Collingwood: Driving up North (Part 1)
Earlier this month, Brian and I drove up north for a weekend getaway. We left Mississauga at around 9pm on a Friday and got on the fastest route to Collingwood using the maps app on my phone.
But "fastest" doesn't always mean "best": We ended up on some country roads that were terrifying in more ways than one. For starters, it was just dark. The one car that was driving ahead of us would often disappear from view as it made its way up and down the hills of Caledon. This, coupled with the distance from town to town, was a little isolating. I kept thinking of Maurice in Beauty and the Beast, deep in the forest, looking for the way to the county fair.
The fact that the roads were covered in either snow or a thick sheet of ice didn't help matters either. Unbeknownst to me, there were times when we couldn't even brake. But Brian knew not to tell me until we could. ;)
At some point I noticed that my maps app wasn't updating anymore and that we were essentially driving blind. Of course we did have printouts of the route in case of emergencies, but it wasn't of the one we were already on. That was the last straw for both Brian and me: We had to find an easier way there, or risk getting lost, slipping in the ice, and being altogether helpless in the dead of winter.
Brian, who still had his wits intact, was the first to suggest that we find a new route. By the time we found a decent place to stop, we were in a town in the middle of nowhere with barely enough reception to get by. The Beauty and the Beast vibe was by then in full force. Tree branches encased in ice would meet each other high above us, exactly as it was shown in the film. You know, just before the animators pan onto the wolves. We chose a more direct route up north and drove out of nineteenth-century France and back into present-day Canada.
Being back on the highway in the company of other motorists, a lot more lights, and better road conditions made our drive a lot easier, and by 11:30pm or so, we were in front of our airbnb, looking for the key. The coziness and warmth of the home we walked into was a sweet reward for the drive we had to endure. We took it easy that night and slept in before heading to our next activity: snowmobiling.
But "fastest" doesn't always mean "best": We ended up on some country roads that were terrifying in more ways than one. For starters, it was just dark. The one car that was driving ahead of us would often disappear from view as it made its way up and down the hills of Caledon. This, coupled with the distance from town to town, was a little isolating. I kept thinking of Maurice in Beauty and the Beast, deep in the forest, looking for the way to the county fair.
The fact that the roads were covered in either snow or a thick sheet of ice didn't help matters either. Unbeknownst to me, there were times when we couldn't even brake. But Brian knew not to tell me until we could. ;)
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| This was us. |
At some point I noticed that my maps app wasn't updating anymore and that we were essentially driving blind. Of course we did have printouts of the route in case of emergencies, but it wasn't of the one we were already on. That was the last straw for both Brian and me: We had to find an easier way there, or risk getting lost, slipping in the ice, and being altogether helpless in the dead of winter.
Brian, who still had his wits intact, was the first to suggest that we find a new route. By the time we found a decent place to stop, we were in a town in the middle of nowhere with barely enough reception to get by. The Beauty and the Beast vibe was by then in full force. Tree branches encased in ice would meet each other high above us, exactly as it was shown in the film. You know, just before the animators pan onto the wolves. We chose a more direct route up north and drove out of nineteenth-century France and back into present-day Canada.
Being back on the highway in the company of other motorists, a lot more lights, and better road conditions made our drive a lot easier, and by 11:30pm or so, we were in front of our airbnb, looking for the key. The coziness and warmth of the home we walked into was a sweet reward for the drive we had to endure. We took it easy that night and slept in before heading to our next activity: snowmobiling.
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