Day 1: If life is a highway, it's a long highway

5:00 am comes early when you go to bed at 12:30 am. Van Dorp's (Carrie, Jack, and Jody) graciously accommodated for our short sleep and provided coffee for the early departure. I awoke once again feeling like it was Christmas morning, I was 8 years old, and still believed in Santa Claus. It's really quite amazing how long you can run on adrenaline alone. The Chi-Cheemaun afforded the opportunity to eat an over priced boat breakfast while Terri promptly assumed a somewhat comfortable position beneath a row of seats, awaking to find her friends had abandoned, replaced by strangers who now sat all around her.

We were back on Highway 6 by 9:00 am and cruising across the island. We stopped at an opportune location, took this picture and took some time in corporate prayer reflect on the journey ahead, ask our Heavenly Father for safety, patience with each other, and an overall great experience.

Day one was driving, driving and more driving. Dinner was Pizza in Marathon where Leigh learned to drive standard in the parking lot while we waited.

There's a lot of hills and kilometers between Marathon and Thunder Bay. We arrived in Thunder Bay around 12:30, took a few minutes to appreciate the Terry Fox Memorial and ponder where we would sleep. With no immediate solutions we pressed on into the city in hopes of finding an out of the way park or something where we could inconspicuously place our tents for a few hours of shut eye. A ball diamond on the outskirts of town beside the railway tracks seemed the best bet. I apprehensively fell asleep pondering the potential implications of our perhaps mildly illegal camping conduct. No sooner did I fall asleep then I awoke to sounds of the apocalypse... or at least what my sleep clouded brain thought was the apocalypse. Camping 50 feet from the railway tracks makes you wonder if you've actually pitched your tent on the tracks when a freight train lumbers through in the night.

After three train terrors we made it through the night and were on the road again with another 5 hours of sleep and on to day 2.