Toronto Bound
It was teary goodbye before I entered the bus. My roommate, Amy, and I had become such close friends and we knew we would be emotional care accidents knowing full well that the tree was just up ahead. We had many emotional times over the past few weeks (not to mention the past year, but that is an emotional rollercoaster that will be venturing into a theatre near you) and this last day together was already going in that direction. Hell, I had broken down taking my key off of my key chain the night before, we both knew this would be bad.
So finally we both broke down to the witness of another friend, Adam, and after my always initial "I forgot something! No, sorry, it?s in my bag right beside me" routine, my bus slowly left the terminal and headed for my future, the city of Toronto. Why was I going? It had always been a dream of mine because I felt my life was there. Jobs, the wild life of the city and some unexpected reason guided me there and so I made the journey.
Of course the 40-plus hour bus trip was a scary factor in that decision. I had ridden with many a strange companion on the bus (crying babies, the five-time widowed Jewish woman dispensing romantic wisdom, the gun loving maniac caressing his favorite firearm magazine with glee), but who knew what person would occupy the seat beside me?
Thankfully I started off the journey alone with only a pair of crappy bus-bought earphones to enable my thirst for music to my ears. I read a little (I knew I would never finish a book of gays in the U.S. military on this trip; I didn?t think I would be reading weeks later though) and kept myself contented with a smiling baby across the way who seemed fascinated by me. They showed one movie, The Deep End Of The Ocean, about a disappearing child, which probably didn?t go over well with this child?s mother, but thankfully she was engrossed by her own child to care.
Arriving in Brandon, I was met by my parents who had mixed feelings about my move. On one hand, they could not help me at all, there were some expenses, I was moving away from them further, etc.; on the other hand, I was going to do anyway not matter what they thought. My brother could not come to the depot because he was working, so with only forty minutes to spare, we burst through the city for a five minute visit and back again on the bus after a tearful hug from both of my parents, my father now becoming accustomed to my new bonding procedure.
Back on the bus again and on to Winnipeg, I think I dozed off for a bit, seemingly missing some space in-between Brandon and Portage.  In Winnipeg, I was supposed to meet a couple by the name of Steven and Carl, but unfortunately I wasn't able to meet them.  Thankfully though, the bus was ready to go again and off I was again, but now into unknown territory.  I had never really been past Winnipeg to the east and so the true adventure began.  Of course, after about twenty minutes I passed out.
I woke at 2 in the morning bathed by a supreme forest problem (for a prairie guy that means that I saw a shit load of trees and nothing else).  We made a few little stops through the night and arrived in the early morning at Thunder Bay.  I was too impressed with this city, kind of scummy actually.  However, it was where I started to bond with a fellow traveller by the name of Simon.  He had been on the bus since Calgary (before Regina for the non-geographic types), but we had only made passing comments.  We were now embarking on continuous conversation for the rest of the trip (surrounded by his pot smoking breaks where he disappeared behind many a building when we stopped).
I believe this was where we all started to watch Finding Forester, one of those inspirational movies just for my appetite at the time.  By the end I was starting to mouth the words to the new fangled version of "Over The Rainbow" played throughout the movie.  To this point, I had scared many a person with my lip-syncing since my mother had acquired me a pair of good headphones in Brandon.  I was having an inspiring musical journey of The Preacher's Wife soundtrack and Mariah's #1's the entire way.  Scary for any traveller next to me.
Throughout the day, we again made numerous stops, once at the birth place of Winnie The Pooh (who could have guessed the story of a bear in the woods was conceived in the woods where bears usually were located?).  It is also during this time where Simon and I had to hear the travails of another traveller complain about his trip.  Upon hearing that he had been on since Thunder Bay only, I ripped into him that I had been on since Regina, SK and Simon since Calgary, AB.  His complaining ceased for obvious reasons of stupidity and lack of compassion from his fellow travellers.  We also saw the beautiful coasts of Lake Superior, over and over and over again.  It was the longest never-ending lake I have ever seen.  When asking which lake this was and receiving the reply, "Superior", my only response was, "Again?!".  I rest my case.  Still beautiful, but huge.  No wonder they call it a great lake.
The next big stop was Sault St. Marie where Simon and I picked up donuts and drink and I made my first attempt at brushing my teeth and deodorant, something I should have attempted earlier.  I was joined in my seat by a pilot student who rather grated on me a bit.  Nice guy, but I was thankful when he got hi own seat.  We sped through another night arriving Sudbury at 12 midnight.  It had now come to the time to say au revoir to Simon.  I took a picture after he finished his smoke break and I sent him off on his way, much longer than mine, to Montreal.  Someday and somehow I will catch up with him again.
Finally it was the last leg of my trip and I arrived in Toronto at 5:30 in the morning.  Hauling my four just-under-50-pound boxes inside the seating area, I waited for my friend and new roommate, Judson, to pick me courtesy of taxi service.  We spent the morning getting reacquainted with breakfast and a small tour of downtown.  That night, I lay exhausted in bed, finally finished the wonderful journey to my new life.  I welcome you, Toronto!!!
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