Our trip so far has been very interesting with the stimulating cities of Portland Maine, Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa plus the two days with cousins in PEI. We are now leaving Canada’s largest and most populous province of Quebec and crossing into Ontario with a new time zone also. Fact check: Ontario may now be the most populous area as of 2021 and Ottawa is also in Ontario but right on the border. Anyway we are now headed into an area of very sparse population and mostly rolling forests. One can drive one hundred miles without passing a gas station. This section will be 935 miles driven over 17 hours. Probably the most boring part of the trans-Canada drive.
Corn fields past harvest go on for miles on the straight away Trans Canada Highway One. This was one of our hourly stops to get out and walk. We have seen so many abandoned properties and houses left to fall down and places with junk yards on their lawn consisting of bathtubs, cars, trucks, boats, refrigerators and toilets. This one even had an upright piano outside. Two of the towns names Spanish and Espanola both looked nearly abandoned.Today’s stop was in the town of Sault Ste Marie, home of Roberta Bondar, the first female Canadian neuroscientist and astronaut to travel to space. The above photo is of the Marriott Delta Hotel. Our room was the third window up on the left with the drapes open for a view of the Lake.The Sault Ste Marie waterfront walkway stretches for 25 km.Sault Ste. Marie Ship Canal was completed in 1895 and formed the last link in an all Canadian navigation system stretching from the St Lawrence River to Lake Superior. It was the world’s longest lock and the first to operate with electrical power.The Lock Superintendent’s house.The mile or so long path along the lock was so lovely.Can you believe that we went to Walmart in Sault Ste Marie? Sandy promised to only look at the book section as she is getting low on books to read while driving. Jim HATES Walmart.😖. Please do not think of us as Walmartians.We had a lovely water view from our simply furnished room. We mix up our one night stays between modest accommodations in small town stop overs to more luxurious large hotels or small boutique hotels in the bigger cities. On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again. Going places that I’ve never been…..Alona Bay, Montreal RiverBailey Bridge erected during the Second World War.Montreal River.
Short video to take you along on our ride heading to the town of Wawa. Put your seat belt on😊Snowfall only in the forest not on the road thankfully for us.Did you know that Winnie the Pooh was a real orphaned bear cub who was purchased for $20 at a train station in White River, Canada by Lt. Harry Colebourn who was an Army Veterinarian responsible for the welfare of the army horses. Lt. Harry named the cub Winnie after his home town of Winnipeg. Read the fascinating info below to learn more..This is the station where Winnie was purchased.Railroad tracks in White River where Lt Harry and Army horses arrived and where the 6 month old cub Winnie was being offered up for sale.Interesting info about black bears.Sandy of course had to purchase a Winnie the Pooh in the town of his birth to attach to our cooler strap as a reminder of our trip through White River where he was born.Our next nights stop from Sault St. Marie was the really podunk town of Marathon, Ontario which is on the northern shores of Lake Superior and has a population of just over 3,000 people. We had a choice of maybe 3 restaurants.Harbour Inn officeHarbour Inn accomodations which were extremely basic but very clean and comfortable bed.Our very basic room.We ended up choosing the bar next to the restaurant and we were the only customers at 4pm. Photo of the Bar building.It had slot machines and lots of Halloween decorJim Morrison poster was on prominent display and the entrance door had a sign prohibiting face masks.Here are photos of our unhealthy heart attack meal. The above photo is Jim”s Poutine which is a very famous Canadian dish that basically consists of French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. 🤮We shared a plate of ribs and fried onion rings 😧.On our way to Thunder Bay, our next destination, we stopped by a beach in Schreiber Canada
Jim took this short video of the crashing waves on the beach.
This video shows us driving across Nipigon Bridge enroute to Thunder BayIn Thunder Bay we stayed at the Court House Hotel which was once an actual Court House and has 41 boutique guest rooms. It was built in 1924 and closed as a courthouse in 2014. The hotel opened in 2019.We walked downtown and ate at a Thai Restaurant. We ordered one of their signature cocktails that was called a Caesar, which is similar to a Bloody Mary.
Well now, that wasn’t as boring as expected. We managed to find things of interest along the way and Sandy reads and also researches places to eat or stay. On this stretch we are reading The Lilac Girls which is a historical novel about three different girls in WWII.
I know for a fact you already are tour guides, the best with the best rate !
Thank you for taking us along even when we are stuck in our easy chairs or in ! the mud
You guys are so good at finding obscure facts as you travel Loved the Winnie the Bear story.
Hey! Just thought of a great way you could really screw up your retirement….become tour guides.
Ha, ha, Bill
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