It took a little over month of searching, but I finally found a new job. I wasn't really making the income I'd expected from this blog so it was time to find something more steady. After accepting the offer, I was told my start date would be October 30th. As your reading this, it's my second day of work. I knew this was my last major opportunity to take a road trip.
I decided I would come up to Wisconsin and have a bachelor party. I would then go to Canada and hang out with my friends there. When coming back down to Austin, I would meet up for dinner with my future brother-in-law Michael. From there, I'd high tail it back to Austin.
I knew this was going to be a tightly scheduled trip. Victoria and I have a weekly marriage prep class every Thursday night from 7-9PM. I would leave right after the marriage prep class and be back before the following week's class. When everything was said and done, I knew the trip was going to be over 3,200 miles (5,100km).
I would essentially be traveling how I used to and really pushing my limits. I would probably be consuming a little more caffeine than I should. I would be driving well into the night. I would be eating more than I should. In essence, I would really be pushing my limits.
I have been back in Austin for about a week and have finally been able to write about everything. Last week I gave you a picture preview of the places I went. This week will go over everywhere I went on this trip.
Before the trip started, I went to Whole Foods to pick up some essentials. I mainly got caffeine and a few things to munch on. I knew I wouldn't be stopping for food if I didn't have to.
It has been wet and rainy in Austin. It's been record setting in some areas. I was hoping things wouldn't be as wet for the drive as they were in the parking lot.
Before our class on Thursday Victoria and I went to Top Notch for dinner. I got a fried chicken breast.
The class went fast and I was on the road.
I made it to a rest stop in Oklahoma a bit south of Oklahoma City. It rained pretty much the whole couple hours I slept.
Throughout the day it was cloudy. It started to clear up and warm up in Northern Missouri. By the time I hit Minnesota, the sun was going down.
I constantly run into idiots on the road. Whether they be drunk drivers or just idiots, these people shouldn't be on the road. This was the case with a guy who decided to pull a trailer in the dark with no lights. His trailer didn't have any lights and the only light he had was a lone tail light.
When I hit WI-173, it was dark and the roads were a bit rough.
The next morning I woke up and leaves were everywhere.
Before I knew it, the wind picked up and it started snowing.
The wind and snow was strong enough it knocked out the power for a few hours. We had to run the generator.
A little while later, it looked like nothing happened.
It was still a bit cold, at least by Texas standards.
I went into town and visited with both of my grandmas. After that, I stopped my car off at my brother's house. I'd be staying there for the night. I then met up with my parents and we went to mass. After mass we were talking Father Keith in the back of the church. My dad told him I was having my bachelor party and I probably need a blessing. Father Keith made no hesitation and gave my liver a blessing. That was probably good thing as I did have my fair share of beer that night.
Now I've been asked if there was anything I wouldn't share about my bachelor party. Honestly, there's nothing. I guess it was mild compared to what happens at a lot of bachelor parties. We only went to 2 different bars. The first bar was Nutz Deep. Nutz Deep is a sports bar with good food, so if you were thinking some other type of bar you were wrong.
I started at Nutz Deep and it started to become packed. We wanted to find another place we could hang and everyone could sit and eat. We walked across the street to The Rivers Tavern.
We pretty much had the place to ourselves. It was a great time just sitting, talking, and catching up. Later in the night we headed back to Nutz Deep where it was packed. A few other friends had been there a while.
I stayed out to bar close. One of my buddies gave me a ride to my brother's house. I slept on the couch and the next morning there was some frost on my windshield.
I was still tired when I got to my parents' house so I slept a little more. Jordy decided to make herself comfortable too.
I went into town and visited with my grandmas again. I took a quick look at my Cougar.
I took the back roads home. I wanted to take in some of the fall colors.
I visited with my parents for a while and then hit the road a little after 8. Time was of the essence and I wanted to get to Thunder Bay at a reasonable time on Monday. It was still a bit cold.
I made it to Duluth. I stayed at the La Quinta there.
I ate some breakfast and hit the road. It was still a bit chilly.
My border crossing into Canada was super easy. Unlike many times, I was just asked a few questions and I was through in less than a minute. I guess I'm starting to get a track record with my crossing. I know a lot of border guards know of this blog and see how I travel. The crazy thing is last year about the same time I was in Thunder Bay on a mission to get an amethyst for the engagement ring.s.
Upon coming into town, I stopped at the ATM and got some local currency. I then picked up my buddy Ryan. You may know him from my blog entry on his show Lipstick and Leather on CILU. We headed to Nipigon to do some exploring.
I wrote a separate blog entry about small town Canada and exploring Nipigon. I hit up a lot of different places and it was great exploring such a great small town! After Nipigon Ryan and I went back to Thunder Bay. I stopped at the Terry Fox Memorial to get a few pictures.
Ryan picked up his car and we went downtown. I quick checked into the Prince Arthur Hotel. This would make it easy to walk downtown.
Ryan was waiting for me and we decided to get dinner. We were going to get some Canadian-style BBQ, but Apple Chipotle's was closed for shooting a commercial. We ended up at Intercity Mall where we got poutine from New York Fries.
After eating, Ryan went home for a bit. We met back up again later that night at Waterhouse. I walked there and then got my Caesar.
Two other friends, Kal and Andrew, came out to join us. I had another beer in the meantime.
We decided to go to The Foundry. We all walked there and I had another two beers.
It was mild for a Monday night. We pretty much had both bars to ourselves. It was easy to talk and catch up. I ended up staying until bar close at 2am. It seemed like I was the only one on Red River road when I walked back to the hotel.
I set the alarm for early, but ended up sleeping a bit more. I did wake up a few times and take some pictures of the sunrise.
Tuesday morning was pretty much all business. I headed to Bay Meats to pick up some more pepperettes.s.
I then headed to Wolfhead Coffee to pick up some coffee and talk to Dan.
Maltese Grocery was the next spot on the list. I got some Heatbeat Hot Sauce.
I was getting hungry, so I stopped to get something healthy at Pita Pita.
My last stop before heading back to the US was Metro. I did my grocery shopping and got a few of the things I enjoy from Canada. I then headed for the US border.
The US border crossing took a little longer. I got a few more questions. I guess being in Canada for a single night probably was suspicious. I was finally allowed back into the US and then high tailed it to Minneapolis.
I met up with Victoria;'s brother Michael. He was staying at the Staybridge Suites and had a pull out couch I could crash on.
We decided to get dinner at Taco Libre.
We then got a six pack of beer and sat down and had one. The fire alarm decided to go off in the meantime.
Some lady was cooking and it did cause a bunch of smoke. We were inside not long after the fire trucks arrived. Michael and I talked a bit and then we went to bed. The next morning I actually had to use my ice scraper. Lucky I still have it after all these years!
I hit the road, grabbed my Kwik Trip breakfast, and watched the sun slowly come up. It also started to get warmer as I headed south. I made it to the La Quinta in Guthrie, Oklahoma before I crashed for the night.
Despite what the radar said, it was wet and misty the next morning. It did clear up a bit in Texas, but was cloudy by the time I go to Austin.
I got back to my apartment and unpacked my car. I then early voted. One crazy thing about voting in Texas is the sheer amount of signs outside a polling place.
I then came home and opened up a package that came to me from Canada. Grimm's, the makers of the pepperettes I found in Texas, sent me some cool things.
I'm now getting back in the normal routine of working and living life in Austin. I might not be blogging full time anymore, but there's still a lot more adventures to come. Stay tuned!