Day 1 – Thursday, June 25 (First Attempt at Leaving)

It was an unusual day and I can’t help feeling that I was not meant to head out to the Yukon today.

It took me much longer to pack all of the things I needed for camping because several things just didn’t work out as planned. My jug of water, milk and spare gas can all leaked and it took me more than an hour to attach my bicycle to the bike rack on my car as I tried to place it in a way that would not obscure my rear license plate.

I have a general idea of the route I will be taking but it could change at any time.

When I finally left at 11 am, I was ready to get on the road. About 30 minutes after I left, I received a call from my neighbour telling me that some kids had broken into my house, so I turned around and headed back home. When I got there, I was greeted by 3 police cars one of which was a canine unit that was following the tracks of the the 2 intruders. The intruders had entered a window in my detached garage shortly after I left, picked up a scrap piece of arborite which they had used to protect them from the glass as they broke my family room window. They had accidentally turned on my old CRT TV when they moved the centre speaker above it and must have gotten ” spooked ” when my neighbour came to use my lawnmower. They opened the rear door which activated the alarm system, which in turn, got the attention of my neighbour who say one of the fellows quickly run from the door while hiding his face. He chased after them but could not keep up, however, he saw the 2 of them walking down the street until they saw him and ran away. They didn’t have time to steal anything but they left a guitar case by my garage with a bed-sheet in it that had two wooden handles taped to it with duct tape. The police took pictures and some swabs but I don’t think that they will find them, at least not yet. The policemen were all very helpful and I have nothing but good things to say about my experience with them.

After reviewing the facts regarding the incident, it appears that the young men saw me packing to leave and they waited in the wooded area behind my house until I left. Several people commented that, after watching me try to pack my bicycle on my bike rack for more than an hour, they were probably itching to come to help me pack the bike and so that I could be on my way. This would make for a great skit for Rowan Atkinson as “ Mr. Bean “.

I called Force Security to find out why the alarm monitoring company hadn’t received the alarm and subsequently called me. I was very impressed with their response. The owner, Mark Kaine and two of his technicians were at my house within a couple of hours and even though the problem was caused by me when I changed internet providers earlier in the month, they added a second motion detector and re-configured the security system for my new internet provider free of charge. I highly recommend Force Security for home and business security systems.

My thoughts have been with the young men who broke into my house. I hope that this incident positively influences them so that they decide to pursue more honourable careers for their sake.

I ” boarded ” up the window and took the frame to a glass shop for replacement. They will be giving me a temporary ” double-glazed ” window that I should be able to pick up tomorrow morning. I will be able to use the temporary window after tomorrow, until they can get a replacement fabricated.

As I mentioned earlier, I can’t help thinking that God had saved me from an accident that would have occurred if I had continued on my way. If all goes as planned tomorrow, I will try to leave before noon so that I can make it to Elliott Lake in northern Ontario.

Fortunately, I can easily change my plans.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings!