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August 21 Sunday Bicycle touring from Swan Lake Manitoba to Rosa Manitoba There is nothing open in these small towns on a Sunday. There is not a single thing open until we get to Morris. The IGA is open there. It is hot today. The traffic on Hwy 23 is sparse until we hit Hwy 59, then it is very busy to St Malo. In a terrible half-kilometre stretch, three oncoming cars passed right beside us. I wish more people rode bikes once in a while so they would know what it was like to see a full-sized Chevy coming right between their eyes. It turned out St Malo was holding a weekend ball tournament and we were right at the perfect time to be getting some of the players heading for home. Interestingly, there are a lot of French-speaking people here. When I order at the drive,in, the girl asks me for my order first in French. At Rosa we inspect a newly built community hall and then as I see a car pull into a driveway I go over and ask if we can camp at the community hall. Larry says we can stay right here on his mom's front lawn. We also meet his mom, Theresa, known locally as Mother Teresa, and Larry's Aunt, Ann Paley. Aunt Ann looks old-fashioned and has a leaf in her hair that she doesn't even notice. As I talk with her I can't help but imagine a bird nest built in there somewhere too. Larry invites us in for tea and cakes. After talking to us for a while he bundles us up into his car and we drive to meet his sister Elsie and her husband Steve. They feed us again: fresh tomatoes and cucumbers right out of their garden. Later, Larry drives back to Winnipeg, as he has just come down to visit his mom. As he is leaving he sticks a twenty dollar bill into my shirt pocket. |
