We packed off, grabbed lunch (thanks to Community Living Thunder Bay) and headed back on the road to Sault Ste. Marie.
Barb French (Mike, Michaela and Patrick) were all waiting patiently for us to arrive that evening. We had so much fun visiting during our Sault Ste. Marie performance they invited us back on our return trip. They have a beautiful cottage house about 1 hour south of Sault Ste. Marie.
Our trip back through the Lake Superior park area was breathtaking! We were fortunate to see a wonderful sunset over the lake. We had an adventure in that I didn't realize there would be no gas stations between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie that would be open. By the time we reached Sault Ste. Marie at 11 pm that night we were running on fumes and placing bets on how far we could go after the gas light came on 80) Fortunately we made it to the outskirts of the Soo and gassed up to go meet Barb and her daughter Michaela close to their cottage near Thessalon, ON. It was pretty close to 1 pm or later by the time we had arrived - thanks so much to Barb and her family for waiting for us, guiding us and providing us with a place to sleep that evening.
We enjoyed chatting with everyone and exploring their beautiful lake cottage (stars were amazing down by the water). Barb, Michaela, Sara and I were the night hawks (chatting and laughing) and finally climbed into bed sometime after 2 am!
The next day we were up early (7 am or so yikes!) and off to the races again ... loaded up with great coffee (courtesy of Barb) and some fresh fruit. We headed into Lively, ON (right beside Sudbury) for our final tour performance which was being hosted by Community Living Greater Sudbury.
We had a bit of confusion finding the Kinsmen Hall but after a quick phone call sorted out the location of the hall. Cathy Oja was our contact for the event and completely spoiled us with food, media connections, help with gear and hospitality. They have a wonderful hall (called Our Friendship Centre) and it soon became packed with one of the most enthusiastic audiences of our tour!
Sara, I and the tour team had a ball - the concert was our best yet and we enjoyed meeting everyone afterwards. There were some great media opportunities presented - I will post the article links on the blog when I track them down!
We were all exhilarated to end the tour on such a high note and everyone was grinning ear to ear as we packed up the trailer for the last time!
We decided to make the final trek home that day - as our performances were over and everyone was missing their family and own beds! Not to mention the tons of laundry in our suitcases and dreams of home cooked meals!
The trip was quick - we were really fortunate to have great weather during most of our travels and before we knew it we were dropping off our tour team one by one! Everyone agreed that it was a high point of their summer!
Sara and I want to send a big thank you out to everyone who followed and supported us on our Kaleidoscope Ride. We are incredibly grateful to our tour team for contributing their talent and a good portion of their summer to the tour (and to their families!). So many people, businesses and groups supported us in our fundraising and dream of the tour - we were very fortunate to have so many who believed in our vision and message! A big thank you also goes out to Laurie Mawlam of Autism Canada and volunteer Jim Reed who have been so enthusiastic and supportive of this tour.
We are receiving a lot of feedback on the tour, our music and the many people we were fortunate to meet during our journey.
We are now building toward the Eastern segment of the tour - I will keep everyone updated as this develops. We have a few Ontario performances during August (including the Blue Jays game - woohoo!) that I will post as they occur.
I'll be sure to keep everyone updated! Thanks for your comments and interest in our project and tour! Feel free to send us blog comments, questions or ideas!
Everywhere I look I see... Possibilities...
Kim
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