Headed South - Philli cheese steaks and Fairmount park

spot the Dingo

We arrive at Philadelphia and our first real stop as well as our first item on our wish list , three words ,Philli Cheese Steaks.

Before indulging in the meaty delight though we make a stop at Fairmount park , the worlds  

coyote on the hunt 

biggest city park 9200 acres , It really is beautiful and Girlie is over joyed. We hike for a couple of hours through lush underbrush by adorable little streams all covered by think emerald canopy . Girlie hops through bushes chasing squirrels and birds like a puppy, we're all thankful for the opportunity to stretch our legs and get some exercise this being our first real stop .

By the time we emerge from the park we've worked up quite an appetite, we're ready to try the reportedly best cheese steak in Philli for this we make our way a few blocks from the park to Dalessandro's .

ummmm tasty !!!

The place is tiny bustling and packed , three girls and three cooks are stuffed behind the tiny counter orders being shouted every which way , two flat tops piled high with grilling meat cheese and onions the smell is like music to our howling bellies. There are two slightly less stressed looking waitresses running counter service so we sit there taking shelter from the throng of hungry locals. We realize now we have no idea what we want having assumed there was only one kind of cheese steak (apparently there's lots) we just ask for the most traditional kind to split.

A few minutes later the steaming sandwiches arrive pilled high with meat cheese and onions, we add

hot sauce and take advantage of one of the pales full of cherry peppers every couple of feet along the counter. Half a sandwich is plenty almost too much for me to finish, they are seriously good as are the plump cherry peppers you eat with them, nothing like the knock offs we've had over the years . We are thoroughly satisfied and can scratch something off the list as we climb back in the Hardwoo and head out once more to the open road.  

Headed South - driving, driving and more driving

After a quick Walmart stop and an unsuccessful search for an American cell phone we begin our journey south on the I95 on the look out for a rest area where we can crash for the night at the affordable price of free. We find one not too far from Callis it's a pretty little spot with a stream and small trail. We hunker down for our first night in the Hardwoo being not far from Canada at all it's still freezing in the van and after an unceremonious first meal we're happy to crawl under our blankets and sleeping bags. Glimmer is not happy.

Next morning we wake up early for the first time in months it's around 8 am when we hit the road eager to make it south enough to be warm at night as quickly as possible .

We have a shaky deal with a lady in New York to transport a table in a couple of days and we are antsy to get a n American phone so we can contact potential ride shares and let our parents and insurance companies know we are safely over the border and on our way south. We stop in Bangor our first real American city and are able to get a phone with the coverage we need , now all we need is a place to charge it and get it set up.

Truth be told we could all use a solid stop with some Wi Fi and running water a chance to use the bathroom, fill our canteens and charge our various batteries. A few hours down the road we reach a visitors plaza a testament to American convenience , and exactly what we're looking for.

Inside Calhoun spends an hour setting up the phone , the task being made grossly more difficult by the fact we don't have a zip code. Cell phone in hand we head for our next rest stop out side of Portland where we will pick up our first ride share.

We awake next morning and pick up our ride share a pleasant but quiet fellow who we take s far as Boston. It seems like a nice city , we agree to stop there another warmer time of year , but are thrilled to put some money in the tank so to speak.

We head for a parking spot out side of New York other than to pick up this table we weren't planning on stopping in New York having visited it before and been very underwhelmed by the city. We find a spot outside of New York only problem is that's all it is a pull in for transport trucks . Calhoun sets up the Coleman for the first time on the pavement outside the Hardwoo and we partake of our first hot meal in the Hardwoo consisting of rice Okra, tomatoes and jerk sauce. Girlie is pretty spooked by the big trucks going by but finally calms down allowing us to get some sleep before the morning. We finally hear back from the table lady, having cleared space for it we shoot for the city early next morning. Half an hour from the city we still haven't got an address from the table lady and are forced to bypass the city without our money making load .

   

First nights in the illustrious hardwoo and the drive to the south

The Open Road

We've been so long at the border that by the time we're turned loose on the United States of America all we can think about are the basics.

 

Gone is the wanderlust and dreams for an adventure worth blogging about. Replaced with three basic human needs, bathroom, food and cheap American fuel. With gasoline running just under a dollar a liter I grin ear to ear as I fill the almost empty tank. then off to wally world for some extremely salty bread.

 

The First Meal With Mushroom Lights

A snack and a few miles (which are noticeably longer than kilometers) we're full of vim and vinegar again. After a happy night time cruise through the pretty New England countryside, which i'm sure looks splendid by daylight, we arrive at our first stop at a rest area outside Bangor ME.

 

I Think We Need More Lights

After having planned to live in the hardwoo for so long we were to tired to savor the event, but after a supper of bread and cheese with salad we fell asleep happy to the song of trucks passing by in the night.

 

Passing Through Boston

We woke from our dreams of warm seaside BBQ's and southern hospitality to a nice picnic area. I played guitar while Pandora hula-hooped for a while then off to our next adventure. After a day's drive we started noticing that Maine was pretty big. we spent a while at a visitor center off the I-95 getting our American celly phone activated. The biggest hurdle was not having a zip code (I tried to register the death valley area code, but no dice).

 

The next day we picked up Johnny, our first rideshare in Portland, ME. Then crossed our first state border, followed by another, then another into Massachusetts (which is really hard to spell). we dropped Johnny off in Boston, pronounced 'Bawstuhn', and decided we'd have to come back there and spend some time when the nights were warmer.

 

Our 'Up Close' Look At New York

We passed new York by and then onto the New Jersey turnpike where we didn't get a 'turnpike ticket' which we were charged $13.30 for later much to my chagrin. But it was worth it with four lanes of smooth blacktop that let the hardwoo drive smooth and fast towards warmer climes and gentle sunlit shores.

 

Another night spent at a rest area helped us refine our systems for living in the van. this time we fired up the Coleman stove for a delicious meal of rice with okra, tomatoes and corn in a jerk sauce. girlie was terrified of the giant beasts (transport trucks) and was up all night.

 

More driving, and learning valuable lessons like Americans don't observe posted speed limits. "just keep up with the pack" someone told me at a rest stop. we stopped in philly for an official Dalessandro's cheesesteak and a walk in Fairmount park where girlie started to get psyched on our adventure. Philly would have to join Boston on the 'to do' list.

 

After navigating out of Philadelphia we kept heading south while corresponding with our next rideshare who we were picking up in Washington, DC. Which would take us through Baltimore, ML...

 

but that's a story for another time..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Calhoun

 

 

Fun with border crossings

Nova Scotia/New Brunswick border

We reach St Stephens (the Canadian side of the U.S. / Canadian border ) around 6 . There is an understated sign and a short line giving us a chance to double check all the paperwork is in order and close to hand .

After a few minutes we drive through , they look over our passports and Girlie's papers, we're flagged into a parking spot for them to search the van and ask the same question 20 times.

We're asked to leave the doors unlocked and all the bags , Girlie and Glimmer in the Hardwoo as we're ushered inside to possibly the most uncomfortable chairs I've ever sat in , there we stay for 30 minutes or so as they ask us over and over again  how long we'll be in the states , who we're visiting , all the usual hoopla. Three border guards go through all our papers a half a dozen times mainly our letters from our employers.

Calhoun of course has drunk way too much water and is desperate to go to the bath room the moment we get there , and of course you can't go to the bath  room while your being interrogated at the border, making him fidgety and suspect looking through the whole proceedings. 

Girlie is totally confused thinking the guard station is a store wondering why we're waiting so long and no ones given her a treat, the female guards make a huge fuss of Girlie while the men try to keep some tough exterior act going.

They search the van of course , I can't really blame them, their a lot more careful than I expected and either leave things or put them back where they were quite a challenge considering the amount of stuff we have.

After an agonizingly boring two hours some of which I'm pretty sure I fell asleep for they turn us lose into Maine and the U.S.A.

Farewell to Nova Scotia - One more lobster before I go

Antigonish is just over an hour inland from the eastern shore and we make the journey easily the sun shinning down upon us Calhoun weaves expertly between potholes to numerous to count , Rod caravanning behind us in his own cargo van . We arrive mid afternoon to a warm welcome , Bernie and Richard (Calhoun's aunt and uncle ) insist on cooking two lobsters per person more lobster than any sane person should eat , and I'm happy to rise to the challenge knowing it may be a long while before we see the tasty sea bugs again. We enjoy an evening of wine, beer, laughter and much over zealous picture taking with our hosts and their friends .

I take advantage of this last opportunity to wash the dirty laundry we have already accumulated, by the time it's done, we're ready to retire to a real bed, that is if our nerves didn't keep us up half the night , Calhoun confides he had a dream about the border control stopping the Hardwoo and it being full of spray foam (not sure what that's supposed to mean). The sleep we do get is deep and rich .  

When the alarm  beeps to life that morning we're ready to go , Bernie and Richard treat us to a gourmet breakfast.

Our bellies full we hit the road rain streaks down our windshield , down the road we pull over to say good bye to Rod before we part ways , and we're off to St Stephen and the border. 

Farewell to Nova Scotia-Last minute repairs in Jasper Bog

Our first stop on our way out of Canada is at Jasper Bog Rod's (Calhoun's father ) place , a secluded cabin and artist studio in Malay falls (named for Calhoun's family).

Jasper Bog is a place of great natural beauty, one of Rod's sculptures (the thinker) looks out over the placed lake , unfortunately we arrive just in time for blackfly season.

The persistence of the annoying little bugs making the remaining work all the more tiresome, which aggravates us to no end, being anxious to get on the road again.

Murphy's law in the morning we have another problem, a gas leak. Slightly disheartened visions of replacement tanks and a severe hit to our budget spinning out of our heads, we continue on to the Malay family gathering. Where we glean some good advice from Calhoun's knowledgeable uncle , there's a chance our problem could be due to a cracked O ring.

After some great eastern shore food and hospitality we say our goodbyes and return to the bog , too hopeful to pray.

Rod and Calhoun check the O ring as suggested and sure enough the seal is shot but following our helpful advice they manage to reseal it . Success !!! we're almost ready to go. Calhoun and Rod spend the next two days filling and painting rust spot , and with the help of a little WD40 manage to get the spare tire winched under the chasse again.

I turn my own studies to maps, camp and travel guides as well as our own to do list , plotting  our route for the first two or so and researching busking legislation in our chosen cities , so we would be prepared for anything we could be prepared for.

we spent our evenings with Rod enjoying a few beers and much rich conversation .

In no time Wednesday is upon us , the van fixed and loaded we stop for a much needed shower and freshen up at another of Calhoun's uncle's house, and we're off headed for Antigonish .

 

 

Farewell to Nova Scotia - final week

Our final week was spent largely saying goodbye to our scattered and varied groups of friends, many of which still didn't seem to realize we were finally , actually going to leave.

we had of course been talking about and preparing for a long time but not with the finality that there was now.

We hosted a BBQ on the sunniest day Halifax could muster . It being spring in Nova Scotia it was still pretty chilly once the sun went down , luckily the heat of the bon fire kept Calhoun and a few choice friends jamming late into the night .

We had a colorful turn out , some bearing gifts , Baked goods , hula hoops, poi , instruments and some just them selves, all were greatly appreciated and caused me to reflect on the wonderful friends and family we have in Nova Scotia .

We made some final visits to friends and family and began , perhaps the hardest portion of our preparations at least for me. We packed up all the remaining things we'd been using (or procrastinating on dealing with) evaluated them for worth and either packed or ditched them. Calhoun after tormenting me about bringing too many hats instituted a "hat rating " by which every item was judged by the amount of packed "hat space" it took up, needless to say many silly debates ensued.

I left a few choice items with my parents house, in the city , some of my paintings the ones I couldn't bear to part with , our record collection, my comic book collection and a few of my showgirl costumes.

There was also the boring stuff , obtaining insurance , changing money , making sure our and Girlie's (our dingo) papers were in order and up to date.

Then we packed the van a feat more challenging than you might imagine, given this was to be our home for the foreseeable future. Two bags of bungee cords and three ratchet straps later our happy home is ready to roll. Sort of.

The Hardwoo packed and ready , Girlie takes up  

 her luxury accommodations and we load in Glimmer (my faithful Betta fish) . His tank bungeed in we hug my parents goodbye, and we're off !!!! Well not quite.

We make one last stop on our way out of town ,

at our favorite restaurant (King's Palace), for Dim-Sum. We take a moment to reflect our decisions and the journey ahead over delicious Asian treats and calming jasmine tea.

Farewell to Nova Scotia - on the road again.. sorta

Goodbye lamp, goodbye tree, goodbye seabound cost... I may have said a few too many goodbyes but it seemed necessary to leave with no regerts. 

 

And as we drive away from my hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia we're greeted with the beauty of the eastern shore on a warm spring day. the van purring away as it rolls by familiar landmarks on our way to spend a few days with my dad at jasper bog in Malay fall, ancestral home of the Malay family. And with an annual Malay family gathering planned the day after we arrive the timing couldn't be better.

 

Our dingo Girlie is relieved. only letting herself breath an audible sigh of relief when her bed was loaded in our van, Hardwoo.  

 

-Calhoun

 

Fairwell to Nova Scotia - inital preperpations

The weeks leading up to our ascension to adventure , we're spent largely preparing for the unknown months ahead.

My Facebook and Kijiji accounts were littered with anything we owned of value, as I attempted to sell a lifetime of build up from various houses and apartments.

Calhoun worked tirelessly on

preparing the Hardwoo (our van),

replacing the starter and alternator, fixing an electrical problem which turned out to be caused by the car stereo of all things.

We spent a day driving and calling every auto shop in the city in search of a match for our spare tire. Rather than replace all 4 we opted for moving our best two forward and replacing the rears. we spent another day visiting a family friend you helped us install the free back seat we had procured from Rod's (Calhoun's father)van .

 

Another day we spent scrubbing and scraping years worth of built up dirt from The Hardwoo's interior. As you may have guessed we were not the van's first owners. Calhoun also spent a year or so leading up to the journey moving people and making dump runs for local construction sites. So as you can imagine the interior was hardly "dream home on wheels" worthy when we started.