Road Trip!

I love a good road trip.  On a really good one you will laugh, cry, love and maybe even fight.  I've done my share over the years.  I grew up in Canada in smaller city that only recently started public transit and having a car meant freedom.  Summer camping trips, an impromptu trip somewhere 3 hours away to have a meal or just a drive for no reason--I'm guilty of all of these.  Of course that was many years ago when fuel was half the price it is now, I had summers off (except for the part-time summer job - had to pay for the fuel somehow) and I didn't have so many bills to pay.

One of my favorite trips was many years ago back during my very last year of university.  A good friend of mine and I drove from Edmonton, Alberta to Kingston, ON (and actually as far as Ottawa).  We packed up and drove it over the course of several days with stops in Regina, Saskatchewan (to visit my Dad), Bloomington, Minnesota (to check out the Mall of America), and Niagara Falls, ON (I'd never been there before despite having lived in Ontario for about 3 years at this point) just to name a few.  We camped, we ate cheap and listened to great music and sung along too.  We chatted.  About everything and anything.  Even though our lives have gone in different directions I often think fondly about that friend and that trip.  At the end of the year she even flew back to Ontario to meet me and come along on the return trip.

More recently I've done shorter trips.  One at the beginning of this summer and one at the end.  In opposite directions even.  Over the May long weekend I had the pleasure of accompanying one of my oldest friends on a road trip to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to visit her sister and just relax.  A weekend of food, movies, reading and even a little Scrabble ensued.  After work on Friday we hit the road stopping in Lloydminster a town that has the distinction of being partially in the province of Alberta and part in Saskatchewan.  After a bite to eat it was time to go again.  We rolled into Saskatoon sometime around midnight.  I was glad I wasn't driving--I generally have a pretty good sense of direction but for some reason I always seem to get lost there.

There were three notable restaurants we dined in over the course of the weekend.  Traeger's Restaurant and Bakery, which had an excellent french toast also had desserts in the case looked amazingly decadent--it's almost too bad we came for breakfast!  The next time I'm in town I'm going for dessert.  Another local breakfast favorite is The Berry Barn which is just south of Saskatoon. This place is very popular and reservations are definitely needed.  The food is tasty and the star attraction is the topping bar which you can have over waffles or cheesecake or whatever sounds good to you.  When I was there the toppings included strawberries, peaches and of course saskatoon berries.  When you've finished eating you can linger in the gift shop or if you have come at the right time of year you can pick yourself some berries to take away with you.  Last but not least we had dinner at The Cave.  This one is worth visiting strictly for the decor.  Once you step inside it looks--like a cave, complete with stalagtites.  The menu is varied and the portions were large.  I was suprised by the fact that there were tablecloths.  I was not expecting that.  You also get a map--keep it since you might need it to find your way to the bathroom!

My summer was bookended with one last road trip.  West this time.  Stay tuned for my next post when I head off to the Canadian Rockies.

Until then happy travelling!