We are heading east to go “home” this week. This is our annual ritual, when you move away, you go “home” for your holidays and that is what I have been doing for 30 years. The annual trek is one I could do in my sleep, and I sure wish I could drive it that way. I don't like driving when I have a destination in mind. The drive becomes the means to the end and I just want to be there. Forget about the zen of the journey, the now of the moment, no enlightenment for me. You can imagine what a joy I must be to drive with on trips like this, especially when we have 16–17 hours ahead of us. Once I get on the road, I already want to be there and don't have much patience for any unscheduled stops. Pat was joking that he should have ordered the Stadium Pal for the trip (it's for men – a temporary storage bag attached to your – you know what, so you can pee into it wherever you are), because I don't like to stop too often and he always has to pee — he has a woman's bladder! Our original plan was to leave right after work on Friday, July 30th (around 4:30 pm) and drive as far as Edmonton and then head out early Saturday morning and drive the rest of the way to Gimli, Manitoba. As it got closer, I kept on thinking that we should just keep driving and go through the night till we got there. When I announced that plan to Pat a few days before, he groaned, he knew what that meant – I was in “let's just get there” mode and I am none too pleasant as a traveling companion in that state.
We did leave at 4:30 pm Friday and I kept driving. We switched at Lloydminster and Pat drove to Saskatoon. I took over at 1 am and made it another hour or so down the road – good old Hwy 16 – Just Yellowhead it. We stopped at a gas station and put our seats back to have a rest. At 5 am we awoke, walked around, had a coffee and headed out again. Pat and I had sore butts from the car seats and Denise kept on sleeping in the back – so much for her “I can drive when you need me”. What she meant was, “I really don't want to drive, so don't ask me to.”
To give you an idea of what our trip was like, here was our horoscopes for Saturday, July 31st – they were super accurate:
Cancer (Edith): This is a poor day for important discussions with siblings, relatives and friends. Whatever happens, you will feel displeased. There's an undercurrent of resentment and dissatisfaction in the air. People are doing a slow burn. Would an ice cream cone help? Yep, that about sums it up for me yesterday.
Libra (Denise): This is not an easy day for your sign. By nature, you like harmony around you. You don't like to rock the boat. You like to keep everyone happy. But today you're upset. The problem is you feel you can't say anything. So you're just grinding your teeth. Take a deep breath and smile. Okay, she likes harmony as long as you are keeping it, she wants us to be happy no matter what she says/does and when she grinds her teeth — you know it! High alert for body language and tone of voice!
Aquarius (Pat): You might be unhappy about how something is shared today. More likely, you're unhappy with somebody else's values, which definitely do not reflect your own. Compromise is the only solution, but you don't want to compromise. You want to stay in a funk. (Been there, done that, got the T-shirt). I wonder who he was unhappy with about how it got shared? Any guesses?? Wouldn't be me would it Pat? I can't imagine it was anything I SAID….
We did make it to Gimli around 1:45 pm and thank goodness for Dilla – our saviour. She was there to greet us and welcome us into her place and we settled in. I went for a run, Denise for the shower, Pat for a shave and then a walk downtown to go to KaffeHouse – our special place for a latte. Of course, it is Icelandic celebration weekend and Gimli is packed with people… more about that tomorrow…
But to whet your appetite, I will leave you a picture of Dilla (my aunt) in her traditional Icelandic costume, an upplautur, and the definition of Gimli. In Norse mythology it is said that it is the home of the Gods – a paradise. That's what we needed after our marathon travel day – paradise on the shores of Lake Winnipeg.
