Manitoba - Land of 100,000 Lakes.

HE SAID:

We spent two nights on the road again going from Toronto to Winnipeg. This time we decided to go north around Lake Michigan rather then south. We still crossed at Sarnia, and once again we had our chicken confiscated at the Border.

We hooked up with the I75 north just past Flint and headed toward Mackinaw City crossing. We did stop somewhere near Saginaw the first night- Niether of us remember where it was. Just remember a state Park with not much for services.

It was interesting crossing the Mackinaw crossing into Northern Michigan or as the Yoppers say it "Da Bridge:(Yoppers is a UP dialect) So many references to UP. We couldn't figure it out at first but it stands for the Upper Peninsula.   Such fantastic scenery. The roads were really good and going west through UP was not busy at all.

We kept seeing signs for Pastie Shops.  I said to Pat they must have a lot of strippers in the north...she laughed and explained that they are a certain type of pastry.

 We worked our way through Michigan and then into Wisconsin where we made our second stop near Iron Wood. Only spent one night. (a nice pull through).

Next morning we made it to one of my next bucket list stops. Paul Bunyon and he Blue Ox. in Bemidji Minnesota.

I was so excited to see him. We had stopped here often on our treks from Ontario to my mom's home town in Sifton Manitoba. I just remembered him being so much bigger. It really sucked though that the adjoining parking lot was under construction.  We couldn't find a place to even park the rv so we had to resort to only taking Pictures out of the RV window.

Headed to Grand Forks our next stop. Wanted to stock up on meat and cheese from Sams Club. Stupid GPS had us by pass the city so we had to back track in a very strong head wind to get back to the city.

Loaded up  our supplies and headed for the border. Once again, we had our chicken taken away by the border guards....you'd think we learn.

Got to Vissers around 7 pm. Was much quicker then last year getting the RV set up after Patrick and I gave it  a good bath.  

It is very comfortable at Beth's. They let us plug into their house power and use their water. We always showered in their basement bathroom, do our laundry for free and of course have all the wi-fi we needed. 

I stepped in and took over the cooking which is nice, as I have so much room for cooking.

We settled into a good routine. Kids had school (Jilly only in the mornings so we worked around that).  Jillian had Soccer Monday and Wednesday's and Claire had Baseball Tuesday and Thursdays.

We got used to packing up the car, the kids and sunflower seeds and watched the kids at their games. It was nice way to spend a summer evening.

The Visser's did a family duathlon shortly after we got there.

It was so cool to see the kids participate right to the end.

All of us went to Skinners Hot Dog and Ice cream place in Lockport (just north of Winnipeg. ).  This is one of our family traditions - even goes as far back as when my Mom just to go there as a young women fresh off the Sifton Farm. 

Another tradition is ice Cream at BDI (Bridge Drive In). They have amazing ice cream which you can enjoy on a nice bridge over the river. The kids will always play "Pooh Sticks"...another tradition.

One special treat Pat and I got was to see the final Game of Thrones show -Season 5 on the big screen. We got free tickets and the house was packed. Watching it on the big screen was so much nicer then our little 21inch tv in the motorhome.

One of the fun things we did in Winnipeg which was new and really enjoyable was doing the great escape. We did one with adults only and one with the kids. The adult one was getting out of jail. We started off in two cells and then had to work together to escape before time ran out. We did it, well the other three did, I just did a few things to help. The other three are really excellent puzzle solvers.   The next one with the kids, we had to find grandma's treasures. The kids really enjoyed this one, and they were really helpful. 

One afternoon while the older two kids were into  school we took Jilly and Beth to the new Canadian Museum of Human Rights. It just opened last year and it was really well done. Almost as good as a Smithsonian!!!.

Every Thursday Clark and Claire had piano lessons. It was great that we were able to go to their year end recital. They have come a long way in the first year. They even did a piano duet.  So proud of them.

Washing the dogs was a must, staying at Vissers. This kept the house cleaner and reduced the dander for Patrick and Clark.

One Sunday we made a trip to the Assiniboine  Park. It was really hot out, but we managed to find some shade to eat our Subway lunch. It is always worth the effort to go to this park. It does have the Zoo attached, but we skipped going this time.

The month actually went very quickly. On Canada Day, we headed home via Riding Mountain National Park. Beth and the kids.  We towed their van as Patrick had to work the rest of the week. He would drive our car and meet us on the weekend.   Beth got us a spot at the campsite way back in April. Luckily we got shore power, but we had to rely on running our hoses across the street. It was a beautiful spot.  Very private and clean. The showers and bathrooms were also very clean. Our site was in walking distance to Clear Lake where the kids spent many hours at the beach. 

At night we had some great camp fires. Beth couldn't believe we didn't do fires all the time we were travelling. We just laughed at her!! They are fun, but I really hate the smell you get from all the smoke.

On second day there we took a trip to Sifton Manitoba. This is where my great grandparent, grandparents and my mom lived. I wanted some pictures of the former home of my grandparents and the family gravesite.

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It was nice to see my Grandparents headstone. My grandkids played along, especially when I promised a Toonie for the first one to find my grandparents site.

The day after Patrick got there we were going to go on Clear Lake in a pontoon boat. The weather forecast changed overnight and it called for a wicked thunderstorm. The Vissers decided to pack it in and head back to Winnipeg. We spent the last night there watching old tv shows. Beth said they followed the storm all the way back home.

Sunday morning we packed it up and headed for home. We thought we were going to stop at Moose Jaw for the night, but we got there at 2:00. We decided to push it all the way home, arriving in Lethbridge about 7:30.  It was a 12 hour drive, but it was nice to get back home. 

SHE SAID:

I will start by defining Johns acronym - UP is the Upper Peninsula.  It was a beautiful drive.  As I prefer the quieter roads, I loved being off an Interstate.  The trip to Winnipeg was uneventful.  We had one experience driving along the byway when the road was closed.  No notice, no detour signs - just closed.  We experimented trying to get around the blockade by driving through a mall parking lot, but to no avail as it was a long stretch of construction.  We flagged a woman down in the lot, who was just getting into her car.  I am grateful for very friendly people.  She acted as our pilot car, getting us through the town and around the construction.  It was about a 10 minute detour with a number of turns - not sure what others did to get around, who weren't from there.  Very strange - I guess not a lot of people from out of the area drive through.

It was great to visit at Vissers.  The kids are growing up so fast!  During our stay I also went to lunch with Carol Ladd - a friend from when we lived in Winnipeg.  John and I also went to Wayne and Nancy Drozdowskis' for lunch.  Kathy Smith was also there.  Nancy, Kathy and I served in the Relief Society Presidency when we lived there.  It was great to spend some time catching up!  I am not a person who keeps in touch very well, once we move, but love to see old friends.  Looking back at our Winnipeg time in the 1990's these are the people who helped me keep my sanity :)

I think I have a new passion - the escape rooms.  We beat both of the rooms we went to.  The second one, Grandma's Attic was a real triumph, as we beat the best time out by about 10 minutes.  YAY us!!  John certainly understated his contribution to our escapes.  (unfortunately, the website for our big win never was updated - not sure why!)

When we were at Riding Mountain we also spent part of a day trying to geo cache.  I don't think we did too badly, however I do think that spending some time reading the instructions better.  We never did find the cache at the end.  

Time goes so fast and after Riding Mountain it was time to return to Lethbridge!

Back in the Motherland.

HE SAID:
We had a beautiful drive through Maine on our way to Quebec City. Leaving on Mothers Day, the roads had little traffic, and the construction on the roads was minimal.
Stopped at the Duty Free store just before the border. Paul asked us to pick up some whisky. The brand he asked for wasn't there, but the store clerk, helped us buy a good brand. Not being drinkers, we didn't have a clue about brands and prices. Paul was quite pleased with our buy though.

It was nice being back in our own country, but it still didn't quite feel right. I always forget how French Quebec is. All the signs are in French and in Quebec City area, it was a challenge at times finding people who spoke English. Even though I speak really good Parisian French, it is hard for me to communicate with the Quebecquois.  Pat and I love visiting this area of the country none the less.

Pat got us a great RV park not too far from the city.  I was happy it was a drive through, so set up was really fast.  (only could get one channel in English on our antenna, but lots of french stations).
Had to get supplies as we got rid of all our our fruit and veggies. Went to a Boston Pizza for lunch and they were kind enough to give us one of their few English menus. The best thing about being home, was everything we paid for didn't include an additional fee for foreign exchange.

The next day we had to take care of laundry and getting our Canadian phones and internet working.  We had an address for a laundromat but drove up to a

Buanderie .  

I had never seen that French word before ,....but sure enough it was a coin laundry place.

We lucked out at Rogers, finding a student who spoke really good English. We got a much better deal with our hotspot internet then we had with Telus. As well we arranged to combine our phone plans with Rogers at a cheaper deal which meant I had to say goodbye to Telus.  

The next day we drove into Old Quebec city.

This area of Quebec City is my favourite. At first we did our own tour, but decided it would make better sense to take a hop on hop off tour. We had hesitated because it was raining so hard. The rain had stopped which allowed us to sit up top without a roof. Mind you it was cold!!!

The tour guide pointed out this "graffiti on the bridge pillars. They were beautifully painted.

A really popular thing in Quebec City

is the copper roofs. The hotel Frontenac is all cooper roofs. Considering the price of copper, these roofs better last a long time.

 Of course Quebec city was the home of The plains of Abraham. Here is your history lesson of the tour.

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham (13 September 1759) was a pivotal moment in the Seven Years' War and in the history of Canada. A British invasion force led by General James Wolfe defeated French troops under the Marquis de Montcalm, leading to the surrender of Québec to the British

 There is a cool street  here where all the street lamps have lamp shades. I have never seen a street like this before. It was amazing.

Picture of the oldest shop in Quebec City. 

The tour was interesting, but more about the architecture then the actual history of the city. After the tour we wanted to have some good poutine.

We ended up in a restaurant attached to Hotel Frontenac...the same restaurant we ate at the last time in Quebec City to eat Fondu. Anyway there Poutine was delicious. You can buy cheese curds to make Poutine everywhere in the city, including the 7-11's. 

Growing up we always referred to this place as Quebec City. But the locals just say Quebec....and drop the city part.

The next day we packed up and headed for Ottawa. We originally thought we would go to Montreal, but Pat spend many years growing up in Ottawa and wanted to see her old houses/schools and neighbourhood.

We parked the motorhome in a city park, that was full of trees and great sites. The mosquitoes were out though in full force. 

Our first place we visited in Ottawa was of course the Parliament buildings. It was a sunny warm day and there was lots of action on the lawns (later to discover it was the Right to Life group). 

 Next the Rideau Canal Locks. I have been to the city lots but don't ever remember seeing these locks. Really cool.

Then over to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is where recently one of the guards was murdered by some crazy guy that later stormed the Parliament buildings. (He was killed by the security people).

Unlike the USA version, this monument is huge and is right in the heart of the city.

The rest of the day we spent visiting Pat's old houses. Even though she was very young when she lived here, she has an amazing memory of each and every house.....see below.

After our brief visit of Ottawa, we moved the RV to Toronto.  We parked in the same RV site as last year (Glen Rouge Park) and it was easy to find our way there this time.  Almost forgot that we were arriving at the beginning of a long weekend and the park was getting full.  Our site wasn't facing the river this year, but it was still very big and good and level. 

Met up with Paul and Ronnie the first night by meeting them to see a movie. (the Avengers). It was great seeing them again. They both look good. 

Over the next few weeks we met up with them as much as possible. Paul was very busy at work and we did our best to work around his schedule. They were also in the process of moving, so we did lots of visits at the RV which was really nice for us having the company.  

Forgot how busy Toronto highways can be and how much gas you can use. 

We got to Toronto in time for Paul's birthday. We took him to dinner at one of Toronto's oldest restaurant....The Senator - details below.

The Senator - 1929
Hiding out just steps from the clamour and bright lights of Yonge-Dundas Square, the venerable old Senator opened as Busy Bee Lunch in 1929. A classified ad printed in the Globe in 1936 tempted prospective customers with "delicious meals; dinners at reasonable prices." Not much has changed since. The diner was renamed The Senator in 1948 and given its current interior fixtures courtesy of the Toronto Refrigeration Fixture Company the same year. In 2013, the diner's kitchen was given an overhaul, but the original interior remains.

The food was good and the waiter was hilarious. We then crossed the street to see the play " Once".  I had never heard of this play before, but Paul had seen the movie and wanted to see the play.  Here is the IMDB write up about 


A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.

While Paul and Ronnie were working, we took the time to see our relatives. I only have one aunt (Olga) in Toronto so we took her lunch and had a visit. My cousin Robert was there as well.  

Pat has some cousins in the area, and we did manage to see Catherine and Mary. As well we saw Pat's Aunt Isabel and Uncle Jim in Orangeville. We also took them lunch and had a good visit. 

One weekend we went with Paul and Ronnie to Toronto Island.

You take a ferry from downtown Toronto. I loved that we could take the dogs. We had a nice stroll around the island and stopped to have lunch. I remember vaguely  coming here as a kid as my Uncle Frank lived on this island. 

 

Ronnie and Paul treated us for Mothers and Fathers day by taking us to a restaurant called Signs. We figured we did the totally blind dining concept last year at eating at O'Noir.  This year was our deaf experience. All the waiters were deaf and we had to order our meal and drinks with sign language. The menu had all the signs we had to make. The food was tasty and it was fun trying to sign to the waiter. Our friends Stan and Carolyn Tanner would have loved this place.

They also took us to a Blue Jay's game.

I haven't been to a game since the early 90's when I got to go when worked sent me for a conference. It was a lot of fun, except the Jay's lost.

The worst part of Toronto was having to take the RV in to get the breaks fixed. We had been worried about the breaks for awhile and had even tried to get them fixed in Orlando.  It is hard to find places that will even fix them. We lucked out at a Midas near our RV park who said they had experience. As this was our home in Toronto, we begged that they would have it ready in one day. It took from 8 am to 7 pm to fix them...but they finally got done, at least the back ones.  Very pricy and we still have the front ones to do which sucks. 

It was fun spending time with Paul and Ronnie. They are both busy with work , moving and getting ready for their wedding which is this Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see them again.

SHE SAID:

Wow...He Said a lot!  Not much left for me :)  You can all be relieved at that!  As we were in Maine, the road to Quebec was not an Interstate, so it was a bit slow and there were WAY less trucks on the road.  I like that.  One of my biggest dislikes about driving in the RV is when a Semi passes us.  Think being sucked in and shaken.  On an Interstate it can be pretty consistent.  I stopped driving the beast for this reason...along with the fact that I have no depth perception and getting into some of the road work - unknown as to what and when it will be there, but it always arrives.  John is a great chauffeur and doesn't complain at all.  I guess he feels safer driving than me gasping every time a truck passed us, or my comments on possible upcoming narrow passages and how i could totally destroy our home.

I do love Quebec City.  There is so much of Canadian history to see and feel.  It has the old buildings and has always captured my imagination.  

Ottawa was a very fun trip down memory lane for me!  Seeing where we lived and where I went to school was wonderful!  So much came back walking and driving around different parts of the city.  The houses haven't changed much and reliving childhood was fun!

  1212 Surrey St (now Road, go figure) is a brick duplex.  I can still recall our neighbour, Eloise MacArthur popping her head through the front door shouting - "Yoohoo, it's Eloise"; Norms friend Danny Sulord and the Zlepnicks next door.  Linda Z was my first best friend who I learned to wallpaper her moms dresser with newspaper, I think (this was our own initiative).  I was about 2 to 4 years old at the time.  I can feel the wind in my hair as I rode my kiddy car down the huge hill - which for some reason doesn't seem to be there now - it's a gentle incline.  

The next house - a brick bungalow we lived in when I was in grade 2 and 3.  That was the house that I first saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan - I was young...I thought it was going to be an amazing insect show due to all of the hype.  I did grow into a big fan of the music group, after getting over my disappointment.  This is also where we lived when Kennedy was shot. I remember I was walking home from school and some big kid said the President had been shot and there was going to be BIG problems, maybe war.  Scared me. 

 The last house was on Quentin Street, where we lived from '67 to '69.  This was the first house my parents purchased.  I loved this house - big, 2 storey.  I remember being at the eternal flame when it was lit on July 1 1967 - very big deal then.  Now you have all lived my Ottawa memories.  Oh and the Hog's Back...never knew he went away :).

Toronto was great!  Seeing Paul and Ronnie - who were moving again this year - we did lots as John has covered.  Visiting with relatives was great, as it always is.  We had supper at my cousin Mary and her family home in Grimsby.  They have recently returned to Canada after many years of living over seas.  Their home is beautiful, right on Lake Ontario.  They were wonderful hosts!  We took lunch to Johns Aunt Olga and Cousin Rob in Etobicoke - great conversation and company. 

 Lunch was also taken to Orangeville to my Uncle Jim and Aunt Isabelle in Orangeville.  They have decided to move to a condo - again my memories of their home go along way back, as I recall their showing us the empty lot, and then a few years late the new home.  One of the constant places during my lifetime.  We saw my Cousin Catherine a few times as well in Toronto.  She is a shade younger than me (a few months)  and it's always a good time to hang out with her!  

My biggest shopping coup of this part of the trip was when we were driving by the Timex Factory, they advertised their clearance sale, which is held every second year - we got some nice watches for 85% off.  Can't beat that! 

Time in New England - Took me away

Boston

HE SAID: It was sad to say goodbye to NYC. We had such a blast there we could have stayed another week easily. Now getting out of the area though proved to be a big challenge. First off, we only drove a few blocks from the RV park and were stopped for a marathon. Being so big, we couldn't due a U-turn or go down any narrow escapes. We had to just sit and wait. Added only an extra half hour to the trip.  We were told by our Utah RV neighbours that we had to avoid the tunnels to go north. We managed to make this happen and we even got on the upper deck of the George Washington Bridge (which we were also told to do).  The traffic was insane. At one point they had five lanes of traffic merge into one.

We weren't prepared as well for all the road tolls. We forgot to get cash in our wallets before we left. Between us we only had a 10 dollar bill.  None of the toll booths are set up for plastic...cash only or you have to have an EZ pass. Our first toll booth, they said no problem, just send the money in the mail and gave us a bill to mail. The second one (the George Washington Bridge - wanted 76 dollars. I said what??? Are you serious??? They said yes!!! I told them our situation they said...so sad too bad. We will get a bill in the mail based on our license plate number along with a fine.  Great!!  Our third toll, I told them the story again saying we only had a 10....the guy in the booth said it was my lucky day as his toll was only $5.00. Yay...one we could pay. He also told us he was the last toll on this highway.

Our first stop on our way to Canada via New England was Mystic River Connecticut. It was a large RV park, that had only just opened for the season. Even with it being a weekend, there was still plenty of room. Pat got the price really cheap, so they stuck us in a corner lot that was very poorly marked. They could have put us in a pull through as there were so many of them empty. Oh well, at least the park staff were very friendly.

We did find a chapel near by for Church the next morning, then decided that we would take a drive to Providence Rhode Island which was only 45 minutes away. We had even booked a camp ground in Rhode Island, but didn't realize it was so close to Connecticut.

Providence was a beautiful city.

I was excited to see Brown University as my first missionary companion in France had attended there and I heard all about it. 

It was a beautiful campus.

On our way back, we drove through the town of Mystic River. Pat wanted a picture of Mystic Pizza, which is used in the movie of the same name.

The next day we packed up and moved on to Brattleboro Vermont.  This RV site was just across the border.  We decided instead of going to Rhode Island we would do Vermont. I wanted to fill in our map of the USA that is on the outside of  the RV. I didn't think we would be back this way again. 

This RV park was also very empty, and we had our choice of sites. It was unseasonable warm so we had the AC going full blast. We were behind on our laundry and the only laundry place in town didn't have AC...argh!!. We got back to the RV and gave it a thorough cleaning before we put everything away. 

The next day we took a trip to the Yankee Candle flagship store.

I love these Candles and was happy to go through this store. It was an enormous store, easy to get lost. We actually made our own Yankee Candle from Scratch. They also have a Christmas section that snows every 4 minutes. We spent more then we planned, but bought lots of gifts.

Our next New England stop was Boston. This RV park only had electricity and it was only household current, so we had to have an adapter. This didn't work well with the air conditioner.  Our site was directly across from the bathrooms/showers so it was easier on our water supply.

The next day we went into Boston to take a hop on/hop off bus tour.  I was impressed how the bus got through all the narrow streets, but wasn't impressed by our tour guide. We found out at the end he was just a lunch fill in. He gave the fastest tour we have ever had. I was snapping pictures so quickly I can't even remember most of the names of the sites.   A few stuck out. The first was this cool sculpture that you see when you drive into the city.  The tour guide set the net was made of extremely durable fibre that will not break.

  Of course Boston is where Paul Revere did his famous ride. Here is the North Church tower that was used as a signal,--

"One if by land, and two if by sea."

The tickets Pat got us on groupon also included a tour of the harbour. Not a very long tour but we got some great pictures of the city skyline.

After went back to the RV and had a nap, we took a drive with the dogs to Plymouth Rock. Another item on our bucket list. You are taught from an early age this is where the pilgrims landed on the journey to America on the Mayflower.

Plymouth Rock

Where they shelter "the Rock"

We also got to see the oldest street in America here.

We had a great supper at a fish place and we were able to eat outside, which worked well with having the dogs with us. The supper was great. This was a beautiful costal town. 

Our final spot in the USA before going home to Canada was Bar Harbour Maine. On our way there we where able to stop in Bangor Maine. For those of you big Stephen King fans, this of course is his home town and sight of many of his stories. 

Not really a very private location, but I loved the way he did his fence with spider webs and bats.

We went to one of the best RV parks this trip. It was a KOA, with full service, including a full cable package, and good speed internet.   We went sight seeing the day after we arrived. Bar Harbour had fantastic scenery.  It was sad that it was really too early in the season and not much was open. Additionally it was very cool when we where there. 

 

The morning we were to leave Maine was Mothers Day. The KOA was on the ball. They organized a pancake breakfast delivered to your RV. We got ready so fast that morning, I had to go and ask for our breakfast early. They gave us three large blueberry pancakes and sausage with juice, as well as a flower for Pat.  

I'm glad we took our time going through New England. Had we planned it better we probably would have spent longer in each area, but we were anxious to get back to Canada, and not have to worry about exchange.

SHE SAID:

Just reading what John wrote makes me tired!  We did a lot and saw a lot.  Our stay in each place was 2 nights - one the night we arrived, and then a day to look around, sleep and move on in the morning. The drive between stops was fairly short, but took longer than if in a car - a 30 foot RV towing a car, with 2 Scottish Terriers tends to slow the parade moving along.  We did manage well, though with beautiful scenery along the way.  As we have moved north on this trip, it seems that we are in eternal spring, arriving in an area as the buds and blossoms are coming out.  It has been lovely, as spring is one of my favourite times of year!

It was so busy leaving NYC - traffic like I could not believe, tolls that were astronomical!  The campsites moving north have also been fairly empty, and at times finding one that is open before May 15 was a challenge, leaving a somewhat smaller choice than when we were in the south.  Amenities have been somewhat sparse.  We have been in more rural settings that some places we stayed.  Our tours were fun, and allowed us to see a lot more that had we tried to see 'everything' on our own, allowing John to enjoy scenery rather than fight traffic.

A few comments on Johns comments - Yankee Candle was not his first choice, but as it was close to where we were I was able to convince him of the merits of the 'flagship' store of this company.  It was better than expected with many different 'shops' and displays.  Steven Kings home was interesting to drive by, but John - big fan that he is - pulled in front of the house, stopped and got out.  He expected me to jump out with him.  I refused, feeling that everyone deserves their privacy.  A small discussion ensued - I agreed to take a picture of him, standing at the gate, from the RV.  I would not agree to a joint selfie :)  

Bar Harbour was chock full of lobster pounds - restaurants - I got a bee in my bonnet that I wanted lobster for mothers day, so we decided to go out on Saturday evening for my 'fix'.  Well, we didn't leave until 6 - driving to the highest rated place, all of the pots that had been outside, boiling away earlier in the day were not there - the place was closed, as was every other place nearby.  It was getting late, so we found an open cafe, and we ate there.  Their claim to fame was that they grew everything that you ate - I found it distracting that there was a picture of a pig on the wall - pork bellies and pork chops were on the menu - I opted for eggplant parmesan.  I still have not had my lobster and as we get further away from the coast I will have to wait for that itch to be scratched.  

As we drove around it seemed that Barry Mannilow was the musical soundtrack running through my mind - what a beautiful part of the world!  I am glad we took the time to check it out.