We spent today at the Toledo Zoo and aquarium. The aquarium side was ok but not fabulous. The zoo in the other hand was really good. Many of the big mammal displays were semi open vs behind fences which is always good. There are several bird areas some of which had the birds free for us to roam in, awesome. For the fourth time this trip when buying tickets I was asked today if I was a senior. I asked what qualified as senior and was told 60+. Seriously? Have I ...

The sun has come out today which was an awesome birthday present! It's still cool, around 19C but the sun is shining, the butterflies are everywhere and the cicadas are singing so all is well with the world again. We headed once more for the semi-rural Michigan Lakeside Dr following the lake South. There are some bigger towns this end of the lake, some look to be highly liveable, others a bit too touristy. In one there was a huge Bosch facility, in another the w...

The plan today was to head over to Mackinac Island. It's again freezing cold, 14C but feels even colder due to the wind. We went down to the port but decided to go to the museum of the local Indian tribe, the Ojibwas. It was pretty interesting with a lot of genuine, found on the site, artefacts. From there we returned to the port where the ferries go from but it was still miserable and starting to drizzle, just for a change. As bad as it was there we figured it...

Aug 24 Just for a change its been drizzly and grey today. Despite still being summer it only got to a chilly 13C. Here and there some trees are convinced it's autumn as their colours change. We went for a drive and checked out the Hiawatha Forest and drove all along the top end of Lake Huron. We found a road side stall and bought some very fresh blueberries and corn on the cob. Lunch was by Lake Huron at a small park. The lakes beaches are very sandy and it b...

It was an early start today, up at six for breakfast and to pack the car up. We got down to where the train leaves from a little after 7.30 and it left on time at 8am. It was a pleasant train trip if slightly stressful for Pete who prefers to be in control. We passed many small lakes most with some small fishing cottages at the edge. There was a good commentary now and then about the area we were passing and a bit of history of The Soo. Many of the lakes looke...