July 18 - Thunder Bay, ON

Thunder Bay was awesome! Lyle and I met some super friendly people and we thoroughly enjoyed our morning. There were six of us on the walk along the bay area and three of us used white canes. I used a mobility cane, Scott used an identity cane and Jean used her support cane. The picture below shows us overlooking the marina at the entrance of Lake Superior.

 

After several days of heat, the day chosen for our walk was perfect.  The temperature was mild, the sky was blue and there was a light refreshing breeze.

After the walk came time for conversation. Lyle and I were treated to refreshments in the cnib board room and we lingered with staff and clients and a robust discussion of the use and significance of the white cane. Shanna was especially informative about the children’s program. Interestingly, this vibrant program has many similarities to groups of seniors with vision loss. We all acknowledge that using a white cane becomes easier with practice, and also we can grow in confidence when we share and engage in social activities with other white cane users.

A special thank you to everyone at Thunder Bay who made us feel so welcome. Thanks to Jean for the beautiful little amethyst stone. It was both a lovely thought and a lovely memento of our visit. Thanks to Trevor for adding laughter to our otherwise serious discussions.  Thanks to Scott for sharing some of his personal experiences with me.  Finally, thanks to the CNIB staff for their hospitality, the CNIB mugs, the bottled water for our journey and most especially for the conversation we shared. We all had so many stories to tell that it was difficult to leave.