Well, we did it! We are officially "on the road"! We made it safe and sound to Toronto Monday night. Dan and I arrived at our buddy joe's place around 2 am.
We packed up and were gone from our place at 7:00pm, but we had to swing by Dan's father's place on the way out prior to quitting the city 'cause Dan had to square away some tax issues and sound out some ideas.
By the time that was all done it was 8:30, and Dan's father, with a wry smile, made the suggestion that we should just wait 'till the morning, but we were anxious to hit the road all the same. We were pretty tired, but bouyed by the prospect of finally leaving. It was pretty exciting to cruise the Queen's Way out of town for what remains an indefinite period.
The roads were good, as was the weather, though we did have a little rain. Also, there were some super thick patches of fog on the raod. Traveling at that time, both dan and I were shocked by the number of trucks that were traveling the road or parked at the roadside stops. Amazing...and also troubling when you consider how much each of those trucks consume in energy every year - though the job they do is no doubt valuable. As you can see everything - even the most mundane idea- that crosses my thoughts these days, is gravitating towards the project. I think that's a very good thing!
During the course of the drive I was thinking how I haven't learned much yet about those in the scientific community who believe that humans are actually having a minimal affect on the planet. Probably these voices are marginalized in the current furor over environmental problems that the planet is undergoing. People who assert that really the Earth is moving in cycles that we have not existed long enough to even begin to understand. People who assert that the beliefe that we could have a permanent impact on the planet is a testimony to our species' over-inflated sense of self-importance. I don't necessarily believe this angle completely, but I feel that it deserves consideration if we want to give a balanced perspective.
At any rate, I drove part of the way, starting somewhere just before the "Big Apple" on the 401. The van is SO heavy, that it's quite difficult to drive. I was so tense driving the thing because I'm not used to the drift that comes when driving a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, so I'd end up overstearing too drastically (knee jerk reactions), which would cause me to begin to fish-tail at higher speeds. Happily though, by the time we hit the big smoke, I was feeling a lot more comfortable thanks to some coaching from Dan. Essentially it's like steering a big boat. That being said, drifting when you are on a 4 lane highway with nobody around isn't a problem, but when you are in traffic MAYBE there is less margin for it.
The van looks great. In case anyone was wondering, the she's still unnamed - thankfully. Dan originally had wanted to name her "Van-ronica". LAME is all i'm going to say about that. Though we were pretty exhausted that night, we couldn't help but excited at the prospect of living out of it. It made me feel like I did when I used to build a fort under a card table draped in blankets in the sunroom, at my grandparent's house. Giddy fun! Of course, right now, we aren't using it to the fullness of its capability - ie. we are going to be doing some couch surfing as we cross the country, and I imagine, where-ever the opportunity might present itself - so with a few consecutive days of being in the van constantly might change my tune about that. But, really, it's solid, comfortable, and relatively spacious. It's just about perfect! Also, all the bolts that we drove through the roof to affix the roof rack and the box containing the solar pannels have stopped leaking - so THAT is great!
Last night we had a launch party, at which I snapped some pics...I'll get those up ASAP.
f
We packed up and were gone from our place at 7:00pm, but we had to swing by Dan's father's place on the way out prior to quitting the city 'cause Dan had to square away some tax issues and sound out some ideas.
By the time that was all done it was 8:30, and Dan's father, with a wry smile, made the suggestion that we should just wait 'till the morning, but we were anxious to hit the road all the same. We were pretty tired, but bouyed by the prospect of finally leaving. It was pretty exciting to cruise the Queen's Way out of town for what remains an indefinite period.
The roads were good, as was the weather, though we did have a little rain. Also, there were some super thick patches of fog on the raod. Traveling at that time, both dan and I were shocked by the number of trucks that were traveling the road or parked at the roadside stops. Amazing...and also troubling when you consider how much each of those trucks consume in energy every year - though the job they do is no doubt valuable. As you can see everything - even the most mundane idea- that crosses my thoughts these days, is gravitating towards the project. I think that's a very good thing!
During the course of the drive I was thinking how I haven't learned much yet about those in the scientific community who believe that humans are actually having a minimal affect on the planet. Probably these voices are marginalized in the current furor over environmental problems that the planet is undergoing. People who assert that really the Earth is moving in cycles that we have not existed long enough to even begin to understand. People who assert that the beliefe that we could have a permanent impact on the planet is a testimony to our species' over-inflated sense of self-importance. I don't necessarily believe this angle completely, but I feel that it deserves consideration if we want to give a balanced perspective.
At any rate, I drove part of the way, starting somewhere just before the "Big Apple" on the 401. The van is SO heavy, that it's quite difficult to drive. I was so tense driving the thing because I'm not used to the drift that comes when driving a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, so I'd end up overstearing too drastically (knee jerk reactions), which would cause me to begin to fish-tail at higher speeds. Happily though, by the time we hit the big smoke, I was feeling a lot more comfortable thanks to some coaching from Dan. Essentially it's like steering a big boat. That being said, drifting when you are on a 4 lane highway with nobody around isn't a problem, but when you are in traffic MAYBE there is less margin for it.
The van looks great. In case anyone was wondering, the she's still unnamed - thankfully. Dan originally had wanted to name her "Van-ronica". LAME is all i'm going to say about that. Though we were pretty exhausted that night, we couldn't help but excited at the prospect of living out of it. It made me feel like I did when I used to build a fort under a card table draped in blankets in the sunroom, at my grandparent's house. Giddy fun! Of course, right now, we aren't using it to the fullness of its capability - ie. we are going to be doing some couch surfing as we cross the country, and I imagine, where-ever the opportunity might present itself - so with a few consecutive days of being in the van constantly might change my tune about that. But, really, it's solid, comfortable, and relatively spacious. It's just about perfect! Also, all the bolts that we drove through the roof to affix the roof rack and the box containing the solar pannels have stopped leaking - so THAT is great!
Last night we had a launch party, at which I snapped some pics...I'll get those up ASAP.
f