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

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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.