Woke up this morning, and the left back tire was nearly flat. There was enough air to drive over to the air hose and fill it up. Then drove over to Wal-mart and got the much needed oil change, and then headed on out. The time was 7:28 am and 56,247 miles on the odmeter.
I thought I was getting a pretty good deal getting the oil changed at Wal-mart, but it turned out I had to pay another 30% in taxes. For example, I had to play 50 cents tax per litre of oil, some odd cents for the oil filter. It had to be done because it's been a while since the last oil change, and I'd like to keep the Rodeo in good condition because I plan to drive for years and years to come.
I decided this morning that for once I have a destination- Regina (re-ji-na), Saskatchawen. Made the mistake of driving Route 48 instead of Route 1, because after reexaming the atlas, Route 1 was a scenic drive. After 200 miles of driving westward, I arrived in Regina and stopped at the tourist information center at the edge of town and found the rates of places to stay. At this time I realized that the tourist information center also has room rates of most of the motels and hotels in the providence as well as the city.
Was going to stay at the Comfort Inn, but found a bed and breakfast place, B & J's Bed and Breakfast nearby right outside the downtown area. All this time I didn't realize that bed and breakfast's can be more inexpensive than motels. I'm glad I found this place, and they had a room available.
So after moving my clothes in, I walked downtown and it was different from Wennipeg. People weren't asking for money and there weren't people playing music for money- not that that's bad, it's just I wanted to walk and see what was available downtown. Downtown Regina is a nice place with a park and a mall in the center. I saw all the people in the park playing around, and I wished that I had someone to go into the park and throw a frisbee with me.
Got a bean burrito and some potatoes to eat at the mall downtown. Downtown Regina was very much like Winnipeg: Downtown was mostly banks and restaruants. Regina is the kind of town which bordered on being large while it still has a small town feel.
As I walked back to the house, I saw a little girl walking a little aimlessly, and for a moment I doubted whether I should say anything because I was new to the area and was walking around a little aimlessly myself. But I asked her if she was lost, and she replied confidently with a no. That made me feel better. I like towns where little children are safe to walk about the streets, and I did see many unattended children.
After arriving back at the house, I met the other two women who were staying here, Cathy and Chandra. They're students doing their residency in therapy and will be here until May. Kathy and I decided to go to the park and throw the frisbee around since we both play Ultimate. Chandra was sick and stayed home to rest. So the people at the B & J's were Cathy, Chandra, Janice, Linda, and Rob. It's a shame I didn't take any of their pictures.
After arriving back at the house again, I just cleaned up and went to bed because I didn't get enough sleep last night. So most of the day was spent driving to Regina and messing around downtown.
I'm glad I stayed at the B & J's since I met some people I would have otherwise not met, and they're cool too. Trade off privacy (staying in a motel) for meeting new people.
