Monday, July 5, 2010

Out of the Prairies and into the Wild!


I'm pleased to announce that I've passed a couple of major milestones in my journey over the course of the past week. The first was passing through the longitudinal center of Canada at 96 degrees 42" 35', not too far out of Winnipeg. The second bit of news is that I've crossed the provincial border into Ontario, leaving the vast openess of the Prairies behind me. Now, I don't think I reall grasped how big Ontario was until I arrived here. I'm in Kenora right now, and it's 1,767km to Toronto (I google mapped it). I don't have much time here to dive into the experiences I've had in the past week, but I will highlight a few of the more entertaining things that have happened to me since I last updated:

-Being invited into the Holloway's place (an elderly couple living in Wapella, Manitoba) for coffee and cookies after I was informed that the cafe doesn't open until four, and that the church no longer served coffee.

-Fighting for ground in a roaring headwind for a good 10 hours because I was deadset on making it to Winnipeg for Canada Day. I covered a total of 165km, strained my achillies, and refused three separate rides from pick-up trucks into the city.

-Celebrating Canada Day by listening to live music, having a couple of drinks, and watching fireworks with Jocelyn, her mother, and Tim at the Forks and Osborne Village in Winnipeg.


-Getting to check out the inside of a radio station (Winnipeg's own CKUW) firsthand with Jocelyn, my couchsurfing host who hosts not only couchsurfers but also her own raidio show.

-Catching a few free performances at JazzFest in Winnipeg.

-Finding myself once again caught in raging thunderstorm, only to be rescued by a friendly couple, Bev and Wayne, who invited me to take refuge on the floor of their airconditioned shed.

-"would you like a shake to go with those fries?" Spending the entire day frying french fries, mixing up shakes, and scooping icecream at Zach's Burger Bus on the TransCanada

-Meeting a couple of random cyclists on the road this morning and flying into Kenora at top speed; gasping for air when we were struck by the incredible beauty of Lake of the Woods as we crossed the bridge into the city.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to elaborate on some of the stories behind these events later in the week. All I can say for now is that I've learned what sunsets are really for: they're the world's way of stretching out the day, giving us one last chance to say the things we wanted to say and express the feelings that we've held within our hearts throughout the day. Clocks seem to tick slower as that big glowing orb falls from the sky, giving us one more opportunity to express ourselves before the night falls and a new day begins. Adios amigos,
Megs

1 comment:

  1. Wow, wish I could of watched one of those sunsets with you. You've nearly made me cry with a couple of your postings and this is one of them. Godspeed and good times!

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