The rest of the road trip

I need to wind up the blog so here are the final few days in point form:

• once back in London we went to see the "lottery house".  It is in a new development close to Sheila's place.  There were some really neat design features, especially the kitchen!  Some of the decor was not my taste.  Sheila bought a ticket as she has been lucky lately...she won a trip to Universal Studios for two from East Side Mario's.  She (and Kevin) will be joining 100 other winners on a flight to Orlando at the end of August.
• Sheila took us to the London Marketplace located downtown.  There is everything here from soup to nuts!  We had time for a snack of a yummy tart and a cup of tea from The Tea Haus.  I had some English Garden Early Grey loose tea (has the flavours of jasmine and bergamot).  It was so good that I bought a package to bring back home.
• Sheila and I then visited a kitchen store near the market place while Hannes guarded the car...wanted to make sure our parking meter didn't run out before we were done.  Got back with 2 minutes to spare!  Bought myself a new apron, badly needed!
• My BIL Kevin got the pool cleaned out while we were on the road so it was ready to go.  I had a few fun splashes in the pool.  It was hard to get it, but once in, the water was beautiful!  Also enjoyed the hot tub a few times.
• Thursday, May 24 the whole family...Sheila, Kevin, Kristina and Alayna, in addition to Hannes and I went to The Mongolian, which is a place where you are given a bowl and pick the ingredients you want to be stir fried.  It was so good.  I went back 3 times and tried something different each time.  On the way home we had the driving tour around London.  It was a beautiful night and nice that we could enjoy the scenery without rain.
• Friday, May 25 was another fun day...went to Angelo's Bakery & Deli to pick up some items for our BBQ on Saturday.  What an amazing bread department they have.  There were probably 30 different kinds of bread available.  And a few free samples to try out with balsamic vinegar and oil.  Yummy!
• next stop was Costco!  I had to go since, as everyone knows, we don't have Costco in Thunder Bay.  It was crazy busy, of course.  That reminds me, I need to look into getting a Costco membership.  Then I can go shop there the next time I am in Winnipeg!!!  lol
• Sheila and I had an appointment with her daughter Kristina at the hairdressing salon where she works.  Kristina did a wash and set for both of us as we were going to a Peruvian fund raising dinner.  She did a great job and we both looked awesome!  Sheila does volunteer bookkeeping for an organization called Heartlinks.  This is a non-profit charitable organization that funds and operates education, health, nutrition and literacy programs to help people of Peru.  It was a very nice event.
• Saturday, May 26 was our last day in London so we made the most of it.  We did a mini road trip...first stop was Belmont where Kristina and her boyfriend Stephen bought a house.  We couldn't go in to check it out as they were not getting possession until June 14.  We enjoyed the countryside along the back roads.  Beautiful rolling hills, lovely farm land, small towns, etc.  Next stop was Sparta, where we had lunch at the Sparta House tearoom and restaurant.  They had shelves throughout the restaurant filled with interesting tea pots.  It was another neat little town, filled with touristy shops.  And of course I found a something to purchase...a very cool necklace.  We carried on to Port Stanley, another very touristy area, located on Lake Erie.  Lots of walking around and checking out shops.  We did enjoy some ice cream here.  
• BBQ dinner of smokies at the house with everyone there including Stephen, Kristina's boyfriend.  
• Sunday, May 27 - left London and encountered heavy rain and lightning on our drive to Sarnia where we crossed over into Michigan.  Came back to Canada at Sault Ste. Marie, where we spent the night.
• Monday, May 28 - stopped at Pancake Bay, just outside of SSM on our way home.  We encountered heavy fog on the way home and it was pretty scary driving.  Along the roadside are many, many signs warning about moose and we kept wondering if we would ever see one.  Sure enough we saw a little one a little ways outside of Thunder Bay.  We slowed right down to get a photo of him.  Managed to snap one in focus before he took off into the bushes.
• Arrived home and we could tell it had rained a lot, but we had no idea how much.  Did not find out until Tuesday morning about the flooding in Thunder Bay.
• It was a great trip.  We put 4149 kilometers on the car.  Saw lots of amazing scenery and spent quality time with our family and friends.  I took about 1300 photos and am now going thru them.  I have already started the deletion process...some will end up on this page at some time or another.
• One of the highlights for me was that we saw all 5 Great Lakes on this trip.  We drove over Lake Michigan on the Macinac Bridge.  In fact, Michigan was on one side and Huron on the other.  The bridge is amazing and very high up.  
• Ontario is extremely beautiful and diverse in its scenery.  I highly recommend anyone to travel across this province.  
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On the road again

Well we have been busy over the last few days...to get caught up in nutshell, here are some of our adventures...


.  Dinner at the Italian restaurant in Kingston (Olivera) was excellent. They make their own pastas. Hannes enjoyed the special of scallops and linguini and I enjoyed spaghetti with olive oil, butter, arugula and shrimp. Both dinners were amazingly awesome. We chose to eat indoors as there was a slight possibility of rain. Our waitress had actually been to Thunder Bay and gone to the Blues Festival. 


.  Tuesday morning found us on the road again, now starting to our trip back. We arrived in Milton to visit with Derek and Candice. They had given us their house key previously so we dropped off our luggage and then headed downtown for some lunch. We found a wonderful cafe and enjoyed eating outside. It was another great day so we decided to walk around and check out the shops. Ended up at The Country Mile (same store as last week). Found some items to purchase. It was Toonie Tuesday for lattes so we stopped and enjoyed one. To end off our evening we enjoyed Derek's hot tub. 


.  Wednesday found us on the road on our way back to London. The trip was better this time as we knew our exits. Stopped off in New Hamburg to visit with NASCAR Sue. Unfortunately I could not go up to her room as I am still hacking with the cough. While Hannes had his visit, I roamed the grounds of the home and had some fun with my camera. 


.  Stopped in Stratford for lunch and a revisit with the swans and ducks. It was so much nicer this time around. We froze on our way down when we stopped. The swans were showing their babies how to get food, so cute. It was also Art in the Park day with several artisans set up on the grounds. I purchased some awesome handmade wooden utensils...left handed spatula being a major score!!! We had a great lunch at Balzac's which is a cafe that we saw on Dragon's Den. The downtown is quaint and old fashioned. It was a quick drive from Stratford to London. 


.  Glad to be back at Sheila's place. It felt like coming home, I guess because we did not have to use any maps or written directions to get here!!! Sheila insisted that I get over to the PhamaPlus to talk to a pharmacist about my cough, which is still nagging me. I ended up getting cough syrup with codeine...pharmacist said that if that does not work, I need to get to the Dr. Still had a night of coughing fits but in between I did sleep better. The adventure will continue...

The Tourists

We got our day off to a wonderful start by having a great breakfast. The buffet was excellent and I loaded up on scrambled eggs and hash browns, yogurt, fruit and coffee. Another option offered was eggs florentine. The dining area was packed with a tons of people...young, old, kids, tourists like ourselves. Our first tour of the day was the harbor cruise. This was also packed with people from all over the world. In fact the welcome message went thru at least 6 languages before they got to English. We went to the top deck and had the wind blowing in our faces. Today's weather was perfect, not too hot or cold. We brought jackets just in case but they were not needed. The tour was narrated by "Sir John A. McDonald" and an unknown female. We heard lots about Canadian history and the 1000 islands. I loved being on the water. This afternoon we did the trolley bus tour thru historic areas of Kingston. It repeated some of the info we heard this morning on the boat. There were some neat things...historic homes, parks, Queen's University, Royal Military College. All that touring made us thirsty so we went over to the Kingston Brewing Co. for a brew. I had a Whitetail Cream Ale, which is a very nice summer beer. And I hardly ever drink beer!!! We are dining Italian tonight. We asked the front desk staff for advice and they said Olivera, hands down. Sounds like a good recommendation to me. Tomorrow finds us on the return leg of our road adventure. We will be driving on the 401, first to New Hamburg to visit NASCAR Sue and then to Milton where we will stay with Derek and Candice once again.

Kingston - a tourist mecca

Here we are getting ready to take off for yet another part of our adventure. Before we left Bath, we dropped by the Sunday Market. Today was the beginning of the market that runs all summer long. So many interesting things to look at. I picked up a cute little painted bird house and some Canada jewellery that I plan to wear proudly on July 1. Since Kngston is only 22 km down the road and we knew we would not be able to check in to our hotel early, we took our time and stopped at a bunch of scenic parks. Took a bunch of photos and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Stopped into a grocery store to pick up a few items. Arrived at the Residence Inn by Marriott at noon and luckily our room was ready. I think this is the nicest room we have ever been in. We have a kitchen, desk, sitting room and a king size bed. There are so many people walking around. Lots of shops and restaurants and tourist attractions. We made a reservation for a harbor cruise tomorrow. It is a busy attraction. I fact, the 3 p.m. tour was sold out today. We had lunch at an Irish pub called Tir nan Og. We sat outside on the patio and it was so enjoyable. I cannot recall seeing so many outdoor patios anywhere else. I had a flat iron beet salad and Hannes had the lunch special (Reuban). Both lunches were delicious. Had a great walk after lunch. Hannes always says you have to ask the locals about good places to eat. He wanted fajitas for supper and the front desk staff suggested the Texas Lone Star Grill. The restaurant was in an old fire hall. Hannes said these were the best fajitas he has ever had!!! I had the Baha Tequila Shrimp which was good. It was just hopping inside. Enjoyed a leisurely walk back to the hotel. Still so many people out and about. Tomorrow promises to be another glorious day.

Plan B

Today was another gorgeous day here in Bath, Ontario. The sun was shining, winds were mainly calm, another perfect beginning to a May long weekend. Marie and Toivo went to an endurance car race as Toivo's former boss was racing his car. This race involves 2 days of driving a car around a track from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Whoever does the most laps wins. There are teams of 4 drivers who take turns. Surprisingly Hannes turned down the offer to go. I was happy not to go! So in the meantime, Hannes went for a run and I went on a photo shoot. I used all 3 lenses and took over 100 shots...I will likely delete a few of them. I managed to get some new buds, trees, geese, landscapes, dandelion fluffs, etc. It was a perfect morning. Our afternoon plan (plan A) was to drive up the road a short way and catch the ferry boat to Amherst Island. This is where we would find the owl sanctuary. Being the May long weekend and all, there were many cars already waiting. We then found out it would be over an hours wait so we kiboshed that idea and came up with plan B. We headed in the other direction to Picton where we would catch a ferry over. You know you are there when the highway ends. Once again there were many cars, motorcycles and bicycles waiting. There was room for 21 cars and we were number 21!! It was spectacular scenery. Rolling hills, colourful homes, stately looking B & B's. First stop was the The County Cider Co. in Waupoos. We were able to taste 5 kinds of cider and they were so good! And of course you may purchase cider. We bought some n/a for Hannes and the silver medal award winning cider for me. These will be saved to celebrate Canada Day. Next stop was the Black River Cheese company. Bought some yummy ice cream but no cheese!! Carried on driving and enjoying the scenery. Went over a super high bridge to get back on the "mainland", then up to the 401 to get home. Supper tonight was in Bath at the Breaking Bread Fresh Food Bistro on Main St. The food was excellent, and we had a great time. Unfortunately for me my cough keeps getting worser and worser at night. I started to get a tickle in my throat at supper. It was a rough nite for me with little sleep. Sunday finds us packing up for Kingston.

On to Bath!

Today was a day I was anxious about...reason being we had to drive on the 401 from Milton, almost the whole way to bath.  I have to say I am nervous with all the traffic, high speeds, crazy drivers making lane changes, trucks galore...Hannes is pretty calm, even when some nut cut in front of us at 100kmh, narrowly missing our car.  I of course freaked out!  We pulled into an ONroute, which is the Canadian version of a US rest stop. (it's a joint project with Canadian Tire/vendors and the Ontario government)  You can gas up and get food from the giant food court and, most importantly, have a washroom break.  It was so packed, we had trouble finding a parking spot.

We found Marie and Toivo's new home pretty easily as the instructions we got were good!  Their home is stunning!  So much new construction going on here too as the builders are putting up an entire new development.  From their "great room" you have a view of the marina.  Even when another home goes up beside them in the future, they will still have a wonderful view of boats and water, two things I just love.

We drove into Kingston in the afternoon so Marie could pick up some groceries.  Kingston  is only about 22 K down the road.  The road we took had the "scenic" view as we were  beside the lake the entire way.  There were also many amazing homes along this route.  There was one home along the way that is up for sale and the owner apparently dropped his asking price by $1,000,000.  Marie didn't know how much he was asking originally...it had to be a ridiculous amount!

After supper Marie, Hannes and I walked around the area.  It is a lovely spot!  The older buildings in Bath are pretty neat...the library is in an old church. 

My cough is driving me (and probably everyone else) nuts!  It flares up in the evening and has left me with really sore ribs.  I guess I will keep popping Advil Cold and Sinus!

Cheers for now.

Travel Day

Thursday finds us in the car again on to our next destination.  We are still heading further east, with the first stop at our niece Jodi's in-laws.  They live in Heidleburg, which is only about 3 minutes from St. Jacobs.  Along the way, we went thru Stratford to check out the river and swans.  Managed to get some photos but the wind was so cold that we just about froze to death!  Had to go to Timmy's to get a warm beverage.

The drive was lovely, rolling farm land and small towns along the way.  There were a few glitches with travel directions but we managed to get them sorted out along the way.  I am becoming a better navigator!  Just don't ask me to read a map because the printing is way too small, even with my glasses!

We arrived at Lois and Vern's for lunch.  Their home is beautiful!  Vern made a new recipe for our lunch and it was so good - egg dish with local asparagus, eggs, and peppers (not local).  After lunch, Lois took us into St. Jacobs to look around.  It is a neat touristy little town.  I bought some local maple syrup and honey.  Did not get to the outlet mall, due to time constraints.

After we left St. Jacobs, we had to get onto the 401 to continue to Derek's place.  Derek and Candice live in Milton, Ontario, a thriving little city.  Derek says it is growing at the rate of about 8,000 per year.  What was once farmland is now housing developments.  You  have never seen such a large amount of house construction.  It was almost insane!  Derek and Candice have been in their home for almost 4 years.  It is very nice!  Derek made us ribs in the slow cooker for supper.  So good, they just fell off the bone.  Candice has a standing hiking date with a friend of hers so we did not actually see her until Friday.

On Friday, Derek took us all over the place...first stop Bed, Bath and Beyond!  Then we went to downtown Milton to visit a cute little gift shop.  I made some purchases and we also grabbed a bite of lunch here.  We then toured thru the area to look at restored historical homes.  So beautiful!!

Our main advenuture of the day was the drive up to and walking/hiking in the escarpments.  What a beautiful spot.  Some people have their homes built right on the escarpment and the view is amazing.  The day was so clear that we could actually see the CN Tower in Toronto. 

We took Derek and Candice out to an Italian restaurant for dinner.  They had been wanting to go there forever but could never get reservations as it is super busy on the weekends.  The building was the old post office.  Beautiful meal and huge portions.  We all loved it!

Tomorrow is another travel day.