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[Thursday, July 6, 2000: The voyage home.]
As my train wasn't leaving until half-past noon, I had plenty of time to sleep. The bus that was going to bear us down to the station was leaving around eleven. I had hoped to get up early enough for breakfast, but after I got out of bed, I was told that they had already closed up shop. Apparently, they had made up the only other hot breakfast for our entire trip. French toast, bacon, eggs.. *drool* Man, it's too bad I missed out on it, but my foot was really sore, and I couldn't move around very well.
Yes, I also noticed the irony (which Heather first mentioned) that we were offered a hot meal on the last day, when a continental breakfast would've been more appropriate (since most people didn't have time to eat).
The morning thus was uneventful. I was fortunate enough that I had help to bring my luggage to the bus, and they even took out the wheelchair to wheel me out to the loading area. Halfway there, I saw that there was a ditch ahead and I was going to ask if we were going to go around it when the left-front wheel went into the ditch, tipping the wheelchair forward and throwing me out of the chair. That was quite a painful affair (especially since I didn't want to take any of my pain-killers). Heather was so apologetic afterward, and a couple of people helped me back into the wheelchair after the pain subsided. I kept my eye out for ditches afterward.
Actually, during the entire trip back, there was always someone who was willing to help. I was so surprised at the charity of others. Mind you, I didn't think that I looked THAT pathetic.
I had poutine for the last meal in Ottawa from the Burger King in the train station. Man, they don't make poutine like that anywhere else in southern Ontario. *rubs tummy*
The train ride back was also fairly uneventful. I sat next to a prospective University of Waterloo student, but upon realizing that she was in the wrong car, promptly moved and left me with an extra seat to rest my swollen foot.
We got delayed a couple of times during our voyage to Toronto, and we were starting to get a little worried that we might miss our train to Kitchener. We were informed later that the train to Kitchener would be held up until we had boarded, so we all felt much better.
On the train to Kitchener, I sat in a quad-seating area where two pairs of seats were turned to face each other. Two of them were a mother-daughter pair off to Kitchener, while the girl sitting across from me was going to Sarnia.
Just after I started talking with the girl across from me, who strode up next to me and said "Hi!"? FlyingS! What the heck? What was he doing there? Apparently he was on the previous train as well, getting on in Belleville (and said something about being the cause of our delay). Man, that boy seems to be following me everywhere.
I ended up having a long conversation with the Sarnia girl, which made time pass pretty quickly on the last leg of the trip. Just before we got off, this other girl told me that I should go to physio often once my foot started to heal so that I don't lose too much mobility. As a word of warning, she showed how she couldn't straighten her leg anymore after a knee injury. I kept that advice in mind.
![[The Future Trek KW group.]](../Pictures/2000-05-14/2000-07-03.jpg)
The final day of Future Trek was particularly taxing, since I was more-or-less immobile. I relied heavily on the kindness of others to help me back home, and I was fairly amazed how differently people treat those who are handicapped. I was able to make it in one piece fortunately, and although I ended up with a severe (and stupid) injury for my time in the nation's capital, at least it's something I won't forget any time soon.
This is a group shot of the Trekkers who came from the KW area.
At the train station, the remaining Trekkers had a group photo shot, and people helped find me a cab and carry my stuff. (You know, this pity stuff is great!)
Making it home, one of the first things I did was to take a shower. I had not showered since Saturday, and although that doesn't sound so bad, planting trees and running around a lot doesn't exactly make you smell springtime fresh. Taking a shower with an injured foot (which hurt if I moved too much) was a real chore. I ended up sitting in the tub while the warm rain came down to soothe my sunbaked skin. That was such a nice feeling.
I decided to go to sleep early that night, but before I made it to bed, I found out that Jake had moved out and that I got an invitation to DeeL's wedding! Yippee! Now all I have to do is figure out what present to get..
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