We left that day just before noon heading for the Canadian Border at Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario over the Ambassador Bridge. No problems with customs. Not even with the case of home-made wine from the Cousineau Winery, generously donated to make the transition away from home that much easier.
After crossing into the U.S.A. we jumped on the I-94 towards Chicago, Illinois passing through Michigan and Indiana. Just outside Chicago we made a change to our travel plans. We were to take the I-94 right through the U.S. Instead, we decided to head a little further south and take the I-80 to a little place called Salt Lake City, Utah. We voted unanimously to go for it.
Once on the I-80, we passed through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah. And all in one day, 24 hours. We hit every kind of weather possible. Sunny skies and temperatures of 30C, rain storms in Iowa after crossing the Mississippi River and a -5C snow storm in Wyoming that lead to white outs and us not driving faster the 60km/hr. We pushed passed 6 states, 2 time zones and now we were getting tired. After the snowstorm we took a nap at a rest station early Saturday morning.
We arrived in Salt Lake City before noon Saturday and checked-in to a hotel. Driving into Utah is beautiful. You get your frst glimpse of the Rocky Mountains. The city itself is unbeleivably clean. One of the nicest cities we've been to. But we wouldn't make it out of our rooms right away. It was time to catch up on our sleep.
Later that night we took a walk into downtown Salt Lake City. It has beautifully landscaped streets and a certain big city feel with small city friendliness. Once host to the 2002 Winter Olympics it was now hosting the Utah Jazz in their quest for the NBA championship title. We tried to scalp for tickets, but it wasn't in the cards.
Today we left for Portland, Oregon. What an absolutely phenomenal drive! After driving through Idaho for a few hours we found ourselves along the Columbia River in the Columbia Gorge. On one side you drive along a rising wall of earth. On the other side you see the Columbia River moving past another massive wall. The road follows the river for the most part until it takes you into flora that we have never seen. Every shade of green and trees that look like they belong in the Jurassic Period, almost waiting to see a reptilian giant emerge between the branches.
And a few hours later we were in Portland. We checked in to our hotel, dropped our luggage in the room and headed down to the hotel bar for a quick drink before heading out to see the night life Portland had to offer; Mike with a Black Russian and myself with a Gin Martini with three olives.
We headed to a place called Candlelight, a bar that playes host to blues, soul and R&B. It was great. The Andy Stokes Band put on a great show and kept us in the mood for cold brews.
Long story short, Portland was fun and hopefully we'll be back soon.
The next day we made it to Victoria while missing one ferry in Port Angeles and having to drive through Seattle and up through Vancouver to catch the ferry from Tsawwassen. Luckily, we made it on the 9 o'clock ferry and didn't have to wait until 11pm. We were so lucky as we were the last car on the ferry. Talk about timing!
So finally, in Victoria we met our housemates and moved in to what we now call home.
