Saturday 2 July 2011

Departures and Arrivals

A day and a half of vigorous packing, and I do mean vigorous.

Mental somersaults.  Major anxiety.  I have no plan beyond a vague wavering concept of travelling East to West and heading North at some point.  I know one thousand dollars is not even enough of my own money to fuel this odeyssey.  I don't know anything.  However, I need to start walking the talk, and practicing the concepts I have been preaching for years. 

I am a firm believer in the "Law of Attraction".  That being that we "attract" into reality the visions and pictures we see most often in our mind.  I can say that I have honestly been thinking about this adventure almost daily for the last 3 years.  I know it will not go according to my design, but it will "go" according to "a" design.  So far so good.  I just know the next few days ahead of me, and I am letting go and letting events unfold naturally.  I am attached to nothing and am acting only when I feel it necessary.

So I packed up yesterday, said goodbye to some people I love, and hit the road and headed to Quebec City.  I blitzkrieged through montreal, coming only to a stop to a navigation error.  I blame the GPS, however, I just got the thing and it is more then possible that I just misread the controls.  How many people have been in my situation I wondered?  I got back on the "20 Est" and resumed my course.

 I fully stopped once on the way, having an insatiable coffee craving.  My friend Tim Horton was more then happy to oblige.  I must say, it was the best large "double double" I have ever had in my life.  It's funny how a buck sixty-nine can bring so much joy to a weary traveller.  I will happily add that is all I spent on my first day of the 1GA: a buck sixty-nine.

Driving into Quebec City at sunset took the breath from me,  I wasn't ready for it and it caught me off guard.  I remember smiling from ear to ear and feeling a buoyancy in my heart.  I had arrived at my first point of interest.

After another GPS "Off Route" error mishap, I was on my way to meet Mitchell C., a dude I had only met via couchsurfing.org.  I arrived at his place around 8:30 and was greeted warmly by Mitch and another Canada eastbound couchsurfer named April.  We sat and talked, trying to find the commonalities between us.  We meshed well and decided to head into the old city.

The drive into Old Quebec was amazing.  At 403 years old, it is the oldest city in Canada, and one of the oldest in North America.  In Canada it is one of the most historic. If you haven't been here, you need to get here.

Micthel a combat engineer with the Candian Forces appropriately directed us to park the car at the Citadel.  The Citadel is the oldest military fortification of its kind in Canada.  Mitch took us to his favourite spot along the ramparts, and we were witness to one of the most beautiful nighttime cityscapes I have ever seen.
Down below the city Of Quebec was alive, throngs of people wandering the city, I could feel her pulse.  Energy coalescing to form a living city. 

We wandered with the throngs below, exploring this captivating city.  Mitch discovered a hidden alley with a bar at its end.  We followed his lead and could hear the live music echoing along the stone walls of the alley.  We sat and talked into the early hours of the morning as the band played everything from CCR to Pink Floyd.   The conversation was awesome and the company was equally so.  My first day of the 1GA was amazing, April and Mitch were amazing human beings, thank you both so much.

We hit McD's ($1.69 double cheeseburger!!) and April was kind enough to treat me.  April for the record is a sleep walking english teacher who is on vacation from teaching in Abu Dhabi and is a kind and fun soul.
So that was day one.

Thanks to new friends, I am off to a great start.  Thank you universe.

                                       Quebec Gang sign.

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