Farewell

I have been home and back to “reality” for three days now. It hasn’t fully set-in yet that the Cruiser tour is finished, although I am well aware that it has. While I am extremely happy to be home right now, I know that within a couple of weeks I will miss being on the road. To say that I had fun is an extreme understatement.
This was truly an experience of a lifetime.

WOOHOOOOOO!!!!

One of the speakers at the final cruiser event said something to the effect that this journey takes guts. I had never really thought about it like that, but he is quite right. It took guts for Delta Hotels and Resorts to focus so much time, effort and money on a social outreach initiative, especially during a time when many businesses were swiftly cutting back. It took guts for the individual hotels to pull-away from focusing just on business and profit to give back to their local communities and encourage their employees to volunteer their time and effort. It took guts for the ambassadors to drop their lives in order to ride across country in a vehicle with someone whom they had never met before.

Denise relaxin' on her last day of Cruiser!

These certainly took guts, but as each of us found out over the last 74 days, what really takes guts is to survive another night living on a worn-out cot in the basement of a Halifax mens-shelter, worrying about whether or not you will get food tomorrow. Or to promise your 5 year old autistic son in Fredericton that he will someday have his own room, but having no idea how to fulfill that promise. Or to make the items in the food-box that you received from the Winnipeg Harvest last week, last another month. This takes real guts, and a massive amount of unwavering hope.

Geoff and I havin' fun in Winnipeg!

I am proud of the company I work for and I am proud of the country I live in, but I am the most proud of the people I have met. Each of the hotels, each of the individuals involved have made a huge impact in their community. Without people acting straight from the heart, as these folks do, more people would be without homes and food then there already are. What is even greater is that many of the hotels have pledged ongoing initiatives to give back to their communities. This isn’t just a one-time thing, it is an ongoing effort to make the world a better place.

Carys and I havin' fun....one of many many many times!

I am sincerely proud of every one of the hotels we visited and of all of the events we participated in. I cannot express enough gratitude to my fellow ambassadors for joining me along the way. Every single one of you liked a different type of music, but every single one of you made me smile!! Thank you so much Denise, Geoff, Carys, Jean and Char. You truly are some of the most wonderful people I have ever met! I would also like to thank Sandy, Krystal and Margaux at Delta Corporate for all of the hard-work that they put into organizing the Cruiser tour. It was a daunting task to begin with, but you lovely ladies have perfected it and made it a dream to participate in. I would also like to thank Toyota for donating our beautiful “Coral” coloured 2010 Prius. She was a fantastic companion across the country and allowed us to complete this initiative with a minimized impact on the environment.

Jean and I and food....always food!

I have said from the start that I cannot fully believe that I was chosen to fulfill such an amazing task. Who gets to do something like this? I am grateful beyond words for this experience. I have discovered a lot about myself and the direction that I want my life to take. I am so very proud of what I have accomplished along with my Delta family.

Char having hat issues!

Thank you kind readers for following our blog. It has been a blast to share our experiences along the way. If you have taken anything from our thoughts and words I hope it’s an understanding of what an amazing country we live in and of what the human spirit is made of. We are capable of accomplishing so much good and I’m proud to say that we have over the last 74 days. I’m even more proud that it won’t end there. We will continue to connect communities and to act straight from our hearts in all that we do.

A proud Delta Ambassador!

Suzanne Lalonde