Day 13-14: The Rough Road to Ottawa

A day and a half on the bus is a long time.

I didn't take any pictures while crossing Ontario, so this will be a text-only post. Ontario is mostly just trees, punctuated with lakes and short walls of salmon-coloured rocks. And really, they don't call Ontario the Land of a Thousand Lakes for nothing.

My ride across Ontario was mostly uneventful. The only things of interest were the occasional roadside giants I saw:

• Gorilla (or more likely Sasquatch) with a fish dangling from a fishing rod
• Moose and an eagle perched on a wooden lawn chair
• Mosquito (that I at first thought was an airplane) with a man hanging by straps while the mosquito held a knife and fork in hand (and looked very angry too)

After leaving Sudbury (where the bus route splits off from those headed to Toronto), where I did not see the giant nickel, the road got extremely rocky. Quite literally. My bus travelled along a highway that was under construction and parts of it were occasionally even just dirt. It also didn't help that every time were were on anything but smooth pavement all the seats rattled loudly like they would come off their hinges or whatever was bolting them to the floor. Not pleasant for attempting to sleep. Thankfully, I did most of that while on the previous bus.

The highlight, aside from my excitement of finally getting closer to my final destination, was passing through Pembroke. We zig-zagged quite a bit through the small city, which was perfect because I was dying to see the place because that's where my grandpa was from and I have much I need to dig into when I get the chance regarding the family history on his side. I think in a matter of the five or ten minutes meandering through Pembroke on the bus, I fell in love. It is quaint, but didn't seem to be overly small either. The houses are mostly small brick buildings, and yet have so much character to them. As did the lovely old churches. I really can't wait to go back once I have the chance.

And once again... I arrived in a city and got lost. I managed to get on the bus alright, and get off at the right stop even. I also lucked out and got a free bus ride as the driver's transfer machine was broken. The problem this time was that in the directions I wrote for myself, I wrote south rather than towards such-and-such street. I don't know my directions well, particularly in a new city. Anways, to explore and get properly oriented tomorrow.