October 1st (dia uno) - Departure from Montreal
Lacking sleep from the past week, I awoke early yet again craving more rest. With still much to do, I began by rushing downtown to pick up a few last things that I had forgotten, and rushing back home by nine for breakfast with a few friends and my brother. My good friend Jay managed to show up on time for the first time, while I was only minutes late... Although we still didn't manage to get out of the house until eleven because I had to unpack and repack my backpack quite a few times to get things just right, and even then I still packed too much. Needless to say, we shot off a few pictures, said good bye to my parents and off we were for a last breakfast!
Ops, we still forgot we had a few last things to grab at Canadian Tire, so we didn't even get a chance to leave Montreal until around twelve.
The day was very uneventful. Our plans were to stop over in Toronto to have one last real meal with my cousin Ky and her ... significant other, Damian. We want to reach Houston by tuesday night to stay with my friend Dru there, prepare the bikes and the last few details and leave for Mexico by thursday morning. That put us up to the task of riding 3500 kilometers in just a few days. We are very optimistic and excited of the ride ahead!
What would have normally taken five short hours to reach my cousin's house turned into a rough seven as we hit Toronto during construction, which put us in the very frustrating situation of a hungry belly and a long delay. We made it finally around eight though, and dinner was hot and waiting for us! A big plate of spagetti covered in hot peppers began the preparation stages for our digestion system for spicy Mexican food!
I'm very proud of my cousin Ky, she's been nothing but very successful in life, and not just about her incredibly bloosemed career, but the way she has handled some of the most difficult challenges... She was an unfortunate mother of a stillborn child, and has struggled for years attempting to have another without success, and then struggling for years to adopt a child, which she finally was blessed with a beautiful daughter Reine (many pictures available in the gallery.)
But she has taken the horrible tragedy of the stillborn child and turned it into something wonderful -- A charity organization to help those other unforunate parents out there that have to deal with the same tragedies. www.everlastinglittleangels.com and has managed to help and touch so many others in the process.
We closed this long day with a few beers in the hot spa out back and actually managed to get some sleep at last! Tomorrow we'll be hitting the border at Windsor and crossing into the United States of America!