Yes, I know that I’ve already written about the first leg of our trip once. Yikes. I was so sleepy that I completely forgot what I’d already finished. Oh well. Here it goes again!
The first leg of our road trip started after Michael’s Fammo’s 94th birthday party. The party was very nice with everyone in a festive mood. Michael and I were also happy that we were able to help Barbro with the food preparation, which allowed us to try and give back a little of the kindness Barbro’s shown us. Something I found to be interesting was the amount of kaffe (coffee) everyone drinks. Eleven guests went through 4 pots in about three hours. What’s even funnier to me is that Michael and I were the only people that used the cream or the sugar. Apparently we’re coffee “woosies” that can’t hack the strong Finnish stuff. J
After helping clean up the dishes, Michael and I said our farewells and headed back to Ben and Bitti’s. Once there, we raced into our room, changed, and packed for the trip in under twenty minutes. (That’s a new personal best for both of us.) Ben, Michael, and I then enjoyed some of our leftover kebabs from the night before and then we were off!
The first leg of our trip was ending in Ruka, a ski resort in north-eastern Finland very close to Lapland. On our way there, a frightening and wonderful thing happened at almost the same moment. Michael and I were in the backseat, each of us peacefully reading a novel, when…..BRAKE! I was scared at first, thinking someone in front of us stopped short or there was an accident. But no….there were reindeer on the highway. Reindeer! Running along the center line was a mother and baby reindeer. I was lucky enough to get a quick picture of the two of them, along with the side view mirror from the car. (Just for proof…)
After my squeals of excitement finally dulled down, I learned some “fun facts” about reindeer from Ben and Bitti:
*Fun fact number one: Reindeer aren’t the best animals to share the road with. They apparently are skiddish around people, and if you get out of your car, they’re likely to bolt. But if you’re sharing the highway with them in your automobile, they’re content to trot with you there. Only problem is that they don’t have blinkers and apparently love to play chicken, weaving in and out of lanes. No fun.
*Fun fact number two: Reindeer have a gang mentality. Guess there’s safety in numbers. While this is wonderful for the reindeer, it’s not the best for drivers. If one crosses the road, you’d better stop and take a peek around. Most likely, ten to twenty will be following shortly thereafter.
*Fun fact number three: This is basically a mix of numbers one and two, but I gave it its own number. As you could have guessed, reindeer apparently aren’t the brightest animals in the kingdom. But oh, they’re pretty cute and have beautiful, fuzzy antlers.
Just after seeing our first two reindeer, we had another animal encounter! Ben said something and then pointed to the edge of the highway. By the time I was able to get my eyes focused, I barely saw the beautiful russet brown fox dashing into the forest. They’re quick critters, so I didn’t have a prayer of getting my camera out to capture him.
Shortly after seeing the fox, we stopped to get a bite to eat. From the outside of the place, I would have never guessed that the food was so tasty! They had about ten to twelve dinners to choose from, more than enough to satisfy everyone. (Perhaps not the vegans, but I’m sure they could just eat from the salad bar.) J After ordering, we hit said salad bar and began to nibble. Before any one of the four of us had finished, our dinners appeared. Not only were they prepared quickly, they were enough to feed an army. Never before have I seen such an enormous heap of French fries. WOW. And the fries were in addition to a breast of chicken and a side of vegetables. Goodness!
Before heading back into the car, Bitti and I went off in search of the restroom. (Or in Finland, the WC, pronounced Veh-Seh.) While I was washing my hands, there was a younger Finnish woman trying to get the paper towel dispenser to agree with her. It was to no avail. I waved in front of mine, and was able to get a towel for her. We laughed about how her dispenser didn’t work, and she then said, “thank you.” At that exact moment, the dispenser provided yet another towel for her. We laughed again. J It was nice to see that those cheesy, feel-good posters are sometimes correct, that all people do laugh in the same language.
We then hopped back into the car to finish up our nearly six-hour first leg. When we’d arrived at the trailer, it was 23.30 or midnight. The sky was still bright, enough to easily walk around or to read by. The lights for the complex must be on a timer, because at this time, all of them came on. I couldn’t help but laugh with Ben, Bitti, and Michael, saying that we’d be in a bad spot if not for those lights. J
After walking around snapping a few pictures of “Flat Heather” in front of snowmobile signs, we got ready for bed. I took maybe five minutes to get to sleep, even though I had dozed a bit in the car. (Thank goodness I can catch some shut-eye just about anywhere!) Tomorrow was going to be another big day, with much more driving and wonderful experiences to have!
