We pulled into Kenora on Friday evening, after a day of pedaling through the ugliest road conditions yet, and were immediately welcomed into the home of our good friends, Gene and Ollie Dunn. They let the entire Chase crew stay at their beautiful cabin on Lake of the Woods, and made sure I was getting my protein by feeding us, and feeding us, and feeding us. When it wasn't meal time, it was snack time. Needless to say, they were gracious hosts that took very good care of us! I think Ollie just wanted to make sure I didn't waste away... ;)
On Saturday, we all boated out to Smith Camps for a Poker Tournament that was organized for Chase the Cure by Ollie and Gene's neighbour, Murray Genik. He did a phenomenal job! At the end of the night, or should I say morning, (it went until after 1 a.m.!) 55 players were whittled down to two, thanks to Ollie and Ashley, and it proved to be an incredible time, as well as an incredible fundraiser! Murray managed to raise over $5300 for the Chase and gave out some amazing donated prizes! Thanks to everyone who came out to support! Special thanks to Heather who helped Murray with the event as well as all the Smith Camps staff. All of you have been a part of a great cancer-fighting fundraiser that will see all the profits going to assist cancer services at The Lake of the Woods Hospital in Kenora.
One amazing thing about being a part of these fundraisers is that we get to meet so many incredibly generous people, and this event was no exception! While there, we met Clyde, the Sales Manager at McKinstry Chrysler in Dryden, ON. He was having a great time, laughing and joking while playing at Ashley's table toward the end of the night. He started talking about his admiration for the Chase and showed a lot of enthusiasm for the cause. Soon, he was mentally arranging our arrival into Dryden, and had big plans for us. Little did we know what was in store!
By the time we got to Dryden, he had contacted a local radio station, joined forces with his coworkers to make a combined donation and buy t-shirts, set us up with lunch from the local Dairy Queen, and a complimentary room at the Best Western! It's people like Clyde that make this ride so special, because he didn't stop there. Later in the evening, we were walking and he happened to drive by. As it turned out, we were heading to the same destination! So, Clyde offered to give us a ride, and ended up buying our meals. Clyde, we can't thank you enough! You've shown a tremendous amount of generosity and you are an inspiration to others who want to embrace the Chase in their own ways.
If Kenora and Dryden taught me anything, it's that you don't have to be a big city to have a big heart. These past few days have been a definite highlight! I'm very excited to see what the rest of this journey has in store.
But I'm not gonna lie, for now, all I can think about is my fluffy pillow... Good night, Ontario.
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