I could see the Flag waving us home across the river. The eight cyclists from my church gathered for a group photo. The whole Pedals and Prayer riders together again.
Pieter, Ralph and I were on the second ferry to cross. Some people started to take picture just before we boarded but we quickly stopped by the US border officials and were required to delete all photos or surrender the camera. A security risk?!?!?
Pieter and I were on the second ferry with Ralph.
As we sailed across the St Clair River,
I caught a glimpse of lines of people and cars. Where did all these people come from?!?!?It was the first time I had walked across a border crossing and probably the briefest. I saddled up and headed towards the cheering crowds.
Much to my delight, Heather and Holly were waiting and cheering right at the front. People calling out your name, treats aplenty and a pleasant surprise as John DePooter came up to announce he was riding with us today. John and I did a service project together 2 years ago. Ralph was welcomed by his wife Cora as a big surprise!
The welcome was incredible with cany, cupcakes, melons pins, and drinks galore. We are truly blessed and want for nothing. We cheered as all the cyclists and the trucks were brought across. I met so many people who have been following this blog. Wonderful and surprising that so many have taken interest in these ramblings but overwhelmed by the support-THANK YOU!!!
And Thank you to whoever left this reminder to stop and smell the flowers.
Out on the road we went, we once again had a head wind...seriously not the best way to be welcomed home. Unfortunately John DePooter had a drastic fall just as we were going by his house and had to go to the hospital. I am waiting to hear how he is doing. There was again an excitment in the air as we headed towards Chatham. Signs lined the streets and more fruit and ice cream were waiting for us.
A lovely couple Adrian and Enika took Leanne and I to their home for showers, laundry and of course this blog. We are headed back to camp for dinner and evening socializing hosted by the local Chatham churches. I will try and update more later and add my pics from the day.
Also, a big thanks to Rob and Heidi, cyclist Dick's daughter and son-in-law. They took some amazing photos of me at Calvin and sent them to me. I have added them to previous posts. Also they generously sent me off with 14 little packages to open one each day until I finish the tour. I will be blogging about them later as they have been a lot of fun. Rob, Heidi- Your kindness and generosity is wonderful and it was a pleasure to have your Dad as a part of the Sea To Sea community.
7 comments:
Hi Gayle: Welcome back into Canada. Hope you enjoy the four days here. Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow.
Just checking in on ya today. Your blog site is amazing, just love the pictures, brings us right there (well, sort of), but without the pain!
Again thrilled with the care and support you are getting and pray it keeps up. Praise God for His encouragements and as for those brick throwers, just put the bricks back into their hot air balloon and sale off in yours.
Lois Craven sent a wonderful cookbook to us yesterday and I wanted to thank her, but see she has left the tour. If she is by any chance still there, please give her a hug from me.
Prayers continue and blessings abound.... Jeanne Hammond
Welcome back to Canada! Woo hoo. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!
Hi! We are sooo excited to see you tomorrow! Hannah, Erin, Ashley, Liz and I will be waiting at the fork of the Thames to direct people to King street... and we might have a surprise for you ;).
By the way, you have officially become Hannah's hero (well, mine too, I guess :) ). Ever since the night we stayed at the hotel in Detroit, Hannah can't stop talking about your approach to standing up for what you need in a thankful and cheerful way. Whenever we are doing something that involves requesting something, getting something on sale or standing up for ourselves, Hannah comments that we are "pulling a Gayle". For example, today we made canned spaghetti sauce and had some tomatoes from a friends garden but needed to buy more at Sobeys. We didn't know how much we actually had from our friend but knew that we needed 19 lbs. So, Hannah said she was going to "pull a Gayle" and asked that lady at Sobey's if we could weigh our tomatoes on their scale and then buy some more. The lady said it was no problem and gladly helped us.
Just wanted to let you know that you make such a positive impact on people. We were inspired by you even before you began sea to sea. All it took was a trip to Detroit and getting a room at a hotel at discount pricing without pre-booking... Gotta love ya!
Hi Gayle:
Just wanted to let you know my Dad is ok. His face is very scratched up, he had to have his lip sewn back together, along with his nose. His nose is also broken, but he is waiting for an appointment to get that fixed. We are thankful it wasn't worse.
Jody Andody
Hi Gayle,
Well tomorrow should see you riding into Hamilton. I'm supposed to get a cyclist or two overnight so I might even see you around Redeemer when I pick them up. All the best.
Keep on truckin! Only 8 more cycling days and you will be home full time. Get ready for an adjustment. I find myself asking how to serve the needy. Keep on keeping on and enjoy the moments as they come. You will never see these days again and you'll remember them forever. God speed and keep you safe these next 9 days. Terry Barnes
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