Day 1-June 22,2002 Saturday, High Bridge to Coudersport, Pa
We started out at 10:00 AM, a little later than I wanted to leave and for once it was my fault for the late departure. I have learned a new rule. Never mess with new software on a computer the night before leaving. On Thursday and Friday my desktop computer with virus scan trapped two infected e-mails. Not wanting to have problems on the road I decided to install a virus scan on the laptop at 9:30 PM. I should have done this right after I bought the laptop.
Our intended route was to follow US6 across PA to Ohio. We picked up US6 in Milford, Pa., after picking up US 206 in Andover. On the way to Andover we stopped at Saxon Falls Dam, where we spotted a blue heron sitting on the rocks. It seemed strange to stop only 20 miles from home on a journey which will probably take us 10,000 miles. Saxon Falls Dam is on the Musconetcong River north east Hackettstown. The dam was used to raise the water level for the Morris Canal. The drive thru Newton was the usual Saturday traffic jam. It has been that way for years.
At Milford we stopped at Gray Towers which was the home of Gifford Pinchot, the founder of the US Forrest Service and twice governor of Pennsylvania. The house is now run by the US Forrest Service but the first floor is open to tours by the public. It is a fascinating first floor. The library room is stunning. One of the fascinating features of the outside is the rock table under a canopy of wisteria. The middle of the table is a pool of water (about 400 gallons worth) and food was placed in wooden bowls and then passed across and around the table by flotation.
From Milford we headed west on US 6. At Factoryville there was a sign that Christy Mathewson, a famous baseball pitcher was born here. At Tunkhannock the road starts to follow the Susquehanna River until crossing it at Towanda. At a scenic view the river was way below us the view was spectacular except for the hazy sky waiting for a late afternoon thunderstorm. We intended to stay in Wellsboro to visit the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania in the morning but the town has only a few motels and there were no vacancy signs at all of them - even 20 miles west of Wellsboro. So we scratched the Grand Canyon of PA after finding rooms in Coudersport, PA., about 50 miles further west.
We made notes to come back to this area in the future and visit the French Azilum south of Wysox. We would have gotten there at around 4:30 pm which would not have given us any time there. From what I have seen on travel shows it sounds like a very interesting place. Next time we will see the place where French fleeing from the French Revolution and the guillotine sought safety.
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Day 2 - June 23,2002, Sunday-Coudersport, Pa. to Willoughby, Oh
Started out at 9:00 AM after an in-room breakfast of cereal. Hotel did not have continental breakfast. Our first stop was going to be the Smethport Diner for coffee but it was closed. We continued on to the Kinzua Bridge which is 300 feet high and spans a 2000 foot gorge. It was built in 1882 and rebuilt in 1900 to accommodate heavier trains. The bridge is spectacular but the most interesting thin is that it was first erected in 94 days and the rebuild only took 120. In today’s atmosphere it would take 10 years to get permits. We were followed into the parking lot by three cars bearing 6 adults and about as many kids. We first thought we were going to be walking with the Bumpus family but they turned out to be entertaining. One of the men was eating a cookie and when he was being busted over this by the others his wife said “Last night he was like Freaking Betty Crocker and baked cookies” He advised that after finishing with the three loads of hay he decided that the kids would like cookies. We walked out on the bridge and took a look at the overview platform and decided that this would be the place to come back in leaf peeping time.
From Kinzua Bridge we made a detour from US6 and took PA59 to Kinzua Dam. The ride thru the Alleghany Forest was spectacular with the mountain laurel in full bloom under the canopy of trees. In New Jersey around Millbrook the laurel is already past prime bloom. The Kinzua Dam is across the Alleghany River which was completed in the 1960’s as a flood control project. We stopped at the visitors center and headed into Warren, Pa. For lunch at the Peppermill restaurant - good food.
At Warren we picked up US6 again and headed for Interstate 90 to get to the Cleveland Area. We arrived in Willoughby before 4:00 PM and headed to the Kirtland Temple. The Kirtland Temple is the first temple built by the Mormons. The temple is run as a historical site by the Congregation of Christ which is the group of Mormons that separated from the group led by Brigham Young to Salt Lake City. This group has its headquarters in Independence, Mo. It’s only connection to the Salt Lake church is in its origins. The religious message given by the young woman guide was low key. She also suggested that we visit the Whitney Store site in Kirtland which is run by the LDS church out of Salt Lake. When we walked into the visitors center we were greeted by about three men in black pants, white shirts and ties. Like out of cookie cutters. I noted to one of them that their name tags indicate that they all have the same first name - Elder. We watched the 17 minute video and then went to the store led by a Elder Benson. We were the lone non LDS members in the group. The store had been lived in by Joseph Smith while in Kirtland and the guides treated it as a religious shrine. The proselytizing was overbearing. Too bad we weren’t at the Olympics where it was toned down.
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Day 3 - June 24,2002 Monday - Willoughby, OH to Port Clinton, OH
For the first part of the day we drove to downtown Cleveland to visit the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is a strange and eclectic place. They started
out to annoy me by my making me check my camera. No pictures allowed inside the
exhibits. After getting over that we went into the hall to see what was there.
There were various videos showing the roots of the music and then led you past
various exhibits relating to specific time periods and the artists. There were
lots of interactive video/audio stations where you put on the headphones and
listened to the music and the historical significance of the artist. There were
many displays of the instruments, posters, and clothing worn by the rock and
roll kings and queens. Frankly by the end of our visit we didn’t want to see any
more psychedelic platform shoes. One of the more interesting displays dealt with
Jim Morrison. The display included his early grade school cards that he made for
his mother and father, as well as his cub scout uniform. It also included
letters to his father, a navy admiral, requesting his input to the Florida Penal
and Probation Office for some lewd behavior that Jim engaged in in Miami. There
was one whole exhibit dedicated to Allan Freed, the DJ from Cleveland who coined
the phrase rock and roll. There was a display behind glass in a wall which
looked like a funeral urn of ashes. The display was titled Allan Freed and the
year born and died. There
was a video of short clips of all the artists that had been inducted into the
hall and you got to walk past a wall with all their signatures. The videos were
the best part of the total exhibit. It was an enjoyable visit.
After R&R Hall we drove west along OH 2 which was a broad avenue lined with old homes in beautiful shape. Our original plans called for us to get to Port Huron tonight but we were tired and altered the plans by stopping in Port Clinton, Oh. We had dinner on Catawba Island at a restaurant called MonAmi. It was excellent. We decided to visit Put in Bay island in Lake Erie in the morning and see the Perry Victory site going back to the War of 1812. I have always wanted to see this site and since we are so close we have to go.
Day 4 - June 25,2002 Tuesday - Port Clinton, OH to Port Huron, MI
Today was a strange day for me. Last night I bought my first ever pair of Velcro laced sneakers and walked around all day without untied shoes. We took the 8:30 am ferry to South Bass Island which is the home of Put in Bay. It became famous after Oliver Hazard Perry defeated the British Navy during the War of 1812. On September 10, 1813 Perry had his flagship Lawrence destroyed in the battle but he transferred his flag to the Niagara and won the battle. It was the first time that a British Fleet had surrendered. Perry was flying his motto that he had taken from a commander Lawrence, who had been killed in another battle - "Don't Give up the Ship". Another phrase that we know was coined by him is "We have met the enemy and he is ours". In 1913 the Perry Victory and International Peace Monument was erected in Put in Bay. It is the third tallest National Monument only passed by the Washington Monument and the St. Louis Arch.
We arrived on the island before 9:00 am and took the bus (a converted prison bus) to downtown Put in Bay. We found out that most things do not open until 10:00 am. We walked over to the monument where a Christian youth group was having its picture taken. After a cup of coffee we took the 10:15 am trolley tour of the island. The tour was well worth the $8.00 fare. We found out that South Bass Island was part of the Western Reserve which originally belonged to Connecticut. A 10 mile square was deeded to a Judge Edwards which included the Islands on Lake Erie. The judge was going to give the islands(5 of them) to his daughter as a wedding dowry but her intended did not want them. She sold the islands to a Juan DeRivera who developed the wineries and properties on the islands. Eventually DeRivera became penniless when he spent everything he had to help one of his sons settle his bad debts. The tour was informative and entertaining. We found out that South Bass Island has a winter population of 500. The island is only accessible by air after November. There is a school that houses grades k-12. The most recent graduating class from the high school was 5. The other islands send their students to South Bass and after the boats stop running they are flown in daily. At one time South Bass Island had 26 operating wineries. All shut down with prohibition and now only one - Heinemans Winery is operating.
While on the tour we noticed a car on the crossroad being led by a TV camera filming the car and also taking a pan shot of the tour trolley. The tour driver explained that a Cleveland station is doing a spot where one of their personalities does a feature on an attraction that can be covered within the distance you can drive on one tank of gas. Thus it is called the one tank tour.
Sometime during the tour I realized that I had left my plug in cooler drawing current on the mainland. When we arrived back downtown from the tour I took the bus back to the ferry dock took the ferry, did what I had to and took the same return ferry back. This whole procedure only took an hour and 15 minutes and I met mom back at the town museum. After a Lake Erie Perch lunch we went back to the monument, watched the video and then went up the monument on an elevator. The Golden Age Pass let me do this for free. Otherwise I would have paid $6.00. The views from the monument were spectacular. On a clear day you can see Canada but today it was hazy from the 98 degree heat.
One thing that was prevalent on the island were May flies. In the morning I thought of crossing the lawn to the monument. Bad decision. Hundreds of May flies came out of the grass and covered me front and back. The visitors center walls were covered with them. The park employees explained that the flies only last a few days and then they are gone. Some people said that the flies were called "Canadian Soldiers". I guess nowdays that is a politically incorrect statement.
We then took the bus back to the ferry dock for the 3:00 pm ferry. We both decided that Put in Bay was really a neat place. There are many cottages that can be had for rent and the downtown scene looks really laid back. One of the major means of transportation around the island are golf carts. They rent for around $10.00 per hour or $40.00 per day. If we ever get back here we will rent one and do what golfers do without golfing.
After returning to the mainland we drove up to Port Huron, Mi to get ready for the crossing into Canada in the AM. We talked to some real nice people at a local dock where lots of people were admiring a tall ship. They pointed out a good restaurant in Port Huron - The Fogcutter. Port Huron downtown looks sad.
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Day 5 - June 26,2002 Wednesday - Port Huron, MI to Tobermory, Ontario, Canada
In the lobby of the Days Inn mom spotted a flyer for the Mary Maxim company which has a large store here. The company only has two stores and one of them had to be here. Mary Maxim is a place where crafters think they have died and gone to heaven. For a while I thought that I was going to ask the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to come over the bridge to the store and drag mom across to Canada as we had a long driving day ahead of us. At around 10:30 AM after purchasing some wool for knitting and a few pattern books we left for the border. The border crossing was uneventful and quick. We then proceeded to drive to Canada route 21 to head up the Bruce Penninsula to Tobermory. We stopped in Goderich for lunch and had a Polish meal of mushroom soup and pierogies in an Irish Pub. We drove through some pretty Lake Huron towns such as Kincardine, and Port Elgin. However the countryside was very boring, flat farmland and scrub trees where there were no farms. We were wondering if there was a prize at the end of this drive and we found it in Tobermory where we hope to take the 11:40 am ferry to Manitoulin Island and continue on to Slt. Ste. Marie.
When we arrived at our motel for which I had made reservations two hours earlier I was confronted with a motel that had no telephones or AC. However it was late afternoon and the temperature was 66F so we did not think we were going to need AC anyhow. After getting over the no phone shock we went to the Ferry Dock to try to get reservations for the trip. We found out they were booked for the trip but that if we showed up at 9:45 am we would most likely get on.
We then drove over to a lighthouse and went to dinner at the Grandview Restaurant where the food was listed as Fine Dining and to tell the truth it was excellent. We sat outside after the dinner and waited for the sunset which was going to be right in front of us. We heard others talking that their motel downtown did not have phones either.
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Day 6 - June 27,2002 Thursday - Tobermory, Ontario, Canada to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
We had hoped for a clear sunny day for the ferry crossing to Manitoulin Island but got overcast, cloudy and fog instead. We arrived two hours early for the boat and had no trouble getting a boarding pass. The only thing to do was to lay back and wait for the boat to show up. The boat came out of the fog like a ghost ship. It was slightly delayed because of the fog. There was not much to see during the crossing. You could see the outlines of islands but that was it. About halfway across the fog lifted but it was still overcast and gloomy. Wouldn't you know it, about 10 minutes after we got off the boat and were driving up Route 6 on Manitoulin Island the sun came out. The scenery along the road was scrub trees with some pastures for cattle. Further up towards Espanola the terrain turned very rocky. At a spot called Ten Point there was a Native American gift shop which mom went into while I took pictures of the beautiful islands in Georgian Bay from the observation platform at the store. Mom said the gift shop was like a museum. All high quality native crafts. No Made in China here. We also stopped at Whitefish Falls. We got off the boat at 1:15 pm and at 6:00 pm we pulled into the parking lot at Days Inn.
We got a Casino Adventure packege when we registered in the hotel and walked the three blocks to the casino. For our adventure we got $20.00 of tokens for $10.00, got $5.00 off our meal in the restaurant and also each got a deck of drilled casino playing cards. After donating the tokens to slot machines we returned to the hotel to rest up for tomorrows train ride into the Agawa Canyon.
Day 7 - June 28,2002 Friday - Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada (Agawa Canyon Tour Train)
Today marks the end of the first week of our trip. We decided to stay an extra day in the city of the Soo and take the Algoma Central Railroad Tour Train to see the Agawa Canyon Park. The train ride is a 225 mile roundtrip that leaves at 8:00 am and returns at 5:00 pm. That permits you to get two hours in the Agawa Canyon Park. At least that is what they tell you. The trip for the two of us at the senior rate was approximately $66.00 USD. Not bad for a days entertainment. About 10 minutes into the ride the train came to a halt and the announcement was that the dining car had lost power and that the trip would resume as soon as that was fixed. Shortly a pickup truck pulled up to the train, they unloaded a carton, and after about a total of 40 minutes delay we were again on our way. We were supposed to arrive at the canyon at 11:30 but arrived at 12:00. To make up for some of the lost time at the canyon, the crew delayed departure from until 1:50 rather than the normal 1:30. So we lost 20 minutes but it was no big deal. We saw it all except the lookout which was a 300 step climb. Mom was not feeling well today, I really didn't need to climb 300 steps in 85 degree weather so we stayed with visiting the waterfalls and just strolling along. There was a big heaping of bear crap on one of the trails. No other way to put it and what more could you ask for. Didn't want to see the bear.
We enjoyed this trip. I wish mom would have felt better so she would have enjoyed it more. Let the pictures speak for themselves. From left Ogidaki Lake*, Montreal River Power Station*, Black Beaver Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Trail in Agawa, two canyon views, and Montreal River Reservoir*. *(Through the train window)
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Summer 2002 Trip Journals Home Page
