Fan expo Canada: The Road Trip, The Tumbler, & a crazy idea.
The Night Before
It’s late. The sun has been down for a couple of hours now, and it’s the night before we need to leave. Of course, we still need to pack. Somehow, packing is always a last minute thing in this house.
Earlier in the day, Juan was busy editing videos. Since he’ll be doing the driving, he needs to create a batch of content that will be ready to post while we’re on the road.
While Juan preps the content, I get the road trip car, Baymax, washed and ready for the road everything except a full tank of gas.
Fan Expo Canada is a four-day convention, and our plan is to arrive Thursday night in time to pick up our badges. It's a 26 hour drive 1,677 miles!
We’ll also be driving through areas we’ve never visited before, which makes this trip even more exciting. Now we just have to survive the drive.
4:00 AM: Let's Go!
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. It’s 4 AM and the alarm is blaring. Juan pops out of bed like it's Christmas morning and heads straight for the bathroom. Me? I don’t even open my eyes.
Instead, I turn over and slightly cover them, hoping to get just a couple more minutes of sleep.
No more than two minutes pass before the bathroom door swings open. The bedroom light comes on, and somehow the glare still manages to hit me directly in the face. “Time to get up and go,” Juan says as he walks out of the room already fully dressed and ready. Of course he is. Reluctantly, I crawl out of bed and get ready. By the time I’m done, Juan is already downstairs with all our suitcases and bags. Our youngest is up and ready too. He’s getting dropped off at his cousin’s house for the weekend while we’re gone. We open the garage door, and there it is a beautiful full moon hanging above the house across the street. The neighborhood is still quiet and asleep, and the moon is shining brightly over our neighbor’s house. It's one of those little moments you don't expect at 4 in the morning. Everything is quiet, the streets are empty, and the moon is lighting up the sky as we get ready to start our adventure.
We pack Baymax, leaving just enough room for Juan’s brother to squeeze his bags in. He’ll be tagging along on this adventure, so our road-trip crew is officially assembled.
We pull out of the driveway. We don’t make it more than a few feet before we hear something weird from the back. “Oops. I think the stuff in the back fell,” Juan says as he keeps driving. We turn the corner. Then another. And suddenly it clicks.
“Dang it! I forgot my cup!” “I think that’s what fell when you turned the corner. You put your cup on top of the car!” “Shit. It was dammit!”
Yep, one of Juan’s favorite tumblers a metal G FUEL Fallout tumbler was sitting somewhere in the middle of the street behind us. We quickly turn Baymax around and drive back. There it is. Spilled open in the middle of the street. Juan hops out and picks it up. Somehow, it only has a few new dings. Honestly, they just add to the look. The tumbler survived.
The road trip can continue.
Mile After Mile
We manage to drive straight through to Indiana with only a couple of gas stops.
Eventually, hunger starts creeping in, so we decide it’s probably a good time to stop for dinner and get some rest. Google Maps shows Charleston, Illinois, right along our route. It’s a small town, and we figure we’ll find somewhere to eat once we get there.
Except...
We pass right through it. Before we can even find a spot to eat, we've already missed it.
Guess we'll have to stop in Marion, Illinois. We keep driving and eventually make our way to Marion, where we stop at Logan’s for dinner. By the time we reach our hotel, it’s just a little past 9:30 PM. We’ve made it just past the halfway point to Canada. Not bad. A nice shower and a comfortable bed are exactly what we need.
Day Two: Back on the Road
The comfy bed works a little too well. We wake up slightly later than we wanted.
We quickly pack up our chargers and the few things we unpacked the night before, then head down to the lobby for the hotel’s free breakfast, and then we’re back on the road.
The first half of the drive consists of rolling hills and fields that look incredibly lush and green. Beautiful clouds stretch across bright blue skies, and the scenery seems to change the farther we travel.
Sometimes life gets so busy that we forget to simply sit and take a breath.
These drives have become that for us. We can go hours without talking, just sitting there and taking in the views outside the windows. This is one of those drives. If you’re in that space right now where life is just doing what life does, or your mind is tangled up in a million thoughts stop here for a second.
Seriously.
Take a deep breath in.
Hold it.
Let it out.
Count to three.
And do it again.
Sometimes you just need a moment.
Living a travel-and-con life is busy. It’s hectic. There are cameras to charge, videos to edit, schedules to keep, places to be and content to create. But we’ve learned to take moments like this and soak them in. These quiet stretches of highway keep us going. They keep us pushing.
They keep us dreaming these crazy dreams that, somehow, are becoming more and more of a reality, and we have all of you to thank for that. Those of you who stop to read these blogs.
Those who watch our videos. Those who like, share, repost and comment. Every little bit means more than you probably realize.
Thank you.
Remember
you matter, and no dream is too big or too small.
Welcome to Canada
Just a little over 2½ hours remain before we reach Toronto.
But first... We officially crossed into Canada! There’s something exciting about seeing that border crossing and realizing just how far we've traveled. We started this journey in San Antonio, Texas, and now we’re in Canada. 1,677 miles later. We made it.
Almost immediately, I pull out my phone and hop onto Zillow. One of my favorite things to do when we travel is look at homes in the places we're visiting. Apparently, this trip is no different. Juan’s brother wants to be included in our hypothetical Canadian move, so we start searching for three-bedroom homes—because obviously, we need an office. The homes look amazing, and surprisingly affordable for our price range. Suddenly, we’re seriously discussing completely hypothetical questions.
Do we want lakefront?
Big city?
Small city?
Quiet neighborhood?
The possibilities seem endless.
Before long, the three of us start having a small back-and-forth about the logistics and details of our completely imaginary Canadian move. Where would we live? How many bedrooms would we need? What would make the most sense? Somewhere in the middle of all that planning, I decide this imaginary move is getting a little too complicated. I decide to kick Juan’s brother out of our imaginary move. Now we’re looking at two-bedroom homes.
I’m still completely in love with the idea.
So...
A new bucket-list item has officially been added:
We need to live in Canada for at least six months.
Will it actually happen?
Who knows.
But that’s the fun part about dreaming.
The Canadian Fast-Food Test
After crossing into Canada and spending way too much time looking at houses we aren't actually planning to buy, we make a few quick stops for gas before grabbing a fast-food dinner at Burger King. We had been told that even fast food can taste different in other countries, so obviously we had to conduct some very important research.
Our final verdict?
The food tasted richer and seemed less greasy.
And the Coke?
It doesn’t have that same punch in the throat, and it seems less acidic.
I will say one thing, though...
Those paper straws suck.
There. I said it.
Ontario Is Giving Me Kansas Vibes
With our bellies full, we get back on the road for the final stretch toward Toronto.
As we drive through Ontario, the landscape starts catching my attention in a different way.
Small farms and rolling hills stretch out beside the road, and everything looks so peaceful. The air feels colder than what we're used to back home in Texas, and even the scenery feels completely different.
But there's something about these hills and farms that feels familiar.
It gives me Kansas vibes.
Now, I've never actually been to Kansas. So I have absolutely no idea if this is what Kansas looks like. But if Kansas has rolling farm hills, wide-open spaces and beautiful skies like this... then Ontario is giving Kansas. Either way, I'm loving the view. There’s something about watching unfamiliar scenery roll past the window that makes you appreciate just how big the world really is. We spend so much time rushing from one destination to the next that sometimes we forget the journey itself can be just as important.
We Made It... Almost
Our original plan was to arrive in time to pick up our convention badges.
Unfortunately, we don't make it in time. At this point, there’s nothing left to do but head straight to the hotel, get some much-needed rest and prepare for tomorrow. After 26 hours and 1,677 miles, we’ve officially made it to Canada. The first leg of our adventure is complete, but this trip is just getting started.
Fan Expo Canada starts tomorrow!
The long drive got us here, but now it's time for the reason we came.
Be sure to follow along on our social media pages for convention coverage, behind-the-scenes moments and all the adventures we get ourselves into along the way.
There’s a lot more coming.
From your Con Coverage Camera Girl,
Belinda G.
Bonus Photos
Side Note: Do NOT Let Juan Wash Your Windows
If Juan ever offers to wash your windows...
Tell him no.
Just look at the streaks he left all over the still-dirty window.
We went on a hike and Belinda wanted to get closer to the water. Options were walk another mile down the path or go through this gate. Guess which option she went with.
Bucket list item added
{} Live in Canada for 6 months
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