Circle Tour -- Day 11

I woke up this morning with vertigo and nausea from a mold allergy.  Rain, humidity and heat bring clasdisporium molds that wipe me out.  So other than lunch with Chris, Tisha and Evan, I spent a lot of time napping.  Back to the tour.  Three days to go. 

July 23, 2013 

The wind was strong throughout the night.  At one point, I thought the tent would blow over, so I moved my sleeping mat against the side that was taking the force of the gusts.  My weight on the bottom of the tent plus the protection of the surrounding bushes kept us upright. Not so two other tents in the campgrounds. Those campers were gone by morning.  

I would stay two nights, so for the first time on the tour I didn't have to take down the tent. I could take off very soon after using one of the park's showers.  Hot showers are a pleasure on cold mornings. 

For an early lunch, I went to the Metropolitan Moose Beanery and Cafe in the village of Kakabeka Falls where I had a fabulous tomato and mushroom soup.  It was here that my notebook failed to connect with the internet. Getting this blog written is always a concern and I would struggle with that the rest of the day. 

Thunder Bay is cut into two parts, north and south.  I had three performances, two in the north, one in the south and locating them was not easy.  The first was Hillside Gardens in the north. I stopped for directions three times and only one of the women could give me decent instructions, complete with a map.  I made the performance on time.  Afterwards, the staff directed me to the local branch library.  There I had access to the library's computer where I did the day's posting. The librarian also furnished me with a good map of Thunder Bay and marked out my next destinations. It was invaluable.  

Later in the day, I worked out the connection problem.  The little computer worked well the rest of the trip. 

However, the trip was becoming a problem financially.  The activity directors were nowhere to be found when I arrived at my venues and neither were my payments. "The check will be in the mail." I was running low on Canadian money, though I still had American funds with me.  I didn't particularly want to change that money over since I would be crossing the border in two days.

At one point I used my credit card to buy gas in Marathon.  My bank immediately assumed that someone had stolen my card and put a stop on it .... even though I had made a point of notifying the bank of my travel plans before I left Seymour.  That happened on the weekend.  It was even more confusing because I was supposed to call or e-mail the bank, but straightening that out would take more time than I cared to put into it.  I dispatched Gary to the bank where he also has an account.  A few sharp words, and my credit card was being accepted again. 

The evening performance was supposed to be beside a campfire at a senior residence but the home could not get the permits in time.  I was relieved because telling stories in front of a smoky fires is not fun for someone who needs her voice. Again, no activity director to get me started in front of the fireplace in the lobby.  I had to arrange the seats, talk some residents passing by into sitting down.  I started with a noisy song on the autoharp and soon I had gathered a lovely little crowd.  

The activity director was supposed to be there by the end of the performance but once again, he wasn't and neither was the check.  I was asked to come back in the morning to pick it up here in the north section of Thunder Bay. The missing check from the morning's performance would be at the next afternoon's performance in the south section.  It meant a lot of running around just as I was going to be leaving the country. 

I returned to the campground to find my section of the park pretty much abandoned.  I would finally have the privacy I craved but it was to be another cold, cold night in Ontario.