Oh Canada.

Indeed.

I went to Montreal last weekend, and I chose the perfect weekend to do it. The weather was crisp and cool, but comfortable. The leaves were changing, probably at their peak, and the drive up was stunning as a result. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures because I didn't think that photos would do the scenery justice.

Incidentally, I drove through the Thousand Islands area (which Johanna, the director of my program, tells me is where the awful salad dressing of the same name was created) before driving into Canada. It is really scenic and beautiful. So much so, that I don't really know how to describe it accurately. I can't wait to go back in the spring to really check it out. There is a winery tour around that area, which would be cool to check out too. Any takers?

So back to the Canada trip. I have to say, it reminded me of the road trips that my family took when my brother and I were little. We had a lot of fun (when we weren't fighting or driving my parents batty), and my father would drive us all over the country to see places like Disney World, Washington DC and Niagara Falls. When I started driving, I always felt that same sense of adventure that inherently brought my father to this country over thirty years ago.

In my early twenties, my friend Anne and I drove all over the South, checking out random places for lots of dumb reasons, but mostly to curb our sense of adventure. We had a blast, listening to music, talking, trying new restaurants, talking our way into the Ryman Auditorium and getting to know new places.

As I've gotten older, driving has become more of a chore. Sometimes I really hate having to drive to get anywhere, much less make a road trip. (I really wish we had a better train system in the US, but that's another blog topic.) But this Canada trip somehow gave me a new sense of adventure and purpose. Maybe it was because I was conquering a path I'd not taken before. I certainly have never DRIVEN into Canada before (at least not when I was cogniscent - I think my family did it once when I was still in diapers.) And I had never seen upstate New York in such beauty. It was really exciting - like the first time I landed in Prague by myself.

So while it was really wonderful catching up with my aunt, uncle and cousins in Montreal, it was really exhilarating to drive into Canada. There are a freaking LOT of geese and birds though. My car looks like it was attacked by paintball guns filled with bird shit instead of paint. By the way, Montreal is THE place to go for breads, pastries, cheeses and wines. And yellow watermelon, apparently. Yummmm. Ok, I'd better get to the gym now to work off some of that pate that was immensely delicious...