The Open Road

Hey everyone! Here's the much anticipated...Aaron and Elaine's Survival Guide (to surviving a 30-hour road trip):1. Nickname the van.2. Book a hotel before getting to Thunder Bay.3. Keep the tunes rolling and the spirits high. It’s Aaron and Elaine checking in from Pickle Lake! The last three days have been quite the adventure as we drove from Kingston, to Huntsville, to Thunder Bay, and finally Pickle Lake, covering approximately 2,100 kilometres! On our first day of the road trip, Jenna and Aaron headed straight to Oakville following their last exam. The next day, after some quick shopping and a stop in Mississauga to pick up Elaine, we headed to Huntsville. We were fortunate enough to spend the night over in Huntsville with John’s family, where we had a wonderful dinner!. In the morning, we were back on the road by 8:00am, for our longest day travelling to Thunder Bay. The ride to Sault Ste. Marie was fairly uneventful until we hit the typical late-April snow-storm close to Thunder Bay. Note to self, it’s advantageous to book a hotel prior to getting to your destination. Luckily, after a few hours of driving and multiple phone calls, there was room at the inn. We would like to thank John's mom, Martha Lapp for her cookies that served as dinner and breakfast that day! The next morning, we made a few stops to pick up food and supplies, as well as a stopping by the lovely Nucci’s Bakeadeli. Thanks to their generosity, we had a delicious lunch as well as Persians (if you’ve never heard of it, look it up!).The ride to Pickle Lake took us up the 17 and 599, where we saw some friendly neighborhood moose and bears. We arrived in Pickle Lake at around 5pm and headed over to our accommodations. After cooking our first family dinner together, we met one of the teacher’s/Canadian Ranger/karaoke extraordinaire, Brent. He graciously hosted us at a karaoke bonfire where we had a lovely night. Overall, the road trip was a ton of fun, a great bonding experience, and DJ Jenna kept the tunes' rolling. In the meantime, we’ll be getting a tour of the town and reserve, as we preparing for our first days of teaching. We can't wait to see what the next six weeks will be like!

Check in with us soon!

Aaron and Elaine