After spending the morning in Thunder Bay doing school work and blogging we were off to a late start.
The kids were looking forward to seeing the spot where Terry Fox finished his historical run. As we turned on to the road that led up to the monument we noticed a young man thumbing it on the side of the highway.
We waved and kept going on to a beautiful and peaceful spot overlooking the city. We walked around took pictures and talked about what Terry Fox stood for.
After filling up with gas and getting ready to leave the city we noticed the same young man sitting smiling with his guitar on the side of the road.
We had a good feeling about him so we stopped and offered him a lift. He was thrilled and jumped in with his gear. He had just come from BC and was traveling back to Ottawa. I am sure he had no idea what he was in for. We traveled Patrick from 3:00 in the afternoon till about 12:00 am in the morning.
We took more stops than he was used to but he did not seem to mind. I let him sit up front with Norm for a couple of hours. I tried to sleep on couch as I listened to the two of them talk about the deeper meanings of life. I was relieved when Jaeden started asking him about his guitar and he moved to the back. I was not used to being in the back and was feeling a little queasy. For the next hour we listened as this kind young man talked about his love for music and gave Jaeden some impromptu guitar lessons and tips. Around ten Teyauna started crying desperately as she was so tired. No one could console her. Patrick began singing and playing his guitar. She magically started waving her arms around and soon drifted off to sleep.
He taught us about his love for this country for the great outdoors and for all people. He told us stories and jokes about his hitchhiking adventures and showed us ways that his experience has restored his
faith in mankind. He said he met only wonderful people on his journey.
We drove together till about midnight and then separated. Norm could not drive any more and Patrick said he likes to get up with the birds so he camped on the side of the road wanting to catch an early ride in the morning. We slept in until eight and after breakfast we were back on the road. The kids all cheered when we saw Patrick again. He had actually slept in and he jumped back for another ride. The kids kept him laughing with their jokes and he had a few of his own. Around noon we dropped him off in Sault Saint Marie with promises to contact each other.