RVing

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Choosing a Toad

I ogled a friend’s cute two-seater sports car today, briefly fantasizing about pulling something like that behind my RV, but I came back to reality pretty quickly.

Some RVers are attracted to the idea of towing a subcompact, such as a Smart car. I don’t find these vehicles practical. I need room for cargo (groceries, renovation supplies, luggage, etc.) and must be able to transport two cats in their carriers. Therefore, I need a back seat and a trunk.

While I didn’t know I would end up towing it, my car is the perfect toad for me. It is a 2008 Hyundai Accent and has the following features:

-A standard transmission that allows me to tow it ‘four down’ without any modifications or a dolly, meaning that my only towing costs were for the baseplate installation. The standard transmission is also cheaper to start with by several thousand dollars;

-It is a three-door hatchback, which gives me all the cargo space I need, but in a smaller package than a five-door version. The front seats slide forward, making it easy for the odd backseat passenger to slip inside. This feature also means that I can get into the back to buckle the cats in, something that I could not do when I had a four-door sedan;

-The car was relatively inexpensive, which makes it easier to accept road dings and self-stupidity;

-This model is very popular, so parts are available all over North America at fair prices and just about any garage can service them.

Hyundais do not have a very good resale value, but when you consider the cost and hassle of getting a tow plate installed, it’s worth trying to drive that car into the ground.

I’m not enamoured with my car (I much preferred my 2004 Accent!), but it suits my needs perfectly and I am grateful that even though it was bought before I made the decision to RV, it would have been my chosen toad anyway.

As an aside, I love the fact that my toad is green. 🙂

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Regional Linguistic Differences

Canadian French has very distinct regional differences. It usually takes only a few sentences to determine that someone is not from your region and, if you’ve traveled enough, to pinpoint where they’re from. After six years of living in the outaouais region of Quebec, it was still obvious that I grew up in the metropolis (Montreal) and I still encountered new-to-me words and expressions that gave me pause.

I’m discovering that the same is true for Canadian English, to the great amusement of my new boss, who was astounded that I had never heard of the words ginch and gonch. “What do you call a ginchy pull?!” she asked me and I finally clued in, replying “A wedgie?!” (Don’t ask me how we got on the subject! 😀 )

This week, I worked on an inventory project and she told me to add the deckles to the list. I had absolutely no idea what a deckle meant in that context. I’ve only used the word deckle in crafting, as in a deckle edge on paper. So, she spelled it out for me–decal–and I discovered that she wanted me to add the DEE-CALS to the list. My colleagues also say deckle. HUH?! I know that even though I did most of my schooling in English there are words I I don’t pronounce properly, but decal=deckle?!

At least, I know what a chesterfield is and we agree that dinner is served past 5pm, not at noon, so we’re still partially speaking the same language, although I’m learning to keep Google open for translation purposes. 🙂

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No, But Thank You!

My neighbours left yesterday, so Tuesday night they came by to offer me a few things they didn’t want to bring with them. Some of the things, like a nice wooden patio, were very tempting, but I said no. I had no room for them and didn’t want to be stuck trying to dispose of them myself at the end of this month. They wound up leaving me something they didn’t offer–the fresh water hose extension!!! I know this wasn’t forgetfulness on their part because I got home yesterday to find my hose sort of curled up under Miranda’s back end, as an obvious demonstration of their intent.

The generosity of RVers never ceases to astound me.

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Geeky Tourism

It’s no secret that I am a complete geek, at least it shouldn’t be! So, the following should not come as a surprise. 🙂 I went on a field trip for work today, to Canada Place. The colleague who took me there picked a route that took us through historic, and very quaint!, Gastown. There, I saw a clock that anyone who watched tv in the late 80’s, early 90’s will recognize. I forgot my camera sort of on purpose since I didn’t think it would be appropriate to take pictures on work time. I wouldn’t have been able to post them anyway. So, check out this page about MacGyver shooting locations to see some of what I saw today (first six pairs of pics)!

(Just be grateful that you weren’t privy to the entry I posted on another blog after I spent a full day at Las Vegas’ Star Trek the experience. 😀 )

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Museum Weather

I finally made it to the Surrey Museum! It’s not a large museum, but it’s highly focused and is therefore one of the better museums I’ve visited in my cross-country journey. Its sole purpose is to explain the history of the city of Surrey and it does so with interesting exhibits that highlight the people, events, and businesses which have built this community.

Irony of all ironies, their special exhibit this spring is about Iroquois beading (tied in to the history of Surrey by comparing the artwork with that of local First Nations artists). Why is this ironical? The Iroquois are based in the Saint-Lawrence Lowlands… where I grew up!

I took lots of pictures, so you’ll find them on the Surrey Museum page. PLEASE NOTE that after a too brief period of workingness, the internet here has gone back to its usual suckiness and it has taken me three hours to upload the full size pictures and that after an average of six attempts per thumbnail, I have given up on them for the time being. You should be able to click on the incomplete thumbnails or placeholders to access the full sized picture. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I’ve really had it up to the proverbial here with the internet at Pacific Border and don’t feel like wasting another three hours on this. An update of this page will be made once I move to a park with 21st-century grade internet. 🙁