Canada -- is it REALLY better on Top... eh?

Sorry that I've lapsed and not updated in a few days, but dealing with, 1) Jet Lag, 2) Building Dad's ginormous shop and 3) The loss of a family pet, has taken a lot out of me.

In any case, a quick update...

I made it into Calgary at about 4:30 in the afternoon on Thursday.

Was seated next to a lovely couple from Rocky Mountain House and talked about the merits of being a young, female solo traveller with the female half. She has a daughter who is teaching in Egypt right now, and if anything, it has made me even more driven to live abroad. The world outside your door is such a fascinating place.

Caught a city bus, then another city bus, and then another city bus in downtown Calgary and made it to the Greyhound depot at about quarter to 7, which was perfect since my bus left at 8.

I know I said I was really apprehensive about taking the bus after the beheading incident back in July, but honestly, I was too broke to care anymore.

In any case, Greyhound now does a cursory search of your hand luggage before you board the bus, so it did a little more my sense of security, although admittedly, I was too tired to really care.

I set my duffel up like a body pillow and fell dead asleep until Edmonton.

We switched buses there, and I got off and went out into the terminal.

I spent 4 and a half years living in E-town, taking the Greyhound about twice a year to numerous destinations and the last 2 months in Western Europe, and I can say that honestly, in the Greyhound station in downtown Edmonton, was one of the only times on this trip I seriously felt insecure and a little scared for my life.

Whatever happened to the Rent-a-Cops in that depot, I may never know, but I do know that around a quarter of the passengers in there were under the influence of something, and than I got hit up for change/cigarettes 3 times, and cursed at for not supplying one of the above once in a scant 15 minutes.

When the fuck did Edmonton become that dodgy?

Went back to sleep on the bus headed for Dawson, and one of the plus points of having many people too afraid to travel on the Greyhound is that buses are now half empty, which means that not once did I have to relinquish my seat space to someone else.

Got another few hours of (almost) uninterrupted sleep until Grande Prairie, called dad to wake him up, and pulled into the Demmit Fas Gas at 10 to 6 local time.

Spent the day unpacking, handing out gifts and picked up the cat from the boarding kennel. She pretty well hasn't left my side since. Her doing, not mine.

Now, I'm busy coping with a case of mystery hives and researching moving to Spain, because I'm serious about this for once.