Day 1
We left on the 30th bright and early. We took the freeway to get out of town and because of the time traffic was light. Our destination was to Coloma, WI where my brother has his retirement home. We arrived just in time for lunch and spent a very enjoyable day with them.
Day 2
We enjoyed out stay with my brother, John and sister-in-law, Linda. Staying with them is like going to a B & B. Good food, conversation and fun!
Our drive to Manitowoc to catch the ferry to MI was uneventful, but pleasant. We arrived about 2 hours before the ferry left for Ludington. While we waited we got out of the car and visited with other people there who were also waiting to board the ferry. I visited with a Mennonite family and found them very friendly. The trip to Ludington was 4 hours but not as boring as I expected, (although Steve found time to sleep)! There were games, movies, shops and even a small museum to look at, besides a restaurant.
Once at Ludington we found a local motel to stay at. When Steve started the car again we heard a huge CLUNK and thought our trip may be over, but luckily Steve with his knowledge and talents figured it out. A bendix came loose on the starter. We think it's fixed and we're on our way again.
Day 3
After a short drive (4 1/2 hours) we arrived at the town of Frankenmuth and spent the day. It's Michigan's "Little Bavaria" with horse drawn carriages, covered bridges, riverboat cruises and world-famous chicken dinners!
It's a very busy tourist town with lots of shops (my favorite pass time), restaurants, wineries and breweries. We had a fun time strolling the beautiful streets, eating the world famous chicken dinner and taking pictures.
The car ran great with no more starter problems. Unfortunately, a smaller, but just as important (to me) problem happened. The horn stopped working! Once again Steve to the rescue. At our motel he took the horn apart and fixed it! Now we can honk at all the people who wave at us!
Tomorrow we cross the border to Canada by ferry.
Day 4
The highlight of yesterday was going on the Algonac Ferry in Michigan to Walpole Island, an Indian reservation, in Canada. It was a short ferry ride and we were the only car on it.
Unbeknownst to us Labor Day is also a holiday for Canadians, The difference is all businesses (except a few restaurants) are closed whereas only government offices are closed in the USA., So when we arrived in London, Ontario are only option was to take a leisurely walk around the downtown area and eat at one of the local pubs.
Day 5
Today we are at Niagara Falls.. We have a spectacular view of the falls from our 25th floor room at the Hilton.. We spent much of the afternoon walking along the path in Niagara Park taking in the wonder of the falls. Tomorrow we are going on a boat tour that will take us behind the falls and more!
On a side note: we have become quite the attraction both at the Delta London Armouries Hotel and the Hilton. The Valets swarm around, take pictures and marvel at the distance we've traveled! Both hotels have had us park in the VIP spots at no extra charge!
Day 6
This morning we purchased a package deal for Niagara Falls. First we went behind Niagara Falls. To get there we took an elevator down and then walked through a tunnel to a lookout platform. Even with rain ponchos we got soaked from the spray, but the view was awesome! Next we saw the Niagara River make a 90 degree turn that makes a whirlpool, then it continues on its way to Lake Ontario. Lastly, we took the Canadian boat, the Hornblower, that went up close to the falls! The spray from the falls once again drenched us even with wearing rain ponchos! It was a fantastic tour and we were glad we took the time to do it.
While on the boat a large group of Amish boarded. During the ride I stood next to a family and asked where they were from. To our surprise they are the Amish neighbors that live near my brother in Wi! Soon I had several members of the family come over to talk to me! It just shows what a small world it is!!
Before we left Niagara Falls we took the opportunity to have a photo shoot of the Model A with the falls in the background. I think it turned out great!
Since arriving at the Falls several people recommended stopping at Niagara on the Lake. It was a beautiful drive through wine country and fruit stands. We called it the Napa Valley of Niagara. Once we arrived, we found Niagara on the Lake a beautifully quaint town filled with boutiques and restaurants. Of course, I loved it. Steve not so much, although, he did patiently wait on benches for me to finish looking around.
Tomorrow we're going to Toronto to sightsee.
Day 7
We started driving towards Toronto on Lake Shore Blvd. Mansions, like the ones on Lake Minnetonka, lined the road on both sides! The difference was the houses were right on the road, very visible and huge. They had beautiful yards with flowers and gated driveways! It was an impressive drive, but not relaxing. The traffic was heavy and there was a lot of stop and go because of traffic lights.
We wanted to go to Toronto to see some of their attractions, one being the Bata Shoe Museum. After visiting the museum, which was very interesting, we decided to leave the bustling city and travel on before rush hour!
We had been warned that the driving in Toronto was bad, we just didn't realize how bad! Even though, it was still early afternoon it took us 2 hours of driving in heavy traffic with construction everywhere to leave Toronto and get on some roads less traveled. It doesn't seem to matter what road we were on, country or city, they are all heavily used.
A couple of hours outside of Toronto we decided to stop for dinner at The Crossroads Family Diner in Havelock, Ontario. As normal someone always asks Steve about his car and this time was no different. He started to talk to man, his wife and their friend. I joined in the conversation and asked if they knew of a motel nearby to stay at. The friend, Deb, told us of one, but added she had room at her house if we would rather stay there! We hesitated, but decided, why not take her up on her offer, it was a free room for the night!
She was a gracious hostess and had a very comfortable bed for us! As we talked and got to know one another we found out she traveled a lot. We mentioned we didn't have good maps of where we were going and asked for directions. Not only did she give us directions but also gave us the maps we needed to complete our journey to Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Nova Scotia. We felt very blessed tonight with the good fortune of meeting Deb and her friends.
Day 8
Traffic in Canada is horrible no matter where we go. We started on the backroads, but traveling was slow because of small towns, traffic lights and traffic, so Steve decided to take the freeway. It's nerve racking, but faster, that is until the road was closed due to an accident. Traffic came to a standstill, but after an hour we were able to get back on to the backroads along with everyone else. More slow traffic!
Finally, we were moving again and around noon stopped at the really quaint town of Gananoque known for its 1000 Islands. After 1/2 hour of walking around and looking at the shops, Steve decided to get back on the freeway to make up for the lost time. From then on we only got off the freeway to fill up with gas. At one of these stops we met a group of men on tour from Jerusalem. Seeing the car, I think, was the highlight of their day, . We let them sit inside it, look at the engine take pictures and ask all the questions that always get asked. Showing the car off is Steve's biggest pleasure and joy. We are now in the providence of Quebec and everyone speaks French! Thankfully, most of the people also know English, if not, we would be in big trouble. As it is we are having trouble reading the road signs (they are in French, too)!
Day 9
After watching the weather channel this morning Steve and I made the decision not to continue on with our trip to PEI and Nova Scotia. Dorian even at a Hurricane 1 category would be too risky for us to drive in. We are so disappointed as going to those 2 places were the reason for this trip. Be that as it may, we have turned back towards home and are now back in the USA in the State of VT.
As we drove towards the boarder we finally found those beautiful country roads with little traffic that eluded us the last couple of days. As our plans had changed we took the time to stop at some garage sales in the quaint towns. I thought they might have different things for sale in Canada, but it was just like at home.
We continued to drive at a leisurely pace and we spontaneously stopped for more photos of anything that looked interesting with the car..
Stowe, Vermont is where the Von Trapp family settled after they escaped the Nazis in Austria. When we arrived Steve was surprised to see another old car in the parking lot. It was a 1931 Chevy and the owner happened to be standing there as we drove in! He was from NY and came for a Chevy car show. After exchanging car talk we took pictures. The Von Trapp Lodge was rustic and beautiful, but the day was still early and we didn't stay there.
We didn't know Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory was in Vermont, but a few miles from the Von Trapp Lodge we saw it and stopped for a tour. The tour was informative and Steve enjoyed seeing the equipment used to make the ice cream. The final part of the tour we were all given a large scoop of a new ice cream flavor called Just Like Sugar. It was made up of almond flavoring, cherries and chunks of shortbread cookie. It tasted like "more"!
The first rain we have had on our trip came late this afternoon (probably from Dorian). Driving on the winding roads became hard so we stopped at the first mom and pop motel we found. As normal several men came out of their rooms and gathered around the car to hear Steve tell them everything they ever wanted to know about the A.
I'm happy to be back in the USA for 2 reasons, 1. In Quebec the language is French and I kept thinking we were in France. 2. I now have WIFI and can use my phone anytime of the day, Not just at the motels. (I didn't buy an international plan).
Tomorrow we have no plans for places to stop, so we will see what the day brings.
.The internet isn't good and I don't know if I can send pictures tonight
Day 10
The people are sure friendly when you are driving the Model A through backroads and stop in small towns.
Today we stopped at the Debros Cafe for breakfast in Crown Point, NY. The owner of the cafe grew up in St. Louis Park, MN! He was excited to see other Minnesotans and talked to us as much as he could while working. Not many people from MN come through his town, (unless they're relatives). Just another example of how small this world is!
We drove through the Adirondack Mountains today on our way to the Finger Lakes of New York! The roads were nice and not too curvy, but some of the hills were crazy to get up and then drive down. One in particular we climbed up at a speed of 19 mph in second gear, then Steve let the car coast down at 58 mph. When he engaged the engine for braking, the engine screamed. I was afraid it might explode, but thankfully it didn't and we continued on to the next several hills doing the same thing.
The small towns in the Adirondack Mountains are mostly resorts and nothing for us to stop at. The many lakes and streams are geared for fishing and other recreational sports. We finally came to a town that had several Antique stores. We stopped just to get out and stretch our legs, although, I couldn't resist shopping, too!
We finally arrived at Skaneateles, pronounced Skinny Atlas, which is the name of one of the Native American tribes that lived here. This is the first town on the Finger Lakes and it was surprisingly very busy with people out and about at 6pm. In some respects it reminded me of Wayzata before it lost its quaintness. Shops lined the streets along the lake as well as many big beautiful houses. We drove to the next town of Auburn for the night , but we're going back to Skaneateles tomorrow for pictures.
I almost forgot to mention, early this morning we drove by a TWO hump camel! He was very curious and stopped grazing to look at us. Steve wanted his car to be in the picture, but the road was too busy to get a good shot.
Day 11
For those of you who have praying for us concerning safety and car trouble, we thank you!
We often stay in mom and pop motels, but last night we stayed at a Holiday Inn in Auburn, NY. This morning the car was hard to start, but it did and Steve drove across the street to the gas station. After filling the car, Steve couldn't start it again. When he opened the hood he saw the wires to the starter were just hanging there, the nut to keep them in place had fallen off. For all the tools Steve carries he did not have the correct size nut to fix the problem. A kind man from the gas station told Steve to go across the street to a car repair shop to see if they could help. The man at the shop had the right size nut and gave it to him "free" and we were good to go.
The prayer that was answered was, the motel, gas station and repair shop were all in walking distance. The second answer to prayer was the repair shop had the right nut to fix the problem and we weren't stranded anywhere!
We didn't drive far today as we stopped a lot. We went back to Skaneateles and spent an hour looking in the boutique shops and then the lake. Of all the towns on the Finger Lakes Skaneateles is the most quaint and geared for the tourists.
Our next stops were at a couple of wineries. We always enjoy tasting wines from different regions of our country and of course buying a bottle to bring home.
In the town of Seneca Falls we stopped for lunch and I had the New York Pastrami sandwich! Yum, it was delicious!
Waterloo is a town know for the birth place of Women's Rights and it also is where the Memorial Day holiday was started. We tried to go to the National Memorial Day Museum Unfortunately, it was closed, but that didn't stop us from taking pictures!
The one stop that was a necessity was to get Steve's phone fixed. Luckily we use Verizon as our carrier and they were everywhere. Now Steve is business again.
Tonight we're at the last of the Finger Lakes in Geneseo.
Day 12
We headed west today and only made 3 stops besides gas and eating.
Our first stop was in Springville, NY. As we were passing through, Steve saw a sign of the Great Automobile Race from New York to Paris in 1908 painted on the side of a building. We turned around so Steve could have a picture of it with his car. George Schuster from Springville won the race.
I came to the conclusion that Tuesday must be wash day for the Amish. As we drove through New York's Amish Trail we saw several homes with their clothes hanging from lines stretched from their house to the barn! My mom had a clothes line, but I never saw one this long! I made Steve stop so I could get a picture.
I thought Steve was driving hard because he was anxious to get home and that was partly true, but the real reason was he wanted to get to the Snyder's Antique Auto Parts store. This is where Steve orders a lot of parts for his A. The manager of the store, Mike, was surprised to see our car and hear of where we have been and are going. Steve was like a kid in a candy store when Mike took us on a tour of the store/warehouse. Of course, we had to have a picture of this place!
Tonight we are staying in Canton, Ohio and hope to be home Friday. We have been really lucky with good weather, but thunderstorms are forecast to the north so we hope to avoid them by going straight west. Driving in the rain is really hard considering we only have 1 windshield wiper that doesn't work that well.
Day 13
As we left Ohio this morning we drove through yet another Amish community. I had several good photo ops and I missed taking them all! I'm never prepared and by the time I'm am Steve is long past whatever I wanted to take a picture of! Other days he would stop or turn around for me, but today he had trucks and cars directly behind him and no shoulder to stop on!
I did manage to get a couple of pictures of one of the many flags that were flying in honor of 9-11. One of those pictures shows the clouds that were all around us. We have been lucky so far with no rain, only heat the past 2 days. It was around 90 today! UGH!
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Steve is now on a mission to get home. We drove 429 miles with only stops for gas and lunch. It was a long day and the country roads were not country roads! All day almost every road whether it was 2 or 4 lanes had lots of trucks and cars on them.
Tomorrow we plan on taking it a little easier and stop in Galena, IL to look around and stretch our legs before traveling on. Tomorrow night if all goes as planned we will stay in Prairie Du Chien, WI and then finish our trip on Friday.
Day 14
As we were making our way towards home we happened through the town of Dixon, IL and we saw a sign for Ronald Reagan's childhood home. We had no idea this was where Reagan was from so we decided to stop. We enjoyed it very much and thought the tour was worthwhile and informative.
Four blocks away Reagan's old school had been turned into a museum so we stopped there as well. The museum was about the area going back to the Native Americans, the settlers and much more. Steve is fascinated with the old highways and one of the exhibits focused on the Lincoln Highway, the reason for it and the men who made it possible. This exhibit was a highlight for Steve. Once again, this museum was very interesting and we were glad we took the time to stop.
Our original thoughts on stopping at Galena was just to look in the shops and wander the streets to stretch our legs, but instead we stopped at the home of Ulysses S. Grant. Neither of us had ever been there before and again it was an interesting experience. The house was bought for the Grants by the town's people after he returned to Galena as a war hero. It was a modest house that cost $2,500. An interesting fact is that it still has all of the furniture the family actually used!
After stopping at all these museums our next destination was to get to Prairie Du Chien, WI and stop for the night. We had debated to stay in Waterloo, IA or go to Prairie Du Chien We chose the latter because the drive was shorter.
We have had extremely nice weather for this whole trip with just an occasional rain shower and today was no different, that is until our drive to Prairie Du Chien. Nineteen miles from the town the sky turned black and opened up on us. Our phones blared a tornado alert and then alerted us to flash floods!
Steve fought the wind to keep the car on the road while the rain came down in torrents. It was almost impossible to see. I kept wiping the windshield with a towel to clear the fog and keep the rain from entering the car. We had driven thirteen miles in the heavy rain when the car started to buck .The engine was missing because it was getting wet. Just as we thought the car would die we saw a gas station and was able to pull over. We parked under the roof to give us some shelter while Steve was nursing the car to kept running. We sat there 10 minutes before the storm began to let up. A mile or so down the road we reached the AmericInn Motel driving on 3 cylinders! It was scary! We no sooner settled into our room and the skies cleared!
Once again we are thanking God for answered prayers in keeping us safe.
Our drive from Prairie Du Chien to home was uneventful except for the weather. We woke up to sun, but we weren't prepared for the cold! The last 2 days were in the 90's so we really felt the 30 degree drop. We even closed the windshield to help keep us warmer as we drove.
The weather was a mixed bag of sun, rain and just gray clouds. That was ok, but what was harder to deal with was the wind! It blew with such a force that Steve at times struggled to keep the car on the road. It was a relief when we finally arrived home in the afternoon.
As we traveled home we saw the swollen rivers and streams. It was obvious all the rain we've had while we were gone and we felt fortunate of the good weather we experienced on our trip. Most of the days were in the 70's with the exception of the last 2 and almost all of them were sunny.
To summarize this trip for me, would I do it again? Probably not, especially in the A. I loved the rolling hills and beautiful scenery, I loved the quaint towns and interesting museums, but I hated the busy roads and the many photo ops I missed because of them.
For Steve, give him week to rest and he'd go again in a heartbeat, in fact he is. Two weeks from now he'll be driving the A on a Northern tour with the club. I've had enough for this year.
Some travel facts: We drove 3400+ miles at an average speed of 37 mph and we got about 20 miles to the gallon of gas.
The fastest we drove was down a big hill at 58 mph! It sort of felt like speeding down it on a bike and it was just as scary! The slowest speed was going up that hill at 19 mph. I was only scared that we wouldn't make it to the top.
We had 3 almost breakdowns:
1. The starter drive came loose.
2. The battery cable to the starter came off because we lost a nut, (and it wasn't Steve).
3. The engine got wet in the storm and almost died.
Otherwise we were good!
For Steve and I our favorite part of the trip was visiting Niagara Falls.
Will there be a trip next year? Maybe. I know Steve is planning on one.
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