Each of the provinces I travelled through had Bible Schools, Bible Camps or both billboarded on the highway.
In every province and state I drove through there has been construction and in every one of them the speeding fine is double the regular fine.
Every province and state I drove through had an “Adopt a Road” programme.
Passed a Text Stop/Rest Stop that was sponsored by Geico. It advertised that it had no facilities. Do you suppose that because gekkos don’t need facilities they never thought of it? If people complained to the company, do you think they would add facilities?
Talk about luck. I left British Columbia the day before mandatory snow tires law took effect for the winter.
Liked the roadside recycle “turnouts” in Alberta.
Loved the long passing lanes along the Trans-Canada Highway.
Truck drivers in northern Ontario would flash their back lights at you if it was clear to pass. I thought that was great!
In Canada, we just say ‘pop‘; in the U.S., people say ‘soda pop‘!
Just guessing, but I’m thinking that in July or August there would have been a lot more traffic on the Trans-Canada and other highways I was on. I do love travelling in September.
The solar-powered message boards along the side of the road in Illinois say,
Drive sober or go to jail. Your choice.
In Indiana, those messages read
An accident is one call away. Drop it and Drive.
New York state has regular signs about not texting:
Then there’s my favourite from Wisconsin:
A steering wheel is not a hands-free device!
Crossing borders between provinces and between states, most places put up some kind of a “Welcome to . . .” sign or at least post some highway rules like, ‘slow down and move over for emergency vehicles’ and post the speed limit. I never saw a thing coming into Wisconsin. Wasn’t sure I was in Wisconsin until I stopped at a McDonalds and asked someone.
There are people everywhere who drive without daytime lights even in foul weather.
Loved this sign in the Bass Pro Shop in the Cross Iron Mills mall in Calgary:
Loved the big city skylines: Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Indianapolis.
Passed the exit to Toledo, Ohio of Max Klinger fame.
Worst road of the trip — Hwy 18 in Saskatchewan.
Second worst — River Rd. from 416 to Ottawa, Ontario — final leg of the trip.
Worst pollution — truck coming into Calgary, Alberta from BC along the Trans-Canada belching a black smoke screen every couple of minutes. You’d think there’d be a law.
Scariest part of the trip was a section in BC before crossing into Alberta.
Stayed in Jamestown, North Dakota. Also, passed a Jamestown, New York. There’s also a Jamestown in Virginia, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and California.
West Wing Trivia
Passed by Nashua, Montana. President Bartlett was from Nashua, New Hampshire. Didn’t know there was another Nashua.
Traveled through North Dakota. Donna Moss was sent to North Dakota to attend a symposium on dropping the word “North” from the name North Dakota. They thought it would attract more tourism. Donna pointed out they’d still have the incredibly cold winter weather that keeps tourists away.
Also in North Dakota is the city Fargo. President Bartlett pretended to be the king of car sales from Fargo when he called the Butterball Turkey hot line to find out how to cook the stuffing without giving his family botulism.
Trouble with time zones. Toby and Josh had trouble with time zones, too, in Unionville, Indiana while on the campaign trail. They missed the motorcade and then missed a train because Unionville stayed on standard time when all around them in the state the towns were on daylight savings time.
I’m spending the night in South Bend, Indiana. South Bend is the home of Notre Dame University and is where President Bartlett was attending to become a priest when he met Abby. He told C.J. Cregg about it when they were on the presidential plane.
Also, when C.J. made a disparaging remark about the Notre Dame team, the President made her wear a Notre Dame ball cap and lead the press in a chorus of their school song onboard Airforce One.
Passed by Cleveland, Ohio today. One of the presidential hopefuls got asked why he wanted to be president at a press conference in Cleveland, Ohio. C.J. and Josh called his answer “a train wreck” which prompted C.J. to excitedly proclaim, “Oh me-oh, Oh my-oh, Oh Cleveland, Ohio!
On The Road with Ms. M. 