ontario

Family is Family

/ L. Ryan Storms / Leave a comment

Day 22: 6/23/24
From: Chatham, Ontario, Canada
To: Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada
Distance: 21 miles

We sleep in. Husband and I wake one kid at 9 for breakfast. The other refuses to wake and says they’ll eat later.

So it’s a breakfast at the hotel for 3 of us, but we’re shocked to find the dining room packed. Apparently there was a wedding here yesterday and pretty much everyone has shown up for breakfast. After breakfast, we head back to the room to read, relax, and nap the morning away. Younger Child goes back to bed and I follow suit an hour later. It’s kind of nice not to be running out the door for the car. 

At 2:30 we head to Friend’s parents’ house to spend the afternoon and evening with all of them. We’ve never met them before, but they are every bit as lovely as Friend and her husband and kids. Of course. Then Writing Friend (who happens to be the cousin to Friend) and his wife and tween show up to say hello as well, and it’s a full on party. Air hockey, Oregon Trail, Shut the Box (which we now *have* to get, lots of talk and laughter (much of it about fishing…go figure). The day is very much like spending a day with my own family. And they’ve all brought Canadian treats we don’t normally have in America for us to try.

Aero, Caramilk, ketchup-flavored potato chips, Smarties (NOT the American kind), Tim-bits, creme-filled maple cookies, butter tarts, and more. We like these Canadians. It’s hard to leave, but at 10 p.m., we finally call it a night, realizing that we still have a long drive home tomorrow. But do we go back to the hotel? No. Of course not. We head to Friend’s house where they have a bait & tackle shop so Husband can stock up. They refuse payment, but we’ll find a way to get them money somehow… Their generosity can only go so far, and this is their business! We want to support small business!

At 11:30, we finally say goodnight and head back to the hotel, our vacation just about over. We’re ready to be home, to snuggle some cats, and to sleep in our own beds.

When the guy in the middle has to kneel to be the same height as the other two in the photo…
We always have a terrific time with this family. Even 5 years after seeing them last.

Cross-Country (International Version)

/ L. Ryan Storms / Leave a comment

Day 21: 6/22/24
From: Fort Atkinson, WI
To: Chatham, Ontario, Canada
Distance: 472 miles

Another long drive today, but one that crosses an international border. Our passports have been waiting patiently for this day in the trip. (Too bad they don’t get a stamp…)

We wake shortly after 7 and are on the road by 8:30. The skies are mostly overcast today, but I think I see the sun way up there. I can’t be sure as it’s been several days since I’ve seen anything but gray clouds and pouring rain.

I drive the first 3 hours, plus an extra half hour in horrendous traffic south of Chicago that’s really due to construction in Indiana, but is backed up far into Illinois. Husband drives the next 5 hours, stopping only for lunch and to see the Joseph F Weber House in Detroit at Younger Child’s request because it was featured on the album cover of one of their favorite artists. It adds only 10 minutes to the drive, so we approve adding the stop to the itinerary.

The GPS brings us into a not-so-great part of Detroit and it reminds me of all the bad things said about this city. I can see where it gets its reputation. (The buildings are run down, boarded up, and empty, and the homeless and drug addicts are present.) The neighborhood changes for the better as we approach our stop, but we still don’t stay long. Younger Child is thrilled to see the house, then we’re back on the highway again and making our way to Ontario. I had no idea the entrance to Canada here was a tunnel! I assumed we’d be crossing a bridge. The neat thing about the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, though, is where you cross the border and there’s a giant flag on the way on either side of the border line. A maple leaf on one side and Stars and Stripes on the other.

The border crossing is much quicker than we’ve ever experienced at either of the other two places we’ve crossed, the border guard asking us what’s in our top carrier and probably wondering at us when we said sleeping bags and a very wet tent…

Forty-five minutes later, we’re at the hotel in Chatham, Ontario. It’s earlier than we expected so I text my local friend to see if she’d like to join us for dinner. Of all the local places, we choose Boston Pizza because of its array of gluten-free options. Friend is about a half hour away, so we make plans to meet at 8:15 and we pull in within 15 seconds of each other.

We chat and laugh with Friend while we eat and it’s so good to see her again 5 years after we last saw her. We look forward to spending tomorrow with her and her family again. The last time we saw them was a shared family vacation in Huntsville, Ontario in 2019. Our families got along well then and we look forward to spending more time with her whole family tomorrow.

We head back to the hotel at 10:30 and sleep is all I can think about. But Husband decides to do laundry first. I, on the other hand, pass out before he returns with folded clothes. I look forward to NOT setting an alarm in the morning.