Day 72 Bowmanville to Oshawa, Ontario

Day 72, we are not in Newfoundland anymore. The roads in the GTA (greater Toronto area), are a lot busier then I have seen in awhile.

Back on the shuttle bus again with Kayla today. Our day started with a medal bearer group briefing at the Clarington Central secondary school, a beautiful new facility home to about 1500 grade 9-12 students

The main foyer was decorated with flags from all

We had a presentation in the gym that included 3 medal bearers from the school (two are on the right, Ben and Brandon)

The third student was Marshall, the speaker from the End of Day celebration in Bowmanville, here he is speaking in front of his entire school via the computer on his chair

Round two for Kayla and  I was at the Dr. J.S. Phillips public school in Oshawa. Kayla is handing out commemorative medals to the group. They are a smaller version of the medal they carry on their segment. Produced by another sponsor, the Royal Canadian Mint

Our relay is about awareness of people with disabilities, so it was ironic that our briefing was at a school that was not totally wheelchair accessible. For our medal bearers in wheelchairs to go to the bathroom, they had to go outside and go around to the street and to the other side of the building to go to the accessible washroom. The principal (who has a daughter in a wheelchair) has been fighting for changes for years

They are briefed and ready to roll!

Alejandro was nominated by his school. They all came out to cheer him on.

Family support for Niko. Niko has cerebral palsy with a seizure disorder. He was a well spoken young man. You can see he is carrying a hockey stick given to him by once Toronto Maple Leaf player Peter Zezel. when Niko was in the hospital.  Zezel died of a rare blood disorder in 2009 and Niko dedicated his segment to him.

School, family, and friend support for Heather, who goe to Adelaide Mclaughlin school in Oshawa. Heather is hearing impaired.

Kayla had a soft spot for Heather.

Kayla and I did not stay for end of day in Oshawa, instead we headed for the hotel which is in Toronto for the next 7 days. This is the famous 401 highway, at this spot there is 7 lanes going each way! Certainly takes a little bit of getting used to.

Heading to the downtown core.

My new home. Apparently this is the biggest hotel in Canada, with over 1500 rooms.

Downtown at Yonge and Dundas

the view from my room

Day 73 is and event day, maybe I will get some time to explore.