“Emily” by N&J.

Vancouver, BC (Nov 29/13)  –  It is incredible to think of the endless possibilities of chance that dot our lives along the ‘road of life’. During their 15,000 km journey N&J amazingly had ‘lady luck’ or ‘good karma’ following wherever they went. Yes, a few mechanical problems cropped up from time to time, nothing insurmountable, never jeopardizing our safety & security. Always careful when on the road, both keeping watch for hazards or errant drivers.

Yesterday ‘life’ was altered, never to be the same.

Traveling eastbound on Hwy 10 in Delta, British Columbia while enroute to a family event in Surrey a wall of brown steel suddenly appeared coming from the left. The impact before them, N had just a split second to yell out “J. hold on!!”. The speed at which ‘metal met metal’ and the seemingly stoppage of time, frame by frame can see everything happening in slow motion.   A second impact occurs as they hit ‘head on’ into a power pole. Fear and panic set in as we realize what has just happened….

click on pic to enlarge – right/left arrow to scroll thru the gallery

While driving on a small side road a UPS delivery truck failed to notice their presence on the main highway. Even though Gizmo is pretty large and well lit even during the day (special LED lights were installed before their initial trip; very bright, white lights that are hard to miss), the large brown Sprinter delivery truck seemingly missed the stop sign and sped across their path. There was little chance for N to reduce Gizmo’s velocity (under the posted limit) before striking the Sprinter van in the back half of it’s passenger side. The force of the collision spun the UPS truck around causing it to flip, it slid backwards for 15-20 feet on the driver side. The intertia of Gizmo propelled it head-on into a large power pole at the corner, splintering & fracturing the pole from the immense collision. Fortunately N&J were both wearing their seatbelts; fortunately the VW Vanagon Westfalia is built very strong for this type of collision… with only bruises and significant pain from the soft tissue injuries, Gizmo (and the seat belts) saved N&J from certain serious injury.

Sadly….

The beloved Miss Emily, along for the outing was a bundle of spunk and attitude… she was so happy to be with N&J. Enjoying the beautiful day, the playing in the dirt, the running in the grass, being able to sit up front seeing out the window, tongue panting with excitement… a moment shifts in an instant, in a direction no one will be able to grasp.

Yesterday this ‘beautiful little being’ lost her life so quickly.  The force of this reality breaks the spirit and causes so much anguish.  If only could re-step the day, if only could hear her little steps again, if only…

The next journey was set & ready to start: a trip to Maui, to travel the Hawaiian Islands in a rented Westfalia camper van… but this will have to wait.

Emily has had a profound effect on our lives and in honouring her and allowing time to heal, we will be taking a break from the blog for now… N&J 😢

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