La Gaspe

Well some quick additions to our last blog. Canada Day, the day started off on Parliament Hill with the changing of the guards, stunning,and then the bells rang from the bell tower, it all set the mood of the day. Again a wonderful day.

July 2nd , has us on the road to head towards the large Penisnula that ends Quebec, the Gaspe Peninsula.Approximately 1235 Kms to circumnavigate the peninsula !!! A big piece of land to cover. So we head for Highway 132, which is the main road around, and yes we are following the coast not cutting thru the middle.

What stands out to us is that we follow the St Lawrence River till the end of the peninsula, it is one big river , as we travel along we feel like we are home, water and mountains in the background , could be the Gulf Islands. Dotted along the coast  are small villages, fishing was the main industry but now tourism is what keeps these small communities together . Religion is very prominent in these villages, as from a distance before each village you can see the tall Spiers of the church,  but not one church in these communities , there are several churches. Some communities don’t have much , but they are pretty and the homes are quaint Victorian/French architect , gardens are minimal , it seems Hosta’s are the favoured plant, it must be because they have such a short growing period? Some villages we drive thru , others we can see from the main road, so pass them by. Each village has a musuem or a plaque, lots of history going back to the 1600! Too much to read!!

We did stop at the marine musuem in Rimiski which was fascinating as it was about the sinking of the Empress of Ireland,  it is an amazing story that I would venture to say most Canadians , me included know very little about it , they refer to it as the Canadian Titanic. It sunk one night in 1914 after just dropping off its river pilot at Rimiski and heading down river in comparative safe waters  on its way back to the United Kingdom , as the fog came in they spotted a Norwegian coal freighter fully loaded  as it disappeared into the fog , the empres slowed down went into full reverse to avoid the freighter the freighter also altered course , when suddenly out of the mist the freighter was spotted off the starboard side it rammed the side of the empress and put a huge hole in the ship then reversed , thereby allowing the hole to be open to the sea , the empress rolled over till her deck was perpendicular to the sea , she sank in 150 ft of water  four miles from the town of Rimiski ,in fourteen minutes , with the loss of 1002 souls , although the loss of life was greater on the Titanic there was in fact four more passengers lost on the empress. The passenger list on this sailing was not made up of influential or famous people , as was on the Titanic ,this coupled with the out break of WW1 was part of the reason that the story faded from public notice. Also any survivors were encouraged not to talk about the event , it is not until relative recent history that the story is receiving it’s true place in history , the wreck site has now been designated a national  heritage sight and is protected from any more salvage , as it ranks as one of the best wrecks for diving  because of its relatively shallow depth , the tragic irony of this accident is , if both skippers had done nothing and carried on their speed and course,the two ships would have missed each other, the museum is a must if you visit this area and are interested in Canadian maritime history. Which there is a lot of that in Eastern Canada.

We stayed two nights in the lovely village of Perce , which is situated at the furthest eastern point of the Gaspe peninsula , there are many hiking trails and excursions, we chose a hike to the grotto , a tranquil water fall high up in the surrounding hills. Perce is well known for the rock, it is slowly corroding away but is a true wonder of nature. Very similar to Lands End in Cabo , Mexico and one that used to be in Normandy until it crumbled into the ocean. It is possible to walk out at low tide to the base of Perce Rock , which stands as a towering monolith to the town but we chose not to after warning s of falling rock, our next stop see’s us entering  the town of Campbellton New Brunswick and checking into a charming B&B in a one hundred year old house rebuilt after the fire of 1910 , so six provinces done bring on number seven …

“O Canada”

Well our gracious hosts returned from there holiday on Vancouver Island, kind of ironic they were back west and we are at their place in the east.! But at long last we get to visit , we have planned this journey for some time , so lots to get caught up with.

So time to explore and have a tour of Ottawa, we have already been impressed by the beauty of Ottawa, nestled along the river, lots of green space and well laid out city. A quick peek at the stunning parliament buildings, though set up for Canada day they are still a spectacular piece of architecture, unfortunately the cenotaph was shrouded for cleaning and repairs. Next a trip pass 24 Sussex , our prime minister is not living there as it requires a major renovation. Then off to Rideau Hall where they are actually living, as we turned the corner there was a staging area for the motorcycles , so of course we had to stop and have a photo shot. The Trudeau’s have opened the gates to the public, so we decided to have a wander, well low and behold we we’re at a tree planting ceremony with the President Of Mexico . This was a special day as the Three Amigos were all present in Ottawa, Mr Trudeau, the Mexican president and Obama, we tried to get an invite for lunch as it was Lawrence’s birthday , but no such luck. Well at least we got to see one out of three and only about 20 feet away!!! So after a tour of some beautiful homes and a few embassy’s we took Lawrence out for a birthday lunch,a lovely place on the river.

We returned home to await visitors from Burlington area, Pepe and Jill, they have been coming to Ottawa for years to celebrate Canada Day. A very special Happy Birthday Day! So we had an evening of visiting and planning the next few days .The following day was another annual event for our hosts and guests , Mini golf!!! Gals against the guys, it was pretty intense, serious, but fun, and the guys won!!! A good chuckle!!

Canada Day, wow, is all we can say! 40,000 people on and around Parliament hill and we were there, we are so very proud to be a Canadian and to stand with the crowds and to sing ” O Canada” was very moving. A highlight was to be part of the crowd , to see and hear Justin Trudeau ‘s and the governors general speech , and to watch the F18 jet fighters fly over not once but three times!! Lawrence was interviewed by the roving reporter and I had my picture taken by a freelance photographer , and to top it off we were on the evening news!!! A great Canada Day, we are proud to be Canadian.

 

Bonjour

We arrived at our in laws place and it was like coming home, our kids pictures were on the wall and we had a welcome letter waiting for us, so a quick grocery shop and laundry on ,feet up and supper on the barbecue, and a drink in hand we sit in the back yard surrounded by trees and feel like we are at home. Thank you Dave and Cathy!!

We plan our next few days and the top of Lawrence’s bucket list is the War Musuem. We have heard it is phenomenal. So that is were I dropped him off , and 8, yes 8 hours later I picked him. I thought he got lost in there but he was in awe ! So I am going to let him tell you a bit about it.

To sum up the Ottawa war museum in fifty words or less is impossible but I will try , it is different to a lot of museums in that it doesn’t have twenty thousand individuals exibits , rather it has five main galleries each dedicated to a period of time of Canadian war history with lots of photos and write ups , along with intactive exibits , they span from the time of the First Nations right up to present day. That is not to say that there aren’t physical exibits there is lots of actual pieces to look at , but you are not overwhelmed like in some museums, there is a special exibit gallery which is interesting and an absoultley  fantastic tank and war machinery exhibit , I have never seen so many complete tanks in one place , this is a must see if you are interested in history . Ok two quick pieces of interest out of thousands, did you know that the first evidence of violent death in Canada was an arrowhead found in remains in Haida Gwaii on the west coast , also in more modern history a German u boat landed on the northern shore of Labrador in 1943 and planted a weather transmitter that had Canadian meterlogical service written on it for disguise , this unit was to transmit information back to Germany , it was not discovered until the late eighties , it did not say whether or not it was still transmitting , I suspect not , I could go on about what is there but I will leave it to you to visit , I spent eight hours there and they had to kick me out defiantly a must see .

So our adventures continues,  we decide to head to Montreal for a few days before our gracious hosts come home. We are trying to remember our grade 8 French, and thankfully Lawrence is better than me as I mix French and Spanish , so I need lots of brushing up. Old Montreal is beautiful , we felt like we were in France. Beautiful old buildings, cobblestone roads and Notre Dame Bascilica church , just breath taking.The streets were busy, full party mode, it is a long weekend for Quebecers, it was John Baptiste Day , so it was party time. We passed by a tent and noticed that Cirque de Soleil was playing, so we bought tickets for “Luzia”. We’re else but to see one of there shows then in Montreal where it all started. It was fantastic, what else can we say.A city tour the next day to complete our visit of this beautiful ,historic city. Too much to see and so little time to see it all but we got the flavour,back to Ottawa to visit with the inlaws.

 

June 25 th , “Happy Birthday” Oesha, our granddaughter has turned two today! We had a visit via face time as we sat on the grass in Montreal, she seems oblivious that we are away , but the distance pulls at our heart string.

 

Lock Them Down

A quick mention from the last blog Lawrence stood at 1465 ft above Toronto  in the sky pod of the CN Tower,  I had forgotten to correct the ?????? And everyone knowing me , you know I wasn’t there!!!

Kingston is the home of  5 Prisons. WOW that would be tough knowing that a goodly portion of your cities populations were inmates!!! Kingston penetiary , maximum security is now closed to inmates but now open to the public?! We tried to get a tour , but they are pre booked and sell out quickly so we will try and catch it on the way back. But a quick drive by,it appears to be an imposing fortress, not so sure why man is intrigued by the places that criminals are incarcerated in, no different then Alcatraz, we all want to have a look.

Kingston is the home of a lot of history  it was the capital  of Canada at one time, which was news to us. As we walked thru town  we were awed by the beautiful churches, buildings, and centre  plaza,  cobblestone streets all with the back ground of the river and the beginnings of the Thousand Islands.   A  large hospital and  a large University  campus draws a young population so the atmosphere is bursting with youth and excitement. Also a trivial bit of information The Tragically Hip ,rock group is from Kingston. Fort Henry stands proudly across the river , a once protector of the waters around Kingston.

A lovely town that we will love go back to on our return journey. Before we left Kingston we spent several hours at Fort Henry,  had a great tour of the fort and the way the soldiers lived at the time, with the staff dressed in period costumes and the soldiers being very efficient in there crowd and tour control, especially with the school groups marching them along in single file. Mock canon drills in the centre court to give you the idea of how life was back there, a definite to take in if you are that way.

From Kingston  we head toward Ottawa, staying again to secondary roads we travel through small communities and wind our way to Ottawa , were we will be staying at our son in laws , parents place, Dave and Cathy. We are looking forward to doing some home cooking , laundry and taking it easy for a few days as this travelling is hard work!!!

 

 

Away with the Jays

The Big Thunder behind us,we head out,in order to avoid the traffic of Toronto  we swing wide through Hamilton , Kitchener , Guelph an on to a lovely little market suburban town of Stouffville , and we are welcomed with open arms by our inlaws , Tyson, Christie, Simon,Blake and Brianna.Hot and sweaty we arrive soon to be showerd and with alcohol in our hand sit down to a lovely meal and good visit time. Morning brings us coffee and courage, we are off to conquer Toronto , first stop you guessed it the CN tower standing ??????feet above the city, it is comprised of two sections the first takes you to the restaurent level which is pretty spectacular, with a glass floor and walk out balcony , it’s funny you look at a floor that you can see through , which is stupid height from the ground ,even though you know it will hold your weight and you see people standing on it , you still test it with your foot like you would test ice before you step on it , and it was not just me their were lots doing it. You ask  where was Robin ? I could just make her out between my feet  far below , not a chance of her  being up here.Then you take another elevator to the sky pod which yes is even higher , by a lot,almost double, then you can look down on the even dafter people then you , that are standing on top of what you just left , dressed in red , they don’t call them jump suits just red suits , these people are hanging off the edge tied on with a thin wire , this is called edge walking and you too can do this for a mere $200 dollars , me thinks not for me , the CN tower is a must if you go to Toronto, quite fantastic views of the lake, airport and beyond.

 

So with my must do done , we take the city tour together ,a wonderful experience fourteen of the best stops in Toronto including St.Lawrence’s market for the best Italian sandwich there is , a drive by the hockey hall of fame , Rogers  arena with the top open for the upcoming game, home of Toronto’s Blue Jays, the old roundhouse where they used to turn trains around ,and of course Union station , and many other points of interest, a fantastic tour well worth it . As a bonus it includes a harbour tour, out around the island and along the waterfront , you get a totally different view of the city from the water. The  tour was vey informative one of the little bits of info was using the acronym  “Homes”, which stands for Huron , Ontario , Michigan , Erie  and Superior,  a good way to remember the Great Lakes , in all a very interesting day in Toronto. So we climb aboard the commuter train back to Stouffville , the one hour trip home gives us time to consider the day and Toronto , even though almost everyone we met said don’t bother with Toronto we had a great time , yes the only way to see it is by public transport traffic is terrible , but that aside it is an interesting city , vibrant and quite beautiful along the water.We were impressed as to how clean it is , you can usually tell a lot about a city from the window of a commuter train , and I am pleased  to say  there was not one shopping trolley or old wheel or pile, or rubbish along the railway cutting anywhere , a pleasant sight , even the miles of grass under the power lines was neatly mowed in true Ontario tradition , a lovely day in a surprising city would definitely  come back . Now  the train pulls in to our sleepy little station we are looking forward to pizza and good friends for the evening .

Morning finds us on the road along the lower road beside Lake Ontario, the road follows close to the lake , so many excellent views as we travel past farmers fields on the one side and estates on the lakeside. Some of the homes are magnificent right out in the country ,as we approach Kingston we see the effect of the big wind that hit here a few days ago huge trees blown down and many branches torn off ,quite a lot of damage , this was part of what we encountered coming in to  Stouffville .

…more later

Onguiaahra, (Niagara River)

We cross the river Thames , drive along Oxford street and pullin for morning coffee ,yes we are in London , Ontario , a lovely town very reminiscing  of England as is much of Ontario is so far ,brick buildings , houses built to a similar British plan but slightly larger. By lunchtime we are on the shore of Lake Erie heading notheast  toward the great thunder Niagara , the road follows the lake but slightly inland so lovely distant views of Lake Erie as we pass farmland and large estates on the lakeside , it is apparent to us that Ontarians love to cut grass , there are literally acres of grass which form people’s lawns,everyone is out on their sit down John Deers cutting away, it must be something to do with the short growing season .

 

Within an hour of arriving in Niagara , I had taken a trip on the aero tram that travels over the whirlpool about five kilometres down from the falls , a fantastic experience to witness close hand the turbulence in this water,it  is amazing , they tell us it is possible to hike down to the water , we decided not to in the interest of safety. Our second day at Niagara we explore the caves behind the falls which involves decending  to the lower levels and walking right up to within feet of the water  rushing over the falls , followed by a walk out to the lower table rock which gives you a vantage point below and to the side of the falls , it is vey for difficult to describe how it is,other than to say it is wet and truly awesome the sound alone is deafening.

 

There are many stories of people going over the falls , but the two that struck a cord with us are the story of the native princess who was betrothed to an older man she didn’t love , so instead of marrying  him , she said the God of the big thunder called to her and she stole away in a canoe and went over the falls , legend  has it her spirit can still be seen in the rainbow and heard at the falls , her native name meant “Maiden of the Mist” , the name that is now carried by the boat that carries tourists to the mist of the great thunderous falls . The other story which is fact ,is that of the young seven year old boy , that while out with a family friend and sister on a boating trip in the upper Niagara river , the engine failed after the propeller hit a rock and the craft started do drift toward the falls , it soon capsized drowning the friend and plunging the boy and girl headlong toward the falls , the girl was plucked from the water fifteen feet from the edge of the falls but the boy went over wearing only his clothes and a life jacket , below the falls the Captain of the “Maid of the Mist”noticed him in the water and he was rescued, truly a miracle .

The day closes with a walk along the cliff top enjoying the illuminated falls with a spectacular fireworks display , and a very peaceful feeling stood in the presence of Mother Nature , and such awesome power , truly a wonder of this beautiful world and country we live in .

Georgian Bay

Well what can I say about central Ontario? It wasn’t what either of us were expecting, rolling hills, tons of lakes ,Wikipedia says 250,000 lakes .Yep that is a lot of lakes, so like Manitoba, you know why there is so many mosquitoes !

We crossed from North Bay to Parry’s Sound which is a lovely community nestled on a lake and had a visit with some friends, actually they are my daughters friends who we have had some good times with. We got a cuddle with Baby Stanley who came into the world two weeks ago and got to meet his sister Adelaide ,and grandparents.

After a quick visit we headed to the coast line of Georgian Bay and followed it around, taking in the scenery and small bedroom communities along the way. This is where we encountered our Second time for rain on our journey. We decided to quit early  instead of having to get into  rain gear. So just chilled out, watching TV and dinner out.

Next day,it was still raining so as true bikers that we are , we got into our rain gear and headed out. And boy did it rain, at one point Lawrence mentioned he couldn’t see the road as the rain was bouncing back just as high as the bike and the trucks were throwing up just as much, ( it was one of very few days we decided to go on the motorway) just to make some time. HMMMM wrong move, parked under an overpass , climbed up the bank ,just in case some crazy driver took us out, and waited for 10 minutes until the squall settled down to just rain!! To say the least we didn’t see much of the city of Sarnia due to rain and decided after a quick coffee break we would push on to Windsor, good choice, the rain stopped, we cooked inside our rain gear with the humidity at 100 percent  and the outside temp around 28.

We were very impressed with parts of Windsor, especially along the river front as directly across is Detroit. Like a lot of cities they are beautifying the downtown areas to encourage tourism. Well it worked for us. After changing clothes and chatting with our very gracious host at a very nice B&B we ventured off walking ,dinner first and then a very long walk along the river and back. A much longer walk then anticipated  but it felt good. Our accommodations were in the neighbourhood of the Hiram Walker /Canadian Club Whiskey factory, you could smell the yummy yeast in the air. The beautiful brick buildings were built for the workers of the factory and have now been restored as a very elite area.

Well just cause Detroit was so close, we decided to go have a look. City streets were just as bad as Ontarios, so it was a hold on ride and stand on the pegs ride. Downtown was nice, fantastic old buildings and some interesting new. So we wandered a few miles further and saw a dramatic change, beautiful old homes just abandoned , some boarded up others not, Mother Nature taking over with the vegetation. The city has pulled some of the homes down , we assumed it was a safety issue. Detroit is the home of the automotive industry so she is called the Motor city, due to a crash in economics and the automotive business it went from a thriving city of 1.? million people to 500,000 plus, numbers keep changing , so don’t quote me on those numbers. Roads were fairly quiet for such a big city , a bit of a strange feel to the area. Back to Canada we go and continue on with journey. Headed towards London!!!

Approaching. Climax

Manitoulin Islands

Wow , we never realized how much Ontario has to offer. Upon looking at the map and doing some research the direction we decided to head was to the Manitoulin Islands. Now if you are like us we had never heard of them, I’m not sure why as they are gorgeous, a kayaker’s dream place to paddle. They are located on the top of Georgian  Bay and are a multitude of islands , some connected  by bridges some not, very picturesque , could be in the gulf islands!

 

We were booked into a lovely newly renovated motel called  Friends Inn, and the owner was lovely, made us feel very welcomed and had a wealth of information about the island and what to see and do. So after a quick trip to the grocery store and of course the liquor store we got settled in. Met a couple of  ladies who were out for a couple of days on there motorcycles , so spent the evening with them trading stories.

Next day we were off to explore the island,  small country lanes, no traffic, had to watch out for the deer and had several glimpses of Sandhill Cranes that come to nest on the island.For a bit of trivia, Manitoulin has the largest lake within a lake ( Lake Huron ).We did a fantastic hike called the Cup and Saucer, which is part of the Niagara escarpment of this area, so after a fairly easy hike of 1.4 km we were perched on the top of it, well the view was spectacular you could see for miles, we never realized that Ontario was so flat. A friend of ours  described it as our coastal mountains with all the tops cut off, and he was right! We walked along the edge and had a few lookouts that one step to many and you would not be here to tell the story. It was straight down! We hope the pictures do it justice.

Manitoulin also has a small bridal veil falls, so another short hike to explore that which was refreshing as the day was getting to be very warm . We continued exploring the island, bumpy roads, scenery of farm land and many lakes and not much of anything else,  so a round trip of 192 miles got us back to our motel for some R&R.

Next stop was Sudbury, nice to visit these places that you hear of but never get to see,it’s a mining town so of course we had to check that out so did a tour of a mock up of  a Nickel mine, hard hats on we descended 70ft down an elevator shaft and got a fantastic tour of the past to present mining. Boy have we come along way. Also it was interesting to be told that the mining industry has been improving environmentally over the years, as Sudbury and area was well known for acid rain.

We ended  are day in North Bay with a lovely visit with my niece Shana , who I haven’t seen for 4 years. Great to catch up with news and have a few hugs.

 

The Great Lake they call “Gichigami”

Well we finally have time to catch everyone up with our adventures across Canada, the days and miles are flying by.

First comment that I would like to give everyone is that the roads are not great in Ontario,especially for a motorcycle, lots of heaves,bumps, cracks, railway tracks , you name it, also what amazes us is that they are mainly one lane each way, and to confuse you even more, depending on which route you take it is is still labelled as the Trans Cananda highway with different numbers. I am,sure it is very frustrating for the truckers, never mind the rest of us tourists. Plus the usual construction which is ongoing. But all in all the scenery is beautiful, and the weather has been great, by afternoon it’s almost time for jackets off!!

The trip around Lake Superior is fantastic, from glimpses of the Great Lake which by the way if emptied it would cover all of North America with a foot of water, largest fresh water lake in surface in the world and the second largest in volume, it’s HUGE!!!! the rock formations, of different colours catch your eye in the rock cuts , trees, mainly white pine, pass us by mile after mile. We spent a night in a town called Marathon, met a couple of American fellows who are pedaling around Lake Superior. Better them then us!

Morning finds us passing the two bikers going uphill we give them  a honk and a thumbs up as we fly by them, next stop is a beautiful waterfall, a quick hike to take some photo’s and off again. We decided to take a quick trip around the attached town and found ourselves at the beach below the waterfalls. I dared Lawrence to get in the water and he made about 5 seconds in the ice cold water, he was dancing and shouting this is B—-s—–!!!!!

 

So keeping our eye out,we knew we were approaching the half way point across Canada, sign was posted for 2 Kms down the road but never found the plaque. But it was a celebration 1/4 of our travels done!!!!

Next stop was at a lookout which was not far from where the Edmund Fitzgerald freighter went down with all 29 hands, on Nov 9 1975. Many theories of why she went down, possibly a series of rogue waves, but no one will ever know. A somber moment at an amazing view point.

We end our day in Sault St Marie, settled in close to the waterfront , touring the Soo locks, and enjoying the water front. Did you know that there is also a Sault St Marie directly across in the USA, confusing if you are googling info, the bridge that crosses the narrows is brightly lit at night with the USA side in red, white and blue, and the Canadian side in red and white.

Stay tuned……