This collection of rants and raves was simply plucked out of our travel reports. It's in bad need of editing. But, we present the thoughts for your amusement in their raw form.
Risk
We think that most people are conditioned to avoid all risk. We've travelled, lived and worked in countries that some people won't visit. Yet, they will jaywalk across a busy street, one of the more risky things that one can do.
"{We are} enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine, and before we know it our lives are gone." — Wanderer by Sterling Hayden
One of our friends sent us this quotation, which we like: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand, chocolate in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, 'Woo-hoo, what a ride!'” This is one of many variations of the original quote from the book Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, by Hunter S. Thompson.
Maritime and Newfoundland People
The people of the Atlantic Provinces enjoy the reputation of being among the most friendly in Canada. This is not without foundation. The first thing we noticed is that people there, even most of the truckers, don't tailgate. Neither do most of them speed. When changing lanes, we have often had vehicles drop back and flash their lights, to let us change lanes. Wow!
In central Canada flashing lights more often mean, “Get the hell out of my way”. We also found the people in the service industries, from food stores to gas stations to be more friendly and helpful. At several of the camp-grounds the owners or their children agreed to walk Molly while we were away touring with the group. Usually they would accept no remuneration for this.
Canadian Patriotism
Most people know that Quebeckers identify primarily with their province. Most do not know that Newfoundland is similar. The difference seems to be that while a large number of Quebeckers are nationalistic to the exclusion of the rest of Canada, many Newfoundlanders are nationalistic but indifferent about the rest of Canada.
Ask a Newfoundlander or a Quebecker abroad, “Where are you from?”, and they will usually respond with the name of their province; the rest of us generally say, “Canada”. Western Canadians and Newfoundlanders often hold views about confederation that are very similar. They believe that confederation largely benefits Ontario and Quebec to the exclusion of the others.
Politeness
We Canadians generally like to think of ourselves as being very friendly and considerate...a nation of Boy Scouts, one of our foreign friends opined. We are not so sure. While aboard a ferry to Newfoundland we saw numerous people stake out the few tables in the bar area, where they just sat, played games and listened to the entertainment without buying anything. More egregious still, some broke out their own snacks and drinks.
In contrast, people often characterise Americans as brash, self-serving. While one can certainly find such examples, our experience is generally to the contrary. For example, while queued in a Walmart checkout a new lane opened. Two women with full carts looked over at us and said, "Here jump in ahead of us, you've been waiting longer."
Telecommunication for Nomads
Communication is a perennial problem for nomads like us. We need both a cellular phone for voice and some sort of data device for Internet. Campground Wi-Fi systems are marginal in most places. Skype rarely works on them.
For our non-Canadian correspondents we should explain that we have two major mobile networks in Canada, Bell and Rogers. On these two networks we have at least a dozen service providers. Reality is, there are only two flavours, Ma Bell and the other guy. We've had a Rogers phone for ages. Thus, we now know from painful experience that it sucks in several regards; what we don't know is whether Bell is any better.
Pride of Property Ownership, Canada vs. The USA
There are obvious differences between Canada and the USA. Yet the difference in the upkeep of the properties is striking. In the USA we often see uncut lawns full of weeds, garbage and derelict cars. In Canada, apart from many Indian reservations, most properties, even the old ones are comparatively neat and clean.
Meeting and making Friends
Nomads seem to make friends more easily than stick-building dwellers. When we lived in conventional homes it often took years to meet some of the neighbours. In contrast, any excuse for a get-together will often result in an invitation to drop by for drinks or for a pot-luck communal meal. Having a dog seems to about double the chance of making new friends.
The Destination or the Journey
People following our nomadic exploits sometimes opine that we seemingly do not see much of what we set out to see, such as some historic battlefields and famous museums. For us, missing stuff is not a big deal. There's a huge difference between being a nomad and a tourist. We are living a nomadic lifestyle; we're not perpetually on vacation.
We rarely set the alarm clock, arising when the spirit moves. We have our coffee in leisure, whilst catching up with the latest gossip and news on TV and the Internet. We also take the view that the voyage is part of the experience, not just a means to getting to the next attraction. Thus, we sometimes drive only a few miles a day.
Canadian Economy (2010)
We were astounded at the huge number of properties for sale throughout the USA. What struck us as unexpected was that there are areas in Canada, where we have not had a housing bust in years. It is certainly a buyers market.
Most Canadians are rather smug about our economy, especially compared to the USA. We think that much of this is not due to a real difference, but more likely is due to nearly continuous government and media statements. We too are standing on the edge of an economic precipice.
E-books
We've become fans of e-book readers. After a bit of research we settled on the Kindle 3-wi-fi from Amazon; the Kobo wi-fi was a close second. It's been said that people who like to read will love e-books, while those who love books will not. We think this is spot on.
Trucks, Road Rage and the Police
When did truckers become so aggressive, especially in Ontario? Countless groups of tailgating trucks came past us, each following so close that no car could safely pass them. We've had semis so hard on our tail that we could see their grills in our backup camera! Where have all the highway cops gone? In Ontario they are everywhere, yet they do not seem to be having any effect. If anything, there is a greater incidence of speeding and aggressive driving in Ontario than anywhere else on the trip.
RV Caravans
RV caravans are not for everyone. There is a certain warm feeling knowing that the 'tail-ender' is following behind looking out for members in trouble. On the other hand, the caravan moves according to a fixed schedule, come what may. Overall, we would probably have been slightly better off financially travelling on our own, but we would have missed some of the best attractions.
Alaska and the Yukon
The Alaska and Yukon area is fascinating for many reasons. Contrary to lore, the mosquitoes and bugs were not as huge as advertised; we've experienced far worse along the Rideau Canal in Ontario. However, the plant life is colossal—cabbages can grow so big that one man can barely lift one!
Stuff and Space
Living aboard a boat and a motor home, one does not really need much 'stuff'. When travelling in the car for five months we had far less stuff with us, yet we really did not want for much. It was surprisingly economical to travel for a prolonged period, providing one can accept budget accommodation.
How Green Is My Home?
In our motorhome we get about 7.5 miles per gallon. So we are obviously not very 'green' energy consumers. Or are we? In the motorhome, we have only about 80 cubic metres of space to heat and cool, compared to 600 in our old house. Moreover, as nomads, we move with the weather, which greatly reduces the need for heating and cooling. We suspect our energy use is greener than that of the average home owner.
Predatory Motel Owners
The middle ground is a minefield for pet owners. Motels range from charging a modest fee and providing nothing to charging outrageous fees. We were astounded when we encountered one hotel that wanted a $250 deposit. We walked.
Bureaucrats vs. Nomads
One of the biggest impediments to our lifestyle is bureaucracy. The Governments of the world seem to abhor nomads. They force us to declare a fixed residence when our real residence is our motorhome. Worse still is the vehicle registration and drivers' licence regime; Ontario will not accept any testing done outside of the province.
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