Go for broke!
Hey, friends! Hockey! Don't give up yet! There's still a chance.
Seriously, though, who gives two shits about hockey when there's LIFE to be lived!
My issue, though: fear. I'm scared of being broke. I need convincing. Don't think less of me, but I have $1400 worth of stock, my entire life's savings (which is a lot for someone with no income whatsoever) waiting. It's the last ounce of potential I have. I don't write for money, I don't work for money. I need an adventure.
Here's what I'm asking: convince me to use that little piece of cash to cross the country for my grandparents' 60th anniversary. I want to do it by car. I want to see the country. I want to be revived. I want the story--I know it won't go how I plan, and I'm really ok with that, because I don't really plan to plan it all that much. I miss the people I used to know, and I'd love an excusae to spend everything I have to see them all at once, one province at a time.
What do you think?
posted by Neal Ozano at 9:11 PM
8 Comments:
How reliable is this car? Would it be more effective to take the train perhaps, especially given the price of gas?
There are people who have had their cars covered in a company's ads in return for ... is it free gas, a free vehicle lease? I can't recall. Anyone else know more about this? Maybe you can get some sort of sponsorship in return for driving a billboard accross the country. Of course, you've got to have a decent-looking ride for anyone to want to sponsor it.
What if a company leased you a hybrid for a month and paid for your vehicle expenses in return for it being plastered in their ads (hopefully for feminine hygeine products, of course).
Could also be an intriguing concept for a book, I know some companies are on the lookout for that firsthand adventurer stuff.
Naw, fuck it; steal a gyro copter instead.
10:09 PM
Gyro-copter might be a better idea--I took my car to the garage to get inspected, and it came back a glorious failure. Rust, rust, brakes, and rust, is what the mechanic told me. He said if the car were rear-ended, I'd be the first solid thing the other car intersected with. Sponsorship, eh? Perhaps a rolling ambassador for Nova Scotia? Discount car rental? Ghostbusters 3?! I'd drive the fuckin' ghostwagon across Canada for a song! WHo ya gonna call?
7:26 AM
Screw the car, pallio. Sell it and buy a $500 bike, a tent, a sleeping bag and a set of saddlebags, then cycle back here. It'll be 10 times the adventure of driving, much cheaper -- no gas, no hotels -- and it'll make you skinny, too. When's the anniversary? You could make it in 45 days of riding at 120km/day, which wouldn't be a problem for you, since you're strong enough to bend my rear wheel sideways every time you get on my bike. Add in 15 rest days or Toronto-visitation days and call it two months.
3:49 PM
Correction: Mapquest was plotting its route through Massachusetts and Wisconsin and such because the Interstates are fast for cars. Bicycles can go straighter, which takes it down to just under 5,000 kilometres. If you wanted to be hardcore, you could do that in 30 days at 160 km/day, or 42 days at 120. You're not serious about this -- uh, about listening to me, I mean -- but I am. If you actually want an adventure, it's the only way to go. You've driven across the country enough times for that to be not quite so worthwhile.
3:55 PM
Here's the deal on a Canada-wide rail pass from the VIA website:
The Canrailpass gives you unlimited travel in Canada. It's the perfect choice for people who want to go a long way on a limited budget.
* You get 12 days of unlimited travel in Comfort class (Economy) during a 30-day period. Just show your Canrailpass each time you obtain a ticket for a trip during this 30-day period.
* The card can be used anywhere VIA goes, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and up to Hudson Bay.
* You can make as many stops as you like during your journey.
* You can add up to three extra days' travel, which you can buy in advance or at any time during the 30-day validity period. This gives you 13, 14 or 15 days' unlimited travel!
Canrailpass 2006
Peak season: Jun 1 to Oct 15
Adults $813
Extension of up to 3 days (adults) $69 (per day)
4:05 PM
I took VIA from Edmonton to Toronto once. It was fairly comfortable, and not crowded, but it was October. The landscape was incredible, especially northern Ontario, and the on-board food was pretty good, if a little expensive. Had some good conversations in the dining car with complete strangers. The only problem was that VIA has to pull over to a sidetrack every time CN rolls through with freight. If you don't mind being, potentially, eight hours late for something, it's a great way to go. Way more comfortable than a plane, but three days longer, and you can see a fair swath of the country.
6:05 PM
"Here I go again on my own!"
See you guys next week. Three lovely days in Downtown Toronto!
11:37 PM
Go Oilers Go!! Hey Chris, I haven't seen a picture of the now obviously, professionally trimmed beard. Or did you do like the beaver on TV and shave it off??
6:49 AM
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