Friday, June 25, 2010

Summer Family Vacation – Part 2 (Ontario)

Mom had some events she wanted to attend back at home, so she drove home while my brother and I continued north into Ontario for the next couple of days.

I absolutely love Canada and try to get there at least once every year.  The scenery, “the similar yet different feel” to their daily life, and most of all to the friendliness and civility of the Canadian people.  Perhaps it’s naive, but I always feel safer traveling in Canada than I ever do in the U.S.—not quite sure why—is it the lack of handguns? less population density? less division between rich and poor? Not sure, but I love it.

My brother had never been to Canada before, so I knew exactly where I wanted to take him first—to the “British Columbia of the Midwest”, the Algoma region of Ontario along the northern shore of Lake Superior.

It was about a 4 hour drive to get there from Traverse City, and the highlight of the trip was crossing the Mackinac Bridge (a suspension bridge nearly as big as the Golden Gate that crosses the straight between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron).

We stopped in Mackinaw City for lunch and photos in front of the bridge before crossing it.  Only a $9.00 toll for the RV (sigh), but still worth the experience.

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Our next event was the border crossing from Sault Ste Marie Michigan to Sault Ste Marie Ontario and over the Soo Locks where large tanker ships pass through to get to Lake Superior.  I still can’t figure out how they get such giant tankers through such tiny locks, but they do!

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As we drove north on our way to Lake Superior Provincial Park, we made a few photo stops—one at the Chippewa River Falls, and another along a rocky shore of Lake Superior.   I decided to take the boring, distant, tourist shots while my brother hiked to get photos “from the edge”--

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We arrived to our campsite at Agawa Bay around dinnertime, or as Millie would call it “swimming time”.  Even though chilly winds were blowing in off Lake Superior and waves were 2-3 feet high, Millie thought she could still go swimming….that is, until she got slammed and engulfed by one of those waves!  She then learned better not to chase any sticks my brother was trying to make her go fetch in those high seas!

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We returned to camp to rest for the evening and watch a gorgeous sunset off of Agawa Rock.

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