one day i'll be sand on a beach by the sea

winnipeg was beautiful. i really enjoyed it. but apparently i'm enjoying everything. so for those of you who think i'm too happy on this trip, here are a couple of complaints:

the wind: ava is a lightweight and the wind can be very pushy. it makes driving very stressful when the wind is strong, as it was for most of the prairies. when we're driving into it, we can't get over 80km. if it's behind us, that's the best because then we might hit 105. but if it's to either side, that's the absolute worst. i have to crank the wheel right into it to stay straight on the road. which gets scary as the wind shifts, or semis pass, and we're veering all over the place.

my bed: i can't even really complain about this. i genuinely enjoy my loft. it's not the most comfortable, but it makes for a good story. i have a military-style cot that folds out in the pop-top area. the first night i slept in it i thought i was going to fall through but since then i have duct taped it extensively and now it's sturdy, if nothing else. this picture doesn't do it justice. i'll have to get one of the cot before my bed is made. then you'll understand.

i'm sorry. that wasn't much complaining at all. and i can't even think of anything i could complain about if i was so inclined. this is one of my dream trips and virtually everything about it is wonderful. i fall in love with nearly every place we stay and every congregation we visit. i love our ridiculously slow pace - we're just crawling out of our camp spot when most of the rv'ers are pulling in for the night. we go hours out of our way to find lavinia or mcmunn simply because we want a picture with the town sign.

what i most love is when we show up at a meeting, how the brothers and sisters make us feel so welcome and really go out of their way to help us. if we're staying in town we have to stay with someone from the congregation, and we always get fed so well by at least one sister in the hall. for instance, tonight we are in dryden, on. the tiny congregation here has us staying in a cabin at a resort run by witnesses. we got to visit with the ones that live around here in the kitchen cabin over rhubarb pie and hot chocolate this evening after the meeting. in the morning a sister is making us pancakes and we're supposed to make it to another sister's for lunch on our way out of town. and if we're not staying in the area, people offer us names and numbers of people they know further along our road in case we need anything.

some nights it's really cold. that's not pleasant. and i hate when i wake up in the middle of the night and i have to go outside to find a bathroom, sometimes even walking to the nearest all night gas station. but really, even that's kinda funny.

sorry guys. i'm keeping my rose coloured glasses. i'm happiest on the road. i'm sure once i get to halifax and settle into 'real' life again i'll have plenty of complaints. and then none of you will want to hear them.