Greetings from Regina

Well folks, we made it safe and sound to Regina - the city that rhymes with fun. Since arriving, I've been trying to think of an entertaining way to tell the story of our trip. So far, the best idea I've come up with is to share some of the highlights and some stats about our move and the drive. Ummm stats are entertaining, aren't they? No? Just me? Oh well. Suck it up and read on.

Distance travelled = 1700 km

Biggest surprise = Abner gets carsick. Who knew? Poor thing started puking just 2 hours into the whole drive. I tossed her potty at her hoping she'd keep it contained...she just threw it back at me and made a mess of her carseat. All the books, games, toys and distractions we'd packed had to stay packed up for the rest of the trip. She did an incredible job doing nothing but staring out the window for the remainder of the trip. All I can say is thank goodness for books on CD...I highly recommend Junie B. Jones in case you're looking for a little something to listen to on your next trip. I am also thankful for aunts who have washing machines so we didn't have to smell vomit for the entire rest of the way!

Gas fill ups = 4

Hotels visited = 3 (so far)

Best Abner quote = Runaway lanes? What? Lanes can't run! They don't have any legs!

Detours = 2 (the first around a mud slide near Chilliwack, the second just west of Regina)

Strangest town = Swift Current. We drove through that entire town and there isn't a single playground to be had! We had to blow up a beach ball just so Abner would have something to play with while we took a break from the road.

Number of movers with head injuries = 1 (he fell off the truck during loading)

Coffee stops = 3

Biggest excitement = Following a van with a wobbly rear tire for several km waiting for the inevitable. When it did happen, the tire bounced into oncoming traffic (didn't hit anyone) and a flying bolt took out a fog light on our car. Could have been soooooo much worse. So bizarre watching that loose tire for so long and just having to wait for it to fly off and hope for the best when it did.

Washroom stops = 9 (in my defence, it was a VERY long drive)

3 pm on day 2 = point at which we remembered how to use cruise control

Number of boxes packed = 101 (all labelled with numbers on 2 sides and contents documented on a worksheet, of course!)


Stupidest roadside sighting = Distance marker signs on the prairies. Do they really think I need a sign to tell me a town is coming up in 1 km? I could see the town from 10 km out for Pete's sake!

Distance from which we first saw Regina = 30 km

Weight of possessions in our moving truck = 5400 lb

Mosquito bites so far = 30 (none on The Dear Sweet Husband, 3 on Abner, and the rest on me)

That pretty much sums up the drive and our move so far. I really must say the drive went better than I ever could have hoped. Abner enjoyed herself for the most part, weather was good, scenery was beautiful, and Regina is a lovely city. We've been at hotels these first few nights and just found ourselves a home this afternoon. We don't get to move in right away, so the rest of July should be interesting to say the least!