Back in the U.S.A.

We spent the morning driving across Ontario, Canada from Thorold to Sarnia. About noontime we crossed the Bluewater Bridge and entered the US. The bridge spans the St. Clair River which connects Lake Huron and Lake Erie.

We had a picnic lunch on the shore of Lake Huron at a park in Port Huron, MI.

Nearby was Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. It is Michigan’s first and oldest lighthouse.

We also stopped by another park to see the Lake Huron Lightship. Lightships were like floating lighthouses anchored in areas where it was too deep, expensive or impractical to construct a lighthouse. This particular vessel was built in 1920. It was not withdrawn from active service until 1970.

The afternoon was spent crossing Michigan. We are spending the night just west of Grand Rapids.

Lake Ontario and Toronto

Today we got our first glimpse of Lake Ontario as we drove to Toronto.

See the Toronto skyline in the distance.


We opted to have lunch at the top of the CN Tower. It was neat because the restaurant is moving. It made a complete revolution in about 30 minutes. The food was also very good.




We drove by the Royal Ontario Museum to see the unusual architecture. We did not have time to go inside.




We did do a tour of Casa Loma, formerly the "home" of Sir Henry Pellatt. Although he at one time was a very wealthy individual, he died virtually penniless. "Much of his fortune was made through investments in the hydro electricity and railway industries in Canada. The strain of maintaining his large castle led him to ill-advised real estate investments which were unsuccessful. The Province took over his electricity business and his airplane business was taken over as part of the war effort during World War I. Combined, these difficulties led to his near bankruptcy and forced him and Lady Pellatt to leave Casa Loma. Sir Henry Pellatt, virtually penniless, spent his final days at his Chauffeur's home in the Toronto suburb of Mimico where he died."

Nice view of Toronto from the castle.


The wind was really churning up the lake later in the day.

The Great Lakes

The Great Lakes system is a truly unique feature of the North American Continent. Because they are connected via canals or rivers, one is able to navigate from the Atlantic Ocean a distance of 2300 miles into the interior of the continent.

The St. Marys River connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron.
The St. Clair River connects Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair.
The Detroit River connects Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie. Through its middle is the border between Canada and the United States.
The Niagara River, including Niagara Falls, connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
The St. Lawrence River connects Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lakes Michigan and Huron are hydrologically a single lake, sometimes called Lake Michigan-Huron; they have the same surface elevation of 577 feet (176 m), and are connected not by a river but by the 295-foot (90 m) deep Straits of Mackinac.

Niagara Falls

We spent today doing all of the tourist things on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. This included a walk behind the falls, a trip of the Maid of the Mist and a walk along the Niagara River Gorge.

The Canadian Horseshoe Falls - 2200 ft wide and plunges 188 ft.


The American Falls (850 ft across) and Bridal Falls (50 ft across). The height is 70-110 ft to the rock pile at the base.




The Maid of the Mist


White Water Rapids - Class 6

Early morning navigation through Lock 7

Right after breakfast we were entertained with a boat going through Lock 7 of the Welland Canal. It was heading north from Lake Erie to Lake Superior.

Entering the Lock




Water going down




Out of the lock

Wedesday Aug. 26th - We're off!

Like vagabonds, we packed up our belongings and headed out about noon. How much easier the the packing process is without the constraints of weight and number of bags you get with flying! We filled the back of the van with clothes, golf clubs, bikes and various other goodies, anything we thought we might like or need in the weeks ahead.



We crossed out of the USA and into Canada about 7 pm. We are staying at The Inn at Lock 7 in Thorold, Ontario. Every room has a view of the Welland Canal.



THE WELLAND CANAL





The Welland Canal is located in the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada between two of North America's Great Lakes, Lake Ontario (74.98 meters above sea level) and Lake Erie (174.34 meters above sea level). The Welland Canal is a vital link in the St. Lawrence Seaway passage from the Atlantic Ocean to midwestern Canada and the United States. The canal is about 26.8 miles in length and includes seven lift locks and one guard lock that bring ocean and lake vessels up 99.36 meters from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. It takes a ship about half an hour to get through a single lock. The whole journey takes about 8.5 hours.

Prelude to the Trip

John and I have just finished the final details of our adventure. The map is an attempt to show you an outline of our route. Since we are driving and on our own, we haven't got an set agenda. The highlight of the trip will be a visit to John's sister who spends her summers in Pentwater, MI. Beyond that we are anticipating some biking on what appears to be some great bike trails and some exploration of the many lighthouses that dot the shores of the Great Lakes.



Our secondary objective is to add two more states to our tally of visited states. As you can see from the map, that will leave us three more to visit before we can claim that we have stayed in all 50 states.



Watch for pictures and dialogue as we make our journey which will begin Wed, Aug. 26th (after Holly's golf league play).