The day began as yesterday - with Sue overwhelming us with kindness - she got up at 6:00 a.m. and made bacon & eggs, and a huge fruit salad. Off at 7:00 a.m., but not before Sue climbed on my bike (see photo) - she is definitely an honourary Knight of the Open Road.
Although tempted to stay at the cottage for the duration, we headed off in the surprising cold of the cloudy morning - first to Marathon Ontario... interesting that we are on an odyssey, today going to Marathon and Thessalon. One thinks of the Battle of Marathon, and Paul's letter to the Thessalonians (see, for example, "Therefore, we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind"... 1 Thessalonians 3:1 - but we can and will endure...)
After Marathon, on to Wawa. Yet again - who knew? I'd never heard of Wawa. The young lady serving us at lunch said "Wawa" is an Ojibway word for "wild goose". Interestingly, I saw a store in beautiful downtown Wawa with a large flying goose at the front, flying towards you - the wings at their upward zenith with the head between make the shape of a "W" (as in Wawa)... hmmm... the Ojibway didn't have our script... just a coincidence, but interesting...
I'm pleased to report that after lunch at the "North of 17" restaurant in Wawa (don't miss it!), we were able to achieve a stop at the Wawa Tim Horton's for Jim to get a real coffee. But rest assured, he continuously assures us he's not addicted to Tim Horton's coffee.
How grateful we are to Terry (Jack's colleague) for encouraging us in such strong terms to travel Highway 17 along the shore of Lake Superior, rather than (the slightly faster) Highway 11 through the relative north. He told us it is beautiful, and my goodness he was/is right! It's fabulous! At times it feels a little like the Sea to Sky Highway (elevated roadway with vast views of expansive water), and the bays with sandy beaches are almost Hawaii-like. I was particularly drawn to the view at Agawa (sp?) beach. We lined the bikes up the hill from, and in front of, the beach at Old Woman's Bay (George told me to be careful to note this has NO connection to it being Renae's birthday today).
The other part of Highway 17 along the Lake is that is "twisty" and "hilly" - the 2 components to any approved motorcyclists' designated roadway. It was a great ride!
After a delightful day of travelling along just one portion of the vast shores of Lake Superior, we stopped for the evening (after 745 kms) at the Carolyn Beach Motor Inn in Thessalon, which is on Lake Huron, and again is quite beautiful.
Tomorrow the plan is to get to the eastern side of Montreal, so that the next day can get us to the 8:00 p.m. ferry at Baie Comeau to cross over the Saint Lawrence to the Gaspe.
I know I've already said it, but the overwhelming sense of this trip thus far for me is the vast and varied land that is the wonderful country, Canada. We are blessed to be Canadian, and to live in this great land.
1 comment:
Thought you might do the North Bay route. We will be sorry to miss you but we are certainly enjoying the postings and are glad you have been blessed with good weather and beautiful roads.
Watch for moose today, and enjoy the views of the North Shore tomorrow. I hope you see whales.
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