Fall Trip, Day 7

Day 7, Thursday September 30, St. Ignace, Michigan to Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

North from St. Ignace took us to Sault Ste. Marie and the Canadian border. After paying our $3.00 US to cross the bridge across the bay (or whatever it is) we proceeded through customs. This is a surprisingly small border crossing. They did not look at our passports, but Ken did get a lecture because he went to the window BEFORE the red light changed to green ... He just followed the car in front of us!
Colors are beautiful as we travel east on Trans Canada Highway 17. Several photo op stops and a short stop at a grocery store for drinks and snacks. Very quiet, not very heavily populated area ... just a few small towns and villages along the way as we travel the north shore of Lake Huron.

Ken hasn't felt well today, so when we arrived in Sudbury, Ontario at about 2:30 we found a room at the Super 8 Motel ... EXPENSIVE to stay in Canada .. $125.00 US for the night. Cell phone doesn't work, no dollar menu at McDonalds, food is bad ... Again, we will be happy to leave Canada. Not as bad as all that, we're just accustomed to something different!

But it is BEAUTIFUL!!
Surprise of the day: Tessalon, Ontario (our drink and snack shop) is the home of the Algoma Avalanche Jr. A Hockey CLub! We happened on their sign outside the small 'arena' where they play.

Most Memorable Event
Ken: Finding an Avalanche Farm Club in the middle of nowhere!
Betty: Beautiful changing trees

Fall Trip, Day 6

Day 6, Wednesday, September 29 Green Bay, Wisconsin to St. Ignace, Michigan

We headed north along the west shore of lake Michigan. Much fog in the lowlands, but the fall color gets better as we go along. Cooler than it has been. We crossed onto the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at Menominee. This area is mostly beautiful dairies and farms.

We HAD to stop along the way for a pastie, since the Upper Peninsula is famous for this unusual treat. Ken chose beef and I had a hot sausage one. They're made with meat, potatoes, rutabagas and onions wrapped in pastry
dough, then baked. Good and the folks there love them, but we wouldn't make the trip back for them.

We had planned to drive to Sault Ste. Marie today, but when we got to St. Ignace and started touring the town we loved it and decided to stop for the night. Found a nice room at the Quality Inn looking out over Lake Michigan towards Mackinac Island. This is where the Mackinac Bridge connects lower Michigan to the upper peninsula. Ferry trips are available to Mackinac Island, but we did not go. We were told that it is a trip back in time ... no cars, just horse and buggy and bicycles!

Fall Trip, Day 5

Day 5, Tuesday Sept 28, Green Bay and Tour of Door County

New Diet we saw today: If it tastes good, spit it out.

Most Memorable

Ken: The near crash
Betty: Ditto
We took a driving trip of the Door County Peninsula today, through Sturgeon Bay, up the east side on Highway 57 and back down the other side on Highway 42. We went all the way to Gills rock and the ferry terminal to Washington, but did not make the trip to the island. So many pictures to be taken and they're published on Picasa .. fall scenes, colorful trees, and beautiful scenes of Lake Michigan's Green Bay. Trees are beginning to change on the penbinsula and the colors that we saw are beautiful. They are a long way from peak though.

Very, very, VERY close to a serious accident coming back to Green Bay today. A pickup truck pulled straight out in front of us on the highway. We were going 65 and when he pulled out we were both CERTAIN that there was no way to miss him. The car handled well and Ken's driving was outstanding .. he veered around the back of that pickup and continued down the road!

Fall trip, Day 4

Day 4, Monday, September 27 Madison to Portage to Sheboygan to Green Bay.
We met a man at breakfast in the hotel who gave us directions to Devils Lake State Park which he described as "one of the most beautiful places in Wisconsin", and to Carr Valley Cheese in Sauk City. Pumpkins, corn shocks, hay bales, chrysanthemums, and everything fall are very prevalent in this part of the country.
After these two stops and the purchase of more cheese curds, we headed east out of Baraboo, saw the terrible flooding in Portage and are now heading to Fond du Lac, and Lake Winnebago. We'll continue on to Sheboygan and drive the lakeshore drive along Lake Michigan toward Green Bay.

OOPS! changed our mind and our route. We're driving along the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago and it's beautiful. We just say a place for sale with a very unique sign which read: "Grandma says SELL."

We spent the night at Super 8 in Green Bay ... actually this hotel is as nice as the Radisson in Madison. The Packers are playing the Bears in Chicago, so we went to a local bar and grill (Macinaw's) for dinner and to watch a part of the games. Ken talked to several people, including the bar owner, about how Green Bay feels about Brett Favre now. He got mixed opinions, but mostly they still love him, just dislike seeing him in that hated uniform. Packers lost! and Green Bay is sad.

Fall Trip, Day 3

Day 3, Sunday, September 26

We drove about 40 miles east/northeast from Madison to Spring Creek, Wisconsin, and then 5 miles south to the House On the Rock. What a treat that was. Alex Jordan had a dream of building a small getaway place on this rock in the hills of south-central Wisconsin. What we saw today is what has evolved over many years. Much too much to describe, and the words could never describe it adequately. This picture is taken of Ken in the Infinity Room.

We stopped along the road on the drive back to Madison and picked up local Wisconsin cheese and cheese curds, fresh baked bread, apples from a local orchard, and a nice bottle of merlot. The plan was to have that for our dinner at the hot tub ... but when we walked back into the hotel we noticed that the Broncos/Colts game was just starting the second half on the lobby tv. After getting wine glasses, plates, napkins and a knife from the kitchen we spread out or picnic supper and had a great time watching the game ... even though it was a loss for the Broncos.

Most Memorable Events

Ken: House on the Rock
Betty: Carousel at House on the Rock

Fall Trip, Day 2

Day 2, Saturday, September 25, 2010

We woke up to a rainy morning today. We drove east for a way and then crossed the Missouri River at Council Bluffs, Iowa. More trees now and gentle rolling hills. The hills are terraced with corn planted on every inch of them. The corn is brown and ready for harvest now. We stopped for breakfast in a very small farm town .. Shelby, Iowa .. and had a choice of two restaurants "The Corn Stalk", or "The Corn Crib" ... It IS Iowa!! We chose the 'crib' and there were a few locals who gather there every morning for breakfast. Very pleasant and friendly folks and not bad food. We enjoyed looking at all the antiques, mostly farm related, that were displayed around the building. We encountered very beautiful countryside and farmlands all across Iowa. It rained all the way to Dubuque, Iowa where we crossed the Mississippi River into Wisconsin. On Highway 151 in Wisconsin we passed the Mustard Museum, the home of .... Poupon U ....

We arrived in Madison about 5:00 and checked in at the .... Radisson in Madison as Ken liked to call it. Nice, but not nearly as fancy as it might sound. There were many kids in the hotel, all in Madison for a huge soccer tournament. This could have been a serious problem if we had allowed it. We're settled in now for two nights, just enjoying being still with no movement!!

Most Memorable Event

Ken: The intensity and duration of the rainstorm
Betty: The farmland and cornfields just go on forever, but they are beautiful.

Fall Trip 2010

Day 1, Friday, September 24, 2010

We left home about 7:45 a.m. this morning. As we were saying goodbye to Loretta she noticed a leak coming down through her ceiling light in the dining room. The upstairs kitchen sink drain had sprung a leak!! We left her to call a plumber and get the problem taken care of.

We made it all the way to Brighton before one of our NEW tires went flat. Ken put on the spare and found a truck stop with a garage, but BAD NEWS .. the tire was ruined! He contacted Pep Boys and they directed us to their Aurora Store for a replacement tire ... thankfully covered by the road hazard insurance we bought when we purchased the new tires. We lost a couple of hours driving time, but were back on the road by 11:00 a.m. heading west on I76 toward Omaha. Since this was not a sightseeing day, just a drive day, we stopped only for lunch at Subway in Ogallala, NE. We were behind schedule, but we arrived at the Courtyard Marriott in Omaha at about 8:00 p.m, where we had gotten a great deal through Priceline.com.

Not a lot to look at today ..mostly flat land and usually not a lot of trees. Lots of water though ... small lakes and the Platte River.

Most Memorable Events

Ken: The length of the Platte River and the Platte River Valley
Betty: Flat tire and subsequent events