Moving, especially to a new province / state / country, must be one of the most dichotomous ventures that can be undertaken. The thrill of a new home, the malaise of leaving behind people, things, and places you love, the labour of packing, the joy and effort of unpacking and settling in - there are countless opposing factors that combine to create the perfect emotional storm. Added to our storm was the fact that we had yet to lay eyes on where we’d be living. We’d seen pictures and videos, of course, and our hopes were high. Still, it’s easy for the Whatifs, as the late Shel Silverstein would call them, to manifest. Whatif it isn’t as good as it looks? Whatif the neighbours are intolerable? Whatif the place burns down before we get there?
(Side-note: if you haven’t read Shel Silverstein’s poem Whatif, stop reading this and go do that. It’s short, sweet, funny, and profound. If you don’t have his books on your shelf, hop on over to your local purveyor of books and pick up any one [or all] of his collections of poetry; Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and Falling Up. They’ll make your life better.)
As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about. This place has far exceeded our expectations.
The journey from Hamilton, Ontario to our new home in Tabusintac, New Brunswick could have gone a hell of a lot worse. It was a rocky start, to be sure, what with all of the last minute challenges we faced with getting the trailers loaded up, but things went surprisingly well once we’d finally hit the road.
Travelling with an almost-two-year-old, a baby on the way, three dogs, and a cat isn’t the easiest task to undertake. The pitstops alone add considerable time to the journey. Fortunately we’d parsed out the trip ahead of time into three stretches. The first stretch was, blessedly, only about four hours, give or take. We’d booked Airbnbs along the way, rather than trying to find pet-friendly hotels that would accommodate more than one animal in a room for less than a king’s ransom.
We arrived at our first Airbnb, in Gananoque, Ontario, at a little after midnight on the first night. It was perfect for us and my parents and their dog (yeah, our caravan consisted of five humans and five beasts). The house we rented was in the country and had plenty of space for us to spread out; which mattered little since we all crashed pretty soon after arriving.
The next leg of our journey was a little less smooth, mainly for my parents.
My folks had hired movers to bring their stuff from my dad’s Ottawa residence to the new place. Like I said in my last post, we have way too much stuff. Shortly after we had set off on the second part of our trip, my parents received a call that the movers would be arriving with their things first thing the next morning. This meant that, while Annie and I would be crashing at the next Airbnb for the night, they had to drive straight through to meet the movers. Needless to say, nobody was very happy about this. My parents did indeed wind up driving through the night, stopping for a nap on the way, and made it barely in time to meet the movers.
Our villa in Montmagny, QC
Annie and I were more fortunate, being able to stop and rest for the night. Our next Airbnb was in a beautiful little place called Montmagny, Quebec. The place was a spa villa located in the mountains and was absolutely stunning. Annie, Gideon, myself, and our four animals all passed out on the couch watching a movie. It might’ve been two or three in the morning by the time we moved to an actual bed but the whole experience was extremely restful. I can’t help but feeling a little bit guilty over that, given the trouble my parents went through.
The following day was smooth sailing through to New Brunswick. We passed through a beautiful stretch of mountains as we followed the Matapedia River through Quebec and into New Brunswick. I wish I’d stopped to take pictures somewhere along that stretch - it was like stepping into the world of Twin Peaks. It was breathtaking.
It should be said, we are extremely fortunate to have such a cool kid. Gideon, not yet two-years-old, was cool as could be throughout the entire journey. I can’t remember a single freakout. He doesn’t even need much in the way of distraction - we have a kid’s tablet for him to play on but he’s mainly content to watch the scenery go by out the window. The trip would not have been anywhere near as enjoyable if it wasn’t for him being so patient and tolerant of the whole experience. He was about as excited as we were to reach our “new home” - we’d been talking to him about it for months leading up to the trip. I’m sure he didn’t know exactly what to expect from such a voyage but he seemed well aware that a long drive was necessary. It probably helped that he had all of his fur buddies in the car with him.
Tabusintac River - view from our deck
Exhausted and thoroughly done with driving for at least a week, we finally arrived at our new home well after dark; even having arrived at our new place, we would still have no idea what it really looked like until morning. We unpacked the big trailer enough to get to our mattresses before calling it quits for the night. It was an empty house but it was beautiful, and it was - is - home.
There’s still lots to tell, and I’m sure the stories will keep coming. In the meantime, I’m grateful you took the time to read. I’ve glossed over a fair amount for the sake of economy; ask me about it if we ever chat.
I’d love it if you liked / shared / and followed. News coming soon regarding The Boy in the Canvas. Progress is being made and we’re on track for the March publication date. Sign up for my newsletter to receive notifications about presale, special offers, and more.
Thank you so much for stopping by. Be well. Do something nice for a stranger today - it’ll make you feel good.
-Chris