I have new scrapping to share today - I have been scrapping, just digitally, but this was a real genuine paper page made with Pink Paislee Truly Grateful for A Trip Down Memory Lane.
Even though it poured with rain between Montreal and Ottawa, the fall colours were stunning and the rain made the contrasts even more vivid. You just have to look to see the good things.
Today I am thankful for
- scrap time
- Maleficent at the cinema - quite a spectacle
- Kira - she has been such a Mommy's girl since we came home. She just won't leave my side bless her - and I love it.
Day 5 Niagara to Toledo
19th October 2019
Start miles 1770
Start time 5.30
End miles 2206
End time 6.00
The one with The lake
The early bird struck again and we were on the road by 5.20 which was impossibly early but seemed a good idea as we were awake anyway. It was one of the few hotels where breakfast was not included and so we had planned a breakfast stop along the route. We crossed Rainbow Bridge into America and as it was so early there was predictably no wait at all. One of the reasons we had wanted to leave so early was to clear Buffalo before rush-hour. On our last visit we had stayed in Buffalo and had not been impressed with the town, so we were happy to push on through and by the time we were beyond Buffalo the sun had slowly started to make its presence felt. We both agreed it felt nicer too. We continued on to the town of Erie where we had scoped out a Golden Corral for breakfast. This is a chain that we had never visited before but we had heard good things about it from Dawn and so had decided to give it a go for breakfast. Whilst it wasn’t exactly our favourite choice and we were puzzled by some of the things, we did enjoy a good breakfast. What we didn’t understand was why it is a help yourself buffet and they have expensive items, which we didn’t eat, on offer and you can take as much of them as you like and yet you have to stipulate what you will be drinking and they bring you your drink rather than help yourself. I found that a complete anomaly because surely hot water and a teabag are of no cost compare to some of the food items. No matter, we did enjoy a lovely breakfast. Refuelled in every sense we were ready to hit the road again. We spotted some stores close by and Nigel dropped me at the Walmart so that I could run in and get some more cough medicine and cough sweets for him. It turned into more of a mini marathon than I expected as he dropped me by one door and the pharmacy was over in the back corner the other side of the store and this this stores are seriously huge. Medical supplies purchased we saw the Joanne nearby and it was too good to resist. No more valet parking meant that I was more comfortable with making purchases and turning our car into a shoppers paradise.
Our good friend Mike had sent me a Joann voucher for Christmas and so I decided to put it to good use. I had recently rediscovered crochet and decided I wanted to make a sunflower blanket for fall. I had seen the wool I wanted online and knew that Joann sold it and so I made for the yarn section. I was thrilled to be able to buy all the balls I needed and I will show Mike the finished blanket so he knows that I put it to good use. Little did I know that I would start the blanket on this trip as it kept my fingers active on long drives. When I use the blanket once complete it will be lovely to have the memories we made stitched into every square.
We also managed to sneak in a visit to a Tuesday morning store, my new addiction. I have so many scrapbook supplies at home but I rarely buy new anymore. I think that with the exchange rate as it is scrapbooking supplies are now more expensive in the USA then they used to be and so I resist the urge more than I used to. Tuesday morning however managed to have very cheap supplies and I did buy most of my stash this holiday from their stores. Nigel was quite shocked that I went into numerous Hobby Lobbies, Michaels and Joanns and walked out empty handed. I did have a funny experience today. We parked up at a gas station and I went in to use the restroom. I came out and Nigel, unbeknown to me, had moved the car out of the way of the pumps. There was a large white car parked where he had been parked so I just opened the passenger door to get in. Needless to say it wasn’t Nigel and I am not sure who was more startled, me or the poor lady who thought she was being car -jacked no doubt. No it wasn’t the same type of car, the same make, the same size. But it was white and it was where I had last seen Nigel. Of course he was watching from his new venue laughing his head off. All well.
Shopping desires satiated for a while, we set out to explore Lake Erie. Our first stop was that prick Presque state beach where we enjoyed driving around the trails and stopping for great views of the lake. The fall colours added to the beauty and there were some great reflections. It struck us as odd that the beach, and it was truly a beach, was at a lake although the lake was so vast that you couldn’t see the other side and it did give the impression of being the ocean. The only thing odd to us was the ‘sand’ which seemed a combination of sand and soil. I guess we are spoilt at home with the glorious sand of one of the country’s best beaches.
We also visited Headlands Beach state park – this time in Ohio - to see the lighthouse.
We then had a little trip driving through Cleveland on our way around the shore and being able to spot the stadium where the Cleveland Indians were based was an added bonus. Baseball stadiums were to be a feature of this trip that we hadn’t expected and being able to spot the stadium where the Cleveland Indians was unexpected.
As we made our way around the lake we realised that we were so close to Cedar Point that it would be rude not to go and take a look. Cedar Point was always somewhere that had been on our bucket list to go and visit as they had some of the most extreme rides that were often featured on Internet videos. These days we are not so much into our extreme rides, me especially, and so a proper visit where we went inside was never going to be something that floated our boat, but it would be great just to see the huge coasters soaring into the sky, albeit from a distance. We duly turned off the highway and made our way along the causeway towards Cedar Point which is almost on an island. We hit very heavy traffic, and nothing was moving so we made the decision to stop being so stupid, turn round and continue with our proper journey. It was interesting the next morning at breakfast to see a news article that said Cedar Point had closed the previous afternoon due to reaching capacity. Good job we turned round.
Our last stop around the lake shore was to another island just passed Sandusky to see Marblehead Lighthouse which was supposed to be very beautiful and well worth a photography visit. We drove through very pretty coastal town following signs to the Lighthouse with the expectation of the beautiful photos we would take growing every moment. As we rounded the corner at Marblehead Park we saw the beautiful Lighthouse straight ahead of us… covered in a huge tarp and scaffolding. Remember earlier I did say that scaffolding and renovations were going to be a feature of this trip that we hadn’t expected. I laughed and said I could see the scrapbook page I would make with two photos one of which said ‘this was what we should have seen’ and the other showing what we actually saw. One of the things I love about our road trips is the fact we make memories of all kinds and we laugh about the silliest things.
and this is what it was MEANT to have looked like. Prettier eh!
We had one more stop to make on our journey today but the call of dinner was strong and so we decided to take a break and refuel. Unless we went out of our way there were limited food options and so we opted to call into a Dennys which is always a favourite of us. It is good comfort food served quickly, always with a smile, and we do like simple fare. Nigel almost always has the Superbird and I always opt for moons over my hammy. I almost never ever eat bacon at home but American bacon is one of my favourite things to eat in the world. It didn’t disappoint and before long we were on our way to our final visit of the day, Luna Pier in Michigan. Whereas Marblehead had disappointed, Luna Pier certainly did not. It was a beautiful Lighthouse in a gorgeous bay although it was certainly very very windy. Sites all seen for the day and two new states checked off the list, Michigan and Ohio, we drove to our hotel in Maumee just outside Toledo and settled in for the evening.
I love the way you are titling each day the same way the tv network titled each episode of "Friends." I know you and Nigel are big "Friends" fans.
Yes, isn't it amazing about how HUGE the Great Lakes are! One may think they are looking out on the ocean, but it's all FRESH water. Did you eat any fresh fish while you were there?
This year was my first time to see any of the Great Lakes. We did not stop at any of the beaches though. Steve and I really became quite enthralled with lighthouses this summer. You know, being "landlubbers", we are not used to being around HUGE acreages of water. And seeing these little (sometimes big) beacons of light along the shores was probably our version of you going to see a castle! LOL!! :-D
Posted by: Barb in AK | November 30, 2019 at 09:00 AM