BREAKING NEWS

Sunday, January 31st, 2010.

Wow.

Where should I even begin... Support has been pouring in from everywhere! As far as I can remember, The Oasis Send-off Party was a lot of fun! We raised quite a bit of money, which will hopefully translate into enough gas to get us the whole way! So thanks to everybody who came out Friday night!

The cars final inspection went over better than we could've imagined! Aside from a few minor repairs (fluids topped, oil changed) everything appears to be working great. We'd like to send out a big thank you to Rick from Laurie's Complete Automotive Service (219 Wyse Rd) who completed the examination pro-bono. "Thanks Rick!!"

Finally, the most exciting news- one of our best friends, Taylor MacGillivary, will be joining us on our journey!!!!! This news came as a surprise on our final day of preparation. Though Taylor has been talking of coming all along, it didn't seem like a reality until this morning. Seeing that this trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Taylor couldn't stand by and watch us venture off alone.
     "Life is long, although it may seem ridiculous now, at least later I'll be able to say I did something for the sake of being alive and being given the opportunity each day to do things that make me happy," said Taylor when asked about the last minute decision.

I guess we have quite a bit of packing to do, stay tuned- the adventure is about to begin!!


PS


To give our followers a different perspective of our journey, Leanne will also be blogging along the way. This way you will be sure to get all the juicy gossip and will be told the things the guys aren't willing to share!

Send-Off Party One Sleep Away

Thursday, January 28, 2010.

On Tuesday, Dennis and Leanne showed the Sable some tender loving care, cleaning the car from top to bottom. They also went out and purchased some official Vancouver 2010 Canadian Olympic gear to rock on our adventure!

Yesterday, Dennis and I had the pleasure of being interviewed by two Journalism students from the University of Kings College. The interview will air locally next week on Eastlink TV at 7pm, so be sure to check it out.

Tomorrow will be special for two reasons; The Sable will undergo professional examination in the morning and the Official Oasis Send-Off party will happen in the evening! We ask for everyone to say a little prayer before bed tonight and wish the car all the best in the morning.

Tomorrow night Dennis and I will be arriving around 9/9:30pm as we will be working at the Halifax Club until then. Colin Darcy and Curtis Spriggs will be taking the stage as 'Signs, Lights, & Lines' approximately an hour afterwards. We are asking everyone to come dressed in red/white to show our national pride! Cover will be $5 at the door and we look forward to seeing everybody when we arrive!

One Week Away!!

Monday, January 25, 2010.

Well this is it, the last week of preparation for our adventure!

Today, Dennis and I had the pleasure of being interviewed by two students from Nova Scotia Community College- Waterfront Campus. Both interviews went really well and Dennis and I are excited to share with you the finished products once we receive them!

In other news, the Sable has seemingly been feeling under the weather. Today the engine struggled to turn over a few times, Dennis thinks the battery might need to be replaced. I have absolutely no mechanical knowledge whatsoever, so we are opting to have the vehicle looked at by a professional on Friday.

On a lighter note, the rear left passenger door will no longer be allowed to be opened, due to the fact that I think it might be about to fall off.

Now some of you may be concerned about the professional examination of the Sable that will take place on Friday. I have to reassure you that we will most definitely make sure the beast is roadworthy by next Monday, regardless of any problems. The Sable's official condition will be unveiled Friday night at the Oasis Pub&Eatery during the official send-off party! So if you're a curious cat (or human) come on down to show your love and support!

Work, Work, And More Work

Saturday, January 23, 2010.

Work, work, and more work.

That's the reason why I haven't blogged about the trip over the past couple days! Have no fear though, this post will provide you with all the Fancouver2010 activity that's been going on and get you back up to speed!

Here's what you missed:

On Wednesday a third seat in the car was claimed by Leanne Gillan, Dennis' girlfriend! Leanne has caught the Olympic fever and decided to take this semester off school to embark on the journey of a lifetime.. assuming the car makes it past Truro. Some people have been asking me how I feel about being third wheel on my own trip. Well, all I have to say is, 'the more the merrier!' Let's just hope she packs light.

The next exciting piece of news, literally is a piece of news. On Thursday Dennis and I were interviewed by John McPhee, a reporter from the Chronicle Herald. The article was published yesterday (Friday, January 22) and can be found on the 3rd page of the paper or at their website http://thechronicleherald.ca/Search/1163627.html

The final thing I want to make aware to our followers is a website set up by our dear friends at the Oasis Pub&Eatery. If you're finding it difficult to keep updated on our tweets, blog posts, etc then head on over to http://fancouver2010.oasishfx.com/. They've made it simple to follow along on our quest! Also, if you're in Halifax next Friday, January 29th, then don't forget to stop by the Oasis! Come early to make sure you beat the line!

Crossing the t's and Dotting the i's

Monday, January 18th, 2010.

Two weeks away from go time! Today Dennis and I discussed our itinerary for our cross-country drive. This preliminary plan is subject to change as there are many factors that could effect our timeline. However, we can't keep our loyal followers in the dark!

Here's what we came up with:

Feb.1st  -  Halifax - Ottawa
Feb.3rd -  Ottawa - Toronto (Keeping this leg short for you, Chris Mehak)
Feb.4th -  Toronto - Thunder Bay
Feb.5th -  Thunder Bay - Winnipeg
Feb.6th -  Winnipeg - Calgary
Feb.8th -  Calgary - Kelowna
Feb.9th -  Kelowna - Vancouver

We've given ourselves a couple extra days to be on the safe side! Remember kids, safety first!

Also, we are still looking for a place to crash in Thunder Bay! If anybody knows a friend of a friend of an uncle's cousin's nephew who lives in Thunder Bay, please don't hold back!

Last but certainly not least, I'd like to give a couple of shout-outs.

Thanks to the Read family for supplying the Sable with a cassette adapter! We now have music!!

Thanks to Angus Mortimer, Olympic Athlete and friend of ours, for making this awesome video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwVUV2U-Id0
Don't forget to comment, rate, and subscribe to his videos!!

Oasis Pub&Eatery presents The Official Fancouver2010 Send-Off Party!

Sunday, January 17, 2010.

A lot of activity on Facebook and Twitter today!

Here's what you need to know:

Friday, January 29th, 2010 will mark the date of the official Fancouver2010 send-off party at the Oasis Pub&Eatery on Spring Garden Road. So make sure to book the night off and maybe the following Saturday morning as well. 100% of the proceeds from the door will be going towards our trip and be sure to come dressed in red or white to show your national pride!!

The Oasis will be Halifax's home for Olympic coverage and also your Fancouver2010 headquarters!

Trying Times... Part 1

Thursday, January 14, 2010.

Upon completion of the registration for our car everything was seemingly running well... until scare number one occurred today.

Dennis and I woke up this morning at 6am as usual and headed to the Halifax Club. We were runnig a little late and I was getting impatient with Dennis' driving as he was trying to do some online banking along the way (I know, not smart). At the next red light I insisted on switching into the drivers seat, Dennis agreed and off we went.

When we returned to the car after our shift my brother turned the key and nothing happened... it turned out that I left the radio on when I parked the car (half asleep mind you) in the a.m.! At first we thought it might be a bigger issue, though after finding two friendly guys with jumper cables and getting a boost everything seemed to be okay! *

On the way home from work we stopped and bought some spray paint to add a little extra flare to our whip. This way you'll be sure to know it's us broken down on the side of the highway (hopefully outside of Nova Scotia).
******

Well.. I literally just got in from painting the car. I think we may have been a little to ambitious with the paint job.

*Side Note/ Interesting Fact:
It turned out that the guy with the jumper cables had just bought them the day before, solely for the fact that they were on sale at Princess Auto. Lucky for us!

3 Weeks Away

Monday, January 11th, 2010. 21 Days until Dennis and I embark on the adventure of a lifetime (hopefully). 

So, about a month ago my ambitious twin brother asked me if I'd drive from Halifax to Vancouver with him to watch the greatest sporting event in the world, the Winter Olympic Games. Without much thought  or hesitation I answered 'yes.' Little did I know, a month later I would be sitting here writing this blog in preparation for our adventure. You see, at the age of 20 my brother and I had more debt than credit and a 65 hour cross-country road trip was pretty much out of the question. However, there was one thing keeping our dream alive, The Halifax Club. 

The Halifax Club is a place where Dennis and I could be found every waking hour of every single day for the past month and a half- it's where we work. After slaving away for the past month, I finally had enough money freed up to start saving for university next year when much to my surprise Dennis showed up at home exclaiming, 'I bought car.' 

A total of $500 later and the wheels were in motion for our adventure. 

Now you're probably asking yourself, 'How did they find a car for $500 that would make the trip across Canada in the middle of winter?!' Well that's a good question! The car we scored is a '95 Mercury Sable that just passed Motor Vehicle Inspection- it has a crack across the whole windshield and the speedometer doesn't work but with a little TLC we should be able to make it most of the way right? 

Next, you might wonder 'what if we they don't make it to Vancouver?' Well, that's out of the question.. after all, there are alternate forms of transportation (ie. hitchhiking, train hopping, walking etc) 

Hopefully by this point you're starting to see why this could make for an interesting blog- with very little money Dennis and I will have to get extremely creative with our sleeping arrangements, meals, hygiene, and not to mention transportation issues (fingers crossed)! 

Please, follow along as we share our national pride and venture across our beautiful country to witness our best athletes compete for all the glory!