Outside the NBC studios where I got the full tour.
Katie's wonderful dog which kept me company at night.
Me with some Central Park ultimate dudes.
Next to Strawberry Fields in Central Park.
Time Square.


I made it to Montreal, Canada!


But before that I must catch up on how I got here. I spent last week just across the

Hudson River in Kearny, New Jersey, traveling to New York a few times to visit the

downtown area. Central Park looked amazing and was a joy (if a bit long) to walk through.

I even played frisbee with guys from meetup one evening inside the park. I almost got an

extra seat to watch a taping of the Jimmy Fallon Show at the NBC studios but they didn't

call my number. I could see myself living around the area, depending on how comfortable I

was not having a car. I used the bus system to get around which was surprisingly easy to

use not much of a hassle. I made sure to wear my Giants jersey while walking around Times

Square which prompted a few cops to wish me good luck against the Rangers, which had just

beaten them in the ALCS.


I left New York Friday afternoon to stay in Boston for the night. I arrived at Boston U

around 10pm and quickly made my way towards frat row. I was weary of arriving at the

Canadian-US border with 50+ beers and a batch of mushrooms in my car so I was determined

to find a party and have a good time. I set out in my Mikhail costume (from LOST) and

carrying lots of booze under my arms. I followed some a group of pirates and Waldos into a

house with loud music and blended into the party scene. One of the guys who lived there

met me in the kitchen and, when he saw me depositing a shit-ton of beer into his fridge,

he showed me around the bitchin' party. I played some beer pong (on the shortest table

ever I might add), showed them how to play quarters and finally played some Pro Evo soccer

on the PS3 to close out the night. It was an awesome night and they all enjoyed my Beer 30

lights which littered the kitchen. I stumbled back to my explorer late that night, having

given away my drugs and alcohol and entirely satisfied with passing out in my backseat.


Saturday afternoon at 2 pm I awoke and immediately left Boston. I wound my way through New

Hampshire and Vermont over the next few hours and the countryside was a rolling sea of

oranges and yellows. I got to the border around 7 pm and it turned out to be a sluggish

entrance process. They completely emptied my car and rifled through its contents, messing

up the carefully constructed layout I had lived with the past month+. The immigration

officer asked me lots of questions as to the reason for my arrival and apparently wondered

why I chose to vacation in Canada in the winter with someone I had never met before. After

an eternity I got my passport stamped for the first time and I was back on the road.


The weather seemed to change almost immediately: what was a light rain back in Vermont

became heavy rain/light snow once in Canada. French signs and kilometer speed signs were

an amusing first taste of the country. I pulled my directions out and made my way to

Mere's house in the Verdun district of Montreal. That night we sipped cheap wine with her

neighbor, chatted about various things and stayed up late listening to random music. She

has an extra room which has kept me warm during the light snow outside.


Last night we watched Planet Terror for the first time after episodes of Family Guy were

the only tolerable thing on television. It is chilly here in Montreal, but I managed to

survive walking around downtown. French is everywhere here and Mere has told me that

Quebecers are their own group separate from most of Canada. I plan on being here for a few

more days before going back to Pittsburgh to spend more time with those fine people.


Au revoir pour maintenant mes amis.