Resting up in Ottawa. A few functions to attend, friends and family to visit, and then back on the road again, headed west. The trip here I encountered a subtle but constant battle with time zones. Every day of driving that crossed a time zone was an hour longer, on paper. For the return I will have the little pleasure of the day of driving feeling an hour shorter every time I cross a time zone. A little thin but it makes a difference in planning arrival times.
I learned the hard and expensive way that many Canadian Hostels are not open before April and it never occurred to me to try Airbnb. The end result was several nights in hotels and motels instead. Killed my trip budget.
Airbnb https://www.airbnb.ca/
Canadian Hostels http://www.hihostels.ca/
For the return journey I have booked in to a combination of hostels and Airbnb and am quite looking forward to the journey. I have a brochure now too that makes it easier to connect with folks on my travels. Getting some solid ideas about how best to tackle the Mother of All Road Trips too.
First, don’t set out till after March, so that I can take advantage of all hostels, provincial parks and national parks.
Really try to find a reliable winterized camper van. The hassle of hauling gear in and out of whatever transient accommodations I am calling home for the night would be easily overcome with a camper.
Pick Facebook posts and updates that relate directly to events taking place either by date or by where I am visiting next. For example, although it is a month plus away, May 12 – 23, 2016 in Ottawa marks the annual The Canadian Tulip Festival:
“It is difficult to describe how absolutely beautiful this is. There are literally thousands of tulips of varying colour. It sure is a sight to see. But it doesn’t stop at just the tulips – there are exciting shows and exhibits too. What a great way to say goodbye to winter and hello to Spring (actually at this point we are nearing the end of Spring and heading into summer). Read more about the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa.”
I wonder what is happening in Kenora April 7th?