From Sea to Sea! : Starting!

I was able to spend my final days before the tour relaxing in Toronto with Angela. The past month has flown by so fast and it was nice to just enjoy some quality time with a quality friend :)

"No matter what your age or your situation, your dreams are achievable. whether you're 5 or 105, you have a lifetime ahead of you".

I also got to spend time with my beautiful friend Tanisha before taking off for the tour; she gave me some thoughtful presents- including a book of quotes and inspirations. It's amazing how much strength you can receive by the love of your friends- I feel so empowered!!

Everything on my flight to California went fairly smoothly- some obstacles here and there, but I eventually made it to the Vanguard University campus safe and sound and with my bike in tow! I met up with some other Canadian young adults right away and we chatted for a while before hitting up our dorm rooms for much needed rest.

June 22, Saturday

Had a delicious breakfast in the cafeteria and found out I was sitting beside Pastor John from the Williamsburg CRC (my Kooistra relatives church). Did some unpacking and assembled my bike with some much needed help from Bill Den Harder and Terry Barnes. I was pretty happy with the finished result.

Seems to be mostly Canadians here so far, which is nice. We can freely talk in km's and Celsius. When Karyn arrived from Saskatchewan, she found out her bike did not make the flight after her connection in Denver. The poor girl had to buy a new bike today!

A small group of 9 Canadians naturally formed after lunch and we decided to bike to Huntington Beach to see the pier. All together we rode a total distance of 28kms, and didn't push ourselves to go too fast. We did fairly well riding together, considering we were a variety of ages and riding abilities- and riding together for the first time. It was a blast! I got a chance to talk to Pastor Jake Kuipers for a while.