After a long ride through pristine forests, and weaving hills, we finally arrived at our stop at “Happy Land RV Park” just outside of Thunder Bay. What a great name for a park, and I have to say, I felt pretty happy rolling into that campground.
Before arriving at our destination, we made a quick stop down the road at the scenic KakabekaFalls (pronounced Kakabeka Falls). The Kakabeka Falls are magnificient standing over 40 meters / 130 feet high making them the second highest waterfalls in Ontario after Niagara Falls. This explains why they are often referred to as the Northern Niagara Falls.
We stood there for quite a while just watching the falls. What an incredible sight. I put my arm around Bernadette and said triumphantly, “Honey, I think the worst is behind us now. Should be smooth sailing for us happy campers at Happy Land.”
Bernadette quickly smacked my forehead saying, “Touch Wood!” to stave off those nasty happenstances that seem to always jump you when you are feeling too comfortable. She sure smacked me hard, so I was fairly confident that there would be no nasty happenstances in our future. I was wrong.
Late that night, as we were turning in, I remembered my reading glasses were still in the Armada. I went to retrieve them, but when I turned the handle to the door, nothing happened. So, I turned the handle again and nothing happened. So, I did what I always do in these situations, I swore at the door and turned the handle with Hurculean effort, but still nothing happened. We were locked in Ladybug. I swore at the door again.
By this time, Bernadette was standing beside me taking stock of our sticky situation, “Stop swearing at the door, Peter. Just call the office and see if someone can open the door from the outside.” This is precisely why Bernadette is the brains of our outfit. I called the office and the nice lady assured me her husband would be happy to wake up in the middle of the night and help us out.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, a very nice gent armed with his trusty flash light, arrived and opened the door. We sure were grateful to that gent and relieved that I wouldn’t have to break out through the emergency exit in our bedroom. But we still had a massive problem. Once opened, we couldn’t shut the door or we would be waking up the nice gent again. So, we had to sleep with the door slightly open.
This is not a comfortable feeling. There is always the possibility of a creature prowling around in the dark ready to take full advantage of an opened RV door. Bernadette was not at all concerned that a bear, pack of wolves, cougar or bunny rabbit would come across our open door. What concerned her most was the thought of a spider finding the opened door. My number one job in life is to guard against any and all spiders. So that evening, I stood guard staring at the door ready to throttle any spider stupid enough to visit Ladybug. Fortunately, the spiders are smarter than that in Thunder Bay.
At the first sight of light, I was busy making calls to find someone who could help us out. Fortunately, we were referred to Scott’s RV, an RV shop that has been in business for over sixty years. I can understand why. They took us in immediately and two of their best service workers went to work to fix our problem.
And there it was. It seems in all RVs, the handles and mechanism behind them are held in place by a few screws. When they come loose, it can throw off the entire alignment which can make it impossible to open the door from the inside. A good tip is to tighten these screws every few weeks when on the road just to avoid this problem.
The good folks at Scott’s were so kind and helpful. They not only fixed the problem, but they also said there would be no charge. “We’re just happy we could help you and your wife out sir,” said the young man who realigned our door handle. “You should have smooth travels and no further issues with this door again.” I quickly smacked my forehead and said, “Touch Wood!” just to be on the safe side.
Before motoring down the road, we took the opportunity to visit the Terry Fox Memorial Park located on a hill overlooking Thunder Bay and the Sleeping Giant in the distance. Terry Fox’ Marathon of Hope started in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980. His goal was to raise awareness and much needed money to help support cancer research by running across Canada.
Despite having lost his right leg to cancer, Terry Fox ran over 5,000 kilometers (over 3100 miles), nearly a marathon a day, for 143 straight days, until he was forced to stop his quest very close to this spot when his cancer recurred.
The spirit and courage of Terry Fox remains a towering inspiration to Canadians and people around the world. Terry Fox’ goal continues through the ongoing Marathon of Hope, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to benefit thousands of individuals and families living with cancer. We were happy to visit this beautiful spot to remember this incredible young man whose legacy of care for others continues to this day. A truly great Canadian and humanitarian, Terry Fox continues to inspire the world.
“Dreams are made. If people only try.
I believe in miracles.
I have to.
Because Somewhere the hurting must stop.”
Terry Fox