September 18, 2010

Gas….$4.047 a gallon…….that was what we found yesterday on our journey to Batchawana Bay, ON. We did fill up before we headed north, and confirmed, what we had expected. The other thing we encountered was a long line at the border on our return to Michigan (see photo). They are now pulling cars over for a random car scan. Guess who was lucky enough to be in a group of five to get pulled?!!

The drill goes like this. Pull between the cones and close to the car in front of you. Cut the ignition off, get out and stand in front of the line. Watch as a giant truck slowly drives by each vehicle with some high tech scanning unit. It takes about 5 minutes to scan the five cars. If your car does not catch fire or the tires melt down, you are free to leave. Forget the last sentence. I made that one up. They do this several times each hour.

Today we went down to the Soo Locks to watch a freighter go through the locks. It was a “Red Letter Day” with three arriving at the locks, one behind the other. Edwin H. Gott (1004 feet long and 105 feet wide) arrived first and would have to use the large McArthur Lock.

Since the second freighter in line, the American Republic, was only 635 feet long and 68 feet wide, it could use the smaller Poe Lock. The Presque Isle (1000 feet long and 105 feet wide) arrived last and waited for the Gott to pass through so that it could enter the larger lock.

In the photo, you can see the Presque Isle just to the left of the American Republic.

Our other ventures today were the Soo Theatre for a 3D presentation of photos taken around Lake Superior in 1870. This was very informative, showing many photos of the Native Americans in the area, along with countless photos of the small towns surrounding the lake. We also got to wear the 3D funky glasses! The last stop prior to dinner was the River of History Museum. This museum is much like the Smithsonian, but on a smaller scale. It details the history of this area from around the 1630s, and has some extremely nice, and very detailed, exhibits…a visit well worth the time.

Dinner tonight was at the Antlers Restaurant and Bakery. You may remember this from last year as the place with all the stuffed animals and antlers in the rafters. The photo was taken last year. The prime rib and Michigan cherry chocolate torte were great!

Our sign of the day reflects the rising cost of vegetables in the US. How in the world will Bugs Bunny be able to make it through the winter?

We will be leaving Sault Ste. Marie tomorrow, and will be spending the next two days at Whitefish Point, MI.