Westward Ho: Day 1

Posted on by Annie

As I was driving today, I thought of calling this post “All the Single Ladies” after the Beyonce song because here’s the message especially for solo women who might be thinking this is all really complicated and hard and it would be crazy to consider doing it yourself. It’s not. It’s not super easy, but like most good things in life, a little work goes a long way to a big payoff. This towing an Alto is pretty easy stuff: Get the mirrors adjusted right. It took me about 5 seconds on the highway to realize the function of the mirrors,…

Read more

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Posted on by Annie

The good parts of the day first… Today’s sunset was amazing. The KOA might be hard by a freeway, with the attendant noise, but the sky is amazing. This is #nofilter stuff right here, people. I didn’t need to change a thing. Unhitching the car was OK. I went slowly, and thought about each step before I did it. And the two were finally separated, so I could drive off to Walmart. And buy food and paper towels and dish soap. Such an exciting trip. Now for the bad parts of the day, both involving new skills I obviously am still…

Read more

The Adoption of Breeze

Posted on by Annie

Bella and I pulled into the Safari Condo parking lot this morning, ready to adopt the newest member of our little vagabond tribe. There she was, waiting in the bay, complete with a red bow and a welcome sign: Then it was a day of learning so many new things that I think my brain grew another brain just to try and hold onto the flood of knowledge the Alto grandmaster, Denis Messier, passed along to me. Full tour of outside, then inside, every single thing had something special to remember about it. Kudos to the crew that took care…

Read more

Eastbound and Done: Day 10

Posted on by Annie

Finally, the last eastbound mile is done. I am in the hotel in Levis (St. Nicolas) and I only have 11 hours left before I get the keys to my new home. Wow, is this how nervous and sleepless people feel the day before buying their first home? Had a lovely visit with two Alto friends, Marie and Pierre, and daughter Helene, but I was so excited to see them (and, yes, their Alto) that I literally did not take a single picture at all. I have failed at documenting the best meal of the trip and the best conversation in…

Read more

Eastbound: Day 9

Posted on by Annie

Today was mostly about getting from Point A (Niagara Falls) to Point B (near Montreal) so that I’m well positioned for Sunday’s social events: a mid-morning meetup with virtual FB friends who have an Alto (and Marie is the goddess of internal Alto storage area measurements) and then a 3-hour drive up to St. Nicolas and dinner with another friend. After 7 days of solo traveling, I hope I remember how to make conversation that is more interesting than gas mileage stats and highway road signs. What did I learn today? I learned where both my car’s fuse boxes are, and…

Read more