August 14th

We started off the day with a delicious, hot breakfast in the dining car of the train. As we approach Thompson we are able to read and respond to our letters we wrote a week earlier on the train to Churchill about our expectations for the trip. I was gratefully able to write that our journey to Churchill and Wapusk National Park exceeded my expectations, it’s almost impossible to put into words. After an eighteen hour train ride, it felt great arriving to the Thompson train station and breathing fresh air. We quickly gathered our luggage, packed it all into the vans, and started off our nine hour car ride. Our first stop however, was five minutes away from the station, Quiznos. As we ordered our subs we were able to watch the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Vault Finals on the TV. We were all cheering on Simone! (even the Canadian kids) Webs and Mark stocked up on some road trip snacks, which was nice change from celebration mix!(still love it though) After about three hours of driving we took the exit to Little Limestone Lake. All of our jaws dropped to the floor in astonishment from the beauty of the lake. The water was a clear, perfect blue, and the shore was covered in perfectly round pebbles and stones. We took a swim in the refreshing water, except for Bunmi because she was sick. :( Cooled off and content we continued our road trip with sing alongs, junk food, and sleep. We arrived to Kelvin High School around 10:30 pm, and we said our goodbyes to Sarah, who would not be able to come to our lunch the next day. All the Kelvin kids reunited with their families, and the Baltimore kids were welcomed by Jim and his family in his home. We were all so excited to see Jim again, and we were all so thankful and grateful that he allowed us to take over his basement for one night. Even though the group felt different without the Kelvin kids, we were able to still have a fun night, as we fell asleep watching Victorious and White Chicks.

Jasmin Craven, The Park School of Baltimore, 18'