my first real day of clinical practice at toronto rehab consisted of another member of my clinical team swinging the door to the locker rooms open and smacking me in the head.
6:45 am, 15 mins before i'm due on the floor in my unit, i'm bleeding profusely, seeing stars and wondering how the hell this could have happened to me.
after freaking out my new clinical instructor with the amount of blood on my hand and saturated paper towel, i'm left with a 2" vertical laceration above my left eyebrow and a massive goose egg (not correct terminology, i know) which is every shade of blue/purple/yellow, combined.
looks lovely.
but it did initiate conversations with patients and nurses alike.
i am now known on the floor as "the girl with the big bandage above her eye". atleast i'm known on the floor, right?
my clients are a mix of lovely and interesting.
i'm drawn to 2 in particular, one being lovely, and one being interesting...and difficult.
i have a woman, whom i thought was only about my age, but discovered later is actually 41, who, as a result of cerebral palsy, has very limited movement & function, and has kyphoscoliosis (kyphosis=hunchback, scoliosis=an s-curvature of the spine).
i also helped care for a woman who has a history of drug/alcohol abuse with ODs relating to suicide attempts and withdrawal seizures but was admitted after a domestic dispute with her then common-law spouse left her with severe brain damage, resulting in left-sided hemiplegia (paralysis). when she came into rehab she had a trach tube and had staples holding the skin on her skull. she's been on a slow road to recovery, although it'll never be complete. she has learned to read and write at a about a grade 2 level. she yells at me and she likes to throw her shit on the wall.
speaking of trach tubes, i got to clean the mucus spewing out of someone's whole in their neck and see the stoma created to attach a colostomy bag. i saw intestines. amazing.
what's not so amazing is the smell from the bag.
i figure, when your waste goes through the intestines, it's reabsorbing water to dilute the concentration before it exits your anus. if you're catching the waste before it's been through the intestines, it is pure, undiluted, concentrated waste, mixed with bile and acid. it's enough to make anyone vomit.
9/15/06
while visions of marshmallows danced in my head
i woke myself up the other night making this noise, like "ahhhh", but in a sexual kinda way...and you know when you're so noisy in your sleep, you wake yourself up, startled?
so it seemed kinda like a sexual thing when i woke up, but in fact it was a laughing type "ahhhh", kinda like "ahhh, don't!" because i realized i had been dreaming about being pelted with marshmallows.
a fun, harmless, marshmallow fight.
not sure why, with who, or how that came to be, but it wasn't sexual.
although, i suppose it could be...if you think in that perverted sort of way.
yesterday as i mad dashed to the mall to find some new white shoes for my clinical tomorrow, i realized that in the 8 years i've lived here in the city, this is the first month that i've ever purchased a Metropass™.
it's a liberating feeling, really. not that i hadn't already started to feel like a part of the city a few years back, but now it's official: i am a Torontonian.
i like how i can just scan my way through the turnstiles. a little beep and i'm through.
no more fumbling with tickets or change.
i guess moving east means using more transit. but it also means carrying my bike down two long flights of stairs. so i guess it boils down to laziness.
dammit. my liberating Metropass™ has gone from the height of my status quo, to reaffirming the fact that i've gotten lazier. and perhaps a part of the blue collar masses that use the subway on a daily basis.
dammit.
so it seemed kinda like a sexual thing when i woke up, but in fact it was a laughing type "ahhhh", kinda like "ahhh, don't!" because i realized i had been dreaming about being pelted with marshmallows.
a fun, harmless, marshmallow fight.
not sure why, with who, or how that came to be, but it wasn't sexual.
although, i suppose it could be...if you think in that perverted sort of way.
yesterday as i mad dashed to the mall to find some new white shoes for my clinical tomorrow, i realized that in the 8 years i've lived here in the city, this is the first month that i've ever purchased a Metropass™.
it's a liberating feeling, really. not that i hadn't already started to feel like a part of the city a few years back, but now it's official: i am a Torontonian.
i like how i can just scan my way through the turnstiles. a little beep and i'm through.
no more fumbling with tickets or change.
i guess moving east means using more transit. but it also means carrying my bike down two long flights of stairs. so i guess it boils down to laziness.
dammit. my liberating Metropass™ has gone from the height of my status quo, to reaffirming the fact that i've gotten lazier. and perhaps a part of the blue collar masses that use the subway on a daily basis.
dammit.
9/13/06
school: week 2
Levinson did a research study in the '70s and found that peoples' lives are like seasons. all stages have their place and no one is better than another.
he said that every lifetime has 3 eras (after childhood): early adulthood, middle adulthood & late adulthood.
within each of these eras were periods and transitions. the transitions between eras were big "cross-era" transitions, lasting ~5 yrs, and a source of turmoil and confusion. the transitions between periods were small.
just before early adulthood comes a cross-era transition when you're half child/half adult (~17-22 yrs) where you're trying to gain independence.
as you enter early adulthood there's a calm period, the novice period (~22-28 yrs) where you develop dreams and have mentors. then there's a small transition (~28-33 yrs) where you question if you're heading in the right direction, which is followed by another calm period he called "calmination".
before you enter the second era of middle adulthood, there's another cross-era transition which causes the mid-life crisis (~40-45 yrs).
this pattern continues into late adulthood, where there are periods of self-reflection and coming to terms with dying.
alhtough this is just one man's theory and has many criticisms, as do many theories, i can honestly say that i've been through the first periods of early adulthood. i had that novice period, where i formed my dreams, and then the small transition where i questioned whether i was headed in the right direction. and i answered it. and did something about it.
if this psychologist is on the right track, i am still in that small transition, and just as i graduate, i'll be headed into my period of calmination.
interesting.
Music to my ears: tool - lateralus
In reality: Neanderthals and humans lived side by side
he said that every lifetime has 3 eras (after childhood): early adulthood, middle adulthood & late adulthood.
within each of these eras were periods and transitions. the transitions between eras were big "cross-era" transitions, lasting ~5 yrs, and a source of turmoil and confusion. the transitions between periods were small.
just before early adulthood comes a cross-era transition when you're half child/half adult (~17-22 yrs) where you're trying to gain independence.
as you enter early adulthood there's a calm period, the novice period (~22-28 yrs) where you develop dreams and have mentors. then there's a small transition (~28-33 yrs) where you question if you're heading in the right direction, which is followed by another calm period he called "calmination".
before you enter the second era of middle adulthood, there's another cross-era transition which causes the mid-life crisis (~40-45 yrs).
this pattern continues into late adulthood, where there are periods of self-reflection and coming to terms with dying.
alhtough this is just one man's theory and has many criticisms, as do many theories, i can honestly say that i've been through the first periods of early adulthood. i had that novice period, where i formed my dreams, and then the small transition where i questioned whether i was headed in the right direction. and i answered it. and did something about it.
if this psychologist is on the right track, i am still in that small transition, and just as i graduate, i'll be headed into my period of calmination.
interesting.
Music to my ears: tool - lateralus
In reality: Neanderthals and humans lived side by side
9/9/06
trying to focus when everything is new
back to school. and orientation always just serves to disorient me.
i'm overwhelmed and having trouble focusing.
getting distracted and not getting back to reality in a reasonable hour.
summer is over but the feeling won't stick.
new place, new people, new toys.
a desk with an uncomfortable chair.
==
my placement is at toronto rehab this year. could be cool.
Food for thought: still reading Into Thin Air (which is fantastic, by the way) but now i'm also reading Adult Development and Aging, Canadian Essentials of Nursing Research, Pharmacology and the Nursing Process and Medical-Surgical Nursing in Canada. ahhhh.
In reality: i can't believe that in the UK you could get away with taking someone's DNA and getting it tested without their knowledge...until now.
i'm overwhelmed and having trouble focusing.
getting distracted and not getting back to reality in a reasonable hour.
summer is over but the feeling won't stick.
new place, new people, new toys.
a desk with an uncomfortable chair.
==
my placement is at toronto rehab this year. could be cool.
Food for thought: still reading Into Thin Air (which is fantastic, by the way) but now i'm also reading Adult Development and Aging, Canadian Essentials of Nursing Research, Pharmacology and the Nursing Process and Medical-Surgical Nursing in Canada. ahhhh.
In reality: i can't believe that in the UK you could get away with taking someone's DNA and getting it tested without their knowledge...until now.
9/4/06
a brief descent into the land of poutine & pepsi (and apparently hotdogs)
i love montreal.
i've decided. and it only took the 2 hours we spent there to come to that decision.
i don't care if there is only pepsi.
the real cheese curds on the poutine make up for that.
and i don't care if the waitress snickers while you try to order in your broken and basic conversational french, but refuses to speak english even though she can.
sometimes there's no other way to learn than to be laughed at.
i love the houses and the low-rises and the lack of high-rise condo complexes.
it's all very european. and, like europe, smartly designed.
somewhere between hwys 20 est & 720 sud-est (which is essentially the same road, save for some merging in the tunnel) bob says:
"the bridges here are crazy. look at that! it's so bladerunner."
later, over a pint of rickard's at a pub nearby the station centre-ville, waiting for the overnight bus to take us back to t.o., we both decided to live in montreal for a while, sometime in the future.
food for thought: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
(found a copy in a used bookshop in kingston, on the way to quebec. having already read Into the Wild--actually, devoured in one night--i was happy Bob pointed this one out to me. it's based on his deadly adventure to the summit of Everest as a journalist for Outside mag...here's the original story: http://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/199609/199609_into_thin_air_1.html
it's already addicting...i guess since school starts again tomorrow i'll just have to finish it today...before working at 5...heh)
**sidenote to Bob: you're mildly suspicious (but i hope still trusting) at the secrecy of my online adventures. but just so you know, this is it. there is no rich old man from tallahassee on the other end, begging me to come bear his children. nope. the secrets lie in this. something i said i'd never do: have a blog. and i never made it completely public. but i never lied about it either...well, not really. and truth be told, i KNOW you're the only one who reads it, even though you pretend it doesn't exist. you can find just about anything by googling it. it's amazing, n'est pas?
i've decided. and it only took the 2 hours we spent there to come to that decision.
i don't care if there is only pepsi.
the real cheese curds on the poutine make up for that.
and i don't care if the waitress snickers while you try to order in your broken and basic conversational french, but refuses to speak english even though she can.
sometimes there's no other way to learn than to be laughed at.
i love the houses and the low-rises and the lack of high-rise condo complexes.
it's all very european. and, like europe, smartly designed.
somewhere between hwys 20 est & 720 sud-est (which is essentially the same road, save for some merging in the tunnel) bob says:
"the bridges here are crazy. look at that! it's so bladerunner."
later, over a pint of rickard's at a pub nearby the station centre-ville, waiting for the overnight bus to take us back to t.o., we both decided to live in montreal for a while, sometime in the future.
food for thought: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
(found a copy in a used bookshop in kingston, on the way to quebec. having already read Into the Wild--actually, devoured in one night--i was happy Bob pointed this one out to me. it's based on his deadly adventure to the summit of Everest as a journalist for Outside mag...here's the original story: http://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/199609/199609_into_thin_air_1.html
it's already addicting...i guess since school starts again tomorrow i'll just have to finish it today...before working at 5...heh)
**sidenote to Bob: you're mildly suspicious (but i hope still trusting) at the secrecy of my online adventures. but just so you know, this is it. there is no rich old man from tallahassee on the other end, begging me to come bear his children. nope. the secrets lie in this. something i said i'd never do: have a blog. and i never made it completely public. but i never lied about it either...well, not really. and truth be told, i KNOW you're the only one who reads it, even though you pretend it doesn't exist. you can find just about anything by googling it. it's amazing, n'est pas?
9/1/06
the late great Bill Hicks
to add to yesterday's post, a quote from one of my heroes, Mr. Bill Hicks:
"i don't care what you believe but you gotta admit: beliefs are odd...a lot of christians wear crosses around their necks. you think when jesus comes back he ever wants to see a fucking cross? that's like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on..."
"i don't care what you believe but you gotta admit: beliefs are odd...a lot of christians wear crosses around their necks. you think when jesus comes back he ever wants to see a fucking cross? that's like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on..."
8/31/06
a chance for redemption
a Mormon stopped me on the street the other day.
"do you believe in God?" he asked.
"i think so." i replied. "but as a different manifestation than you, i'd imagine."
(he was a young chap, and i don't think he was expecting me to actually talk to him, let alone possibly believe in a higher being.)
"do you believe in Jesus as the Messiah?" he wanted to know.
"i'm not sure about that one. i believe Jesus was a great prophet, a wonderful storyteller, but i'm not sure if i even think there needs to be a messiah."
"but don't you want to get into heaven?"
"we may already be in heaven."
"or it may be hell."
"either way, it's what you make it. why bother living for that future of what happens when you die? you can be a good christian and have faith while living today."
truth be told, i absolutely love talking to any religious type folk. my beliefs change on a daily basis. i refuse to be an agnostic or an atheist, because i think it's a bit of a cop out.
some days i believe in a god, other days i don't. i'd say most days i'm just concerned with getting through the day while enjoying it, and i wish i could have that persistent faith that keeps christians going each day. there is a beauty in it, for sure.
just then the streetcar came and my young Mormon friend had to run.
"dang!" he said. (seriously)
"here, please go to the website if you want to be saved."
he handed me a card, with a photo of the massive temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. the original Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. a beautiful night time shot. a gorgeous building. a nice place to worship, i'm sure.
i use it as a bookmark.
"do you believe in God?" he asked.
"i think so." i replied. "but as a different manifestation than you, i'd imagine."
(he was a young chap, and i don't think he was expecting me to actually talk to him, let alone possibly believe in a higher being.)
"do you believe in Jesus as the Messiah?" he wanted to know.
"i'm not sure about that one. i believe Jesus was a great prophet, a wonderful storyteller, but i'm not sure if i even think there needs to be a messiah."
"but don't you want to get into heaven?"
"we may already be in heaven."
"or it may be hell."
"either way, it's what you make it. why bother living for that future of what happens when you die? you can be a good christian and have faith while living today."
truth be told, i absolutely love talking to any religious type folk. my beliefs change on a daily basis. i refuse to be an agnostic or an atheist, because i think it's a bit of a cop out.
some days i believe in a god, other days i don't. i'd say most days i'm just concerned with getting through the day while enjoying it, and i wish i could have that persistent faith that keeps christians going each day. there is a beauty in it, for sure.
just then the streetcar came and my young Mormon friend had to run.
"dang!" he said. (seriously)
"here, please go to the website if you want to be saved."
he handed me a card, with a photo of the massive temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. the original Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. a beautiful night time shot. a gorgeous building. a nice place to worship, i'm sure.
i use it as a bookmark.
8/21/06
the ant that bit my poon
in our kayaks at bon echo, we stopped for a swim.
sitting on a rock in the sun to dry off i noticed a big carpenter ant with a red bum in bob's shoe. i said "there's a big ant in your shoe" and shook it out.
next thing i know, i'm standing up and holy crap, ow! i'm getting bitten on the right lip of my heynaninani (as cash money likes to refer to it)...it felt like a horse fly bite, so i went down to shoo it away, all the while yelling "you little bastard, that hurt" and what do i find, but a big ol' ant in my bikini bottom. and apparently an angry one.
i must have pissed him off throwing him out of bob's shandal.
yuck. i think that's worse than a horse fly. i think i thought that right away because i nearly fell off the rock.
8/17/06
hippo kisses
have you ever seen hippos kiss? it is quite bizarre, with those massive mouths.
this photo doesn't really do it justice...to witness this in person is quite something.
i did feel a tad embarrassed to be watching at first, maybe a little weird, but they didn't seem to mind the crowd.
8/16/06
a change in space as we know it: plutons or planemos
this is incredible
so, without wanting to get rid of poor Pluto, who barely fits the definition of a planet, we're just going to let more rocks into the planet club. and now Pluto has a partner, Charon. it's a double planet. a super planet.
they're even letting asteroids in.
the fact that there is even a planet definition committee is just amazing. a committee to decipher the definition of a planet, in order to be selective about what constitutes entry into our solar system.
talk about confusing the minds of our future young scientists. it's like philosophy of the milky way.
"is it a planet or is it not a planet?" "and what makes up a planet?"
although a name like 2003UB313 (aka Xena) is sure to spark the flames of memory during exams, much more than, say, Neptune. i think so, anyways.
Food for thought: The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders (speaking of planets, this story about the residents of Inner and Outer Horner is hilarious)
Music to my ears: The Arcade Fire (particularly the song Neighbourhood #2 (Laika) from Funeral)
so, without wanting to get rid of poor Pluto, who barely fits the definition of a planet, we're just going to let more rocks into the planet club. and now Pluto has a partner, Charon. it's a double planet. a super planet.
they're even letting asteroids in.
the fact that there is even a planet definition committee is just amazing. a committee to decipher the definition of a planet, in order to be selective about what constitutes entry into our solar system.
talk about confusing the minds of our future young scientists. it's like philosophy of the milky way.
"is it a planet or is it not a planet?" "and what makes up a planet?"
although a name like 2003UB313 (aka Xena) is sure to spark the flames of memory during exams, much more than, say, Neptune. i think so, anyways.
Food for thought: The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders (speaking of planets, this story about the residents of Inner and Outer Horner is hilarious)
Music to my ears: The Arcade Fire (particularly the song Neighbourhood #2 (Laika) from Funeral)
8/4/06
travel notes: the day we go home
sunday morning on the way to the Chi-Cheemaun
before we got on the ferry this morning, we went to Carol & Earl's for breakfast but the gas station across the way where the ATM was wasn't open yet and they didn't take credit/debit so...heads hung in defeat we walked back to camp, thinking we'd pack up, wait for the ATM to open and hope we'd have enough time before the ferry left to go back for breakfast.
well, a man and his wife saw us and came over to the camp to give us money...we politely declined, stating we had money, just not on us. but he insisted we take $25 anyway and gave us his address to send the money back to him.
sometimes all it takes is one gesture to restore my faith in humanity.
so we got to go and fill our bellies while listening to Earl talk to us about Lennox Lewis and some WWF dude he knows. what a character.
before we got on the ferry this morning, we went to Carol & Earl's for breakfast but the gas station across the way where the ATM was wasn't open yet and they didn't take credit/debit so...heads hung in defeat we walked back to camp, thinking we'd pack up, wait for the ATM to open and hope we'd have enough time before the ferry left to go back for breakfast.
well, a man and his wife saw us and came over to the camp to give us money...we politely declined, stating we had money, just not on us. but he insisted we take $25 anyway and gave us his address to send the money back to him.
sometimes all it takes is one gesture to restore my faith in humanity.
so we got to go and fill our bellies while listening to Earl talk to us about Lennox Lewis and some WWF dude he knows. what a character.
8/3/06
travel notes: day 7
saturday july 8th: the end. we made it.
so it's done. wow. we did it. i did it. unbelievable.
i worked so hard i got to eat all of my favourite foods: pies, fish & chips (local whitefish!), cookies, date squares, pb & bagels, tons of oatmeal and dried fruit...and plenty of red wine.
we earned it...although i don't think i'm going home much lighter.
this morning as we left Providence Bay, i actually left a book for someone. for the girl biking with her dad and brother, who were camping across the way from us.
i left her Strange Heaven (the book by Lynn Coady that i finished a couple of nights ago).
i left it with an inscription about being the girl travelling with two boys and how that can be so fun but sometimes some alone time with a book is a good thing. there was definitely a connection in that aspect. and for some reason, i can always pick out a reader.
went into Mindemoya this morning to find Ted from Gypsy Family Farm at market. talked to him for quite a bit--interesting dude--but he was out of peas and fruit. so we bought some baby rainbow swiss chard for dinner and some peas off of another woman who runs an organic farm in Little Current. her peas weren't as sweet as Ted's though.
i bought a necklace off of some little entrepeneur kids--it's lovely. and we saw the soap lady again. then we had some hawberry ice cream from Farquhar's Dairy. so tasty! wish i could bring some of that home. which reminds me, i should pick up some more hawberry jelly for mum & Sue.
went into another old abandoned house again today (they're everywhere!). got to explore for a while.
also went to Michael's Bay to have lunch and try to find an old lumber mill ghost town. couldn't find it--but we found some people to ask. they pointed us in the right direction, but we found a wonderful waterfall instead. played in the water for a long time--got mini leeches on our feet.
finally started the trek back to South Baymouth. bought an onion, tomato and can of red kidney beans and cooked them up with the swiss chard and peas and some chili powder. mopped it all up with some pumpernickel. awesome camp fare considering we are at ghetto camp tonight, pitching a tent in a picnic area. we each paid an old hag in a trailer 5 bucks to sleep on the grassy area. but we're right across from Carol & Earl's Restaurant (who we hear have the best breakfast) and just down the street from the ferry.
tomorrow we go home. what an adventure.
day 7 stats
28˚ & sunny
total riding time: 4 hrs 19.5 mins
total distance: 64 km (avg: 14.8 km/hr)
max speed: 53 km/hr
7/28/06
travel notes: day 6
organic hippie farms & hawberry jelly
just enough fuel this morning for oatmeal and half of a cup of coffee each. had a lazy day today but perfect for exploring. went into an old abandoned farmhouse and barn.
took backroads most of the way to Providence Bay. came across an organic farm--Gypsy Family Farm--and bought fresh snap peas from Ted's sister. the 3 of us polished off a litre of them by mid-afternoon. they were the sweetest peas ever. everything else was at market with Ted, the farmer, who incidentally is a retired nurse from Texas. his wife is still a nurse. great stories. we are taking an extra trip into Mindemoya tomorrow morning to go meet him at market and get some fresh fruit for lunch. missed our turn off today and ended up staying on the highway, which was a good thing or else we wouldn't have come across the tiny hamlet of Spring Bay, which had an LCBO outlet (we had run out of wine--funny how things work out like that) and the Hawberry Farms company whose jams and chutneys we love. had to pick up a few jars of their famous hawberry jelly (hawberries only grow on Manitoulin Island)...and a few other things. extra weight, yes, but only for another day and so worth it. also got some christian paraphanelia for Sue at a tiny old church in Britainville.
Providence Bay has the coldest water i've ever jumped into. my toes went numb. and there's a family (a dad and his two kids) who are just starting out on their journey of biking Manitoulin at the site across from ours. i'd like to give the girl a book that i finished on the trip (Strange Heaven by Lynn Coady).
we're going into town tonight to eat fish & chips.
(edit: the fish & chips place was closed but lucky for us because we found the best soup & sandwich shop! once again, love how things always have a way of working out. ~m)
day 6 stats
27˚ & sunny
total riding time: 2 hrs 43 mins
total distance: 40.72 km (avg: 14.9 km/hr)
max speed: 36 km/hr
7/27/06
travel notes: day 5
the swamps of mordor and a beat up old jalopy
the ride back to Lake Wolsley today--which was the same as yesterday, minus the extra 10km of hill into Sheshegwaning First Nation--seemed so much easier.
not easy, but easier.
although i did get attacked by horseflies through most of it.
it must have been the eggs and homefries we had at the lighthouse restaurant for breakfast. that was a nice treat.
and i didn't have to poo on the side of the road again like yesterday--thank god for the emergency roll of TP.
we made it back to the camp at Lake Wolsley Obejewung and are ready to feast. we're almost out of camp fuel so we decided to eat most of our dried food. plus we stopped in at the general store in Evansville (at the bottom of Indian Point Hill) and Beebs picked out a cajun smoked manitoulin river trout to add some protein to our pasta. the nice young girls in the store also showed us another way to camp without having to climb the crazy steepness of Indian Point Hill Rd, which was a welcome reprieve after another long day.
we found a beautiful old abandoned dock today, where we stopped for lunch after buying more bagels and p.b. in Silverwater again (we were reluctant to stop there again, but there really is nowhere else).
we met a couple from toronto at the store, and they offered up their septic field for a soft place to sleep and a hot shower for the night . so very nice of them, but they weren't too far from Silverwater and that was only our half way point for the day.
the dock was abandoned by the government and was in a beautiful bay...it was lovely, save for the nasty climb back up a loose gravel road to the highway.
hopefully we have enough fuel for breakfast. it's a short day to Providence Bay tomorrow where there's a little town with a restaurant for dinner.
back to civilization....not sure whether i'm sad or excited.
day 5 stats
27˚ & sunny
total riding time: 5 hrs 3 mins
total distance: 78.93 km (avg: 15.6 km/hr)
max speed: 51 km/hr
7/23/06
travel notes: day 4
the lighthouse beyond meldrum bay
i silenty cried today on our last 13 km on lighthouse road. my knee is a mess.
but we made it to the absolute west side of Manitoulin Island and the most beautiful campsite ever.
the shower building reminds me of Friday the 13th.
we rode in silence along a beautiful tree lined road, me secretly wishing we would be there around every bend.
i stink and have a serious butt rash.
but we have homemade tarts for dessert after our mountain chili and the lighthouse restaurant is open for breakfast. good thing too since we're almost out of camp fuel.
mostly the people on Manitoulin have been so nice and friendly but in Silverwater (the only place to stop on hwy 540 between Gore Bay and Meldrum Bay) we walked into the restaurant/gas station/general store only to be stared at but completely ignored amongst the locals. we got up and left after the waitress sat down at the table next to us to talk.
so we bought some bagels and p.b. and headed to Sheshegwaning First Nation reserve. This took us 10 kms out of our way to find the giant dreamcatcher, which we didn't see, but we found a lovely spot to eat our lunch on a beat up old dock.
i took this photo of the garbage can there because it made me laugh:
talking about our experience over lunch, Beebs thought maybe it was because they thought we were native because we're so darkly tanned from biking all day. i hope that's not true; that they wouldn't serve us if they thought we were native. beebs is part native and me, i always wished i was.
day 4 stats
~22˚; cloudy with sunny breaks
total riding time: 6 hrs 5 mins
total distance: 85.67 km (avg: 14 km/hr)
max speed: 46.5 km/hr
7/19/06
travel notes: day 3
Jerusalem Hill kicked my ass
today i prayed all day--i prayed for no more wind.
that wind stopped me dead a few times.
i have never pedalled so hard in my life.
like a cartoon character continually circling my legs, yet going nowhere.
hwy 540 to Bridal Veil Falls was just so windy, but the falls are pretty and I got bit by a horse fly. those buggers hurt.
we missed the old jail museum in Gore Bay by 5 mins because the LCBO outlet took priority.
all hail the tetra paks of wine!
perfect for a night at Lake Wolsley after having to climb the steepest hill ever at the end of the day. Indian Point Hill. wow. two steep, quick hills in one day.
we managed to cross a gorgeous causeway today, the windiest of days, without blowing into the water. amazing.
in my head i take notes like journalling for a blog now. title and all.
is that sad?
day 3 stats
~22˚ & sunny (35 km/hr winds)
total riding time: 5 hrs 6 mins
total distance: 71.3 km (avg: 14 km/hr)
max speed: 39.5 km/hr
7/18/06
travel notes: day 2
when butterflies attack
slow start today.
"the sheg" (Sheguiandah) to Little Current. had lunch in the park. that sign we saw that we swore said there was a Timmy's in Little Current was a total lie.
the woman laughed at me.
"i wish there was a Tim's here. you're going to have to go to Espanola for that."
Beebs and Bob were actually considering it.
Little Current to M'Chigeeng (formerly West Bay) was a crazy ride. very hilly.
M'Chigeeng means "village enclosed by stepped cliffs" in Ojibwe.
we picked some wild strawberries on the side of the road. so sweet!
started to rain a bit so we pulled into Gina's Restaurant to catch some cover.
Pam makes the best butter nut tarts! and the young guy working there answered all of our questions. such nice people.
saw a guy skid into the ditch going up a hill.
decided to go on the last 15 km to Stanley's Tent & Trailer Park.
got chased by a dog that bit my bag! it could've been my leg...
then Beebs got attacked by a monarch butterfly.
but there hasn't been a hill--yet--that we haven't conquered.
i've always wanted to live in a trailer park. a whole different breed.
i swear i just saw Ricky & Julian. and Stanley is like a younger version of Mr. Lahey.
day 2 stats
25˚ & sunny; partly cloudy with some rain near M'Chigeeng
total riding time: 4 hrs 24 mins
total distance: 65.5 km (avg: 14.9 km/hr)
7/17/06
travel notes: day 1
adventure to Squirreltown & beyond
not even 10 mins off the Chi-Cheemaun, we were in the middle of nowhere, heading north on hwy 6 (the Great Spirit Circle Highway). about 10 kms off the ferry, there was a billboard for a Timmy's.
"only 74 mins!" it beckoned...by car, of course. something to look forward to tomorrow morning. (only a few days later did we find out there are no franchises on the island, and that tim's was really in Espanola -ed.)
i picked up a hitchhiker...a green bug named Gerald--he rode shotgun on my handlebar bag for quite some time...even down two serious hills. he disappeared at Fossil Hill in Squirreltown.
so Beebs says "hey manny, you lead for a bit"...how excited i was, until i realized it was probably because the boys were already tired and wanted the 5'2", 120 lb girl to set the pace, without either of them backing down.
it wasn't because of my outstanding ability on a bicycle--no.
it was because i'm slow...er,
but how can i compete with this hairy beast of a machine? combined, it's like riding behind a 12 ft, 400 lb monster.
no matter how fast i pedal (on the downhill!), they cruise by letting their weight carry them.
until the uphill of course, when i motor past them screaming all the while "eat my dust pansies! muhahahaha!"
no...not really. that was a fantasy as i panted up the last hill of the day (don't ever let anyone tell you manitoulin island is flat)
riding really far behind leaves nobody to talk to. it's very conducive to fantasies.
day 1 stats
25˚ & sunny
total riding time: 4 hrs 4 mins
total distance: 65 km (avg: 16 km/hr)
food for thought: strange heaven by lynn coady
7/13/06
travel notes: the day before
Canada Day 2006
after meeting Beebs the patriotic in O-Sound, we stopped at the Top Notch Restaurant in Wiarton for some local whitefish. Beebs picked the spot saying "i think the name says it all".
on the way to Tobermory, saw this ad:
"Losing weight? Fight back! The Sweet Shop, Tobermory"
Bruce Peninsula Nat'l Park had no space for us--it being Canada Day weekend and all--but the nice park ranger told us we could pitch a tent right on the ferry docks...but there were fireworks and nowhere to park....so we slept in the car of the legion parking lot while a dude with an arm cast and his cronies drank a 2-4 of Blue on the tailgate of their Dodge pick-up and proceeded to break a few bottles. i don't even think they noticed us.
ah, small towns.
7/10/06
trip stats
- length of trip: 7 days
- total biking time*: 31 hrs 4 mins
- total distance*: 471.12 km
- average daily distance*: 67.3 km
- average speed*: 14.9 km/hr
- maximum speed reached*: 53 km/hr
- pieces of homemade pie/tarts/cinnamon rolls/cookies consumed: 20
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