Aug. 2, 2011

We got up and had our continental breakfast then down to Mackinaw City to tour the IceBreaker Mackinaw that was built during World War II to meet the heavy demands of transportation during the winter months. It was decommissioned in 2006 and a newer one took its place. It now resides in Mackinaw City for public tours. It would cut thru the Channels Lake Superior to let the ships get through cutting through more than 7 feet of ice. Then around March 25th the Soo Lock would open up and let the international ships through. It was very interesting to learn how this all happened and there were 18 women aboard. We could go down into the machinery part, which only Bill did, then up to the Galley, and saw where they slept. Then the rains came down and we went into town and had a little lunch and we headed down to Mt. Pleasant. We got there about 3?3:30pm. The temp was about 82 and the humidity was about the same. hahaha.

A great trip with a great companion. Our total mileage was 4,050 miles!!!!! My oh my.

Abby was such a good dog the whole way. Now the fun of unpacking and finding out just what we brought. Had to run to the store to get some groceries since we had NOTHING in the cupboards or refrigerator. Glad we made the trip and that all is well on the home front and we both feel good.

Monday, Aug. 1, 2011

Well we left White River, Ontario with a beautiful 72 degrees and lots of sun. This will be our last scenic drive through Canada. Today is a national holiday for the Canadians and because of a 3 day weekend we found some of the shops closed. Stopped in a small town along the way called "WaWa". Goofy name for sure. Had huge Canadian geese statues all over the town, on bldgs. roadways, etc. I figure they got the name from the sound of the geese saying "wawawawawawa". lol

Went through the Lake Superior Provincial Park overlooking Lake Superior watching for Moose. None yet!!! Did see some moose tracks while Frank was taking some pictures of the flowers along side of the road. Huge tracks!!! Crossing the boarder while on the International Bridge at 3:00 p.m. Half way across the bridge there is an American Flag on one side, and a Canadian Flag on the other side. On US soil again!!! Yipee!. After touring around the Soo Locks and area then stopped and had something to eat. Went to our motel room and walked into the reception area, there sat Eleanor!!!! Surprise does not even come close to what I felt!!! Seems her and Bill had been in the UP for a wedding and were heading back to Mt. Pleasant today. They had called us and asked us where we were and how far we were from the bridge, while we were still in Canada.We told them about 30 min. to go through customs. Well, instead of them going down to Mt. Pleasant, they decided to turn around and come up to Sault Ste. Marie and surprise us!!! That they did. Both Frank and I were totally surprised and happy. What a pleasant sight to see them. So the 4 of us made a night of it by having dinner and driving around this beautiful area. No ships were scheduled to come through the locks until 11:30 tonight, that is a little too late for us. Tomorrow we plan on going down to Mackinac and fool around there for awhile before we head down to Mt. Pleasant. Bill sure is a great tour guide and knows a lot of the sights we don't even think about seeing. Sure felt good to be back on US soil and spending our first night back with my sister. Love you kid

Caroline you should have been here to make it complete. But we will see you in a couple of weeks.

It's a trip I really loved doing. Loved the people of Canada, so friendly and courteous. The temp. were great the whole time and the roads were beautiful to drive on. All the roads, were kept up in top shape. Cleanness ALL through Canada. I have never seen a country so clean no matter where we went. The prairies, hillsides, terrain all beautiful and green and so calming and soothing. We never saw or felt any threat to ourselves or belongings. It was a long trip and we will have covered 4,000 miles by the time we get to Mt. Pleasant, but it is something we will always remember with joy. A few days of Frank getting sick was a little rough and after that it was smooth sailing. Victoria, Vancouver, Banff, Calgary, all of Manitoba, Thunder Bay, the drive along beautiful Lake Superior, crossing the Mighty Mac and seeing the American Flag waving again. What a sight and what a privilege to be able to be free to do this in our country.