This wild, wacky, amazing (pick your adjective) journey wouldn’t be possible without the unselfish support of many pro-environment citizens, not just in the U.S. but also in Canada. I experienced the truest form of hospitality last week when I refueled the green machine in Montreal, Quebec, and later, in a small town in Eastern Ontario.

The Island City, and the entire surrounding area for that matter, has only one place that can help its fellow citizens run on vegetable oil or biodiesel – Eco Auto (http://www.ecoauto.ca). These guys were totally awesome, going out and collecting about 12 gallons of veg oil on my behalf, as well as supplying me with some B100 biodiesel. I would like to thank Chris and Mark for their hospitality. If you are looking to convert your car to run on veg oil or have any questions about biodiesel, these are the guys to call.

After bolting Montreal before the afternoon drive traffic got too hideous, I slipped into eastern Ontario where a gentlemen who shall remain anonymous supplied me with even more veg oil. I found him on the Internet (thank God for the Internet), and he even let me crash at his cool estate. You know the thing I’ve noticed most about Canadians is just how damn laid back and friendly they are. Every time I interview a Canadian athlete, they just seem more at ease than the American athlete. I don’t mean to infer that American athletes are difficult, but all I know is whenever I’ve approached Matt Stairs or Jason Bay in the locker room when doing my baseball stories, they’ve been very mellow and cool and cordial. We Americans could take a tip from our neighbors and lighten up a bit and smile a lot more, that’s all I’m saying. And take more vacations. We Americans don’t give ourselves enough of a “time out” from work and the daily grind. In short, while our politics may differ, we can agree to disagree on issues, yet still be friendly neighbors that also believe in the tenants of democracy and the winds of change, including changing attitudes about energy such as running car on alternative fuels like biodiesel and vegetable oil.

After taking in a Canadian junior league game in Belleville, Ontario, I crossed the border at Port Huron, back into the states to see a pair of college hockey games, one at Notre Dame and the other at Western Michigan. Like last year’s baseball journey, I’ve crossed the border several times now, and besides a few weird looks, no one at the border questions me, even when they see jugs of veg oil in the back seat!

I am a big Notre Dame fan and totally biased, so I had a great time at the convocation center where they play hockey even though it’s not really an arena. They basically split the venue into two with a big, blue curtain. In fact, one side was a series of tables already set for a dinner before the USC-Notre Dame football game! On the other side, was a sheet of ice and some rolled in bleachers, and the Irish toppled visiting Denver, to the pleasure of a near capacity crowd.