Sunday: After packing almost everything into the car the night before, we left just after daybreak, heading for an Air B&B in Sarnia, Ontario We “enjoyed” the rare privilege of again taking a wrong exit in Montreal and losing probably an hour of driving time because of it. We enjoyed driving through much of Ontario, but it was a rather long day of driving. We reached our B&B before dark. Our hosts are new in the Air B&B program — we were only their third guests. We had a great time talking to them. Wanting to start a regular B&B, Lynn was very interested in learning everything about Bruce and Marueen’s experiences.
Monday: Scott and Lynn had told us about a city trail along the east coast of Lake Huron near their
home. We found it easily using the map they made for us, and rode it, so now we can add Ontario to our list of states, provinces, and countries in which we’ve ridden our bikes.
We crossed the border into Michigan – back in good old USA. We drove through farm land that looked a lot like home. We stopped to ride the River Trail in Lansing, Michigan for about a mile to document that we had ridden a trail in Michigan. Fun.
We crossed into Indiana. Just in case we haven’t been able to document a ride in Indiana, we took our bikes off at a MacDonalds, rode around the parking lot, bought a shake for each of us and continued our journey, staying at a very nice but inexpensive Super 8 that we had scheduled in Peoria, Illinois. The sunset was glorious!
A change in Jim’s plans interfered with our stopping in Ottumwa, so on Tuesday, we drove the rest of the way home. Ian and Cole were here, and Dave and Heather came over — how wonderful to see them again and, of course, to be back in our own home after almost 7 weeks since we left. The corn is all harvested here, and bad weather and high wind are supposed to come in tomorrow. Welcome back to Nebraska!
Conclusion:
As we reflect back on this wonderful 50-day autumn vacation, we realize just how very blessed we are. We have so enjoyed this wonderful time together — so many couples our age do not have the treasured relationship that we enjoy, or do not have the physical health and stamina to enjoy the many activities that have been ours during this vacation.. We have experienced breathless beauty beyond our expectations. In what could have been a season of rain and snow and ice in the northeast part of our country and Canada, we have ridden about 133 miles on our bikes and have taken two (much too difficult) hikes and several others experiencing that beauty. We have spent 3 weeks soaking up the renowned prime autumn colors of New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, and throughout the rest of our vacation still enjoying the lingering fall beauty including the golden color of the majestic tamarack trees of Maine and Quebec. We have visited a passion play, museums, and church services. We have had wonderful visits with people from all of these areas including a couple from Israel and folks waiting for general maintenance to be completed on our Toyota. We return home to enjoy a Nebraska winter, with memories of an autumn beyond our imaginations — but it wasn’t just in our imaginations — it has become a part of us. As Helen Keller observed: “What we have once enjoyed, we can never lose. A sunset, a mountain bathed in moonlight, the ocean in calm and in storm–we see these, love their beauty, hold the vision in our hearts. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” By God’s grace, we have again experienced the beauty and the wisdom of these words.
As we were driving the words of this song were playing on our car radio, and they continue to play in our minds:
Until then….my heart will go on singing….
Until then…with joy I’ll carry on.
Until the day my eyes behold the City….
Until the day God calls me home.