Looking Back on the Holiday

This is rather out of order but I was thinking about our great holiday adventure today and mentally checking off all the people who made it memorable.

Here's a partial list:

• The French Canadian woman in the campground who spoke English to us and then when we said we were trying to speak French she asked us questions in very slow measured French so we could understand although we had to answer them in English. We laughed together.
• Jack and Mary owners of a Roadtrek camper van who spent the evening with us, showed us where everything was in their van, came over to our campsite to look at our van and then invited us back for chocolate and tea.
• Frederick a park ranger in Gros Morne who took a year-long woodworking course. He showed me photos of a chair he restored and I showed him pictures of my shop. We talked about wood and he told us where his camper van was parked and invited us to take a peek inside on our way out. Later in the campground we met him again. He was previously stationed in Banff for 8 years.
• Richard and Deanna, the two retired teachers from North Bay and owners of their third Roadtrek. He gave us ideas on what to look for in a used Roadtrek and what we should be prepared to spend. We stood on the beach on the shore of Lake Superior and exchanged teacher stories.
• Michaela, the ranger in Gros Morne who told us about the overnight hike and who came back with Richard and me when I realized I was in over my head. She was lovely to talk to and made a tough hike much more pleasant. She will make a good guide.
• The interpreter in the lighthouse who had lived in the area all her life and talked about doing her work in order to keep the stories and the culture alive.
• The woman in the campground check in who asked where we were from and when we told her her comment was, “You probably know more Newfies than I do.” That made us laugh.
• The man who, when he learned that Richard was born in Newfoundland, said, “You're just a Newfie who lives in Alberta.”
• The guys in the Chrysler dealership who ordered the water pump for Flopsy from Toronto and got us back on the road with 8 litres of the proper concentration of antifreeze so we could get home.
• The young man in the Canadian Tire in Marathon who got the socket set out of his car and took off the remaining bits of mirror, helped us look for a solution to the problem and then took the nut and the new mirror into the back and welded them together. He came out to the parking lot with us and attached the mirror to the bracket and adjusted it while Richard sat in the driver's seat.
• The woman in the information centre in Quebec who gave us all kinds of literature and a map on which she highlighted the best route around Montreal.

Then there were the friends we were able to visit as we crossed the country.

• Betsy and Dave. I have known Betsy since she was we were both teenagers and was delighted to meet her husband Dave and stay in their home. We had a lot of years to catch up on.
• John J, owner of Lost Loon Island, who cut a piece of 2X4 to wedge the battery in so that it wouldn't slide toward the front of the van since one of the clamps had rusted through. We had a good visit and went for dinner before heading off the next morning. On the way back, we actually got to visit Lost Loon Island when we didn't think the timing could possibly work out.
• John and Kris, friends since my first few years of teaching, opened their home on PEI to us. They wined us and dined us and we talked and laughed long into the night.

We saw gorgeous scenery; we walked and cycled and had campfires and hid out from the rain and the bugs. All of those things are memorable but the best thing about the holiday was the people who enriched our lives if only for a few moments. I hope as, we move through our lives, that some of the people we meet might be able to say the same about us.