End of the Beginning

After travelling 5,552 km in 6 days over 5 provinces and 1 territory, I'm glad to have week one under my belt. Krista has kept you up to date with most of the happenings in and around our move so all that remains is for me to do is share a few thoughts and pass on some heartfelt thank-yous.

Whitehorse and the Preserve are both as strange and beautiful as I remembered them and spring truly is a glorious (if dusty) time up here.  It's such a relief to finally be here with Krista and Maui but I often find myself thinking about Ottawa and the great friends we've left behind.  I've travelled all over but never lived anywhere except Ottawa so this is a big change for me.  Leaving has been all the more difficult given how close the 8+ pack has become over the past few years and the other great friendships that have developed more recently.  I sincerely hope we'll have some visitors up here in the near future so we can share some of what attracted us here in the first place.

Talking to my family on the phone today made me begin to appreciate how much I'll miss them too.  For all my bellyaching about petty annoyances, the distance is making me realize how nice it was to have family nearby, regardless of how infrequently I saw them.  In the insanity that surrounds making a move like this, it's sometimes easy to take those relationships for granted.  Happily, my dad is already planning to come up and visit, new hiking boots and all.  Hopefully we can hike at least a section of the Chilkoot Trail, which has been a childhood dream of his.  I can't wait to see his reaction to Dawson City, the town where the gold rush never ended.  I think with some badgering I might also be able to convince my mom to come up and visit.  Who knows, maybe once Allan gets here Vic and Judy will make the trek too.

So, last but not least, the thank-yous.  I don't even know where to begin.  Amanda deserves 50 gold stars for giving up so much of her time right before the wedding to try and make sense of the chaos.  Hooch and hauling with Corrie and Amy, dinners and distractions with Sarah and Anthony, panic and packing with Kevin and Melissa, day-long tetris with Chris and the endless loading, stacking, driving and unloading with FFJeff were all so important, even if Capt. Freakout didn't show his appreciation at the time.  A big thanks to Kelly, Kylie, Alexandra, Kris, Meghan, Vic, Judy, Judy, Chris, Angela, and Becca for all your help and hospitality.  I'm sure I missed several people, so if you're one of them (my memory still sucks), sorry, and thanks.  I hope I can return the favour some day down the road.

M.