O Canada

Canada's great, Eh? Tuesday, we drove to Toronto. The next morning, we visited Casa Loma. It's a mansion/castle that a very rich man built and then he went broke. It was interesting, but probably not a must see. From there, we went to the Bata Shoe Museum. Who could resist? Mostly, it focused on the history of shoes, not so much on current shoes, or anyone's obsessive collection of shoes. It probably falls into the "not a must see" category as well, but it was fun. Next, we walked over to the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art. I felt we had paid enough entry fees for the day, so we decided to just check out the store and the entryway. There was a set of three large pots that when you look at the negative space, you see two children. Very cool. There was also a woman making clay flowers at a table. The store was very nice, too. I thought we did pretty well for free and this museum is on my "must see" list for the next visit.

Thursday was our walk around Toronto day. The first stop was the CN tower. Not a quick stop, I think we were there for over 3 hours. Long lines, but amazing views. The day was clear and the visit was worth the time and energy. They also have lots of large stuffed animals that people can take pictures with, if that's what you're into, apparently we are. When we finally started our walk, we went to the Toronto Music Garden. It was designed by YoYo Ma and a landscape architect. Each area relates to a different musical piece. Very nice, right on the water. A nice swan family visited with us. We then walked by the Hockey Hall of Fame, but it was closing as we got there. I guess we spent too much time at the CN tower. Our journey concluded on Canada's Walk of Fame. There were stars for Joni Mitchell, John Candy, Neil Young, Bobby Orr and a few other people I have never heard of.

The next morning, we drove to Niagara Falls. We checked in and then headed over to the touristy falls area. The falls are amazing. We took the Maid of the Mist boat ride. You get a souvenir blue plastic rain jacket and the the boat takes you right up to the falls. Up close and personal, in your face mist! We had a little scare on the way out when our elevator broke. Our guide pried the back door of the elevator open so that a second guide could get on and dig out the secret hidden key. All the riders now know where the secret hidden key is kept. I feel safer on all future elevator rides with this knowledge. The key saved the day and we were off and elevating again. Our next adventure was the behind the falls tour. This was a little less exciting (though, not to my co-tourist), but we did get another plastic rain jacket (yellow!). You do get to stand right next to the falls and also look through a couple of portals behind the falls. I think there might be a better behind the falls walk on the American side, we'll have to check that out on the next trip. We decided to splurge on a nice dinner in a restaurant with views of the falls. Then we waited for the sun to set when they shine colorful lights on the falls. The day ended with a beautiful fireworks show. Pretty nice, eh?

~Xzfz

Dear Greg, Ali, Sarah and Artemis Fowl freak,

Thank you for your various comments, we have enjoyed them! catluver, I will get you a stupid rock if we run into another beach. And I will read the series when I feel like it!!!!!! And to other readers please, we would really enjoy your comments even if we do not know you.

Daughter, cousin, neighbor and traveler,
~Jq4q

(Who do you know who fits the description?)

Day 2 in Detroit , actually Dearborn

On Monday we went to The Henry Ford, in Dearborn, MI. Henry collected stuff, all kinds of unique memorabilia. His focus was on interesting American inventions and artifacts. The collection included a wiener-mobile, the limousine Kennedy was shot in and the rocking chair Lincoln was shot in. There was a very cool, metal, round, pre-fab house designed in the 20's. There was also an outside area with people dressed is period clothes and many old buildings where you could see how things were made. We had a brief ride in a model T. The day was pretty interesting, but fairly expensive and hot.

Detroit has certain similarities with the Twin Cities. Ford plants, TCF bank, Northwest Airlines, I 94. One difference noted is that in the Detroit area, tire parts are strewn all over the freeways. Why is this? It appeared as if there are blow outs every few minutes, and yet we witnessed none. Do tires not blow out in other parts of the country? Is there an air pressure problem in the Detroit area? Hmmm. Maybe you could make a comment about this, if you have an opinion to share. In fact, we would appreciate any sort of comment on any sort of topic. Is anyone out there? Sarah, do you have anything else to say? Have you enjoyed the mileage information? By the way, it continues to average in the high 50's.

From Detroit, we headed on to Toronto. Yes, we are leaving the USA and visiting Canada.

~Xzfz

Hotel reviews by jq4q

On the 3rd and 4th we stayed in a suite at Econo Lodge Inn & Suites. First I would like to comment on their interesting commercials but back to the hotel. For all dog lovers, good news: Econo Lodge now allows dogs (with free doggy treats at the front desk!) When we first got there the lady at the front desk invited us to take some popcorn from the machine. There was a nice living room area where many people were eating and watching TV. When we got to our suite I was taken aback by the height of the ceiling. The room was amazing. The bathroom had free shampoo and soap on a fancy card (one of my favorite things at hotels). Later we decided to check out the pool. The place was pretty big so we had to go outside to find it. On the way there we found a camp fire area with tables and we saw motels on the side of the building and a little cabin that was titled game room. When we went in the pool room it was pretty nice. There were lounge chairs and tables to put your stuff on and of course a fancy hot tub. There was also an inner tube that was free for everyone to play with. On the way back we got ready to catch some Z's. I slept in an amazingly comfortable pull out couch while my travel companion slept in the bedroom. When we got up we had a wonderful breakfast in the lobby and wrote our blog entry in the computer area with their high speed internet access. Overall, I would rate it a 9 1/2 out of 10. I would highly recommend it.

more driving

We began our 4th of July celebration at the St. Ignace parade. Lots of noise and a few fire trucks. Next, we took the ferry to Mackinac island and immediately sampled some of their delicious ice cream. The island has an 8 mile road circling it, no cars allowed. We rented a tandem bike and headed off. About 1/2 way around, there was a picnic area where we enjoyed some pizza and shared it with a very friendly seagull. In the downtown area, extreme fudge smells fill the street, so we had to sample some and then try a bit more ice cream. We ended the night with a fireworks cruise. The boat took us out onto the lake and then we waited and waited for the sun to completely set. We saw fireworks from many cities around the lake but all were pretty far away. Finally, the Mackinac fireworks went off and they were worth the wait and the shivers.

On the 5th, we headed over the suspension bridge connecting the U.P. with the rest of Michigan. We drove to Ann Arbor and found our way to Zingerman's Deli. An amazing place Oprah had recommended. She does know her brisket. The next day, we drove into Detroit and visited the DIA. A lovely museum with Rodin's Thinker sitting out front to greet visitors. Inside, among lots of nice art, are Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry Murals. They are well worth a visit to motor city. We borrowed free audio guides that go into great detail about every corner of the mural. Fascinating! On the way back to the hotel, we drove along Jefferson Ave. It follows along the river and into Grosse Pointe. Many lovely homes, some were for sale, but I don't think we are ready to buy at this pointe. The last home we saw was the estate of Edsel Ford. We were too late to have much of a tour, so we just drove in and checked out their gift shop. Tomorrow - The Henry Ford.
~xzfz

3rd of July

We drove and drove and drove on the 3rd. We did not tour Eagle River much, because we wanted to get on the move. Our lunch plans for Escanaba had to be a bit altered. As I had thought, Bonamer's Tavern was not a destination destined for Frommer's. One long bar full of customers at noon on a Wednesday, no food in sight. We got the only souvenir we could find and then continued on to the UP. The last town in Wisconsin was Spread Eagle, so we stopped for a break. The next town across the border was Norway! We have a friend visiting Norway right now, what a thrill that we could be there too. We finally had lunch at a Big Boy with beautiful views of Lake Michigan and lots of interesting photo op.s. The whole drive was full of lovely views of trees and water. We pulled over about an hour from St. Ignace to take a closer look and to put our toes in the water. My travel companion got a bit carried away by the waves and sand and I thought I might have to leave her behind. Instead, she brought some sand and water along for the ride.

Prius update, avert your eyes if you drive an SUV:

On the way to Eagle River, the mpg was 55.6. As we drove 70 mph north of the Twin Cities,we were only getting about 48, but the 55 mph roads made a difference. The next day, the mpg went up to 57. We filled the tank (at $4.26) and for the last 75 miles of the trip averaged 58.

Best Western Derby Inn

We just had our first night in a hotel and our first hotel breakfast. We have stayed at Best Western Derby Inn in Eagle River Wisconsin. It is the snowmobile capitol of the world so I'm guessing it would be better in the winter. The lobby was HUGE. 1/3 of the lobby was the check in area, another was a section for breakfast and the third was what looked to be a bar. It was also filled with snowmobile trophies. When we entered our hotel room it looked like a regular room to me.  There were many winter paintings in the room probably reflecting on the snowmobiles.  But when I came in the bathroom it was amazing! The shower was curved and even the toilet paper looked fancy! We went to the pool later in the day. Of course it was just a normal pool room with a hot tub sauna and video game room but the room made the pool look huge. Also of course there was a tile snowmobile on the floor of the pool, and speaking of pool, the video game room had a pool table. There was also a laundry room right by our room. I have to admit that it wasn't what I expected. There was one washer and one dryer. It was a dollar to wash and a dollar to dry. We spent $4 on laundry which is pretty cheap I guess.  So after a wonderful sleep in 2 queen sized beds we went to breakfast in the lobby. It wasn't a buffet but it was pretty good. We were planning on eating in the lobby but since it was in the lobby there were only 5 tables and they were all full so we had to go back to the hotel room. Rating from 

1-10 1 being the worst I would rate it an 8. Two words to describe the hotel would be Fancy and Winter.

~Jq4q