Day 9 – Thursday, September 11, 2014

8:55 start

1: 35 finish

I think this was our fastest yet though can't tell you exactly how long we were actually walking.  Not because we were super rested.  The wind in the treetops made me think that I was out at sea, during a storm.  I got up in the middle of the night, feeling the clothes drying on the line.  I grabbed everything that was dry and tossed it to the back of our tent.  It wasn’t raining yet but already one end of the tarp had come loose.

…

This is as far as I got writing the blog 1_because Phyllis dropped by to visit us.  The three of us were sitting at the outdoor wifi center at the Grand Isle State Park charging our computer, i pads, iphones, garmins.  Almost didn’t recognize Phyllis as she was still wearing her work clothes.  2_Pauline and I had made a reservation for supper at 5:45 pm at the Blue Paddle Bistro.  We had walked by it in the morning.  It is opens at 5 Wed –Sat.  Today was Thursday so it would be open that even.  On our return by car, around 4 pm (we’d gone to Church St., Burlington as recommended by the Vermont bikers we’d talked to along the canal back in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu; there Pauline and Dean had bought rain covers for their back packs and I purchased 2 pairs of socks made in Vermont and guaranteed for my life_as good as Tilley hats made in Canada), the door was open and we checked the menu.  The menu and prices were approved by Dean and Pauline.  There was absolutely no room at 5 pm and only room for 2 at the bar at said time.  Dean opted to stay at camp and it turned out well as he had Phyllis for company.

photo of Pauline, Phyllis and Dean by flower-surrounded wifi centre at Grand Isle State Park

I had resolved to take fewer photos as that slows up.  I enjoyed the day’s walk even if it was along the highway. At 3 km, I stopped to take the obligatory photo of my native doll. 

*

I put it on my Tilley hat (first day I wore it as I was expecting rain instead of sun.) The photo I am showing you was taken on the iphone through a baggie so the iphone wouldn’t get wet during the walk.  I had collected a cone from a Douglas Pine (I still remember the story I heard about this cone that I was told in Goldstream Park, outside of Victoria BC in 1973, while we were waiting to get into our newly rented apt. I’ll write about it later if I have time.) and I had also picked up one of the green acorns alongside the road.

It was a 4 or 5 pit stop day.  One of the early one’s was at Island Physical Therapy.  The therapist was kind enough to let us use her washroom.  She and her client, a white-haired woman seemed to be impressed with our walking project.  The door was closed to the therapy room so we couldn’t thank her again.  I took her card and a photo from a magazine page pinned to her bulletin board.  It has a quote by Pablo Neruda (sp?):

Joyful, joyful, joyful

as only dogs know how to be happy

with only the autonomy

of their shameless spirit.

 I recommend Janine Cerra-Bellinghiri, PT, at Island Physical Therapy (564 U.S. Route 6, South Hero, Vermont_phone 802-372-4412) as a compassionate therapist.

A Story with a Hoppy Ending:

Saw the daughter, then the mother chasing after this runaway bunny.

Mom was fastest!:~)

The sign said: 

Five Thrust Falls in light gray limestone 

evidence of crustal shortening

small scale example of

Mountain Building processes

that occurred

450 million years ago

Just before Causeway leading off the south end of Grand Isle there was a lyrically-named lane, Featherbed Lane and then a nice view.

The long causeway was extra windy on this windy day.  Here is Pauline hanging on to ramp as a large  truck whizzes by.

The other side of the causeway was the State Waterfowl Refuge.  We did not see any birds there, nests on poles yes, but no water birds.  Must say that we saw a dozen egrets in a march off Lake Champlain and that was a sight to behold. They even flew around for Pauline and I, probably not used to hear pedestrians go by.  A beautiful display of their wings.

The three of us met up on the causeway and then took refuge in the car for lunch.  No time to share photos of the wind surfers, but maybe Dean did on his blog of this day.  Hope so, anyway.

(photo_see additions*)

To date we have completed 100 kms.  Reason to celebrate, each in our own way.  Photo taken at Blue Paddle Bistro.

Addition October 21, 2014:

The morning started out looking like rain.  Here I experimented with taking a photo of my native doll  with my iPhone still in a plastic bag.

Here is an image Dean captured and that I've cropped of a surfer on this very windy day! Thanks Dean.

    After lunch, my back was hurting.  So I've left my back pack in the RAV.  I am holding my arms 

    behind my back, to improve my posture and hopefully calm my back muscles.  I also switch my 

    vest back-to-front, when I don't have my pack on, as it is possible to do so and it adds extra   

    visibility. Thanks Dean for doing such a great job documenting the walk!

     Feeling better later on and enjoying the change of scenery. Merci Pauline d'avoir pris cette photo 

     avec mon iphone.