When in Wemindji...: Home and Gone Again!

Ah! It has been a busy couple of weeks since I made the long trip home from Wemindji, Quebec to Oakville, Ontario. Lots has happened too!

Lets see, first: tons of scary forest fires have popped up around the Cree Nation in Northern Quebec. They started near Eastmain, prompting an emergency evacuation. Lightening struck and 5 fires began burning within a 45km radius of Wemindji this past week, putting fear into the hearts of residents both in town and away. With all my lemon juice stored in my pantry, I wondered if it might act as an accelerant and blow my place up! We'll see. As for now, the residents of Wemindji have only been advised to stay alert and keep emergency supplies handy but I don't expect the town to burst into flames based on what I am hearing so that is good news! 381 (the last stop gas station for 381 KM until Matagami) almost bit the dust with a few of the out buildings burned down, but the restaurant, bathrooms and gas pumps remained unscathed! Thank goodness!

After arriving back to Oakville after the long 2-day drove from Wemindji I was thoroughly pooped. I am not sure if it was the hours of intense driving, just finishing my first year of intense teaching, or a mix of the two, but I was - and still am exhausted. Not long after arriving home, I took off on another road trip adventure across Massachusetts with my mom. We hit up Salem, Boston and Provincetown in 5 days. Well, actually 2 of those days were spent driving there and back but we managed to squeeze in quite a lot of sight seeing, touristy things and shopping before heading back! My only regret was not making a pit stop at Duty Free :|

After arriving in Salem later Monday evening, we had a really nice dinner in town and stayed at a old hotel in the heart of the town. The next day we took a trolley ride around town, saw the Salem Witch Museum, the Witch House and did various other witchy things. It was really cool and very spooky.

The next day was Boston for about 2 days. Let me tell you something. Driving in Boston is for people with nothing to fear, nothing to loose and quite possibly a lower-than-average IQ. I will NEVER EVER DRIVE IN BOSTON AGAIN. Couldn't pay me enough to do it. I can't even begin to describe the horror that is Boston traffic. Imagine this: 10 lane roads (on a bridge no less), very faded or non-existent lines on merging lanes or just lanes in general, freaky 3 or 5 way intersections with no discernible paths for crossing, and for those intersections, 5647894 traffic lights pointed in every single direction (even skywards I swear). Can I turn right on a red in Mass? I have no idea, depending on my mood I made up my own rules which is what I think all Boston drivers have decided to do. No one signals, no one lets you in and no one courtesy waves!!!

Anyways, after finagling my way through Boston traffic (on the 4th of July to add salt to the wound!) my mom and I managed to see some pretty awesome buildings on a trolley tour, walk up Beacon Hill for some dinner, tour the Harvard University campus, take a boat tour of the Charles River, shop and eat at Quincy Market and lots of other fun things.

On the 4th my mom and I drove the coast to Provincetown. It was a hot, sunny day and the town was PACKED. The shopping was great though and I made it my goal to only eat lobster that day. I made it to lunch before tapping out, Lobster Eggs Benedict for brekky, Lobster Sliders for lunch. I decided to switch to the slightly lighter fare of Shrimp Scampi for dinner, at least sticking with the seafood theme. The beach in Provincetown was surprisingly not packed and we relaxed for a short time there. Fireworks went off promptly at 9pm and they were awesome! Massachusetts really cools down when the sun sets so at least there was some relief from the intense 30 degree+ heat we experienced all week. It was quite an adjustment from the cooler, no-humidity "summer" I have been experiencing in Wemindji so that was interesting. I hate the heat, lemme just put that out there. Obviously I was not born for heat and sunlight so this only makes sense.

The drive home was long but much more direct. My mom and I listened to ghost story podcasts I downloaded on my phone for the trip which was pretty entertaining and spooky!

Currently I am struggling with the decision to buy a new/used car. While my trusty '97 Tercel has been so good to me, I have not been so kind in return. These 1500+km journeys a few times a year have upped the maintenance costs considerably and while I am loyal and committed to this relationship, I need more. More space, more reliability, just more! Its not you Green Machine, its me. Now if anyone knows me well, they know that I am perpetually low on cash so buying a used van or something like it is pretty much not in the cards. What I am looking at it getting some kind of reasonable financing from a reputable source and obtaining a vehicle that way. I have never bought a car before, know nothing about cars, buying them, or hassling with a dealership for the best deal so I am pretty much a sucker in that sense. I have received some good advice from Carmen, a recent car buyer for a new vehicle for up North, and done a little research into the type of vehicle that would best suit my needs. Reading consumer reviews and shopping around has lead me to seek out the Dodge Grand Caravan. It is good on gas, has TONS of cargo space and frankly looks like it might be a little better suited for long-distance travel than my poor little 2-door sedan. Anyways, with my debt load I am not even sure I can get approved for a new car so this could all be just a dream. I'll keep you posted.

So now I am home and getting ready to leave again for a nice couple of says at a friend's cottage where I can relax and watch other people risk their lives on water crafts doing dangerous things in dangerous open bodies of water. I will be nicely curled up at a safe distance with some kind of beverage and perhaps paint my toenails. This is how I relax at a cottage. None of this "roughing it" stuff for me. I was instructed to bring a sleeping bag however which sent chills down my spine.
'

BUGSSS

So many bugs. At one point I thought it was raining but no. The droplets smacking my window were merely the bodies of thousands of bugs being hit all at once.

Delightful treat left for us at the Amosphere Hotel!

Our drive was made considerably slower this time due to being stuck behind 2 of these things for hours and everyone on the planet driving 80km/hr

Carmen ran out of wiper fluid... HAHAHAHA

A nice treat after a long drive.

My total KM for the drive home.

At the boarder!

Not only did I have to drive in downtown Boston, but for a large portion of that drive I was stuck behind an ONION TRUCK.

Obligatory bathroom shot of the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem

Cute hotel room

Spooky hallway. I just imagined some child riding their tricycle up and down the halls screeching "REDRUM"

In the stocks!

Hawthorne Hotel

Spooky dining hall

Spooky lobby

Yeaaaaahhh!

This flag was the size of a house, no lie. Ever patriotic.

The only physical original treasure the city of Salem has that is tied to the Salem Witch Trials.

A brave bookstore display

Well, I love hotel freebies. This is something I am not ashamed of! Imagine my utter GLEE when the hotel concierge in Boston told me that there was a closet full of complementary freebies (accessible by the guests) should we need anything extra. Lets just say I took liberties with that closet.

Boston in the evening

Quincy Market

The USS Constitution. Never before in my life have I had to walk through METAL DETECTORS to go to a museum before but that's the United States for ya...