Half Way

As I was saying before.. on our way to Winnipeg we got stopped by the cops, and as if one police car wasn't enough, another one came along and parked just ahead of us, while the first one was right after. We knew we were screwed but, as we waited for the woman to come back with our papers, we couldn't stop laughing and I don't know why. Maybe was because the whole situation looked so surreal or maybe because we knew that was goin' to happen sooner or later at some point of our trip, since we were crossing provinces around 150km/h. Anyway.. wasn't funny when we got a $400 dollars speeding ticket (I thought it would be a lot cheaper..), so we drove away to Brandon and barely spoke on the way.
After a quick stop and some phone calls we decided to keep on goin' with our plan and we made it to Winnipeg that night. The next morning we walked the city and left in the afternoon headin' to Thunder Bay. It was a quite boring drive, so I thought it would be fun to pick up a hitchhiker by the road. The car was a mess, but we managed to find a seat for the stranger and kept goin'. His name was Tavvy and he told us he was goin' to Toronto to see his mother and he was hoping to get there by Sunday (mother's day). We stopped in Dryden to eat and an old couple tried to convince us to find a place to sleep, since the road is a lot more dangerous at night, with animals crossing and truck drivers sleeping on the wheel. But we didn't find a cheap place to stay or a gas station, so the guys decided we should keep on driving to Thunder Bay. The road was really shit, the car brakes got worse, we were running out of gas and the hitchhiker was probably more scared than us (as he kept saying 'slow down, slow down'), but somehow we made it to Ignace just in time to get enough gas and keep goin'. We arrived in Thunder Bay really late, around 3am and asked around for a place to stay. The guys picked a hostel in the phone book and we drove there. The hostel looked like nothing but someone's house, and this grumpy lady in her rob answered the door and asked for the money straight away. We didn't have any cash, so we had to find a bank and come back.. The house was a mess, with lots of cats, but it felt like home somehow.. I slept so good that night!
The next day we took the car to a service centre, as we figured out we had absolutely NO oil at all in it.. we spent approximately 30 bucks on oil change and drove back to the hostel, where we had dinner and some beers. We left the next day headin' to Sault Ste. Marie and drop off the hitchhiker somewhere along the road. Chris decided we should do it, otherwise he would join us all the way down to Toronto and that could hold us back somehow.. Well, call it karma or just bad luck, but after that we got pulled over by the cops again! Another speeding ticket? ''Fuck, not again..!'' Yeah, there goes another $227 dollars..
We made it to Sault Ste. Marie, slept there for the night and drove away next afternoon to Toronto. But that was just after trying to cross the bridge that connects Canada and USA, which I just realized it was a bad idea when we were half way from the border, as Chris reminded me that when we'd turn the car back we'd have to handle our passports to Canada immigration to cross it back.. and lalalala, I got my visa extended but it's not with me just yet. Long story short, nothing happened.. i didn't even had to show any ID at all :)
We made it to Toronto the next morning and left the car for repair, while we walked downtown. It costed almost $500 to fix it, not much if you take for consideration how much your life worths and depends on the brake pads of an old car.. right? Yeah, I'm still trying to convince myself that we couldn't finish the trip without those new brakes.. so, shut up! :/ We spent another day in Toronto, I met my ex-boyfriend's friend, Gabriel, a brazilian guy who lended me a couch last year when I went to Toronto for a concert.. He still looks exactly the same, lovely as usual and even more funny. He tried to help me to pick a laptop, but in the end I didn't buy it 'cause I was afraid I would need the money later (in Quebec), since my chances to find a job without a work permit and without speakin' french are pretty much zero..
We drove away to Ottawa the next day, Canada's capital. I didn't think I'd like it that much, but the city is kinda pretty, with lots of green areas and a nice lake that separates Ontario and Quebec. I was glad to spend the whole day walking Ottawa, but at the same time I couldn't wait to get outta there. After 12 days on the road, I didn't feel like I could wait much longer to get to Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, where I'd meet Ben again, after 1 month apart.. We made it to Saint-Hyacinthe that night and I waited for Ben to get home so I could knock on his door and surprise him, since he had no clue I was there.. I was so happy to see him again that I barely remember what we said as he opened the door :) We spent 2 or 3 days there and went to Montreal for the weekend. Even though sometimes I felt really bored and out of place there, it was really nice.

Now I'm packing my stuff again and I'm on my way to Halifax. I convinced Chris to join me and we think it should take 3 or 4 days more to actually finish crossing Canada, as we have 3 more provinces to get to: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

Wish us luck! :)