Halifax: Along the way there and back Pt 10

Day 13

I'm tired but not tired.

I've covered 4,000 km. in 13 days but could do more.

I've worn one pair of pants along the Trans-Canada Highway and secondary roads through four provinces (first by heading east, then west; and yes, the pants are pretty greasy) and could do it again - gladly.

I've snapped over 1,000 photos and have barely scratched the surface of this country that Canadians call home.

I've eaten more Puritan Irish Stew in 13 days than I normally would in a year but could eat another few cans at the drop of a hat - all in the name of science - if I had to turn around and do it all again.

I'm tired, but not so tired I'd call it quits if I had another 4,000 km. to go.

Tonight (it's after 10 p.m.) I sleep in a bed in my son and daughter-in-law's home in Fenelon Falls, 335 km. from London.

On Tuesday night, I'll sleep in my own bed and be as happy as a clam. Of course, if my first night at home is anything like my trip to Halifax and back I'll get lost between my bed and the bathroom down the hall.

I may not handle directions perfectly but I seemed to land on my feet each day since June 8, the date of my departure from London.

And good things happened each day during my trip to Halifax and back, things I had no control over and could only wish for.

A few days ago my wife said - about the fact a man found my boat and planned to send it out 40 miles into the Atlantic Ocean with his brother - that some things are meant to be.

She will receive no argument from me about that.

I may not know how to build the best boat, pack the right amount of luggage, find the best deals on accommodation and meals or light a small stove at the side of the road on a windy day, but I know how to keep on trying.

I've learned a lot of good lessons along the way to, and back from, Halifax.

The best ones:

Anything is possible.

Canadians are a damn friendly bunch of people. (Hats off to Danny, from Havelock, New Brunswick, for enough gas to get me to the next station).

A $20 Tim Horton's gift card is worth over $40 in real money and $4 million of Monopoly money - at break time.

We won't be remembered for the promises we make. But we'll feel awfully good about the ones we keep.

And... I get droopy eyed after 11 o'clock.

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Thanks for tuning in along the way and back. You made the miles fly by a wee bit faster.

Have I warned you about the large number of photos that will soon be coming your way?

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