Day One of Ben & Brian's Excellent Adventure

The first leg of the trip westward takes us from Ottawa to Sault St. Marie in Ontario. Distance Travelled: 800 km

After some time packing everything I could take with me into my car, I was able to depart at about noon, a fair bit later than originally intended but I did want to be extra sure that the roof-attachment was good and secure. The last thing I wanted was to be driving down the highway and realize a few minutes after hearing a thump above my head that the bag had come loose and the contents of my underwear drawer were now spread across a kilometer of Canadian backwoods.

But by noon everything was set to go, I had nuzzled my parent's poodles (Thor & Loki) for the last time, and I'd said a long goodbye to my mom earlier that morning. As I left Ottawa I was thinking about the things I would miss about it.

Even though I was born and raised in Ottawa, I don't think I ever developed an attachment to it the way that many people become entrenched in their home towns. I'd never had a regular pub or pool hall to go for drinks in (I'm not much of a drinker), I didn't especially enjoy the annual summer Bluesfest concerts and most of the landmarks of my childhood and adolescence like the local Rogers Video Rental store and Future Shop had closed down. I'd luckily had a last minute opportunity to spend some time with my old highschool Dungeons & Dragons crew for a few quick games and reminiscing, but by and large most of my friends from Ottawa had gotten jobs in other cities and moved elsewhere. And I guess now so have I.

But still, there are some parts of Ottawa that I will brag about to my new neighbours in Victoria and sigh wistfully about; the Ottawa canal freezing into a huge lumpy skating rink in the winter for example. There are few things as Canadian as fighting off the frost bite in your cheeks with a scalding hot chocolate and freshly baked Beaver Tail (for my readers in the USA and beyond, it's not literally a beaver's tail, Canadians aren't THAT much of a stereotype. It's a flat piece of fried dough slathered with butter and brown sugar and other toppings). I'll also miss the fireworks on Canada Day browsing the shelves at the Chapters that I worked at as a teenager and naturally, the house that I did most of my growing up in.

As much as I'd like to keep writing I do have another long day of driving ahead of me tomorrow, so let me summarize the trip as efficiently as possible:

My dad Brian Reilly at our first pit stop

ATE AT: M.I.C. (Made in Canada) Pub & Eatery in Sudbury. Lovely atmosphere with a big fireplace and clearly popular. Excellent food (I had a steak sanwich and a very hearty pea soup) but slow service. On the plus side, when my dad mentioned to the hostess that his food had arrived a bit cold, she had insisted on comping the meal in spite of my father's protests. Sudbury itself looked just as dull as everyone has always warned me it was, but to be fair we didn't stop there long enough to really find out.
 
ROAD KILL: Raccoon, Skunk, Porcupine (x2), Unidentifiable, Squirrel, Unidentifiable
 
LISTENED TO:
* Welcome to Nightvale my dad didn't have a taste for it, and shut it off after the first episode was over. I couldn't say I really blamed him, I remember the show being more coherent then it apparently is in reality.
* How Did This Get Made? I'd heard this particular episode before (Punisher: War Zone with Patton Oswalt) and knew it was going to be a funny one. My father was equally entertained and was asking if I had thought to burn more episodes of this show for the trip. Sadly, I hadn't. I wasn't expecting him to like it so much!
*The Dead Authors Podcast Started off with one of their most recent episodes, with guest host Carl Sagan interviewing guest Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens). We thought it was quite funny for a show that is clearly largely improvisational.
*The Faculty of Horror I specifically downloaded this episode ("Brides") because Bride of Frankenstein is one of my favorite films from the classic era of cinema and had high hopes, but both of us quickly agreed that the two hostesses were pretty insufferable, and the recording had serious sound issues too. My main complaint is that they spend most of the running time simply recapping the film and claiming one thing or another is "very interesting" (which, it is), without actually injecting any of their own opinions or input about WHY those scenes or characters were interesting. What little analysis they do bring amounts to decrying the institution of marriage as a prison for women fashioned by the patriarchy and glossing over the entire Hammer Horror era of the 60's and 70's as "schlock". Suffice it to say, I was not a fan of this podcast.

TALKED ABOUT: First Conversation was naming our top three favourite actors. I'm not sure if my dad meant specifically male actors when he asked the question but that's how I interpreted it. Our answers,
Ben: Jeffrey Coombs, Ron Perlman, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Brian: Michael Cain, Christopher Walken, Paul Newman

Second Conversation was to assemble our ideal bridge crew on a hypothetical Star Trek ship.
Ben: Captain Kirk, First Officer (movie era) Spock, Science Officer Wesley Crusher, Medical Chief Bashir, Security Chief Odo, Engineer Torres, Navigator Paris, Helm Officer Worf, Comm Officer Quark
Brian: Captain Picard, First Officer Spock, Science Officer Data, Medical Chief "Bones" McCoy, Security Chief Seven of Nine, Engineer Laforge, Navigator Checkov, Helm Officer Sulu, Comm Officer Hoshi Sato

Roadside Attractions: While we didn't really come across any serious tourist traps (and we wouldn't have had the time to spare on the anyway) we did pass by several billboards for something called "Frozen Beneath", which a big spooky picture of a UFO and an alien on it. I was immediately curious, picturing someone with tinfoil-wrapped car engine parts trying to pass them off as debris from a Roswell type crash. When I got to the hotel for the night I looked it up and, sadly, it's just a local author trying to sell his book. http://frozenbeneath.ca/
Dammit I wanted to see a fake rubber alien.

That's all I've got time to write about tonight. See you for tomorrow's update!