DAY 2 - SUDBURY TO INDIAN RVIER WI
How quickly one night passes with great company and excellent hosts. We enjoyed an evening with Rita and Terri on their back porch, looking out into the woods. Rita’s lap dog, Sassy, jumped on our laps in succession, licking our faces as they were made of something irresistible to dog-kind, charming us in the process.
9.20 am
A picture was taken as we got into our car 10 minutes early at 9.20am. The sky was blue, the air fresh with the scent of cedars.
From Sudbury to Sault Ste. Marie the driving was stress free. The orange-tinged rocks of the Canadian Shield became smaller and less pronounced as we travelled. We only had a few chances to view Lake Huron to our left, but each time the three of us would turn our heads, sigh or gasp and say, “Aw, would you look at that?”
Prior to crossing into the States, Dad wanted to get his allergy shot. He gets a series once a year and they need to be taken in one week intervals. He had his first last week. It being Simcoe Day, however, the walk-in clinics in Sault Ste. Marie were all closed. A gas attendant thought the local hospital had a walk-in clinic and of course, it would be open. So off we headed.
1.30 pm A ten minute drive later, we approach this vast and modern hospital with... well, with lots of parking lots. The question was, which one did we want? The Emergency Room wasn’t even marked. We thought that was where the clinic might be. But no sign, so we went into the first one available.
At the Emergency check-in, we were greeted by a volunteer who gave us to two Triage nurses. After a check-in there, we were sent to a registration desk. Then we were sent into the “Fast Track” room. Now, the “Fast Track” room was full of people. There was a mother there with her six year old son who had a broken or badly sprained wrist. It was now 2pm and she’d been there since 9am. The kid was saying over and over again, "I want to get out of here!" Another patient commented, "The kid is only saying what we're all thinking," and everyone laughed. Another woman was there for a rash she gets once a year. She’d been there since 10 am. So, it appeared there was no triage going on in the Triage.
We escaped.
At the border, the guard narrowed his eyes to slits when he asked if we were guilty of harbouring fresh vegetables, fruits or something with bark such as firewood. Oh my! He let us go and we are now running free in the United States of America! Freedom from fresh veggies! From Canadian tree bark!
7:00pm. We are very weary and a bit dizzy. We wander into an IGA to get food and have great difficulty making decisions. Back in the car, the window roads continue and continue with no one ahead or behind us. We become convinced that we are in a Twilight Zone episode where Americans have been sucked into some 'other' place. We have the great privilege to happen upon three deer crossing the road. They always pause and glance our way with these oversized black eyes. They are at once begging and pleading. On those dainty stilts for legs, they look so vulnerable and gorgeous in a way only true wildness can be.
8.30pm Central Time. After a very long drive, we arrived at the campsite, exhausted from the drive. The tent got put up before dark and we enjoyed a barbecue chicken dinner before the camp fire (yes, we cooked it ourselves).
Then, as we were falling asleep... a great thunderstorm struck the area.
Fave signs we saw today:
An ad for The British Inn: “We serve food on real plates”
An ad for a Funeral Memorial business: “Drive carefully. We can wait.”
On the bridge to the U.S. (where we were sitting in traffic): “Traffic may back up.” It was. So we were asking, "What is exactly the purpose of this sign?"
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