Home!

We are home! 

We had a great weekend visiting family and friends. Aside from quite a storm on Saturday night and a power outage, we had terrific weather. 

We enjoyed the lake - boating, kayaking - a first for me, and paddle boarding. Actually, Ray paddle boarded and I watched. I also got to help with stepping the mast of one of the sailboats - this was also a first for me. Ray and I also enjoyed a long walk - it's almost a mile to the center of the town of Shell Lake from my brothers' homes. It is fun to walk along the road, the campground, the beach, the main street and back with some side tours and visiting along the way.

We ate well - very well! Sunday night we went on a pizza cruise  Pizza cruise: Order pizza from a place in town. Everyone ride on a pontoon boat to the town dock. Someone go get the pizza. Enjoy the pizza on the pontoon.  Then we took a ride around the lake. We saw eagles, loons, and an osprey. Ray got some great shots. 

It's always hard to leave. Shell Lake is definitely one of my childhood homes - I was there at least once every year of my life until I was in my 40s, I think. I've only missed a very few years in my almost 68 years.

Where are the pictures???? I really didn't take many - I was too busy having fun, I guess. I am mad at myself for not getting pictures of people though. We'll just have to go back!

The car is unpacked and much of that stuff is put away. The laundry pile is high. We've looked at most of the mail and bought a few groceries. Tomorrow things will get caught up.

We've traveled 6818 miles in the last 48 days and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. However, it is nice to be home!

Shell Lake, Wisconsin

The last two nights we stayed at Heritage Home in the Heart of Sault Ste. Marie, a vrbo.com rental. It was the only place we could find in the area we desired and although we weren't real sure about this rental, it was one of our favorites! It was super clean and comfortable and the owners/hosts were so accommodating. In addition to a great house, we had a wonderful deck and backyard. This would be a awesome place to spend a week or more. We definitely give this place 5 stars.

We've had a very long day of traveling. Thank goodness we changed time zones so we gained an hour.

We went through Customs in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan,

and we drove along Lake Superior.

That's my thumb not a dark cloud!

We are now in Shell Lake, Wisconsin. I have three brothers - two of them live here on the lake just 3 houses apart. My oldest brother and his wife only live here part time in a cabin/home that was built by my grandfather just before I was born. A long time ago! Ray and I have many fond memories of times spent "at the lake" so it is always nice and comforting to be back here. We have other family and many friends here also.

Shell Lake

We'll head home on Monday. In the meantime, it appears that we have a full agenda and lots planned for the weekend! So I'll take a break from blogging and hopefully find time for a little kayaking.

A day at the Waterfront

We slept in and woke to a beautiful but cool morning. We decided to spend time at the waterfront because there was so much we did not see yesterday.

The waterfront is actually on St. Mary's River, the body of water that connects Lake Huron and Lake Superior. We saw Lake Huron yesterday and I didn't realize we had moved beyond.

We checked out the mall - there is a really good-sized mall at the waterfront! We did lots of walking and did not spend a penny!

Then we walked along the waterfront. Here are a few pictures:

The USA side of the river

A neat shade/shelter structure

There seemed to be people living in the teepee but no signs telling us what was going on. 

I think the temperature only reached 73F or 23C but the sun was very warm.

The ship on the right is a museum.

We ate at HD Sports Grill - they had many TVs and one was about 6' high and 14' wide. After a good lunch, we walked along the waterfront back to the jeep and went to the downtown area which is just a couple of blocks north.

I didn't find anything I just had to have at the yarn shop but...
that was not the case at the quilt shop.  Life's a Stitch was a great shop with super nice ladies working there.

I found lots of neat things - all for my stash. I really needed some blues. The stripes and print are the same line.

This red and white will become a backing.

We are tired so the rest of the afternoon was spent on the couch - we each have our own! We may go back to the waterfront for the sunset later tonight - the sun goes down about 9:15 pm. 

Tomorrow we will cross the big bridge and head for northwestern Wisconsin. It will be a very long travel day for us so it's a good thing we are resting up! We will visit family for the weekend and then head home on Monday.

Sault Ste Marie Ontario

Last night we stayed at Lakeside Guesthouse in North Bay, Ontario another airbnb rental. The apartment was clean and very comfortable. We had everything we needed and were right on the water – the views were superb.  Joan was very responsive and easy to work with. This was a wonderful place to kick-back and relax. This is another 5 star place we'd love to come back to visit.

Here is my best photo from the sunset last night on Trout Lake

and one this morning.

After we got on the road this morning, the clouds moved in. We traveled Trans Canada Highway 17 all day.

We had a hard time finding a place to eat but finally stopped at a tiny place kind of in the middle of nowhere. It was called No Special Place. It was special to us because we found somewhere to eat and it was way past lunch time! 

After checking the menu, we decided it was time to try Poutine. Ours was hand cut French fries with dark gravy and cheese curds - very good but not our usual diet. This was my half of our one order.

We spent a lot of time today backed up in traffic. This is definitely the construction season.

We both loved this sign and we saw it a number of times today. Our biggest concern is If you can't see, why are you driving?

We also saw this sign a few times including once where we crossed a street. Aren't there any younger people around? Schools here don't get out until next week; will they change the signs then?

Of course, I'm just joking about the signs!

By mid-afternoon, the clouds cleared.

We are at a rental house in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This is the only rental we weren't sure about but it was the only one in the area we picked. It is awesome! We have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with a great backyard and beautiful furnishings. The owners left us a nice goodie basket of fruit, candy, muffins, coffees... and we have a container garden on our back porch. That meant fresh lettuce for dinner tonight. Nice!

We are a few blocks from the water front - Lake Huron. We walked there a while ago and are about to head back for the sunset. It was a little breezy - maybe you can tell by this photo.

We'll stay here another day but aren't sure what we will do tomorrow yet. It will be a great day though!

North Bay, Ontario

We are back in Canada. On this trip, we decided to avoid Montreal and Ottawa by going through Maine and New York. We aren't sure that was the best decision made last January but I'm really glad we got to see Lake Placid.

For the past two nights we were  in the Adirondack mountains at Adirondack Retreat in Wilmington, New York, another Airbnb rental. We had the carriage house apartment above the 3-car garage. Our host Greg lives in the house on the secluded acreage. He was very responsive to our questions and easy to work with. Our apartment was clean and comfortable. The kitchen had everything we needed/wanted including a blender for smoothies. The area and the views were fantastic. 

From our host's back patio overlooking the beaver pond. Sadly we did not see the beavers or the 2 kits. We also did not meet the resident bobcat!

The setting was quiet and very relaxing. We'd give the place 5 stars and definitely return if we are in the area. The back of our host's home.

Ray is waiting for the sunset.

Our 'home'.

 

New York has some beautiful scenery. I've always equated the state with the city and I should know better! Where we live in Illinois is nothing like Chicago! I'm glad we spent some time in this area. 

As we left New York today, we shared the road with a few Amish. 

We crossed the border at Ogdensburg, NY and Johnstown, ON traveling across the Ogdensburg - Prescott International Bridge. Each country has its Customs on its own side of the River. This is the St. Lawrence River as we left the USA before going through Customs in Ontario, Canada.

The drive across Ontario was very wooded.

Today was another long drive. We are tired but with a view like this, it is easy to relax! We are on Trout Lake in North Bay, ON. This is our view from our apartment. We are hoping the skies clear a little before sunset.

Tomorrow we are headed to Sault Ste. Marie. 

We saw where it happened!

Miracles do happen! At least one did in 1980 in Lake Placid, NY. The Miracle on Ice with Team USA beating Team USSR in ice hockey and going on to win the Olympic Gold Medal. Do you remember? I do. That was the beginning of my interest in and love of ice hockey. So can you guess where we are?

We spent much of the day in Lake Placid. We 'live' just 16 miles away. We are big hockey fans and high on our list for today was to visit the ice arena where the miracle took place.

All of the team member's names were around the arena. We had the pleasure of meeting Bob Sutter about a month before his unexpected death in 2014.

Lake Placid is very much a tourist town - MANY shops, restaurants, and motels. It was fun to look around for a while but our beautiful, sunny day was also very warm so we headed on.

We visited High Falls Gorge where we knew the temperature would be a little cooler down in the gorge. It was very much a walk in the park 

except for the steps 

and I could not go out on those see through the bottom platforms. 

Crossing the bridges and the boardwalks that were fastened to the walls of the gorge were outside my comfort zone but I did it.

This is a gorgeous area with fantastic scenery.

This has been a fun day. Tomorrow we will travel back into Canada, spending the evening in a small town in Ontario.