Home Stretch

There was some disappointment in the night. I wasn’t able to get a fulfilling rest after such an undertaking the night before. That resulted in sleeping late which destroyed any hopes of some early morning fishing. The Beer Guy had sent me a pin of his honey hole knowing I’d be in the area with a rod. An opportunity missed but not the only chance I’d passed on. I’d prioritized there work ahead of fun. Otherwise I’d have gotten into some rivers and creeks along the way previously on the trip. My fear of trespassing also plays a role here. We started this day like the others, with McBreakfast. I should mention I was again driven by paranoia of being late to be in the truck with a warm engine at the agreed upon departure time. We set off through some unbelievable scenery to get to the first site of the day. It was a strange drive. I felt a bit loopy for most of it. Not ideal when you’re the lead vehicle. The most concerning aspect of it was that my vision was slightly blurry. I could still see fine but things weren’t as sharp. Instead of being able to read signs from a few hundred feet away I had to be right on it. Luckily the GPS was running fine. I only had a small test to walk when we got there and was able to get through almost half the beans too. I had to stop and focus on the stakes to read them and my mind was starting to spin out of control. I did some rapid blinking and tried to get some tears going to clean things out. After some of this I could feel something in there and my vision was sharpening. By the time we got to our next stop I was back to 92% of normal.

We made a stop at St Albert’s Cheese and I did some shopping. I wanted a smoked cheese for myself and decided while in there to get some things for Dutchie. Her birthday is next up and I was in the vicinity. She also enjoys charcuterie so I got some cheese, chocolates and sauces to aid her in that field. A taste of her life before kids. We took care of the next site in short order and parted ways. In the end, we shaved two days off the scheduled trip with our strategy and my expedited note taking. Limiting myself to ten words helped. So did taking numerical ratings for most things rather than using words. I dropped in at Admiral Bonesaw and Dutchie’s palatial estate to drop the gift, meet their daughters and steal some Wi-Fi. Unlike Brack, I had one more stop to make on the way back and needed to download maps and an entry list. Coming from Quebec I made sure to keep well away from their family and stayed outside. It was a short visit, less than fifteen minutes and I was off. I actually caught and passed a rack before Kingston. He had stopped for food quickly. The maps I had didn’t outline things well on my phone and I discovered later that the notes I took at this last place were on the wrong plots and were useless. It was half seven by the time I pulled up to the Harbour. Lunch/dinner happened at Port Hope when I stopped to get fuel. Unpacking happened quickly and unexpectedly before passing out around 9pm.