x88x
10-13-2009, 10:23 PM
Ok, so a little background.
Back in January, my job got upgraded from an internship to an actual, real position, along with all the perks that entails (only part-time till I finish my degree, so I don't get quite as many perks, but hey, I take what I can get). One of those perks was these wonderful things called 'Personal Days'. Awesome things personal days; they pay me....to not go to work...whoever came up with these things was a genius. :D Now, because of an HR mixup, I never actually was getting any personal days until, like, a month or so ago (also wasn't getting sick days, but those I don't really worry about so much). So, about a month ago I got an email saying that it all got fixed, and I had 51 hours of personal leave. That's when it clicked in my head....I could actually, like, take a vacation at some point. :eek: I mean, this had honestly not occurred to me before. I mean, taking time off but still getting paid (ie, still being able to pay bills without having to save up to cover them)? That was a completely foreign concept to me. And so I thought...I should do something about this!
So, with that in mind, I started thinking, and decided that I'm gonna take a week or two off next summer and head north.
Back during my Senior year in High School, I had this grand plan of working for a few months after graduation, saving up some money, and then taking a several month roadtrip across the country, maybe even hitting Alaska. Surprise, surprise, guess what didn't happen? Instead I went straight into College, then...not College :whistler:...then straight into a job. But I've never forgotten about those plans, and I always wanted to do something like this, so I figured; hey, now I have the time, the money, the means, and nothing keeping me back from doing it, so damn it, I'm gonna do it!
Now, because I'm only gonna do a week or two instead of a few months, I won't be able to have as wide a scope, but I have a few friends up north who I haven't seen in a while, so I figured I'd use that as a starting point, and explore New England. So, with that in mind, here's a rough idea of the route I want to take (I mapped it out, and for a rough idea, it'll be probably around 3000-3500 miles):
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/newengland-1.png
Copyright Google Maps 2009
I forget if I have it listed in my profile or not, but I live in Laurel, MD (forgot to mark the starting point on the map..it's near Washington DC).
So, this leads me to a couple questions:
To any Canadians..sorry if this is an incredibly ignorant question, but hey, I am an American, right? I'm supposed to be stupid :P
Anyways, to any Canadians, I know through the power of the internets, that Quebec Province has an official language of French. Would this pose a problem to someone riding through there (and camping a couple nights) whose French is extremely limited? I plan on brushing up before heading up there, but I'm wondering what to expect..ie, how screwed am I gonna be?
I hadn't thought about passing through Canada originally, but after talking to y4na the other day, I thought; hey, why not! I've never actually been to Canada; I should totally do that! ..and so now I'm gonna have to get a passport. Ah well, that's a good thing to have anyways.
Now for anyone familiar with the general areas that I'll be passing through, do you know of any good parks/etc? I'm hoping to spend most nights either crashing with friends or camping, so I'll be looking for a fair few spots.
I know I want to hit Adirondack State Park, White Mountain National Forest, Acadia National Park, and probably Algonquin Provincial Park. Any comments or thoughts?
I've already packed it away for the night, but tomorrow I'll get a pic of the vehicle I'm gonna be doing this on. :D
Back in January, my job got upgraded from an internship to an actual, real position, along with all the perks that entails (only part-time till I finish my degree, so I don't get quite as many perks, but hey, I take what I can get). One of those perks was these wonderful things called 'Personal Days'. Awesome things personal days; they pay me....to not go to work...whoever came up with these things was a genius. :D Now, because of an HR mixup, I never actually was getting any personal days until, like, a month or so ago (also wasn't getting sick days, but those I don't really worry about so much). So, about a month ago I got an email saying that it all got fixed, and I had 51 hours of personal leave. That's when it clicked in my head....I could actually, like, take a vacation at some point. :eek: I mean, this had honestly not occurred to me before. I mean, taking time off but still getting paid (ie, still being able to pay bills without having to save up to cover them)? That was a completely foreign concept to me. And so I thought...I should do something about this!
So, with that in mind, I started thinking, and decided that I'm gonna take a week or two off next summer and head north.
Back during my Senior year in High School, I had this grand plan of working for a few months after graduation, saving up some money, and then taking a several month roadtrip across the country, maybe even hitting Alaska. Surprise, surprise, guess what didn't happen? Instead I went straight into College, then...not College :whistler:...then straight into a job. But I've never forgotten about those plans, and I always wanted to do something like this, so I figured; hey, now I have the time, the money, the means, and nothing keeping me back from doing it, so damn it, I'm gonna do it!
Now, because I'm only gonna do a week or two instead of a few months, I won't be able to have as wide a scope, but I have a few friends up north who I haven't seen in a while, so I figured I'd use that as a starting point, and explore New England. So, with that in mind, here's a rough idea of the route I want to take (I mapped it out, and for a rough idea, it'll be probably around 3000-3500 miles):
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/newengland-1.png
Copyright Google Maps 2009
I forget if I have it listed in my profile or not, but I live in Laurel, MD (forgot to mark the starting point on the map..it's near Washington DC).
So, this leads me to a couple questions:
To any Canadians..sorry if this is an incredibly ignorant question, but hey, I am an American, right? I'm supposed to be stupid :P
Anyways, to any Canadians, I know through the power of the internets, that Quebec Province has an official language of French. Would this pose a problem to someone riding through there (and camping a couple nights) whose French is extremely limited? I plan on brushing up before heading up there, but I'm wondering what to expect..ie, how screwed am I gonna be?
I hadn't thought about passing through Canada originally, but after talking to y4na the other day, I thought; hey, why not! I've never actually been to Canada; I should totally do that! ..and so now I'm gonna have to get a passport. Ah well, that's a good thing to have anyways.
Now for anyone familiar with the general areas that I'll be passing through, do you know of any good parks/etc? I'm hoping to spend most nights either crashing with friends or camping, so I'll be looking for a fair few spots.
I know I want to hit Adirondack State Park, White Mountain National Forest, Acadia National Park, and probably Algonquin Provincial Park. Any comments or thoughts?
I've already packed it away for the night, but tomorrow I'll get a pic of the vehicle I'm gonna be doing this on. :D