Day 68 July 13, 2011 Torrance to Parry Sound 51km – Mike’s View
13 Jul
It's amazing how quickly your day can change.
I was woken up this morning by the sound of Riley banging around in his room, and I immediately wanted to roll back over and sleep longer in this very comfortable bed.
Anne, Riley's aunt, had made us a delicious and full breakfast complete with eggs, yogurt, toast cereal and BACON! I had forgotten how much I missed Bacon!
Riley and I went for a quick dip in the lake before jumping in the boat and heading back to the mainland to start running for the day.
Before running, we had to drive in to Bala to fill up with gas and refill on groceries.
Once running, it was looking as if it was going to be a rather uneventful day. Riley started running at 9:45am, but it wasn't blistering hot yet, and there were no bugs out. As the day went along, Riley was running well, had a great paved shoulder with lots of space and a highway with little traffic. For lunch, I made 2 sandwiches each, which were very good, and Riley ate his while walking. After he ate his sandwich, he continued to walk while making a number of phone calls.
At kilometre 42, he was stopped by his brother’s friend Darcy and his girlfriend Sam, who were headed back to Toronto from their cabin. We spoke for about a half hour before we each went our separate ways.
Riley ended his run for the day about 5 minutes shy of reaching Parry Sound, and we parked in an empty gravel parking lot for the night. As I was cooking dinner, Riley checked Facebook and had a message on our Step Into Action page that read
"Hey guys. You are right across the road from me right now, done for the day I expect. You are on Rankin Lake road. Coming over to meet you shortly, hopefully you won't be in bed. Gotta bring my camera. Great job, especially through the heat. keep it up!"
Julie came over with her son, Jacob, and their neighbour, Dakota (who was quick to inform me that his name was on everything from boxes, to trucks to states etc).
We showed them the MCC and spoke to them for a while before heading back inside for dinner. After dinner, as we were starting to do work, blogs, social media etc. they came back out, this time with the whole family!
We took a few photos with them, but then chatted for ages, about what each one does for work/school, about how they raise chickens and pigs etc. We had a great time! They then gave us half a dozen eggs! Thanks Jacklin family!
The funniest remark was by Julie (the mother) as she asked Riley and I "Are you guys married?" Riley and I froze, and just stared at each other, shocked by this question. Her daughters immediately starting laughing as they saw our expressions. It turns out that Julie wasn't asking if we were married to each other, but just married in general. We all laughed very hard together, although I think Julie was a little embarrassed.
They were a very fun and friendly family that really changed our day from an average, plain, running day into a fun, interesting and memorable one. Thanks!
-Michael Downie
I was woken up this morning by the sound of Riley banging around in his room, and I immediately wanted to roll back over and sleep longer in this very comfortable bed.
Anne, Riley's aunt, had made us a delicious and full breakfast complete with eggs, yogurt, toast cereal and BACON! I had forgotten how much I missed Bacon!
Riley and I went for a quick dip in the lake before jumping in the boat and heading back to the mainland to start running for the day.
Before running, we had to drive in to Bala to fill up with gas and refill on groceries.
Once running, it was looking as if it was going to be a rather uneventful day. Riley started running at 9:45am, but it wasn't blistering hot yet, and there were no bugs out. As the day went along, Riley was running well, had a great paved shoulder with lots of space and a highway with little traffic. For lunch, I made 2 sandwiches each, which were very good, and Riley ate his while walking. After he ate his sandwich, he continued to walk while making a number of phone calls.
At kilometre 42, he was stopped by his brother’s friend Darcy and his girlfriend Sam, who were headed back to Toronto from their cabin. We spoke for about a half hour before we each went our separate ways.
Riley ended his run for the day about 5 minutes shy of reaching Parry Sound, and we parked in an empty gravel parking lot for the night. As I was cooking dinner, Riley checked Facebook and had a message on our Step Into Action page that read
"Hey guys. You are right across the road from me right now, done for the day I expect. You are on Rankin Lake road. Coming over to meet you shortly, hopefully you won't be in bed. Gotta bring my camera. Great job, especially through the heat. keep it up!"
Julie came over with her son, Jacob, and their neighbour, Dakota (who was quick to inform me that his name was on everything from boxes, to trucks to states etc).
We showed them the MCC and spoke to them for a while before heading back inside for dinner. After dinner, as we were starting to do work, blogs, social media etc. they came back out, this time with the whole family!
We took a few photos with them, but then chatted for ages, about what each one does for work/school, about how they raise chickens and pigs etc. We had a great time! They then gave us half a dozen eggs! Thanks Jacklin family!
The funniest remark was by Julie (the mother) as she asked Riley and I "Are you guys married?" Riley and I froze, and just stared at each other, shocked by this question. Her daughters immediately starting laughing as they saw our expressions. It turns out that Julie wasn't asking if we were married to each other, but just married in general. We all laughed very hard together, although I think Julie was a little embarrassed.
They were a very fun and friendly family that really changed our day from an average, plain, running day into a fun, interesting and memorable one. Thanks!
-Michael Downie
