Life on the road

A place can become home quicker than you realize.  Over the last 3 nights, amidst running and our little adventure in the ditch, we have gotten to know the Irving gas station quite well.  The restaurant is quite popular in these parts, and because the RV currently doesn’t have heat, we’ve been spending quite a bit of time in a booth.  I can tell you that their soup is amazing and their homemade pies… delicious! It seems as though this is the hub of Deer Lake.  Granted, we have spent the majority of our time here.  We got away today to go for a lovely walk along Deer Lake with the dogs, and the local massage therapist had an opening today so my IT band got some much needed treatment (thanks Jena)!

Can you spot our monstrous RV?!

Sarah and I were talking about the culture of truckers and how fascinating it is.  My only direct experience was when I hitchhiked across Canada – a fascinating East Indian character who gave me a lift… offered me his McDonald’s and introduced me to some of the more popular Indian hip hop at the time!  I had to hide in the back part of the cab when we went through an inspection station, but I was hooked.  A life on the road is not an easy one and the pressures of meeting deadlines is particularly hard in a province that’s getting pounded with snow and wind.   The small bits of conversation we’ve overheard attest to those challenges.  Because we have a whopping 24 foot vehicle (which is still dwarfed beside these trucks), we felt the privilege to park overnight where the truckers park.  For a couple of nights, we are trying to be part of the comradery that is life on the road.   And while I’m on the topic of truckers, I will say this.  I realize the Trans Canada Highway was made for motorized vehicles and I’ve lost count as to the turned heads I’ve received as people drive by me.  But by and large, it is the drivers of big transport trucks who go out of their way to give me the most room on the highway.  The majority of them will move fully into the oncoming traffic lane if there is no one coming in the opposite direction.  This is in stark contrast to guys in their oversized pick up trucks who feel the need to show you who’s in power – they refuse to give you an inch… argh.  Perhaps another day, I will rant!  But today, my trucker hat goes off to these drivers and the long hours they spend to deliver… well, stuff for all of us.

Sarah walking both dogs… a first! BFF’s in no time!

Tomorrow it’s back to the road and although I don’t have 18 wheels, I have two legs that are ready to go (crossed fingers)!  Hoping to arrive in Corner Brook on Sunday, with a couple of school visits early next week.

A view from hiking Deer Lake