2010-08-07 23:56:03
7.19.2010 was my 18-year-old birthday; on the exactly same day my family started the trans-North America trip, which I had been looking forward to for a long time. (This makes me feel that I’m 8, not 18, wanting a fancy Barbie) I’m a strong believer that travelling can make one a lot smarter, and this could be a perfect excuse to call for a summer vacation. Moreover, next year is my final year in high school (it’s depressing for me to think of that, I really enjoy the life which I don’t need to worry about living alone or struggling to survive), life has to go on, as a result, I need to visit several top universities in Canada so that I could apply for those ones I like. I know my tone is a little bleak here; I should appreciate the fact that I have the choices. And yes, top ones are all excellent, and U.S. old brand colleges are even better. Still, I wish I could live in a place where I feel amazed by the surroundings constantly. I can’t help to be an idealist.
The preparation for this trip was short, only took my family a day to gather all the necessities. However, our car’s storage space was stuffed with half of our household: two laptops, two cameras, two iPods, a DSi, a GPS, two cell phones, these electronics are just for communication and entertainment. For camping, we had two tents (actually we only used one for the whole trip, and paid the fuel fees for the other), three sleeping mats, four sleeping bags, two flashlights, one fridge and whatsoever we could bring along, the unnecessary turned out to be useful after awhile from civilization, especially my mom’s extra pair of slippers—my dad lost one of his shoes during a night of camping, thus had to stand in my mom’s shoes for the rest of the trip. Nevertheless, these things become worthless comparing to my mom’s purse (yes it’s my mom’s, although my dad pays for that). At 7:30 we started our car’s engine, it was the earliest time we began our daily journey throughout the trip. It seems that we have to drive; otherwise we would have the possibility missing the airplane.
Highway No. 1, the longest highway in the world, was the main road we travelling along. Beside the highway is the famous trans-Canada railroad, at least in the history textbook. I took train in China countless times, since railway is a common transportation tool there. On the contrary, the railway tickets here are pricy, which means you would need to spend more time and money to take it instead of airplane. It’s illogical to a Chinese, but I soon understood it after seeing all the sceneries along the highway, they are the kind of views that you won’t get tired of it in your lifetime. To be honest, I even want to be a farmer in the prairie to enjoy the clouds and sunshine. How ambitious I am…
Our first destination was Banff, where we have stayed for one week last year. This time we decided to do camping (low cost was the primary reason), which was indeed very challenging to the ones who don’t know how to face the coldness or the rain at night. Believe me, soaking wet in wintertime is not comfortable at all, that was exactly I felt there unfortunately. For some unknown reasons, I was still excited about the camping while trembling in the morning; I was still fond of starry night while wondering in the dark forest for the washroom. Since the whole trip was madness, please pay no heed to my irrationality.
I had a great birthday after all: I didn’t have a cake, I didn’t at home, I didn’t have fancy meals, I didn’t even sleep under a real roof (camping!), and I was cold all night, but I was happy, that was all it counts.