Theory of the little engine that could

Sherry at Queen's River bridge








Sea meets land in Shoal Bay

The "Little Engine That Could" is a moralistic story of trying anything optimistically. As we all know, the little engine did. For me, its not so much about success but about trying and giving it an honest effort. Without trying nothing is sure to be accomplished.

On Sunday my wife Sherry and I decided to hike to The Thoroughfare on the East Coast Trail to pick cranberries. I've done it before but I really had to step on it to do it in 2 hours. Sherry wasn't sure but decided to give it a go. There were numerous places along the Shoal Bay trail with standing water that we had to scoot around. In one place the trail was a river and we had to bushwack around it for a few hundred metres. This and stepping on stones to cross streams are not one of Sherry's strong points, but she did it.

It took longer than expected as it wasn't a straight hike. We reached the saltwater after 2.5 hours and decided that the cranberries would have to wait. We had lunch and enjoyed the fantastic scenery and headed back. It was a great day even though we didn't get what we came for, but we tried. I was so proud of my wife because I knew it wasn't easy for her. She did it to spend the day together.

Tony :-)