Moving Part Dos

"There's an old saying - There's No Place Like Home. Well, I went in the house next door, and it was very similar." – Geoffrey Parfitt

Moving to....Alberta. I can now officially say I have lived in 4 provinces. By that I mean I have held a driver’s license and had a physical address in 4 different provinces, BC, Saskatchewan, Ontario and now Alberta. Each time I move I am reminded of how the different provinces and regions across Canada are. When I first moved to Ontario I entered the province via Freeway 75 from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan crossing over the River on a large bridge. It was December so to be fair it was rather a white and cold entrance. What I learned was that compared to US freeways and highways Ontario particularly the northern highways lack restrooms for travelers. You are pretty much relegated to stopping at Tim Horton’s to use the bathroom and then feeling guilty buy something for using the bathroom never really ending the circle until you reach your destination. At one point I actually made my Dad stop on the side of the highway while I peed all in the full blinding light of oncoming traffic...but not just regular traffic – tractor trailer traffic. To this day I am not sure if my white ass blended with the snow or was even seen...no matter I and my bladder were equally relieved. Highway 11 was desolate in the winter a two lane highway that skirts many lakes and rivers including one made famous by Neil Young, Blind River. So my introduction to Ontario was scarcely populated areas, lots of water - in various forms, lonely windy highways, trees trees and more trees and well established Italian communities. I was once told that if your name didn’t end in a vowel it was highly unlikely you would be successful in business in Northern Ontario.

I bring up my move to Ontario because it was my last move before I traversed the country again and moved to Alberta. The last three years I have moved from BC Ontario and then from Ontario to Alberta. This time I arrived via plane – which honestly is a much faster and more enjoyable way to move if you are moving 1000’s of kilometers rather than just a couple hundred. Upon my arrival in Alberta (Edmonton) I was quickly made aware of several things 1) this is definitely oil & gas country 2) people who live and come here to visit  are avid hunters and fishermen 3) there are liquor stores everywhere...everywhere 4) the unofficial provincial symbol is a large 4 x 4 truck  5) Hooters (the restaurant) definitely has a presence 6) the West Edmonton Mall is still very much a destination and 7) there is no shortage of country radio stations to choose from. I had arrived! Next step final destination...small town on the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. I opted to take a 4 hour bus ride. This is clearly not an option for most people there were only 11 people on the bus....this was a large bus. As the bus left Edmonton and traveled north east there was no doubt that I was not in Southern Ontario anymore. In southern Ontario one never really is outside a town, city, etc. The places and people all run together along the 401 corridor - in Alberta not so much. To be honest we left Edmonton and they only thing that ran into each other were the forests and snow covered fields dotted occasionally with oil and gas rigs. You definitely know when one town (village) starts and ends although to be fair it isn’t all that bad knowing that city life is 300+ km’s away. I mean it’s not as if I have moved to the middle of nowhere – there are amenities’ here, grocery stores, drug stores, Wallyworld (which by the way appears to be a selling point in small communities – for me it is not!), there may not be fancy boutiques here but I am pretty sure small town life will be ok and a nice change of pace.