Summing up

This page is dedicated to summing up our 6 month adventure
Crazy Canadian and American Customs:
Their love of giant trucks ("utes")
Excessive amounts of stop signs- at every single intersection!
The general acceptance of marijuana
Patriotism to french culture in Eastern Canada
Each city had its iconic (extremely unhealthy) food
The sale of guns and ammunition in supermarkets
Leaving off the tax… until your at checkout

Things We Won't Forget:
Picking up Chard, the hitchhiker
Chaos on Jerry's farm the day he leaves us in charge
Waiting out a blizzard in the middle of a highway
Singing German songs with a room full of Swiss people
Watching the New York Halloween Parade with 3 million others
Driving though cities you don't want to be driving in
People imitating the Australian accent in slow motion

Odd Questions:
"Do people keep kangaroos as pets"?
"Do the kangaroos go around and punch your sheep"?
"I believe that Australian's can tell if their meat is fresh or not by slapping it. If the flies move then it is good to eat, if the flies stay it is not good. Do you do that"?
"I've heard that Australian's can catch a fly, tie a piece of string to it, and keep it as a pet. Do people often do this"?
"I can't believe you get snow in Australia"!
And our personal favourite…. This conversation occurred with a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas.
The dealer "So how do you guys say - How are you going"?
Corey "How're you going"
Dealer "No, no, no… I mean in you're language"
Kara, Corey and I exchange puzzled looks… Corey "You know we speak english, right"?
Dealer "No, don't you guys have your own language? Don't you speak Australian"?
Us "No"
Dealer "Wow, that sure sounds like a country I could visit them"
Us *gulp* The same dealer then went on to tell us that we should never leave our group of three and split up, as (just like the movies), people kidnap people like us, chain them to beds and cut out their kidneys. hmmm, I think someone has watched too many horror films.

Top Experiences:
Attending the Calgary Stampede
Working on First Nature Farms
Whale watching on Vancouver Island, and visiting the Sea Lion cave on the Oregon Coast
Camping in amongst the most beautiful scenery, in forests and on beaches
Seeing amazing wildlife that even the locals rarely see
Listening to live music
Seeing some of the famous Natural Wonders- Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon
Making a lot of friends through Couchsurfing, and being touched by their generosity
Seeing some Broadway performances and Cirque Du Soleil
Laughing at the David Letterman filming
Picking wild berries on the side of the roads

Our Adventure by Numbers:
30,000- Kilometres driven
158- Days in North America
107- Days in Canada
51- Days in America
50- Cities we stayed in
39- Couch Hosts
10- Number of hours we often drove in a day
9- Car services
8- National Parks
7- rhymes with “heaven”... which describes our trip
6- Nights in hotels
5- Snakes we saw in the wild
4- Sport matches
3- Couchhosts we would avoid in future
2- Cars owned
1- Adventure we will never forget!