woo - hoo, passed this landmark today!
Did not complete the other half of the blog last night - sorry (I figured getting more than 4 hours of sleep might be better than trying to be real witty, so I went to bed). It was a shame that we couldn't spend a little more time with mom last night but we will have a chance to see her on the way back (and will definitely have a lot more stories at this point).
The event last night was fully attended and went surprisingly late (all extremely good things). Physicians were engaged, asked great questions, all in all a very good night of interactive medical education. Byrnes videotaped the event and I think we will get some good footage from the event. We also did a little video work at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg and hopefully, combining video on the road with the presentation material and a lot of still photos, we will get a very good educational video which highlights the tour as well as giving excellent current information about SAD. Coming to a theatre near you......
It was a very early morning, being on Breakfast Television just after 6 am today, again a nice solid interview. As part of the interview with Brian Yasui they actually used video footage from our arrival to Calgary, so it was good mix of past and present tour status. We left thereafter with Byrnes and Barb, on the road a little later than usual but on a beautiful hot sunny day with a bit of a breeze - life couldn't be better. Now Byrnes and Barb (B+B as they will be called from this time hence on this blog) are much more experienced RV-ers than us, so within 5 minutes of driving along they already had a few ideas about things - we need all the help we can get, so we have big ears. Of course after being on the road for a few days with them, I anticipate that their volumes of suggestions may not be quite as interesting and we may be ignoring most - but let's give them the benefit of the doubt, it's only day 1 and the magic hasn't worn off yet.
GOOD NEWS! - Natalie has delivered her 3rd child, or shall I say Justin delivered her third baby. Seven pounds and 14 ounces of boy came very fast (precipitously as we say in "the biz") at home and a 911 ambulance call which was quick but not quick enough and Dr. Justin OB/GYN put on his baseball glove and didn't drop the line drive. Given the unexpected nature of events, a name was not forthcoming - I suggested "Catch Beaudry" but I have just been informed that the name is officially Cabrel (which actually does mean catch in French, I think - I'll ask Jill Boeshmin - I know he'll know). So I guess the sweepstakes mentioned in previous blog are a thing of the past. The winners are clearly Natalie and Justin - CONGRATULATIONS!
This day of the tour is dedicated to the newest member of the Courcelles clan - the swift little Cabrel Joel Beaudry.
The Day Sponsors of the tour today are Simone and Allan Penner. Thanks so much for the support - and make sure those trucks are nice to us!
BAD NEWS turned GOOD NEWS - someone tried to steal at least one of our bikes off the back of the RV last night - as one of the locks was sawed down to a few wires - they stopped for some reason and all was fully intact. Winnipeg.......
We leave another province behind as we straddle the border and are officially in Ontario. Tomorrow we will drive back to the Trans Canada and be back in Manitoba momentarily before we cross over again and enter the "very long" province of Ontario. It's very, very confusing here in the Whiteshell - Mantario as they call this area of the country. Despite being in Ontario, we are closer to Calgary than we are to Toronto - how does this work??
We're here in Ingolf - cottage country. This is God's Country! Even an atheist would be hard-pressed to disagree. We leave the wide open spaces of the prairies and head into the rugged, rocky Canadian Shield. We are spending the night with Don and Cheryl and a lot of relatives. We are just a little late - but officially HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DON and CHERYL! B+B have already met quite a few relatives a few nights ago and survived to tell the tale - so they'll manage just fine tonight (I hope).
Tomorrow we will get into a routine with B+B, whip them into shape and keep this tour moving. Actually what will happen is that Byrnes will whip all the rest of us and laugh incessantly. Our cosmic cookie supply had almost dwindled to nothing, but Barb came through with a delicious batch which should get us through the next few weeks - so she can whip me any time. Yes, I'll try and post the recipe. Maybe I can start a "Random Recipes of the Day' part of the blog - or maybe NOT!
Random quote of the day
Keep cool and you command everybody
Louis de Saint-Just
Dr J and Monique,
ReplyDeleteIn response to the lack of blog commenters...I recently had someone say to me that they felt uncomfortable commenting on a blog...because so many people would read it...perhaps it's the age group....who knows? What I do know is that you have a huge following...they just seem to suffer from a bit of blog shyness.
You continue to inspire and amaze. Travel safely and may the wind always be at your back.
I apologize for not being a regular blooger as I promised. Maybe I suffer from blogtile dysfunction. Are there more of you out there like me? We can help each other! T&M you know I love you and am with you all the way.
ReplyDelete"Happiness consists in activity. It is running steam, not a stagnant pool."
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Hey Ted,
ReplyDeleteI almost feel a bit stalkerish some days as I am following your quest. For such a public event it somehow feels very private and perhaps that is why some of us are hesitant to intrude. I can only tell you that even though we haven't seen each other for 35 years you have a profound impact on my life. As someone who is affected daily by mental illness I can only say thank you.
And to Monique, you must be as amazing as I know Ted is. There is no way that anyone could accomplish what he is doing without the love and support of a committed team. Kudos to both of you for spreading awareness and casting more light on such a difficult yet increasingly prevalent subject. There are many of us watching and supporting you in our own quiet way.