August 30 - Charlottetown, PEI

What a lovely day Lyle and I have had on Prince Edward Island! We met some lovely people, were treated to a delicious lunch with congenial company in pleasant surroundings and are now enjoying some down time in great late summer weather. We have camped in Cornwall beside a branch of the Hillsborough River and plan to stay here until we leave for Nova Scotia tomorrow.

This morning, we rode the elevator to the CNIB office with Heather from the Charlottetown Guardian. I always appreciate media coverage because it does further my goal of promoting an awareness of the white cane. We were then greeted in the office by Joan, a faithful volunteer there. Volunteers are the backbone of many charitable organizations and CNIB is no exception to the rule. Then we met Barbara and her guide dog, Myrna. Together they had walked five kilometers to CNIB just to meet us and wish us well. Thank you, Barbara and Myrna.  Next through the office door was Nick.  Nick uses a mobility cane and I was pleased that he had come to join us for the walk.

Then there was Baldur. Baldur had his last official staff day with CNIB yesterday.  He is returning to his homeland in Iceland to continue work with the blind society there, but had stayed on to walk with us today. I walked beside Baldur on our walk and really appreciated his insights as an orientation and mobility instructor. Baldur sees himself as a facilitator in the process of white cane instruction while the cane user, because he or she will use the cane on a daily basis, is the “professional”. I like the concept that we who are either blind or partially sighted can still make choices about our lives and the tools we use.

Then there was Ron and his friend Ron. Ron lost his sight to age related macular degeneration and uses an identity cane. Today, his friend Ron came along as driver and guide. Ron’s wife, Jackie was unable to come today but it was at her suggestion that we four go to lunch after the walk as her treat. Thanks, Jackie.  Lunch was delicious! Ron, Ron, Lyle and I found we had much in common. We had all been in the education system at one time or another, and we were all enthusiastic about the capabilities of computers and digital technology. I found myself again explaining about the wonderful Trekker Breeze and its various settings.

Charlottetown was an interesting city to walk around. It has such history, but with that history comes many narrow streets and alas, narrow sidewalks. In contrast, the boardwalk down by the harbour was excellent – wide and with relatively smooth boards. I certainly enjoyed today and would plan on coming back again someday for a “tourist” visit.

Thanks for the hospitality, PEI. Tomorrow we’ll be in Nova Scotia. 

The picture below shows Ron, Nick and myself with our white canes at the beginning of the walk.

August 29 - Moncton, NB

The rain had stopped and the sun was shining as Lyle and I drove to the Moncton CNIB office. Once there we were greeted warmly by Amanda who introduced us to the other CNIB staff members and CNIB clients who were joining us for our walk. After posing for pictures on the front steps of the building, we set off along the main street of the city towards City Hall. I walked for a while beside Jonathon and we talked about some of the mobility challenges often encountered by white cane users. We found that we held many of these in common – sidewalk construction, sandwich boards set up inconveniently in the middle of a pathway, benches, garbage containers and other obstacles. Jonathon also mentioned the sidewalk cafes that sprout up in the spring weather.

For awhile I walked beside Paulette and Natalie. Recently, both young women had taken part in a blind race car event which raised money for guide dogs. In this event they were able to sit behind the steering wheel of a racing car and drive it around the track. They each sat in their own car, but of course, they also had a co-pilot giving them instructions. At the end of the track, they were instructed to drive the car in reverse. Both Paulette and Natalie were still laughing about how much fun it had all been. It was their first time to drive and to quote, “It was a blast!”

Paulette and Natalie are strong advocates on behalf of other white cane users. Their current mission is to gain access to Moncton Ability Transit for people who have sight challenges. This transit system is for the use of people who have mobility challenges, and the two young women argue that limited vision quite often means limited mobility. This is especially so during the winter months when the use of a cane becomes more difficult. To date, their argument has not carried enough weight with the powers that be, but I wish them every success in convincing the Ability Transit authorities of the legitimacy of their position.

After the walk, we were treated to coffee and goodies in the Moncton CNIB office and I had a chance to chat with the others who had joined the walk. It was good to talk with Jeanette and Teresa and hear of their various experiences using a white cane. I was pleased to meet Marian, Chairperson of the Moncton CNIB area and of course, many thanks to Amanda and the staff of the Moncton CNIB office. Today was a great way to finish our walks in New Brunswick and tomorrow we will be off to our one and only walk in PEI.

The two pictures below are of our group on the walk in Moncton today.  You can count five white canes!

August 28 - Fredericton, NB

It was cooler today, so Lyle and I had a nice long walk in Fredericton. I had had some difficulty in contacting the CNIB office prior to our walk, so when we arrived on the office doorstep, our visit was unexpected. As I explained the purpose of our walk to Ruth and Jim, I realized that I was also telling them that the journey was nearly over. Three more provinces and three more weeks and I will be at the finish line.

In Fredericton, we came across a set of audible signals which I initially thought were not functioning.  They made a beeping sound but didn’t go beyond that. Then I remembered the audible signals in Thunder Bay.  The staff at CNIB there told me that in order to activate the signal you had to hold the button down for several seconds.  I tried this in Fredericton and low and behold, the audible signal came to life.

Normally, audible signals will make a “chirp” or a “cheep cheep” sound. At the Fredericton intersection, the east-west crossing had the chirping sound, following the normal pattern, but when I pressed the button for the north-south crossing, it sounded as if an ice cream truck was playing music close by.  We re-crossed the road several times for the new sound experience!

We have now moved on. We left Fredericton and drove through some heavy rain on the way to Moncton.  It is still raining but we are enjoying the cooler temperatures.

August 26 & 27 - Woodstock, Florenceville, & Hartland, NB

These past two days have been hot, but our walks have been made more pleasant by the fact that each was beside the St. John River. In fact, as an addition to our scheduled itinerary, in Hartland we walked across the river over the longest covered bridge in the world.  I kept a tight grip on my cane as I didn’t want it to disappear down the small space separating the pedestrian and vehicle sections of the bridge. As I walked across I couldn’t help but think back to our walk in Golden, BC with Dale and Sharon and our walk across the covered bridge there.  We have definitely covered a lot of territory. The picture below shows me at the Harland bridge entrance

I enjoyed my time in the Andrew and Laura McCain Public Library in Florenceville this morning. Yes, you have maybe guessed that Florenceville is the headquarters of the McCain Foods, and the town is known as the Potato Chip Capital of the World. Much of the development of the town is due to the generosity of the McCain family.

In the library, I was able to talk a little about the White Cane Connections project, the challenges of vision loss, and the people I have met through my books. I am particularly excited about this with the approach of the Paralympics. Two young blind athletes I have written about in Out of Sight are in London, England at this moment, ready to represent Canada in the Paralympic swimming events. Donovan Tildesley has already competed in the Paralympics in Sydney and then in Beijing where he carried the Canadian flag for the opening ceremony. London will be Amber Thomas’s second time to compete in the Games and she is hoping to bring home a medal or two for her country. You can read more about Amber in today’s edition of the Edmonton Journal online at: 

www.edmontonjournal.com

 You can read a more detailed account of both of these young athletes in my own book, Out of Sight, copies of which are available in many libraries across the country or can be purchased through myself at:

sboman@shaw.ca

Please add book order to the subject line. Purchase cost is $15 plus $3 for shipping.

Although the Paralympics don’t get as much media coverage as the Olympics, you can follow along online.

The picture below shows me chatting with Marian, Terri and Sandra at the library.

August 24 & 25 - St. Jean-Port-Joli & Riviere-du-Loup, QC

St. Jean-Port-Joli Is a small pretty town nestled beside the St. Lawrence River. I think that Lyle and I managed to walk around most of it, including the park with the wood sculptures for which the town is known. As planned, we started in front of the library which fronted onto the main square. I was disappointed that we couldn’t go inside the church there, but there was a service going on. Instead, we made our way through the adjacent cemetery. It was a tricky walk through the narrow paths which separated the graves. The cemetery was both old and new. Lyle found one family plot where the oldest burial took place in 1745 and the most recent in 1999.

Then it was on to Riviere du Loup, our last stop in Quebec.  Again we chose to walk around the older section of town, starting at the library. The buildings are well preserved.  The church was especially impressive with its height and tall spire, but for a second time, I was disappointed not to be able to go inside because of a morning funeral. The lengthy tolling of the steeple bell coincided with the beginning of our walk.

Today and yesterday as we drove along the long stretches of highway, I thought many times of Terry Fox. What an amazing young man he was! Lyle and I are only walking within the towns and cities we visit, but Terry walked and ran between those places. He was a definite inspiration to so many people. His memorable run continues to raise funds for cancer research.

This afternoon, Lyle drove us into New Brunswick and tomorrow we will begin the first leg of this new section of walks. In the picture below, I am standing by the St. Lawrence wearing my LOGOS cap. The cap was given to me by Norm and Norma Smith when we walked with them in Medicine Hat, Alberta. It’s a good feeling to have these connections with friends. 

August 23 - Quebec City, QC

Today was interesting, but not altogether successful. Our plan was to walk at the gardens at Ste. Croix. We started off in lots of time, but 4 km shy of our goal, we ran into a road detour sign, followed shortly thereafter by a bridge closure sign. We travelled along some pretty narrow and bumpy roads before finally giving up. This was the first walk in our planned itinerary that we have missed since starting our walks in B.C.

 

In Quebec City, we did have a few problems parking and so were ten minutes late for our start time. I had also allowed the battery on my Trekker Breeze to run low so although I was able to use the points of interest setting, we weren’t able to backtrack our route. Still, I had Lyle for a guide and we had a lovely afternoon.

I had been looking forward to using my cane over the cobblestones, and the experience was just as bumpy as I had anticipated. There were also numerous other surfaces to traverse. There was a gravel path by the river, smooth paving stones, cracked cement, and one area of tightly fitted brickwork. I think that the variety of surfaces was more of a distraction than an actual challenge. I found it more challenging negotiating my way through crowds of people.

Eventually, Lyle and I decided to sit at one of the little outdoor cafes where we enjoyed our evening meal. As the crowds thinned out for the evening, we took to wandering the old city once more and spent some time listening to a man playing a harp on one of the street corners. It was a relaxing way to finish the evening.

I am posting the picture of myself listening to the music of the harp.  This man has been playing in the same area for the past twenty-two years.  Lyle and I remembered him from a previous visit to Old Quebec around ten years ago. 

August 22 - Drummondville, QC

Lyle and I had a wonderful day in Drummondville where we enjoyed the hospitality of Humanware. As you may remember from previous posts, Humanware produces and retails the Trekker Breeze which I am using for my cross country journey. The Breeze is only one of the many products in the Humanware catalogue. 

The president, Mr. Gilles Pepin has a strong vision for his company and the products designed for the sight and print disabled. His vision also extends to research and development of new products. 

We arrived at the Humanware Main Office building at 11:00 a.m. and were greeted by name at the front reception desk. They were expecting us. We were taken on a tour by Rene and were introduced to Gilles and many other staff members.  Humanware is an international company with Drummondville as its headquarters.  The warehouse at this office serves as the product distribution centre. Technical support and repair service are also offered here.  

Following our building tour we were introduced to Francine and taken on a short tour of the town and then out to lunch. Lunch was great and the conversation matched the food in quality and quantity. It was obvious that Francine has a strong commitment to the company. Although Francine is fully sighted, she told us that many of the Humanware staff are either blind or visually impaired. She spoke of the bond that she felt with her colleagues and the social and sporting activities which helped in strengthening this bond.

After lunch, Andre took us for a walk and a coffee in the downtown area. This was a great opportunity for me to fine tune my limited skills with the Trekker Breeze. Andre is an expert and he works in technical support. I am looking forward to trying out these new skills with my Breeze when Lyle and I go to Quebec City tomorrow afternoon. 

I would also like to express my appreciation to Dean Yano, the Humanware sales representative for western Canada.  Dean gave me my initial lessons in the use of the Breeze and arranged for the Humanware visit today. 

So, now Lyle and I are back in our motor home, tired but happy. I am looking forward to more use of the Breeze and to share the capabilities of this rather amazing little device with other people I meet along the way.

Thanks, Gilles and thank you to everyone at Humanware who made our visit today both informative and so very enjoyable. 

Today was definitely a day for taking pictures.  I have posted four of them here.

No. 1:  Francine and I enjoy a friendly toast over lunch.

No. 2:  Andre and I walking in downtown Drummondville with our white canes and each with a Trekker Breeze.  Andre is completely without sight.  It was a challenge making our way through the many sandwich boards, patio sidewalk cafe tables, light posts, and trees.

No. 3:  Andre and I enjoying coffee at a sidewalk cafe.

No. 4:  At the reception area of Humanware.  From left to right:  Lyle, Sue, Andre and Francine.