Drive to the Mission

 We began our drive to Montreal from our home in American Fork, Utah at a little after 8:00 a.m.  Above is a photo of the beautiful American Fork canyon.

 After leaving Utah we drove through Wyoming. We drove through the desert part and boy was is plain and just sand and sand mounds for miles and miles.

 After Wyoming we drove through Nebraska where we spent our first night at the Days Inn in Sydney.  It was quite nice with a complimentary breakfast the next morning.

 After Nebraska we drove through Iowa.  That night we stayed at the Comfort Inn in Des Moines which had a lot smaller room and I didn't think it was as nice.  However, the breakfast was a lot nicer.

 The third day we drove through Michigan and stayed in Battlecreek at a Best Western.  I liked it best.  It was roomy and nice.  The staff was friendly and the food was better than the 2 previous ones.

 Thursday we arrived in Ontario.  We drove over a huge bridge and there we were in Canada.  We had a long stay in immigration of almost an hour.  Our immigration lady was kinda grumpy and had a million questions.  Why are you here?  What will you be doing?  Doesn't Canada have enough of it's own workers to do the job? Where will you live?  How long will you be here?  Who's paying for your stay?  Is the church paying?  Why not?  Isn't it expensive?  Did you sign a contract?  Well if you didn't sign a contract, it doesn't mean I don't need one.  Wait over there.  Come back.  More questions.  Wait again.  More questions.  Wait, wait, wait.  After a while we went up again and I was able to joke with her a little bit and she began smiling.  We finally got our permission to stay in the country.  Our passports were stamped and off we went.  That night we stayed in a Best Western in Whitby, Canada.  It was very nice, the staff were nice and the food good.  But, it was a lot more expensive and I didn't think it was that much better.
It took us 5 days and 4 nights to drive 2,200+ miles.  Luckily, no one ever asked if we were there yet or how much longer.  Haha.  The only ones who had to stop were the two of us.   It was a pleasant although very long and tiring drive.
Driving through Montreal to the Mission Home took a long, long time.  It was rush hour traffic which starts about 2:00 to 2:30 and doesn't end till after 7:00.  The traffic was just horrible.  Bumper to bumper traffic, very impatient drivers, and drivers cutting in and out of traffic.  It was very stressful.  I have learned that the traffic is always like that.  It seemed much worse than L.A. or San Diego.

My first impression of Montreal was that it is a huge modern city.  However upon driving into it and seeing more, I see that it is more like a European city than a U.S. city.  It has old buildings mixed in with the new.  It is very beautiful.  There are lots of cafes, little shops, parks, tiny roads, and a definite European feel.  It reminded me a lot of Brussels.  It will be interesting to see what it is really like.