The trip in pictures:
Nice layover in Chicago - we enjoyed eating at Harry Carey's "Seventh Inning Stretch" in the Midway Airport. Alexander Graham Bell lived in Brantford with his parents for some years before getting married and it is thought his telephone design was developed here first - we toured the Bell Homestead and it was well worth the visit! The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum near Hamilton was a must stop for me. This is the CF-104 Starfighter outside the museum. This particular museum is known for the high percentage of its planes that actually fly and the impressive in-house restoration area, right in the museum itself, where you can talk to the men as they work. The restored Avro Lancaster bomber is a sight to behold. KR on the HMCS Haida, last of the Tribal-class destroyers. It is moored on Hamilton's waterfront. Toronto in the distance from Hamilton's waterfront. The Toronto subway is efficient and clean. It is a little long in the tooth, but definitely the way to see Toronto. KR before going up the CN Tower in Toronto, the tallest free-standing structure in the Americas. Standing in front of the Hockey Hall of Fame (Toronto). KR enjoyed this stop the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. It covers the history and variety of shoes. Just shoes. Touched my sole, errr, soul. I talked with one of the curators and they have over 13,000 pairs of shoes in their collection. The Toronto Zoo is VERY LARGE. An appropriate stop after the shoe museum. Here is KR getting an up-close look at an emu in the kangaroo enclosure. Hint: ride the tram. The Royal Ontario Museum wins the award for the most unusual building. Literally a clashing mix of the old and the new. And a great museum! After leaving Toronto, we drove north and stayed in Midland, where we enjoyed a cruise on the Miss Midland. It circles the 30000 Islands area of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. Spectacular! One of the hidden gems of the trip was the tour of the recreated Saint Marie Among the Hurons, one of the earliest French settlements in all of Canada. A first-class facility. The soldiers slept sitting up! It was thought at the time that it was more healthy. We enjoyed some three-sisters soup (Iroquois) in the restaurant - corn, beans & squash. KR modeling the Huron furs. The best depiction of an Iroquois longhouse I have come across. Come to think of it, it was the first one I had ever seen. As we looped through Ontario, we passed through Adirondack Provincial Park. It was very pretty, but would have been nice to get out of the car - we hit the peak mosquito and black fly season. Ottawa is wonderful - the Rideau Canal, Parliament Hill, the ByWard Market. Would have been nice to have had more time to spend here. Similar feel to Victoria, in British Columbia. Obama had recently visited the ByWard, and had purchased and liked the Canadian maple leaf cookie. Now they are Obama cookies! Pastries at the ByWard - I guess these are Canadian pastries. Parliament Hill from the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. It is a view from the Museum of Civilization, a must-see on a trip to Ottawa. After dropping KR off at the Ottawa airport, I headed back to Detroit (our starting point) along the St. Lawrence River. Near Kingston, the St. Lawrence borders New York State and there is a famous vacation area known as 1000 Islands. I guess it has about 29,000 less islands than 30000 Islands! It is thought that 1000 Island salad dressing is named after this area. I was also told that they don't count it as an island unless it has at least one tree on it! Ft. Henry sits on a beautiful spot on a rise above Kingston along the St. Lawrence. It was built to keep us, the Americans, out of Canada - it is interesting to read about history from a different perspective where WE are the rebels and the enemy. I was surprised at the beauty of the southern tip of Lake Huron, where the St. Clair River begins flowing south, pushing the water of the Great Lakes into Lake Erie. The water of Lake Huron is a beautiful blue. The ship is headed to the north into Lake Huron. It was Mother's Weekend at BYU-I, so KR flew out early from Ottawa and stopped on the way home in Rexburg for a few days. It is reported that KT & KR had a nice bonding time. KR felt like a student again, hanging out with KT & her friends and showing them how to do 1970's stuff.
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