Home Sweet Home

I'm back! Safe and sound. And ecstatic!

This was the roadtrip of a LIFETIME! Caps to show how excited/enthusiastic/serious I am.

Sturgis, South Dakota for my number 1 bucket list item. Check!

I won't go into too many details, as we all have that friend who thinks it's really fun to invite you over and show you 1000's of her vacation pictures. Really?? Can I really sit there for 3 hours while you tell/show me how awesome your trip was? Pass.

Cliff Notes Version:

• Rode through 6 states (Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Oregon)
• 17 days nights on the road, 16 nights (including one sleepless night in Spokane, WA where there was ZERO VACANCY in the whole city and we showered at a Flying J Truck Stop)
• Almost 7, 000 km on my bike (highlites included The Custer Wildlife Loop in South Dakota, Big Horn National Park in Wyoming and part of the Oregon Coast...after 2 weeks away from the ocean, that is one sweet sight!)
• 3 days spent riding to Sturgis, South Dakota, 1 week spent in Sturgis and 1 week spent riding home. How we got there in 3 days and took 7 to get home, I'll never know ;)
• An entire motley crew of people we met along the way, including new friends from Burnaby, South Dakota, Arkansas, Colorado and Arizona (the couple from AZ actually bunked with us one night in Montana...the hotel there had no vacancy and since we knew what that felt like from Spokane, we invited them to stay with us...thankfully they wound up being lovely and didn't steal from us, phew!)
• Heat I have never experienced before, most days were about 35 degrees. And it was awesome. (Note: we were super responsible and re-applied SPF 110 every hour and a half...thanks to our Irish company, we needed to make specific sunscreen stops)
• Memories I will cherish forever...too cheesy? That's how I roll.

Incredible company, beautiful scenery, perfect weather. What more could you ask for?

Sturgis, a town of about 6, 000 people, balloons to about 450, 000 during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Heaven on Earth.

A lot of people get married during the Sturgis rally. Pictured: Not Me. Congrats to the happy couple!

Deadwood, SD, home of the Wild West and where Wild Bill was murdered.

Even though the national history was lost on me, it was still reallllllly cool to see Mt Rushmore in person.

Bitter sweet as all 3 of us travelling gypsies are packed up and about to head home.

A little roadside nap on the way home. Life is tough.

Such pretty countryside. Wyoming, I love you THIS MUCH!

Old Faithful doing its thang.

Arrived in Oregeon. Picked up a few hitchkiking bugs on the way. The more the merrier ;)

Safe and sound on the ferry. Seeing the ocean was magical. There's no place like home.

We're now in the planning stages of next year's trip. We were on the ferry on the way home Saturday night when I realized it was this time last year that we decided on this trip for this summer (last year the same girls and I did a road trip down to Oregon for another motorcycle rally). So I said to the girls "Where to next year? We should pick a destination right now and keep the tradition going!" One of the girls suggested we each come up with 3 roadtrip ideas, put them all on a dartboard and throw a dart to decide.

Sooo...what should my 3 ideas be? I'm thinking Halifax and New Orleans. Thoughts? Any great roadtrips you've been on that you'd recommend? I'd love to hear them!

PS, let me know if you ever want to come over and look at my 1000's of photos. It'll be fun ;)



Talk to you soon, friends!

The Countdown is ON!!

Vacation Countdown.

It's been running in my head for the last week. 5 days left. 4 days left. 3 days left. 2 days left.

And with just TWO DAYS LEFT until STURGIS (!!!), I've got to get organized. Which is what brought me to my mom's house last night. She has this thing to keep all your ID in, like your passport etc.

So I went by last night to pick that up and she's like "Don't forget your license, Brittany."

Obviously, mom. I'm riding down; I'll definitely have my driver's license.

Then she hands me this plastic ID holder with two little cards inside.

Huh?

Let me preface this by saying my mom is the mom who holds on to EVERYTHING my brother and I ever made as kids.

And low and behold, those two little cards? ID cards I had made for myself when I was around 8.

One is a fake Driver's License I made for myself, complete with a picture of myself and my brother (???) and also listing my age as 42. Obviously I look 42.

The other is an ID listing my profession...as a "Docter/Spy Detective". What a great combo!

You need 2 pieces of ID to get into the States, right?

Those will probably work for border crossing, right ;)

Bucket Lists...

What's on yours???

After 6 years of wanting soooo badly to ride down to South Dakota for the Sturgis MC Rally, I'm doing it next week! It's actually kind of sureal to have wanted something so bad for so long...and now to actually see it come to fruition.

Too cheesy? That's how I roll.

Anyway, Sturgis is one of the biggest things on my Bucket List and I'll soon be able to cross it off (!!!!!!)...what's on yours?

One of my BFFs...Susan...wants to ride an elephant.

Until she makes it happen, this will have to do.

The STURGIS COUNTDOWN IS ON!!! In two weeks, I'll be South Dakota-bound for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It's a town of like 3, 000 people that balloons to 700, 000+ during the two weeks of the rally. So accommodations are tight. And expensive. Which is why you have to get creative.

Residents in the area rent out rooms in their homes, their backyards for camping...and in our case, their motorhomes (parked in their driveway).

So I had to send a deposit for the motorhome but wasn't able to do a money transfer. I asked the gentleman if I could just send him a cheque instead. His reply?

"You're Canadian, you seem trustworthy."

My reply?

"Thanks, eh!"

Do you know my friends Bob and Doug? They're from Canada.

Yay! for stereotypes!

What's your fave Canadian stereotype?

Sidenote: I am trustworthy.

Cliff Notes Update

How is it Mid-July ALREADY!?! Ugh.

Make the most of this summer, friends- clearly it's going by quickly.

Gearing up for my trip to SD for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (!!!!!!) in August, I'm starting to think of what to pack. All the room I'll have for our 18 day trip is just whatever can fit into a couple saddlebags and my backpack. Packing light. Which means whatever I wear on my body and then an extra one of everything in my bags. So two pairs of pants, two sweatshirts...and two t-shirts.

If I can only bring two t-shirts, they better be good right? I mean, I'll be wearing these clothes for over 2 weeks straight. I wanted a t-shirt that was going to be fun, something bright, something that would let people know I was coming for a few km (or miles, I guess).

Something TIE-DYED!

Thanks Coombs, I knew I could count on your for some sweet tie-dye

Second order of business. I had an Ortho apt yesterday. Guess who has to wear a retainer to keep her bottom teeth in line?! This girl! Flashbacks to grade 8, losing my retainer in the trash after accidentally throwing it out while it was wrapped in a napkin at McDonalds.

Fishing through the trash to find your retainer as your mom scolds you the whole time for not taking better care of it? Not fun.

Here we go again.

I know what you're thinking. Tie-Dye AND retainers?

Yes, it sure is an exciting life I lead.

Once a week, I volunteer at the YMCA in their crafts program for kids 4-8 years old. We make sweet art projects and talk. It's kind of the best.

Yesterday one little boy asked if he could draw my portrait.

Obvioulsy my response was, "heck yes you can!"

I assure you, this is not a photograph of me, but rather his drawing! I know!