With a mighty fine car like Patti it's hard to live a life without road trips. I was happily driving around from festival to festival until a slightly bigger road trip mission fell from the skies. My parents found cheap flights from Brussels to Montreal... So I promised to pick them up at the airport and travel around Quebec with them. I was in Briti
sh Columbia, thinking nothing of the mission I had to accomplish. With a snap of the fingers and the blink of an eye, I would be on the other side of the country. Easy!
I ignored everyone who told me Patti was too old for the drive and would fall apart along the way. I ignored the fact that I drive like a farmer and have no parking skills. Even more, I ignored the advice people gave me to just book a flight to save money and time. Why would I fly when I have a magical car that can drive me 5000 km to where I need to be? It was a big mission and I get bored easily singing songs by myself so I looked for funky people to join the trip.
In Banff, I picked up Verena, Aiden and about 15 thousand bags and we were ready to go! When you share a tiny space with a hilarious German woman and sweet Australian man you know good times will be a rollin'. Many states were crossed, free camp sites were found and after spending more than 70 hours in a car together, taboos seized to exist. Our mutual love for JT and Backstreet Boys songs resulted in many afternoons of car karaoke.
We followed the same highway all through the country but the views changed constantly. From the rockies over prairies, blue skies and rain storms, shooting stars and a full moon. Bottomless cups of coffee were my fetish. No quality, but quantity was what counted. The barista man in the back seat did not approve and suggested we'd look for real good coffee in Winnipeg. I got excited. After days of driving and sweating I was going to be in a real city. How do people act again? Is it okay to wear psychedelic tights and smell like car? My travel companions said no and we decided to take a shower just before entering the big city.
I could write a book about our two hours in Winnipeg but let's just say the coffee was great. It was really good, but it was even better to get out of there. We stopped for little lake swims and large waterfall selfies. City madness reached its highest level when we visited Toronto on a Saturday afternoon in what must have been 58 degrees. With a fried brain at the tipping point of delirium, I got in the car to drive to our last stop before the grand finale: Ottawa. By that point I learned how to behave like a classy city woman, shaved legs and bras and all. Until I saw blue lipstick and went a little crazy.
Montreal is a whole other story. Goodbye hugs one day and welcome kisses the next. A car and heart filled with love and sweet sweet memories. Singing homemade lyrics and crying from laughter. Countless hours of talking while driving through the country I like to call my home.
Oh Canada, you gorgeous thing!