What a Trip !

At the end of March, 2009, Ron Brownsberger with his wife Margaret set out to walk from southern Pennsylvania to Stouffville, Ontario, north east ot Toronto.

By doing the 443 mile walk, which took from March 30 to June 11th, 2009, Ron was able to raise almost $6000 for the Heart Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital.

Scroll down to March 15 to read the start of the story of this adventure . . and for those who like an armchair travellogue, there are over sixty pages of notes and photos from the trip for you to enjoy.

In late September and early October, '09, we intend to do a ten-day walk from Brighton, Ontario, through Wellington, Bloomfield, Picton, Bath and on to Kingston. - - Just for the fun of it; not a charity walk. AND, we plan, over the next year or so, to complete a walk around all of Lake Ontario.

Fund Update from Sunnybrook

Just heard that the total donations from you folks has risen to $5653.

Thank-you to all doners. Way to go! It won't provide an artificial heart pump, but it will help to supply a guzillion clamps or whatever is needed by the Heart Centre.

Ron Brownsberger

What's normal?

So, we're slowly getting back to normal, (whatever that is!) It's good to be back to our home town of Stouffville. Last night, we were with thousands who came out to see the Canada Day fireworks show at 9:45 in Memorial Park. It nice to know that this town is still small enough that many are within a half hour walk to downtown. And earlier in the evening we heard the excellent Blackboard Blues Band hammering out dozens of songs. The five-day Strawberry Festival started with a great concert the previous evening with the Men of Note chorus and recently honoured and amazing soloist, tenor Lloyd Knight.

Margaret is daily tending her perennial garden. We both do Thursdays with the grand kids. We've been on duty at the Snack Shack at Springvale this week. I'm back with the two bands I play keyboard or piano in. The MLT theatre club is gearing up for the next season with "Seven Stories" in September. Margaret is starting with her reading for the book club, and will also be helping to lead a group this fall at TLC at Springvale. And I have to start staining pine for the bookcases for the den.

We'll likely wrap up the Sunnybrook heart fund in a few weeks. For those of you waiting for one more pay-cheque before donating, there is still time. Go to http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.com/ click Trail.

Now, what do we do to this blog? Does it stay in the www forever for the world to see? What earth-shattering message would we want to send to those nice people in Australia? Were Bob Gass and Lorraine Gass reading it? Was Howard Corfield reading it? Al Arnott? We know that a few in Pennsylvania and Indiana were following, as were many here in Ontario. Some have said it was tricky to add a "comment" on the blog. I know that ron.brownsberger@gmail.com is still working.

Photos - - In Margaret's garden.

Winding Down a Bit

It's been over a week since we completed the walk. I'm still sort of amazed that it happened. But I'm sure it did. How else would I have gotten those 900 or more pictures on my camera, all taken at road level!

People ask about the shoes. I had three pairs - - a cheap pair of "Starter" running shoes from WalMart and two pairs of low cost Adidas from SportChek. I changed pairs each day at mid-day. By the time the 1.2 million or so steps were over, the wear on each pair was similar. And slight. They're all ready for another long hike.

And people ask about the feet. Very lucky there too. One small blister one afternoon, treated with salt water, gone in a day. Margaret was good about giving the feet a good creaming job once or twice a day. And I had 28 pairs of socks with us in the van. There were frequent changes especially on wet days. And I'm a regular at Stouffville Family Footcare. They do miracles.

People ask what I was thinking about while walking. After I got it straight in my little brain that this walking trip was actually underway, I would often see or hear something that would trigger a memory. For example, a miniature lighthouse on a front lawn - - times in Peggy's Cove, or Newfoundland, or on the Toronto Islands or up the road from Port Huron where I've seen a variety of lighthouses. Or an Adirondack chair for sale in someone's driveway - - would make me think for the dozens of chairs I repaired one summer at MBC in Huntsville. Or the sound of a bird - - memories of my mother's great interest in birds and how she taught me how to recognize many of them by their calls.

And we're asked about the fund-raising. Well, there's almost $5000 additional at Sunnybrook ready to help someone with their heart problems. (Not too late to donate!)

http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca/ click Events, click Trail, . . . .

Photo - - The Boardwalk, East Toronto

Boston Pizza, Stouffville, Monday Night

It was great for us to see about a hundred customers at the restaurant tonight - - and more than half of them were people we knew, too! Community-minded Boston Pizza donated a part of their profits tonight to the Trail of the Susquehanna Walk - Schulich Heart Centre fund at Sunnybrook.

A few had wondered about the menu. And one couple was concerned about how loud the canned music was going to be. The place has a good selection of "heart smart" items on the menu. And conversation was easy with the music at a could-barely-hear level.

And we were happy to accept a dozen donation envelopes for the Schulich Heart Centre, too.

Thank you to everyone who came. From Ron and Margaret.

Local Newspaper and Web Coverage

Thank you to the Stouffville Sun-Tribune for their four months of support - - front page again today - -and to the Markham Economist for their recent coverage of our activities.

Also thanks to http://www.guidingstar.ca/ for Grant Weaver's excellent article with photos.

For first time visitors to this blog, we have finished a two month walk for heart - - southern Pennsylvania to Stouffville Ontario - - see the first entry, March 15th, for the original news release.

And see http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca/ Events, click "Trail..." click to donate.

It was great to see our daughter Ann and others at the Welcome Home event reported on Rogers TV's York Region Local News last night. We're still waiting for some good Toronto coverage. The greater the audience, the greater will be the contributions to the Heart Centre.

Photo - - Fariba, owner of Hair Depot, presents a cheque for $400 from her customers' fund-raising.

And did you know that, for a few days, David Barthau contributed profits from watch battery installations at Barthau Jewellers?

Monday night if you are in the Stouffville area, have supper at Boston Pizza and bring a lot of your friends. They are contributing to the Heart Centre, 5 - 8 p.m.

Some of the Statistics

Total distance walked: About 443 miles or about 715 kms. About 8 miles a day average. 12.8 km. Total number of steps (estimated) 1,240,800 Margaret walked more than 80% of the distance

.

Cost of U.S. motels, gas, food, meals, etc., and buying a used mini-van for the trip, you wouldn' want to know.

Pennsylvania - March 30 to April 24

New York State - April 29 to May 12th

Ontario section - May 25th to June 11th

Total about 60 days on the road.

Breaks: four days Corning area Apr 25-28 and 12 days at home, Stouffville May 13-24

Highest elevation 2480 ft. ASL near Gold, PA. Lowest about 248 ' ASL along the Lake Ontario shoreline.

Funds raised by June 11th, somewhere between $4000. and $5000. Target was $10,000. Now $22,000 which will supply one artificial heart.

Places doing good media coverage: Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake, St Catharines, Oakville, Mississauga, and Stouffville and Markham

A GREAT article www.guidingstar.ca/Ron_Brownsberger.htm This site has done some super articles for Markham Little Theatre, too.

Google all of the following words to find news stories: Brownsberger Ron walk heart Pennsylvania Sunnybrook

Number of people who came out to the great "welcome home", about 92.

In the picture - - Steve and Donna McCorquodale from Etobicoke, our hosts for three nights, came in their "olde country best" to the welcome home event.

What a Welcome - Wow !

We made the last dash to the finish line this afternoon, arriving at the farm at 3:59:30 p.m. What a crowd! A huge thank-you to at least seventy people who were there to welcome us home. Mayor Wayne Emmerson soon took the mic and offered congratulations and presented a citation and a beautiful leather-bound special edition Stouffville history book. Bob Flemming of Springvale offered congratulations and a prayer of thankgiving, Dr Helena Jaczek, MPP spoke briefly offering congratulations, John Storey of Markham Little Theatre presented a cheque, Fariba Nasirtzadeh-Marandy of the Hair Depot in Stouffville presented a cheque. And I got to say my own thank-you's - - no, I won't include the 300 word text - - and also offered the challenge to direct more funds to the Heart Centre.

And it was a nice touch for the Stouffville fire dept. to be there with their lights flashing.

Following the "formalities", at least four journalists grabbed me for interviews. For which I'm thankful. My appologies to friends that I didn't get a chance to speak to personally. By the time the journalists were gone, I looked around and there were only a dozen or so left - - the ones that had brought unbrellas. It had started to rain.

What an adventure! This will not be the last entry posted on this blog. Margaret has a few topics she'd like to add - - stories that haven't been told so far. And. We still have a lot of money to raise. I still want a bit more exposure in the Toronto area by the "big guns" in the media. (CBC, CFTO, CITY-TV, The Globe, The Star, The Sun.) A big thank-you to 680 NEWS who broadcasted a good news report today. Sunnybrook hospital serves Toronto and I'd like to get more Toronto dollars directed to the Schulich Heart Centre.

http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.com/ Events, click "Trail", "Donate now"

Room H366, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, M4N 3M5 Cheques marked "Trail"

Also tell others about this blog. People say it's good reading.

Tomorrow We Finish the Walk !

Hard to believe. Two and a half months ago we were traveling southbound to Manheim, Pennsylvania, scouting the walking route.- - do we go over that mountain or around? Then, after fifty-eight days on the road, we're about to enter Stouffville, Ontario.





Today we did the Markham section, walking from Milne Dam Road, past Markville, and up McCowan to 19th and over to 48. While on the road we did a phone interview with 680 News. Don't know when it airs. An appointment with Markhan Economist was another no-show. (Added later: But, using material from a previous Tribune article they did publish on Thursday, the 11th, complete with a coloured picture.)

The Stouffville Sun-Tribune has been absolutely wonderful.





So, tomorrow, the final steps. We're leaving Dixons Hill (n/w corner of 48 and 19th) at 3 p.m. planning to arrive at the Brownsberger farm just before 4 p.m. Join us for the last two miles if you wish. It is nice to see that there is new grass established beside road near the pond, a nice touch.

Into Markham

The northern section of Scarborough is really rather beautiful. The subdivisions are filled with well kept private homes, while fifteen-storey apartment buildings cluster around the main intersections. Along the upper part of McCowan, the sidewalks are over twenty feet from the roadway and in many places the road property is quite nicely treed. I wish I'd had ear plugs while crossing the 401. Fourteen lanes of roaring traffic below, plus the traffic on the McCowan overpass. Quite loud!

By mid-afternoon we'd entered Markham. And crossing the 407 was SO much quieter. Note to those of you reading this in Australia: When built, the 407 Express Toll Route in south central Ontario was the world's first automatic toll road. Sensors read your transponder in the car or photograph the registration plate and the bill comes in the mail the next month. It's not cheap - - almost five time the cost of the Indiana Toll Road which I'm accustomed to. But even at the high cost, some use it every working day.

For you who live close by, remember the Welcome Back at the Millard bridge, east of Hwy. 48, June 11, 4 p.m. . . . And a welcome home party at Boston, Pizza, Stouffville, June 15th, 5 - 8 p.m. Some of the proceeds are being donated to the Heart Centre. Come. Tell your friends to come.

And to those who have pledged "by the mile", the number will likely be about 443. For others insisting on metric, the number is about 710 km. (Be sure to write your cheque in metric dollars.) All donations are appreciated.
Go to http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca/ Events, Trail, Donate.

A Quiet Day into Scarborough

Lake Ontario is at 248 feet above sea level; Stouffville is at 901. A lot of the climb today was in getting over a number of old glacial lake shorelines. The hill on Fallingbrook in lower Scarborough is brutal.

We had hoped for a little media exposure while travelling through Toronto yesterday, but it's hard to compete with the closing the Gardner and the Parkway for a bike ride for charity. While walking along Kingston Road near Warden, I sensed someone watching. A store-converted-into-a-home had closed window blinds except for this little observer. I thought of holding up my "Trail" business card, but I doubt that the creature is old enough to read!

Most of Tuesday and Wednesday, we'll be on McCowan northbound. Our destination is getting closer!

Downtown Toronto to the Beach

* * *

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

We're walking from southern Pennsylvania to Stouffville for the Sunnybrook heart department.
See the first blog - - go to March 15th for the original news release.
See http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca/ click Events, click Trail for details.
Google all of Ron Brownsberger heart walk Pennsylvania Sunnybrook for several news articles.
Cell 416 835 2457 to speak to Ron.

* * * *

The forecasted rain never happened during the day today. Margaret helped with baby-sitting in Uxbridge while daughter Ann and I had a pleasant walk from Bathurst Street east to the Beaches. This was the first time Ann had had nine hours away from the kids since the third was born! Several beautiful large three masted sailing ships were docked in the harbour. During the lunch break, we watched the ferry boats going to and from the islands. On Queen Street, east of Broadview, we happened upon an art festival and wandered the park where about sixty artists were showing their stuff.

I used to think this part of East Toronto was a bit rough, but most storefronts were open and there were many coffee houses and restaurants serving the crowds. We continued to the Beaches, walked the boardwalk to Lee Avenue and then took the streetcar (a 50 min. ride) back to where we'd left the van. On the way back we saw a huge red ball stuck into the doorway of the old city hall. Later I found out that it is part of an art installation that started in Barcelona and moved on to Chicago and Toronto.

Just three days and a bit to go! Northeast through Scarborough, north through Markham and on to north of Ringwood to the farm in Stouffville.

^ ^ ^

A Special Blog to a Special Boy

When we were walking on Friday I saw this creature in a large sandbox and decided to take a picture of it for you. It is located in a park beside Lake Ontario in the west end of Toronto between the Sunnyside Pavilion and Pool, and Ontario Place. To those of you who are reading this in Australia, these Canadian animals became extinct a long time ago.

P.S. folks. Just found out that all our photos on this site are click-to-enlarge. A quick double click will do it. Use the "back' button to return to normal. You computer types probably already knew this.

Into Beautiful Toronto

Today's walk was from Royal York Road along the lake to Bathurst Street in perfect cool, sunny weather. I've never travelled this route before, even though I've lived in or near the city most of my life. New lands have been added to the shoreline, a butterfly refuge established, many high end high-rise condos have gone up, beautiful pedestrian bridges have been installed over Etobicoke Creek and the Humber River. Peeking through the trees we could see the dome of the flower building and the bandshell at the CNE. A number of sail boats were enjoying the light winds, and for the first time I saw an amphibious bus motoring along a lagoon at Ontario Place. For those of you reading this blog from Australia, just google some of the places above to get more info and photos.

We had three guests with us for today's walk. Edith, Marilyn and Keith are all avid walkers - - it must have been a pain for them to travel at my somewhat slow pace - - but we spent much of the time hearing about their many walking experiences. And, of course, they heard about ours.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that we've walked from southern Pennsyvania to Toronto! And with only a bit more than four days on the road, we'll be home. Saturday we rest. Sunday my daughter and I are walking from downtown Toronto to Kew Beach.

Our hosts for the past three days were Donna and Steve McCorquodale whose home in Etobicoke is less than a mile from our route - - so convenient.

For those of you recently reading this blog, our walk is for charity. See the first entry, mid March, for the original news release and go to www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca click Events, click Trail to donate.

Starting through Toronto for Heart

We're still on the trail - - walked from Port Credit to Royal York Road today.
The poor van - - start, stop, start, stop all day - - needed a boost this aft.
I've had an OML or CAA membership for fifty years.

We had another interview at Port Credit this morning. We're grateful.
WE NEED SOME COVERAGE IN TORONTO Please phone the TV stations, the newspapers and talk radio stations, and let them know what we're doing and when and where we'll be. Our cell phone 416 835 2457

The timetable for the next few days:

Friday June 5th Lakeshore at Royal York Road, 9 a.m.
Sunnyside parking lot east of Ellis Ave., about 11:30 a.m.
Princes Gates, CNE, Strachan at Lakeshore 3:30 p.m.

Sat. June 6th resting

Sunday June 7th Queens Quay at Bay Street, noon to 1 p.m.
Kew Beach, The Boardwalk near Lee Avenue about 4 p.m.

Monday the 8th The Boardwalk at Silverbrich about 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday June 9 McCowan near the RT about 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday June 10 McCowan near Markville about 10:30 a.m.

Thursday, June 11, the big finish 4 p.m. Millard, east of Hwy.48, at the bridge.

AND . . . On Monday, June 15, come, bring your family, to Boston Pizza in Stouffville and order dinner. The Boston Piza is donating 10% of the gross to the heart fund ! ! ! Margaret and I will be there. Donations can be made that evening to the Heart centre.

A Million Steps for Heart

Sometime yesterday afternoon, I did my millionth step from Manheim Pennsylvania. The entire trip to Stouffville will probably click in at about 1.2million steps. I guess it's OK to have a few hard spots on the foot bottoms or be a little stiff in the mornings. If there's anyone out there who wants to sponsor at a penny a step, I'm sure that the Hospital will be delighted!

Port Nelson, Bronte, Oakville

The trail around Lake Ontario follows the old Highway 2, with its hundreds of "fine" homes. It is obvious that there are many well-heeled people living in this area.

I began rethinking the term, "The Golden Horseshoe". The area from Oshawa around through Toronto, Hamilton and the Niagara Penninsula has for a century been an area of great economic prosperity. Although the steel mills in Hamilton are almost at rest and the Canadian auto industry in Oshawa a somewhat shakey, the health of this area is still quite good in comparison to what we've seen in regions of western New York and the hills of Pennsylvania where some people have to drive twenty minutes or more to just get to their nearest food store.

Yes, it is a rough time, but when we have 10% unemployment, that also means we have 90% employment. Loosely quoting the recent words of a world leader, those of us who are coping well will need to learn to share, which means getting our old clothes off to the thrift shop, a little extra food over to the food bank, lending our extra car to a mom who needs it, being in tune with the needs of the people living on our block or in our town.

Into Burlington, Ontario

For over forty years we have been flying over the Burlington Skyway bridges - - four lanes in each direction - - with no thought about what's underneath on the "old road". The narrow isthmus is home for several hundred homes and cottages along the Lake Ontario side. The footpath is wide and once again is the bed of a past electric and steam rail line that connected Hamilton with points north. The area was first developed in the 1870-1880 period and three original homes still exist. Several major storms and floods have bashed away at the shoreline but the people remain. Older tiny cottages are mixed with some more recent grand places. Signs by the path ask people to keep off the wild shoreline vegetation and along the other side there are numerous irises in full bloom.

Burlington has an absolutely beautiful waterside park on the north side of Lake Ontario with many footpaths and several dining facilities. Today's walking got us past the centre of town. We're now progressing north-east, bound for Toronto by Sunday.

CHCH news and the Hamilton Spectator had each expressed interest in our story but after a two hour wait for each of them, they had to be declared no-shows. Coverage earlier by St. Catharines and Niagara papers was excellent.

Hamilton Ontario

We keep moving on. A stiff wind today added to the challenge. Whenever we were within sight of Lake Ontario, it looked wild with spray and serious whitecaps.

This morning I was able to speak for a few minutes at the earliest church of the Pennsylvania Dutch settlers in Canada, begun in Vineland, ON, in 1801. I was also able to meet friends of my parents, Reesors and Fretz's, still living in the area.

We're on a borrowed computer at the moment - - we'll get photos added to the last three blogs in a few days. Friends of ours, Donna and Bob Parker are hosting us in Ancaster for a while as we round the end of the lake. High recommended is "It's All Greek to Me", a little restaurant in west Hamilton.

We're still pretty well on schedule in these last weeks. See the March 31 post for the itinerary. And we still plan to meet with media on the days and places listed on the May 21 blog.

Another Good Day

Today was a perfect walking day; coolish and partly sunny and very little wind. At Port Dalhousie, part of St Catharines, Margaret and I met Monique and her photographer from the St Catharines Standard and did photos and an interview about the Trail of the Susquehanna and raising money for Sunnybrook. We also have been able to get in few extra miles to the west, so we're ahead of schedule again.

We've left rivers and fields and are now following Lake Ontario's shoreline. It was good to see the tiny Toronto skyline across the lake for a few minutes this morning. Home is getting closer! However we are on the North Service Road beside the Queen Elizabeth Way (6 lane expressway) so we're hearing the roar of transports rather than the chirping of birds. Local residents have insisted on high noise barriers in some places and they do work. I always thought they were made out of concrete, but on closer inspection they seem to contain recycled plastic. A web search revealed that the product is constructed of plastic and wood pieces, and made in nearby Hamilton, Ontario.

Tonight we celebrated our sixtieth wedding anniversay and also treated our hosts, Cathy and Reg and Linda to dinner at a ninth floor restaurant with a view of the Falls. The server after seeing my little business card about The Walk, came back and asked if she could photocopy it for others on staff. Seems they don't have long distance walkers coming in very frequently. And, I'll add, the garlic-red-skin-mashed-potatoes were excellent, too. (Sixtieth, you ask? Margaret and I were married five years ago but we celebrate our anniversaries monthly.)

The Trail of the Susquehanna continues along the edge of Lake Ontario for the next eight days. For those of you joining late, this is a walk for charity. Go to
http://www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca/ click Events, click Trail, click Donate.

Friends Join Us on the Walk

It was good to have two cousins from Toronto join us for the day walking from Virgil's new "Silks Breakfast" over to the Welland Canal lift bridge and into St.Catharines. Both Isabel and Edith have had numerous experiences walking in North America and in Europe. We heard details of trips taken cross country From village to village in France and into Spain. On some of these trips walking is combined with bus transportation, and luggage is moved from one night's lodging to the next. My speed is usually just over 2 mph (under 4 km/h). Edith can do 6 km/h

This part of the Niagara Peninsula has fruit trees, vineyards, and tree farms. There is no wasted space. Orchards and grape vines push tightly against homes and barns. We saw a grove of fruit trees growing in the border lands of an expressway interchange. It seems that the farm businesses and wineries are doing fairly well in this region.

After being in motels for over 50 days, it is good to be at the home of a friend for a while. (Linda Mooney and I worked together in Markham 15 years ago.) While I am writing this blog, my wife is glancing through the Zoomer Magazine, June, 2009, page 34. She reads out loud that walking has shown to reduce the chances of dementia in seniors. So I guess this walk from Pennsylvania has an additional benefit!

Through Queenston

Forgot to tell you about the dog rescue that Margaret saw yesterday. Suzie had gone over the wall along the Niagara River, and the owner, some police all dressed in rapelling gear, and a Humane Society ambulance were all at there to rescue the animal. We assume successfully.

The Niagara Review did a great newspaper report about the Susquehanna walk.
Much of today was spent following an old electric rail line which meant gentle grades.
The bright yellow pansies at the Horticultural Gardens entrance were outstanding.
The Sir Adam Beck generating station when built in 1930 was the largest in the world.
Gen. Isaac Brock had lots of help from the Natives to win against the Americans.
We had both made bets about good General's outstretched arm. We both lost.
(He was actually holding a "baton", which might actually be a lightening arrester.)
The narrow trail down the 200 foot Niagara Escarpment is a slippery creek channel!
Queenston looks like a very healthy village but it has no stores, only a tiny post office.
An arranged media meeting in Queenston was postponed to Thursday morning
The next few days will follow through the flat fruit farms of the Niagara Peninsula

One of today's sites was the Great Floral Clock beside the generating stations. Around the clock, clockwise, are the letters ARASKRAPNIAG (Niagara Parks). About twenty minutes later I saw another garden with the ten hour clock. As most Americans know, this country went metric over twenty years ago. The new ten hour clock - - twenty hours in a day - - had a hundred minutes in an hour. The advantage of the ten hour clock was that many things could now be done more quickly. Google the phrase "metric clock" to get details on how it works.

Niagara Falls - Canada

A wonderful sunny day of walking. Just north of Dufferin Island, the trail continued away from the road and close to the river and the raging Niagara current. Awesome! Photo ops at every turn. Twenty minutes later I broke through just above the falls and the Table Rock area. It was interesting to hear voices around me whisper phrases like "...All the way from Pennsylvania" when they read the T shirt.

Journalists from The Review met with us and they were able to collect the "Walk" story, without errors I might add. A couple of hours later, after checking with me by phone, they had the story on their website. Go to http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ for both video and text. It'll likely be there for less than twenty four hours.

Margaret and I had lunch at the Victoria Park upper restaurant with a gorgeous view of both falls, and then continued north. For half an hour the sound of the Niagara carillon filled the air - - American and Canadian patriotic songs and hymns. Beautiful. (Except when the tourist helicopters flew over!) At the Spanish Aerocar, now almost one hundred years old, we both decided to pass. I was on it once a few years ago, shamed into riding it by students!

Today's walk finished at a peaceful park around the other side of the Whirlpool, where we later returned for a delicious Coleman-stove-and-Chef-Margaret chicken with vegetables meal.

Getting Ready for the Final Push

(Go to March 15 blog for the original news release.)


It's been good to have a week or so off from the great walk. We've had a chance to catch up with some family and friends. And Margaret has worked in the garden almost every day.

It was with sadness that we saw that "Da Classic Scoop" lunch and ice-cream establishment had been torn down. The building was the Ringwood general store back in the mid-1800's, and doubtless was visited every week by my ancester George Brownsberger or his son Samuel. The building needed to be moved for a road widening, and even though the Town offered it for free to anyone who would move it, there were no takers. The interior had the original tin ceilings, sort of a 1950's diner decor, and hundreds of pictures of old cars, especially Caddys. And my favourite was the old wooden fog horn hanging from the ceiling. When the place was opened as an ice-cream shop in the 90's, kids could be lifted up to pull the rope to get a long mournful wail from the contraption. (Soon the rope was removed - - I guess the employees couldn't stand the noise.)

Melanie Calandra and I have been working the main streets of Stouffville raising awareness of the walk, and yesterday I did another interview at WhistleRadio, CIWS 102.7 fm. (To those of you reading this in Australia, try www.whistleradio.com)

One more plea to all of you living close to Niagara Falls Ontario, St Catherines, Hamilton, Oakville, Mississauga, Toronto, and Markham. Please contact your local radio and television stations and newspapers and let them what we're doing. We hope to be at the following places on time:

Niagara Falls, ON, Parkway at Murray, May 25th, 10:30-11a.m.
Lakeshore Bridge, Port Weller, May 28 4 - 4:30 p.m.
Lakeport at Lake, Port Dalhousie, May 29 11:30 -12 noon
The 1st Menn. Church, Vineland, 11- 12:30, Sunday, May 31st
Confederation Pk., Hamilton, June 1st, 3 - 3:30 p.m.
Hwy 2 at 16 Mile Creek, June 3rd, 4 - 4:30 p.m.
Hwy 2 at Etobicoke Creek, June 5th, late morning
Queens Quay at Bay St., Toronto, Sun., June 7, noon to 1 p.m.
McGowan near Markville entrance, Markham, June 10, about 10:30
Millard, east of Hwy 48, near the new bridge at 4 p.m.

If you live nearby, drop down to meet us.

To donate, go to www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca , click Events, click Trail.
Or write a cheque to "Sunnybrook Foundation - Trail" and mail to
H366, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5

Margaret and I will be back on the walk starting Monday, May 25th.

People We Have Met along the Way

We've met some interesting people along the road:
* In Strasburg we went to a restaurant called Good and Plenty - fine Mennonite cooking and served family style at long tables with 12 people sharing bowls of food. We met a chiropractor and an emergency nurse from Arizona but who had both moved to Atlanta. They have a bucket list filled with derring-do for each of their birthdays - hang gliding, para sailing and more. The two have been friends since childhood and team up for holidays. Another couple at the table was from Corning, NY. We told them that we were going to take a break from walking in late April by going to see the glass museum in Corning. They have never been.
* We met other hikers from northern PA who were in Lancaster for a conference. She does endurance hikes once per week. They hike wilderness trails together. They told us a hair-raising tale of hiked during the late winter this year. They have often hiked the route which involves a loop of about eight miles with a corresponding number of water falls. They are experienced hikers but on this trip they almost made a fatal mistake by not taking their backpacks with them. They spent more time than they expected looking at the ice formations made by the falls - the one the furthest out looked like a cathedral. They got caught in the dark and had to hike out in pitch darkness. They didn’t reach their car until 1 am. They said they won’t be so foolish as to hike without their packs again.
* Early in our walk we came across a ‘real country’ farmer who said ‘What are you doing there?’ as we were parked looking at a map near his driveway. We called out that we were walking to Canada. He says, ‘That’s a long way! You better park up yonder. Cars just keep flying over thet hill there. I don’t really mind who parks by the house. Nobody really lives there. The owner lives in New York. I just have the cows in the barn.’
* Ron asked for a tee-shirt be printed ‘WALKING TO CANADA’. He already has one that says more about raising money for the Schulich Heart Centre but wanted a simpler one for the US. The proprietor said, ‘It’s free. Anybody who is walking to Canada doesn’t have to pay.’
* Many hotels/motels include breakfast in their rates. That’s a great way to meet people. We met:
* Pipers from Edinborough, PA going to pipe at the state capitol
* A PhD student who had to work full time while studying. He stayed up until 2 am to write more of his thesis. He has to defend it in two weeks. His topic is the use of technology to communicate between faculty and students. That‘s one thesis I‘d like to read!
* Another pair of ‘former’ hikers. They are now in their seventies and have settled down a bit. In their younger days they hiked a lot including a 1000 mile hike. Then they said that we had some great trails up in Canada. Maybe we’d heard of one - the Bruce trail? (Truth told Ron and I celebrated my birthday in the first year we were dating by walking a very small part of the Bruce Trail.
* And the many, many wonderful people who have stopped to see if we had had a breakdown or needed help.

Itinerary Revised a Bit

Click the March blog file (below, right) to find the original itinerary. Both the New York and the Pennsylvania portions were a bit shorter than I thought they would be, so we're already at home in Stouffville, Ontario, having a break. Also we have completed walking the Fort Erie, ON, to Dufferin Island section. These four days slightly revised:

May 25 - Through Niagara Falls on the Niagara Pkwy., to about the Whirlpool
May 26 - Continuing north on the walking path toward Queenston
May 27 - West through St. Davids and beyond
May 28 - North west to Port Weller

May 29 to June 11 - plans as previously shown in the March 30 blog.

June 11 - - Meet Ron at the new bridge on Millard, east of Hwy 48 at 4 p.m. for and End-of-the-Walk reception. Rain or shine!

We need publicity if the Heart Centre is going to benefit from this exercise. It would be great if you would call up your local television stations and newspapers and let them know what we're doing and when we will be near your town. Media can contact us by e/mail ron.brownsberger@gmail.com or perhaps use the cell phone number 416-835-2457

I would like to offer special thanks to Melanie Calandra for her work on publicity.

Donations are slowly coming in. A one-minute speech at Stamford Church last Sunday yielded about $600. Some donations have been arriving at the Foundation website www.sunnybrookfoundation.ca click Events, click Trail, click Donate, and I've heard rumours of a few pledges. Cheques made out to Sunnybrook Foundation, and marked "Trail", can be mailed directly to the Sunnybrook Foundation, H366, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5

For those of you who have pledged "by the mile", you'll be happy to know that the estimated total distance is more likely to be about 470 miles rather than the originally estimated 520. If you insist on donating by kilometer, then the number is about 750.

It is good to be home for a short while. Margaret is pleased with how the flower beds are coming along, and we have neighbour Kyle to thank for the excellent condition of the indoor plants and the lawns. And after fifty nights away, it's good to be back in our own bed!

Niagara River Historic Plaques

The words of all the plaques located along the river's edge are on the following sites:

www.niagaraparks.com/heritage/plaques.php

www.niagaraparks.com/heritage/plaques-south.php

The one at Netherby Road (south site) is of special interest to us because it tells of the migrations from Pennsylvania and Upper Canada. Ron

Niagara Parkway South

Today was spent appreciating the many fine, beautiful (expensive!) homes along the Niagara river. Many of these places appear to have been built recently, probably replacing small homes and cottages that were eighty to a hundred year old. One wonders why a couple with perhaps only two adult children needs six thousand square feet or more of living space. One home, ultra modern, looked more like a corporate headquarters for business! On the other end of the spectrum, it was nice to see how a few grand homes of the past, perhaps the early to mid-1800's, are being kept in mint condition.

We had our lunch and mid-day rest at a pullout beside the river. Once again it was so beautiful to enjoy the peace and absolute quiet in the area. The quiet moving river, no winds, a few birds, and no traffic noises for minutes at a time.

We continue to learn more about the history of this area. At one place, we read information about an electric suburban trolley company that took passengers from the Buffalo and Lake Erie steamships from a wharf near Chippewa down to Queenston to board the ships bound for Toronto.

A field south of Chippewa was the site of several battles between the American and the British during the War of 1812-14. It has been recently discovered that over 800 bodies (from both sides) are buried in this field. Of all the events at the site, the American almost won only one of these battles. The British usually benefited from alliances with Indian warriors.

At one point, we witnessed a killdeer frantically screaming and running along the grass in front of us. We obviously had travelled too close to its nest. The bird kept up the performance for several minutes before flying off in a wide circular route back to the nest.

When we finished the walking today, the mist from the Falls was on the distance horizon.
Pictures:
The mega house

The 'corporate' house

The well-kept house from the 1800's - For Sale if you are interested.

A little in the bank

The schedule was to go back to Stouffville for a break, but instead we're doing some of the walk north from Fort Erie. The trip north up to Niagara is mainly a walking/bicycle trail following the Niagara Parkway. It was a pleasure today to be on a paved trail - - full view of the Niagara River - - no noisy transports whizzing by.

There's a lot of history in the area. Plaques report the movement of escaped slaves before the American Civil War, the skirmishes between the British and the Americans during the War of 1812-14, the numerous ferry boats that crossed the river from after the 1790's. Did George Brownsberger take Bertie's ferry from Buffalo across the river? There were apparently seven ferries running across the river in the 1820s.

We had a great moment this afternoon when we saw about 35 little goslings being escorted by three or four baby-sitting geese down to the river while the rest of the parent birds were flaked out on the grass.

It was good to get the chance to speak for a minute about the walk at Stamford United this morning. This is the church where Margaret's father (now 100 years old!) was assistant minister for 24 years and continued to assist with services from time to time until five years ago.
Pictures:
Ron starting the Canadian leg of the walk

The plaque about the Bertie Street Ferry

The goslings and their caregiver

American Section Completed ! ! !

At a total of 302 miles, the U.S. part of the long walk is done! Today started out nice, sunny and warm in West Seneca, but by noon the weather was cold, extremely windy and blowing rain. When that started, we just happened to be at Main Street and Swan in downtown Buffalo so we treated ourselves to a free street-car ride. I love trains and trams - - we've done street-cars in San Diego, San Francisco, Amsterdam and other places. By the time that little break was over, the blue sky was again in view. Walked through the central round (I was going to call it the central square, but in Buffalo it's round.), gingerly walked past a huge crane that was swaying in the wind, and by 3:30 we were at the bridge and into Canada. Margaret's a bit like me. We like the States and its people, but, we do sing a few phrases of O Canada when we return.

And for the first time in 48 nights, we're not at a motel. Instead, we're in the home of friends. Margaret's sister and husband are at a place on the Niagara River near Queenston Village. Pleasant, quiet, relaxing.

Margaret occasionally asks me if we're writing a book after this thing is over. What we've posted on this blog is only a tiny fraction of the stories we could tell. And, I have more than five hundred pictures on file to help to bring back the memories. I'm also on my second trip diary so..., maybe.

Pictures:

A buffalo in Buffalo

The streetcar at Swan and Main

The Peace Bridge - did it look sweet!

To East Aurora and West Seneca

The walk continues - - partly in rain, partly in sun. Today was quite sunny and was as warm as we have experienced. As of tonight, we are less than 15 kms. from the Peace Bridge, so the New York state portion of the walk will likely be completed late tomorrow afternoon. Once again this is a bit earlier than I had planned. The routes I chose for walking are not always the routes that MapQuest might suggest - - often the expressway routes are longer as they circle around towns and cities.

Highlights? A beautiful old school house converted into a wood craftsman's showroom. A tavern built in the 1830s on the site of an Indian trail used by pioneers. Several more concerned people asking if we need assistance. Signs in front of several homes shaped like a dove and reading "PeacePrints". Many trees in full bloom. Sidewalks.

Late this afternoon we went into town (Buffalo) enjoyed a coffee in the Elmwood Village area and later went up to Hertel and stopped in at the Shadows Lounge for dinner and jazz. The grouper was excellent, the spinach dip was amazing, and out on the patio a jazz group - - Jim Bohm on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Dave Calire on keyboard (with bass) and vocals. Talented twosome. Well done.

Pictures:

The outside of the schoolhouse, now an artist's workshop

Blooms

The jazz group we heard tonight

Chaffee to Holland

Each day has its own variety. This morning was sunny and got to comfortable warm quickly. Certainly makes walking easier. It's great to see the countryside dappled with apple blossoms and now the lilacs and cherry trees are in bloom. And, er, what was that smell? The farmers are of course fertilizing their fields but the smell was worse than that. Then we saw it. Garbage mountain with trucks steadily taking more in. At the top there was a digger and some trucks were adding soil. One wonders what folks will think of our middens a few hundred years from now!

We had more ups and downs today. Ron was able to benefit from the down hills moving toward Buffalo. I got a few up hills as I walked to meet him. When that happens I repeat a mantra to myself that goes something like - 'another muscle on, another pound gone'. It seems to work.

Anyway by mid morning we were ready for a break at the Zider Zee Restaurant. We tried for green tea but tea was fine. Ron asked if I'd noticed the clientele. I said, 'All guys, why?' He said, 'Now look at the two waitresses.' (They were rather comely ladies - - boldly displaying their womanliness (Ron says!) - - in their late twenties, early thirties.) I do love the twinkle in Ron's eye. Now in fairness there was ample parking for trucks and this is a busy trucking route.

Our afternoon walk was mainly through Holland. Ron kept looking for a windmill but there is only a small one in the town park. This weekend is their tulip festival. There will be a parade and a breakfast - typically for a small town you have to know where it is, rides and a BBQ and dance behind the fire hall. Lots of tulips are out and waving prettily in the wind.

Once again we are impressed by the kindness of people. Today it was warm and safe enough for Ron to wear his 'Walking to Canada' tee shirt. A couple in a car had not seen the slogan but saw us walking on their way to and from breakfast. They stopped to make sure we were OK. Later a teen in a car did see the tee shirt. He wound down his car window and asked if the slogan was for real. We told him what we're doing and he said, 'Cool!' That kind of reaction is great.
Pictures:
Margaret climbing a hill

Ron climbing a hill

The town windmill

The Fifth of May

We walked more than eight miles in Sandusky, Arcade and Yorkshire, NY. Lots of sidewalks now with towns quite close together. Some of the features of today included getting Toronto area radio stations in the van, Toronto TV stations in the motel, and stopping at a Tim Hortons. A local church is offering free oil changes to single moms on Saturday morning. Great idea!

This afternoon we headed to Lewiston - - we don't usually go over 190 kms. round trip for dinner but this was another anniversary. At The Silo a diet Pepsi. The Silo is an old coal storage unit (round, 40ft high) used back in the days of the Lake Ontario steamers - - does anyone remember the original S.S.Cayuga? An entrepreneur converted the top if it into a restaurant/snack bar with a view. We enjoyed chicken 'n pasta and beef dinners at The Landing, right across the river from Margaret's sister's place near Queenston. Drove around Lewiston a little and through Artpark. Cute town with lots of changes since I was here the last time. Then off the the American Falls. I'd never done the U.S. side before. (Margaret had.) Quite impressive especially when viewed from close up.
Pictures:
A beautiful historic railway station in Arcade. It is in use with an historic train

The Silo in Lewiston

The American Falls