Day 214-220 – 196.8 (total – 5335.4 km)

Me and my nephew Dylan!

The morning started at the Legislative building in downtown Winnipeg, where CBC came out to cover the story.  We left the RV at home, but my mother decided to help be the “driver” today using their car for little breaks along the way – thanks Mom! It was fun running down Portage Avenue, reliving some moments in the neighbourhood I used to live in.  I reminisced about the cold day in December back in 1988 when we were let out of school to see the Olympic torch coming through the city on its way to Calgary.  It was fun to remember running out to the perimeter highway, ready to keep running until the guy with the torch stepped into the support vehicle and drove away.  It wasn’t long before the flatness of the Prairies and the vastness of the sky was in full effect out on the TCH. I now see why cyclists riding across Canada choose to go west to east!  There were northwest winds today reaching up to 65 km/hr, which made for a slow run.

It has been great to spend the last few days with family.  My sister Kristen is an actor and had to be in Toronto for a shoot, so I missed her dearly, but it was great to see my niece Ceanray and my nephew Dylan along with my parents, my other sister Alison and her husband Bryan.  Home cooked meals from my favourite cook in the country (my mom!) made for some good eating and social time together.  Having my nephew run out to give me a hug as I ran into the city on Saturday was pretty special too!  The time has been short here in Winnipeg, but if I spent any longer here, I’d want to stay to hang out more with the people I love.  I am so thankful for having such a supportive family.  I suppose clichés exist for a reason, but there is certainly no way I could have made it this far without them.  I am particularly thankful for ym father joining me for the last few weeks.  It was a special time that I will never forget.  And he survived 3 weeks in an RV!  (His take on the last 3 weeks as driver will be tomorrow’s blog).  Much love and I will miss you over the coming months.