Thursday 9/25 – Sunday 9/28/2008
The North Shore & Beyond
We hoped to get going by 9:00 this morning and expected to leave by 10:00. We left at 9:30—perfect. It was a good travel day as we moved in and out of clouds and the weather alternating between warm and blustery. We got a good dose of color on the way to Duluth but not a lot of the real flashy stuff we hope to find on this trip.
We stopped on the shore of Lake Superior just north (east? We never know.) of Two Harbors and nibbled on a collection of cheese & crackers the Princess had packed for the trip. This was one of the blustery stops so we stayed in the car for our picnic. It was still far from peak colors as we traveled up the lake. We crossed the International border at about 3:30 after having a discussion with the border guard about whether you can be on vacation if you are retired. This part of Ontario and all of Lake Superior (who knew?) is on Eastern Time so we are now into our time zone for the rest of the trip.
We stayed night one at the Best Western Nor’wester in Thunder Bay and plodded across the highway to the Neebing Roadhouse for a pizza and beer. The Neebing was a pretty big box of a building that was split right down the middle with sports bar on one side and real restaurant on the other. We opted for the sports bar so we could get a Twins score (bad news) and relax. Early to bed with more driving days ahead.
Friday morning was cool with bright sunshine and after a breakfast snack in our room we took the city route through Thunder Bay and strolled for an hour in their Centennial Park. Very pretty with the leaves changing and the river roaring through the center. The population of Thunder Bay is now over 100,000 so it is officially bigger than Duluth and while the center of town seemed sluggish, the harbor and industrial areas looked busy.
We stopped in Nipigon, a woeful little town, for lunch. We passed a restaurant called Gus’s, specializing in broasted chicken, and decided that was our best option so turned around and went back. When we got inside the menu said “John’s,” specializing in Greek food. Their signage was indicative of the entire operation so Mary had a bowl of mediocre soup and John opted for a burger (with relish?) and fries with the Canadian specialty, gravy.
This was a long driving day as we moved in and out of construction and in and out of heavy rain. The Eastern Provinces are getting pounded by Kyle but this was just good ol’ Midwestern thunder storms. After we crossed over the humpback of Lake Superior the colors started to change dramatically from the gold and green of the birches and pines to a heavy influx of reds and oranges of the maples.
Our stop for the night was Wawa (native speak for Wild Goose) at the little roadside Northern Lights Motel. The recommendations online all said CLEAN and it was. It was also much more than that. The walls were peppered with pictures of critters taken from the yard, little jokes and cartoons, odd little amenities (a bandaid, a rag bag, ear plugs, toothpicks that spelled “Hi”) and in the bathroom we had a little rubber duck on the tub, and the back of the bathroom door (facing the toilet) was covered with stories, poems, trivia quizzes and other reading materials. You had to be there to get it, but it was a wonderful little treat from people who obviously enjoy the hospitality business.
The motel had a little restaurant where we ate and it too was kind of funky but very pleasant. Mary had a sautéed fresh whitefish (very good) and John had one of the stranger things ever. It was a dish of cheese pierogies that was topped with ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa and sauerkraut. Kind of Polish nachos. It wasn’t bad in a strange sort of way.
Saturday morning we poked around for a while in Wawa. It is a pleasant little tourist town that serves as a gateway for activities on this part of the big lake as well as the wild woods and lakes to the north. It was a nice stop for us.
Our drive from Wawa to Sault Ste. Marie was certainly the prettiest of the trip so far. It was all rolling hills with fantastic colors, lakes around every turn and occasional glimpses of Lake Superior. We hoped to have this kind of color in New England so this is all bonus scenery.
We arrived in the “Soo” around 1:00 for our lunch stop. We are now 800 miles from Pine River and have completed the big half of the “circle tour” of Lake Superior. We have done most of the south shore in the past so we are taking credit for the whole thing. We found a nice little Italian place for lunch and John opted for the Chicken Parmesan sandwich and salad and Mary had a Minnestrone (which was really a pasta fagiole).
Now we start due east with a stop in Sudbury for the night. This is mostly rolling farmland with some changes in elevation that reminds us a bit of western Wisconsin. Sudbury is the nickel capital of the world and the source of power for all of the folks with hybrids. It is very industrial and we plodded through ethnic neighborhood after ethnic neighborhood on our way through town as recent immigrants are obviously recruited to augment the local workforce in satisfying the battery boom. Canada is a very “green” country and we suspect they try to ignore Sudbury. There is nothing green about it.
We are at a Fairfield Inn tonight which is brand new and clean as a whistle. We are two blocks away from a mall so hit the Canadian chain restaurant “Montana Cookhouse.” Mary has a mushy meatloaf and John has some mushy ribs and chicken while we are serenaded with birthday songs from all over the restaurant. Not our most pleasant restaurant experience. The Twins loss doesn’t help.
On Sunday morning we are traveling along the Ottawa River which is the northeastern border between Ontario and Quebec. This is getting back into woods and lakes and we are seeing more and more color as we move along.
We had the usual motel free breakfast (cereal/bagel) this morning and need to find a bite when we get to Matawa. We decide to stop at the café with the most cars and as we round the bend we see Myrt’s with a hundred cars in the lot. This place is a little small town café that really has it figured out. The service is good, the food is great and they even have some technology going. There is a big screen TV behind the counter that has a slideshow of their desserts and other features. Very original. John’s club sandwich has real chunks of white meat turkey and great bacon and fires, and Mary’s has chosen the breakfast with perfect eggs and potatoes. Always look for the cars.
It is mid-afternoon when we pull into Ottawa for our next two nights. A good placed to end this overly long post.
The North Shore & Beyond
We hoped to get going by 9:00 this morning and expected to leave by 10:00. We left at 9:30—perfect. It was a good travel day as we moved in and out of clouds and the weather alternating between warm and blustery. We got a good dose of color on the way to Duluth but not a lot of the real flashy stuff we hope to find on this trip.
We stopped on the shore of Lake Superior just north (east? We never know.) of Two Harbors and nibbled on a collection of cheese & crackers the Princess had packed for the trip. This was one of the blustery stops so we stayed in the car for our picnic. It was still far from peak colors as we traveled up the lake. We crossed the International border at about 3:30 after having a discussion with the border guard about whether you can be on vacation if you are retired. This part of Ontario and all of Lake Superior (who knew?) is on Eastern Time so we are now into our time zone for the rest of the trip.
We stayed night one at the Best Western Nor’wester in Thunder Bay and plodded across the highway to the Neebing Roadhouse for a pizza and beer. The Neebing was a pretty big box of a building that was split right down the middle with sports bar on one side and real restaurant on the other. We opted for the sports bar so we could get a Twins score (bad news) and relax. Early to bed with more driving days ahead.
Friday morning was cool with bright sunshine and after a breakfast snack in our room we took the city route through Thunder Bay and strolled for an hour in their Centennial Park. Very pretty with the leaves changing and the river roaring through the center. The population of Thunder Bay is now over 100,000 so it is officially bigger than Duluth and while the center of town seemed sluggish, the harbor and industrial areas looked busy.
We stopped in Nipigon, a woeful little town, for lunch. We passed a restaurant called Gus’s, specializing in broasted chicken, and decided that was our best option so turned around and went back. When we got inside the menu said “John’s,” specializing in Greek food. Their signage was indicative of the entire operation so Mary had a bowl of mediocre soup and John opted for a burger (with relish?) and fries with the Canadian specialty, gravy.
This was a long driving day as we moved in and out of construction and in and out of heavy rain. The Eastern Provinces are getting pounded by Kyle but this was just good ol’ Midwestern thunder storms. After we crossed over the humpback of Lake Superior the colors started to change dramatically from the gold and green of the birches and pines to a heavy influx of reds and oranges of the maples.
Our stop for the night was Wawa (native speak for Wild Goose) at the little roadside Northern Lights Motel. The recommendations online all said CLEAN and it was. It was also much more than that. The walls were peppered with pictures of critters taken from the yard, little jokes and cartoons, odd little amenities (a bandaid, a rag bag, ear plugs, toothpicks that spelled “Hi”) and in the bathroom we had a little rubber duck on the tub, and the back of the bathroom door (facing the toilet) was covered with stories, poems, trivia quizzes and other reading materials. You had to be there to get it, but it was a wonderful little treat from people who obviously enjoy the hospitality business.
The motel had a little restaurant where we ate and it too was kind of funky but very pleasant. Mary had a sautéed fresh whitefish (very good) and John had one of the stranger things ever. It was a dish of cheese pierogies that was topped with ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa and sauerkraut. Kind of Polish nachos. It wasn’t bad in a strange sort of way.
Saturday morning we poked around for a while in Wawa. It is a pleasant little tourist town that serves as a gateway for activities on this part of the big lake as well as the wild woods and lakes to the north. It was a nice stop for us.
Our drive from Wawa to Sault Ste. Marie was certainly the prettiest of the trip so far. It was all rolling hills with fantastic colors, lakes around every turn and occasional glimpses of Lake Superior. We hoped to have this kind of color in New England so this is all bonus scenery.
We arrived in the “Soo” around 1:00 for our lunch stop. We are now 800 miles from Pine River and have completed the big half of the “circle tour” of Lake Superior. We have done most of the south shore in the past so we are taking credit for the whole thing. We found a nice little Italian place for lunch and John opted for the Chicken Parmesan sandwich and salad and Mary had a Minnestrone (which was really a pasta fagiole).
Now we start due east with a stop in Sudbury for the night. This is mostly rolling farmland with some changes in elevation that reminds us a bit of western Wisconsin. Sudbury is the nickel capital of the world and the source of power for all of the folks with hybrids. It is very industrial and we plodded through ethnic neighborhood after ethnic neighborhood on our way through town as recent immigrants are obviously recruited to augment the local workforce in satisfying the battery boom. Canada is a very “green” country and we suspect they try to ignore Sudbury. There is nothing green about it.
We are at a Fairfield Inn tonight which is brand new and clean as a whistle. We are two blocks away from a mall so hit the Canadian chain restaurant “Montana Cookhouse.” Mary has a mushy meatloaf and John has some mushy ribs and chicken while we are serenaded with birthday songs from all over the restaurant. Not our most pleasant restaurant experience. The Twins loss doesn’t help.
On Sunday morning we are traveling along the Ottawa River which is the northeastern border between Ontario and Quebec. This is getting back into woods and lakes and we are seeing more and more color as we move along.
We had the usual motel free breakfast (cereal/bagel) this morning and need to find a bite when we get to Matawa. We decide to stop at the café with the most cars and as we round the bend we see Myrt’s with a hundred cars in the lot. This place is a little small town café that really has it figured out. The service is good, the food is great and they even have some technology going. There is a big screen TV behind the counter that has a slideshow of their desserts and other features. Very original. John’s club sandwich has real chunks of white meat turkey and great bacon and fires, and Mary’s has chosen the breakfast with perfect eggs and potatoes. Always look for the cars.
It is mid-afternoon when we pull into Ottawa for our next two nights. A good placed to end this overly long post.
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