on the road -- Bob & the half-naked woman -- Bob is deemed suspicious because he didn't plan his trip in advance

Okay I'm in Halifax at the Halliburton after the 22-hour Train Ride From Sitting Up Hell. Just had a lovely sushi dinner next door. Tomorrow somehow I get down the coast to Yarmouth Nova Scotia and I'll take the CAT high speed ferry to Portland, Maine on Wednesday -- a 5.5 hour crossing. So far this has been one very cool, thrilling Adventure. Perfect weather. Just spent 1 night in Montreal but had a dandy time, it's a spectacular city, and I got to practice my pathetic francais, which is worse than my sucky deutsches.

On the train I opened the lavatory door and there was a half-naked woman taking a whiz -- she hadn't mastered the door lock very well. I screamed JESUS! and she screamed something equally inchaote and closed the door more successfully than she had the first time.

I'm dragging along my new laptop, but I couldn't get its Wi-Fi connection to work, so I'm posting from the charming library/study/lounge of the Halliburton. This neighborhood used to be crawling with Ladies of the Night, but in the few years since I was here, they clearly have gentrified and boutiquefied Halifax. The sign on my restaurant said VOTED HALIFAX'S BEST SUSHI RESTAURANT 5 YEARS RUNNING.

I have an original illustration, but I won't be able to squirt it from my laptop to Vleeptron tonight. I might have better luck in Yarmouth.

At the US - Canadian Border, I was deemed Very Suspicious, because I'd taken the train trip without any advance notice, so my name wasn't on the computer list of the Canadian Border Guards. They held up the train for 15 minutes while they made phone calls to see if I was Osama bin Laden's chauffeur or his dentist or accountant. I wasn't. They gave me back my passport and sent me on my way to Quebec.

Here, you need an illustration, let me cook one up. This looks a lot liks the VIA locomotive that schlepped me from Montreal to Halifax. In 22 hours. Ask me if I'm a little exhausted.

I'll get somebody to take a photo of me in my backpack.