At 6:55am Patsy, the lady in the RV next to me, was hollering at me saying my cup of coffee was ready. I groggily rolled out of my bag and 15 mins later appeared at her door for some banana nut bread and coffee. We had a good visit, and watched the morning news.
After that I started packing everything up, and she topped off my water bottles. By 9am I was ready to go, but first I stopped by the office to pay my bill. Bob & Gail would not accept any money, and told me to be safe.
They said about 5 miles down the road is a really good Chinese restaurant, so that's where I was heading for. I found the restaurant, but it was only 10:30am and it didn't open until 11:30. Right across from it was a really nice rest area right on the beach. And at this rest area were many picnic tables.
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| Deb (r) said I could stay at her house. |
I was amazed at how many motorcycles were out on the road today. I quit counting after I hit 100. While I was at the rest area, several bikers pulled in, and I asked them what was up. Deb said it was some kind of ride-for-the-cure thing, and that there were probably a few hundred bikers out. We visited for awhile, and I took some pictures of them and they took some pictures of me. We talked about my trip, and I told them I was waiting for the Chinese restaurant to open up. They said it's an excellent place and that it's worth the wait. Then Deb handed me $10 and her business card, and said lunch was on her. She also said she lives in Qualicum Beach, and that when I get there I can stay at her house. That sure sounded good to me, and when she handed me her business card, I warned her that I definitely would call her if she handed it to me. She said that was fine. They all got back out on the road, and I was still waiting.
About 10 mins later, a lady dressed in her Sunday finest with a notebook and a Bible in her hand, walked up to me and asked me if I owned a Bible. I told her as a matter of fact, I have 24 of them packed up inside my cart, and asked her if she'd like one. That definitely surprised the Jehovah Witness lady, and she nearly didn't know what to say next. So then she asked me what my favorite verse in the Bible was. Well, I explained, when I had brain surgery, they shaved my head and I wore this horrible itchy ugly wig. Ten days after I had brain surgery, I went to a Bible college, and one of the classes I was taking was on the Old Testament. We were suppose to read a few chapters, and then somehow magically apply those chapters to today. I was failing this class miserably, until I came to one verse. When I read that one verse, I wrote and I wrote and I wrote and I wrote about that one verse. When I got the essay back, the professor had written a big A at the top of the page, and then put plus signs all the way across and down the side of the paper. That one verse that I wrote about, and that forever since has been my all time favorite, is Judges 16:22. It says "Howbeit, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven."
Again, the lady was almost taken aback as she flipped through her pages looking up my verse. Then she timidly offered me some literature, and I said I thought my cart weighed enough already. She agreed, and headed back to her car. That reminds me, I need to start handing these Bibles out.
Finally the restaurant was open, and Deb was right -- it was worth the wait. I enjoyed the Chinese buffet, and before long was back out on the road.
I walked through the tiny town of Oyster River, then out to a little mini-golf park & ice cream parlor. Not one to pass up ice cream, I ate a bowl ice cream first and then ate the hot dog later. Due east from there, about 2 miles off the highway, is Miracle Beach Provincial Park. I really balked at the thought of walking 2 miles out of my way just to camp out at a Provincial Park, but several people had mentioned this one and said it's really nice. So, quite begrudgingly and very reluctantly, I walked 2 miles out of route.
My campsite was beautiful, and the weather was perfect. I set up my tent and then walked down to the beach. On the way back I stopped at the camp hosts site to pay my fee, and ended up sitting around the fire talking to them for the next 3 hours. It was a very enjoyable evening.
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I called my Dad up on Fathers Day, and he said that he's having a big family reunion over the weekend of July 7th and that he'd really like it if I'd come. So on Friday, June 22nd, I'll take the Clipper Ferry from Victoria, BC down to Seattle; then 2 hrs later I'll take the Amtrak train down to Albany, Oregon, where my Mom lives. I'll be at her house by midnight. I'll probably stay put there for a few weeks. After that, I don't know if I'll come back up to Washington to walk down, or just keep walking south from my Moms. One thing I do know for sure, is that I'll be downsizing all my gear A LOT. Much of it is winter gear, and survival gear. Now that I'm back in civilization, I'll just take a few things in a backpack and not use the cart at all. I'm looking forward to that part.
