Cross Canada coast to coast Day 9, June 8, 2014.
Timmins to Huntsville, Ontario.
It was nice to visit Timmins for sentimental reasons. I didn't quite realize it that the hotel that I stayed in last night was right smack in the centre of the old downtown. Similar to Ladner, the new town centre has spread out a few blocks away. The attic rental house that Mike & I stayed in 1966 is only 4 blocks away from the hotel. Yep, it was the one, I recognize the attic windows and configuration. It was well maintained, on the outside. I was tempted to knock on the door, but considering that it was 8 am on Sunday.
I rode around the old downtown, but can only pick out a couple of things that I recognize.
I didn't realize that Timmins is so close to the Quebec border. There are a lot of bilingual people here.
On the travel yesterday and today, there were a lot of highway signage saying "Moose on the Loose". I did see one road-kill, a juvenile moose.
I didn't linger in Timmons for too long, because, sigh, once again the dark clouds were chasing me. However, I could not out run the rain. Once again, I was riding in the rain in 13C for 2 hours, soaking wet, before it cleared. Then the road repaving work really have rough and sharp surfaces for almost 10 Km. I was worried about my tires.
The rest of my 500 Km was uneventful. Thank goodness for GPS, otherwise it would be fairly difficult to find my next destination. Thanks for the generosity of Dann/Lorrie Morton in Huntsville, They have opened their door to host me for 2 nights. Their house is by the lake. Their two sons, plus their friends, are home to enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon. They were water-skiing, wedge-boarding on the lake. I was in the boat for part of the time. It is a bit difficult to anticipate to be boating on a lake in the afternoon, after soaking freezing cold in the morning. It is refreshing to meet their two sons, Jamie and Tommy, so bright, so considerate, so courteous, so high energy, so achieved and mature.
The dinner was great with trout and prawns as the main attraction. Conversation was free flowing with the 4 youngsters and three "older" folks. It was great.
As I am getting very sleepy now, I'll say good luck for another great day.