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.

Hiking Trails in London

London is a beautiful city and you will find tons of hiking and biking trails all over.  Our friend Virginia suggested a hike within city limits today, in fact it was only a few minutes away from her place.  The trail is off Oxford St., at Riverbend Road, in a newly established neighbourhood.  The trail meanders along the Thames River.  There were so many flowers (white and pink Trilliums) all over.  And it was so quiet and peaceful, with only a couple of other people on the trail.  For the most part we had the trail to ourselves.  At one point we did have to climb up but it was worth it for the view.  We did about 2 K in and then turned back.  The entire trail was around 5K but we just didn't have the time for it.  Maybe next time.  I took a ton of photos and can only hope that there will be some worthy enough to post on this blog!

We had an early BBQ dinner at Virginia's place - porck chops, yams, potatoes, salad.  Yummy!  She is leaving Wednesday morning for Kelowna to swim in the Canadian Masters National Swimming Championships.

My BIL Kevin got the hot tub set up for us so we were having some fun soaking and relaxing. We are both really enjoying this holiday.

Point Pelee National Park

Monday - our friend Virginia suggested that we check out this park. So this was our adventure of the day. It was a beautiful sunny day of about 22 or 23 degrees Celsius. The three of us set out in the late morning. Our route took us on the back roads through small towns and eventually we drove along a road beside Lake Erie. We saw a lot of wind turbines along the way. Our drive was over 2 hours. Our destination city was Leamington, a lovely place indeed!

Before we headed to the park, we decided to have a bite of lunch. I spotted a Lebanese restaurant in a strip mall so we decided to give it a try since we have had that type of food often at home. It was so nice inside and the people very friendly and welcoming. We had a lunch special that included rice, salad and choice of any number of items. Hannes and I had chicken Schwarma and Virginia had falafels. All excellent!!! We were too full for dessert...then our waitress brought us over some small pastries "on the house", as well as a cup of Turkish coffee.

The park was beautiful. It is prime bird migration time right now so there are so many birds. People are here from all over the world. The birders seem to be a serious lot! We walked along paths, enjoying the flora and fauna along the way. You were always just a few steps away from Lake Erie so every now and then we would step out on the sand and check the water temperature. At the very end of the route is a small spit of sand where the migrating birds will rest before continuing on their journey. This point is the most southern point in all of Canada, as far south as Rome and Barcelona. Virginia and I walked out as far as we dared and took some pics. No wading in the water though as the undercurrents are extremely strong and you could be washed out to sea. We saw cactus plants along our walk, which is something I did not expect to see. We also came across a tiny salamander.

We were tired on our walk back. It had been quite a busy day! We stopped for some ice cream before heading back to London. Took the 402 back to make the trip faster. Had a sandwich and salad at Virginia's before calling it a day. I could tell that my cold was getting worse and said I might loose my voice tomorrow, which proved to be true. The adventure will continue!

London!

Here we are in beautiful London, Ontario having a wonderful time with my sister and her family. To get caught up on the last few days, here are some highlights:

- Friday afternoon we met up with our friend Virginia, who we met at training camp in Venezuela, for a walk around Springbank Park. We enjoyed the geese and flowers. Unfortunately my sister Sheila took an unexpected tumble on the corner of the walking path and landed face down on the cement. She had a bleeding nose and was badly scraped. Fortunately she did not jar any teeth. We ended up getting help from the manager of Storybook Gardens. Sheila called her husband Kevin who took her to the emergency room. In the meantime, Hannes and I went over to Virginia's condo and waited since there was nothing else we could do. The end result was that Sheila had fractured her left hand and came home with a cast on it.

- Saturday found us heading out to Bayfield where Sheila and Kevin have a trailer. Our niece Alayna has a job at the Artsee Cafe so we headed there for lunch first. After lunch we walked around the town and went up to see Lake Huron. The water there looked tropical with beautiful shades of turquoise. It was starting to spit a bit so we were not able to spend too much time there. We relaxed at the trailer for a while and had a snooze too, while it was raining. For supper that night we went back into town and had a delicious meal at a Thai restaurant. Drove back home and crashed. The drive is short, about an hour from door to door. You go thru a lot of small towns, it reminded me of small town America.

- Sunday was a lazy day. Hannes and I went out in the afternoon to pick up a few grocery items and then we had a coffee at Starbuck's. Kevin and the girls prepared a nice BBQ dinner to celebrate Mother's Day. Kevin and I watched the Survivor finale afterwards. Stayed up long enough to see who won and then crashed! Big day tomorrow.

Michigan!

Today was another car journey...leaving Sault Ste Marie to London thru Michigan. It was a great day for travel, sunny and cool. Our friend told us to get over the bridge to the U.S. before 9:30 a.m., otherwise you end up sitting in your car on the bridge for quite a while. So we took his advice and left early. On the way, I spotted something really funny in a strip mall..Weight Watchers meeting place right beside a store called Cupcakz. You go to WW, weigh in and pick up a tasty treat on the way out!!! Lol

It has been years since either one of us has been on the bridge into the U.S. I took some video of it as we were driving. When we arrived at Customs, the fellow asked us all the usual questions, then he spotted the video cam in my lap and then demanded to know if I took his picture or any other officer's picture, I assured him I just took the bridge, nothing more. He let us go without incident!

The driving was good, anywhere from 2-4 lanes at 70 mph. I have to commend Americans on their lovely rest stops. There are plenty of them and they are very clean. Lunch was in Bay City, a cute town just before Flint. We just went into Timmy's and had a sandwich, quick and easy.

Coming back into Canada at Sarnia was quite an experience. Cars and trucks backed up on the bridge on both sides. It makes Pigeon River look like a one-horse crossing!! The countryside around Sarnia reminded me of rural Manitoba with its wide open spaces and farm land. Apparently this farm land is one of the most expensive farm lands around.

We arrived at Sheila's around 4:45 p.m. It's nice to be here and in the same spot until next Wednesday.

Day 2 - fun in Sault Ste Marie

Today was a great day! Weather was OK, intermittent sun and gusts of wind. After breakfast we relaxed for a bit before meeting up with Craig, Hannes' friend from school days. Craig was kind enough to drive us around and show us some sites. We went to some parks and walked around and enjoyed the scenery. I was able to snap a lot of photos (yay!). The trees are ahead of Thunder Bay. We came across waterfalls, geese with their babies, awesome scenery of trees in bloom and finally a nature restoration area. It would have been a lot better without the wind. I was happy to get a lot of photos, most of which I will keep (usually delete 20% or more). The wind made things colder, especially when we were visiting waterfront areas.

We met up with Craig and his wife Pat for dinner at Giovanni's, a very nice Italian restaurant. Food was excellent and we had a most enjoyable time. And it was very busy considering it was a Wednesday night.

We are driving to London, Ontario tomorrow via the Michigan route, which is a lot shorter than going thru Canada. I am happy to be spending some time with my sister and her family. We also will be meeting up with Virginia, a new friend we met in Venezuela while I was attending swim camp this past January.

Editing

I divided my previous report into neat paragraphs but when I published it, it mushed into one giant paragraph. My apologies.

Driving to the Sault

Well, I typed in my report earlier and wanted to make some editing, and now when I came back to adjust spacing, etc, it has disappeared. So frustrating...grrrr! So here is a quick summary of today's adventure...

We left home around 10:30 a.m. Without incident...this time we did not have to go back to pick up forgotten items. Cell phone, check; traveling coffee cup, check; gloves, check! It was a great day for driving, cloudy, no rain. The highway was surprisingly not busy for travelers going east. Westbound traffic was another matter. There was a bit of construction with the highway twinning but nothing of any great significance. It was almost 3 hours before we had another vehicle behind us. We passed a car from Saskatchewan and another from Alberta. Maybe they are also on a road adventure! We got passed by a Greyhound bus pulling a trailer. He was really moving! We eventually caught up to the bus as he was making a few stops along the way.

We had a view of Lake Superior for most of the drive. It was beautiful. Lots of rock cut, different landscapes. At one point we ran into a lot of fog. There was white out in some areas, then suddenly it was back to normal. I took a few pics from the passenger seat, hope to be able to post them later in the week once I get to a real computer station. Hannes has not travelled this far on the highway since he was a young man of 33 years old. We have been as far as Pass Lake, turning off to Silver Islet, in recent times, but not beyond that point.

Gas prices along the way...Thunder Bay - 138.9, Marathon - 149.9, Wawa and Sault - 143.9. So I guess we should not complain in TBay about our gas prices. Cannot wait to see what they are in other parts of eastern Canada.

We arrived here in the Sault just after 6:30 p.m. Not bad considering we stopped for gas, lunch and coffee. Hannes went out for a run and I waited for his return...then we walked over to Boston Pizza which is next door to our hotel, the Fairfield Inn. Lucky forums, it was Pasta Tuesday night. Could not believe how quiet it was there. Tuesday nights at home are usually crazy!

Right now we are watching Seinfeld...George wanting Marissa Tomei's phone number and Elaine wanting to visit Jerry in Florida. That's it for now. Cheers!

Getting Ready

It's time to hit the road and see some of Eastern Canada!  That's what Hannes says anyway!  He has been working on the itinerary and route for a while now.  The plan is to make lots of stops along with way...we are going to meet up with some friends and family as we travel.  Sometimes we will be in a hotel and sometimes we will stay with people!  


I have been trying to get my act together - always lots to do before you actually leave the house...pay a few bills, arrange a bird sitter, water plants, clean up the place, and pack the appropriate clothing for 3 weeks of unknown weather!  For me that is the hardest part...as long as it doesn't snow I will be happy.  And I am not packing any winter gear.  


I hope to post a few pics as I go along...maybe my BIL will let me download pics into his computer.  


First stop - Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.  Report to follow.  Stay tuned!!