I'll add pictures later.
When we got back, we decided to introduce Ben to Bio-Pup (Richard and Selina's dog. Bio-Pup is Northland Bio-diesel's husky mascot. Richard started Northland Bio-diesel a couple of years ago). Anyway, the introduction didn't go well. Something about a pig's ear, two dogs and not enough supervision... to make a long story short, Benny Boy got his ass handed to him on a platter and in the process lost a tooth and had another tooth sticking out on a funny angle. We tried to pull it out, but it was pretty firmly rooted. He also had a few superficial scratches on his back. I'd like to say he gave it back to her as good as he got, but he got the crap beat out of him...
So I took him to the Northwest Animal Hospital this morning and they were really great! They took in right away, checked the tooth out and confirmed my suspicion that the tooth needed to be pulled. They took him in immediately and I went back to the house for a nap. About two hours later I went to pick him up. He was groggy and I was surprised that it only cost me $230! At home I'm sure it would be closer to a $1000.
Good news on the car too, just a small vapour leak around the gas cap... It's nothing big and they checked it for free.
I've decided to stay another night to let Ben rest (he's still a little wobbly from being put under for the extraction), and get an early start towards Manitoba in the morning. I think I'm getting a cold so the rest will do me some good too.
Saying goodbye is always hard.
Around Parry Sound my check engine light came on in my car. Not wanting to turn around, I decided to see how it went, and get it checked out in Sudbury. An hour later and nothing really seemed to be rattling, and it seemed to be driving fine, so I decided to keep going to Sault Ste. Marie. Still nothing seemed to be wrong, so I kept going to my campsite at Pancake Bay. I figured once I got to Thunder Bay, my friend Richard might know a mechanic that could check it out.
I slept in the car the first night. It was really cold! I was completely under dressed, other people were in Parkas and toques! The car was cozy with Ben and I inside and I watched Napoleon Dynamite on my laptop. Really roughing it. The car bed held up well and was comfy, but I didn't sleep very well at all.
Continued the drive to Thunder Bay in the morning.
The drive from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay is by far my favourite stretch of highway so far. With it's panoramic views of Lake Superior and large rocky faces of Canadian Shield, it's winding road makes for an interesting drive. Still conscious of the Engine light... so drove slow. Probaby for the best because there were quite a few speed traps along the way. Especially closer to the towns.
Once in Thunder Bay we checked out Terry Fox and made our way into town. Nobody was at Richard and Selina's house when I arrived. Probably because I'm an idiot and told him I would be there Wednesday, and it was Tuesday... so he was surprised when I called him to say I was there. Turns out Hinder was in town, and he had tickets. While I didn't really know who Hinder was, it turns out I'd heard their songs on the radio, and I never turn down the chance to see a live show. My ears are still ringing, so it must have been a good concert... I'll add pictures later.
When we got back, we decided to introduce Ben to Bio-Pup (Richard and Selina's dog. Bio-Pup is Northland Bio-diesel's husky mascot. Richard started Northland Bio-diesel a couple of years ago). Anyway, the introduction didn't go well. Something about a pig's ear, two dogs and not enough supervision... to make a long story short, Benny Boy got his ass handed to him on a platter and in the process lost a tooth and had another tooth sticking out on a funny angle. We tried to pull it out, but it was pretty firmly rooted. He also had a few superficial scratches on his back. I'd like to say he gave it back to her as good as he got, but he got the crap beat out of him...
So I took him to the Northwest Animal Hospital this morning and they were really great! They took in right away, checked the tooth out and confirmed my suspicion that the tooth needed to be pulled. They took him in immediately and I went back to the house for a nap. About two hours later I went to pick him up. He was groggy and I was surprised that it only cost me $230! At home I'm sure it would be closer to a $1000.
Good news on the car too, just a small vapour leak around the gas cap... It's nothing big and they checked it for free.
I've decided to stay another night to let Ben rest (he's still a little wobbly from being put under for the extraction), and get an early start towards Manitoba in the morning. I think I'm getting a cold so the rest will do me some good too.
posted by Sarah at 2:18 PM
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