Another lazy start to the day as we only had abut 100 miles to travel. The day was overcast and sputtering rain. We took our waiter’s recommendation and headed to Presque Isle for our first stop. The fall colors were a little more vibrant, but still not quite their full display. Presque Isle is a Pennsylvania state park, and a beautiful stretch of land. We watched a large group of school students walking through the park, and many runners, walkers and cyclists. There were incredible views every way you looked, and hard to take pictures to capture it all.

Of course we found the lighthouse!

We set the GPS to “Avoid Highways” again today and had a beautiful drive through northeastern Ohio, catching the occasional glimpse of Lake Erie. We drove through the Cleveland suburb of Gates Mills and saw 2 does standing quietly on the side of the road. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a picture, and we didn’t see any others. We skirted downtown, and I realized why there were no downtown hotels available as we watched Clevelan Indians fans heading toward the stadium.

We reached our intended destination about 2:45, and were a bit nervous as we saw a large crowd of people out front, and a tour bus parked just down the street. We luckily were at the tail end of their tours, and there were only 6 of us for our tour. 

A little history for why this stop was meaningful.  For those followers who knew my Dad, you will understand and may have heard the story. In 1983 my parents relocated from New England to the Midwest. I was in college and home for Christmas break. Miraculously, it was Christmas Eve morning and everyone had their shopping done and gifts wrapped. Dad decided we should all go to the movies for the afternoon. It was -20 degrees (yes, minus 20) with windchill of -80 degrees. It was snowing sideways. but Dad still insisted we go to the movies. We were 4 of 6 people in the theater on campus. Now, my Dad had a belly laugh that was infectious and hearty. Imagine that laugh through an entire movie where the key line was “You’ll shoot your eye out.” He was reliving his childhood and loving every minute of it. So, there was no question we would stop at the A Christmas Story house when we were in Cleveland. (A special thank you to my cousins who visited here earlier this summer. Without you I would never have found this place!) I now have all sorts of movie trivia, and I can’t wait to watch it again armed with this new knowledge.

One of the best things about this museum is their 5K/10Krace on the first weekend of December. They use the money generated from this event and donations through the gift store to help restore homes in the neighborhood. If it were a virtual race I would participate from the comfort of my gym or home in the southeast. Cleveland in early December? Not so sure about that!

We hit the highway to tonight’s lodging, and opted to munch on the food that has traveled the country with us. (We have made a note to bring a small cutting board and plastic plates next trip.)

Tomorrow we plan to be on the road about sunrise, and no meandering “roads less traveled.” A kick back to reality, but necessary so I can return to work and build up the vacation days again!

The plan this morning was to head out to St. Lawrence Market for breakfast before doing a bit of Toronto sightseeing by foot. Unfortunately. we learned the Market is closed Sundays and Mondays. We opted for a quick bite in the hotel, then headed out. Just across the street from the hotel is St. James’ Park. I could see the steeple through the treetops, so we headed in that direction. Turned out St. James’ is the Anglican Episcopal Cathedral. As we wandered through the park, it became apparent they were setting up for a movie shoot. Wish we’d found someone we could have asked what was being filmed!

The cathedral was beautiful. inside and out. Not quite as ornate at the cathedrals in Europe, but full of history which made it feel very personal.

What I wouldn’t give to hear this organ being played!

The pews have doors and are numbered. No sitting in another parishoner’s seat here!

From here it was an easy walk to complete my Christmas shopping…the Hockey Hall of Fame. We didn’t have time to do the tour (and honestly, I want to do that with my husband. Mom would have been bored to tears. The gift store excursion was enough for her!)

 We wandered back past the St Lawrence Market (next trip I will get to go inside!) I managed to carry my earlier purchases and still take photos. I left a piece of my heart in Toronto.

We had the car loaded and were on the road about 11:15AM. Next stop, Kingston. The original capital of Canada, and the home to Queens University and the royal Military College. We had an unexpected, yet wonderful, drive through the campus of Queens University while meandering our way (mostly by gut instinct) to Fort Henry.  We stumbled into the historic district, and the old Kingston Station. For anyone who knows my Mom, it should not surprise you we found a train station!

On our way to Fort Henry we passed a wonderfully named street, The Tragically Hip Way. Wish I had been able to take a picture of the street sign, and the rather non-descript street which bore its name. 

We eventually made our way to Fort Henry and explored the area. Well, more like walked the entire perimeter, up and down hills! Stunning views, and we know Dad was smiling and wondering how we could visit military sites willingly when he wasn’t around, but not when he was!

Another wonderful city, and one I want to explore in more depth on another visit. We left Kingston and eventually crossed back over the border into the US. We are resting our heads tonight in Fort Drum. NY, home to an Army base. Not sure how Dad would feel about this, but we definitely feel safe as the hotel is full of active duty soldiers! 

Tomorrow we are off to the Finger Lakes and a surprise for Mom. 

Today (now yesterday) started bright and early, and a crisp 57 degrees. It may have been colder, but it was pre-coffee and I was a little too chilly to remember!

We started the day in Port Huron and a visit to the Fort Gratiot (Grash-ut) Lighthouse. It is the second oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes, and the oldest lighthouse in Michigan. It was a beautiful day, blue sky as far as the eye could see, and the water calm and blue. Port Huron is a quaint little town, and close to the water it feels like time stopped and the world grew around it. 

From there we crossed the Blue Water Bridge into Ontario, Canada. Border crossing was smooth, other than I couldn’t seem to say “Atlanta, Georgia” when asked where I lived! Atlanta, Alabama is what came out of my mouth, and when I asked again I said Smyrna, Georgia. Well, at least it’s a neighboring town if it isn’t the exact place I live? I was able to say where Mom lived without missing a beat. They let us in, thankfully. 

The drive through western Ontario is beautiful, and at times reminded me of Norway – green, lush and farm houses set off in the distance. Mom likened it to areas of the midwest. Canadian drivers were polite and mostly patient. They actually use the left lane only for passing! It was an interesting drive for me as I tried to convert KPH to MPH. (I did eventually figure out how to change the settings in Mom’s car to metric, but not until later in the day!) 

Our second stop was Niagara Falls. I have mixed feelings about it, to be honest. The Falls themself are stunning and awe-inspiring. I had hoped viewing them from the Canadian side would be less “touristy” and unspoiled. If the Canadian side is less than the US side, I don’t want to imagine what that is like. The walk down Cliff Hill was like being at the Jersey Shore boardwalk (sorry, New Jersey!) or a carnival. Every store front had speakers blaring constant midway noise. We did take some time to enjoy the gardens before we walked up the hill to the car. 

Even got to see a (fake) tight rope walker over Victoria Street! This was just the beginning of the carnival feel.

We drove through Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Paul’s and St. Catharine’s on our way to Inneskilin Winery.  (Well, you can’t really be surprised that Mom and I would end up at a winery!)  A beautiful setting, and their white wines were wonderful. We didn’t try any reds (surprising, I know.) 

As we headed to Burlington, ON to meet family friends for dinner, we passed the Wayne Gretzky Estate Winery. If I’d known that would be on our route, I would have made time for a stop! But now I have a reason to return with my other half – the true hockey and wine lover!

A wonderful dinner on the Burlington waterfront catching up and getting great tips on things to see and do the next day, and we headed into Toronto for the night. It was dark when we arrived, but what we had seen peaked our interest, and we headed to bed so we could get up and explore!