Monday, October 08, 2018

SPENCERPORT NEW YORK TO BAYFIELD ONTARIO:: ‘YAHOUIE LOUIE’ WE ARE SOOOOOO GLAD TO BE HOME:)))))

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‘GO AHEAD, ASK ME HOW HAPPY I AM TO BE HOME…..GO AHEAD, I JUST DARE YA:))

Under threatening skies we quietly rolled out of Kelly’s Mom’s driveway this morning at 7:30.  First of our 4 stops on our nearly 6 hour journey today was a gas bar a couple blocks away.  With a full tank we headed through Spencerport crossing the Erie Canal along the way. 

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NO MORE GREAT ICE CREAM CONES IN SPENCERPORT….ABBOTT'S FROZEN CUSTARD IS CLOSED

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A GREEN LIGHT SIGNALS CLEAR PASSAGE OVER THIS ERIE CANAL LIFT BRIDGE IN DOWNTOWN SPENCERPORT

Our next and second destination not too far away was Hamlin Beach State Park on the southern shores of Lake Ontario.  We had tanks to dump and did so.  We overnighted in this Park one time about 4 years ago.  From the State Park we headed west on the Lake Ontario State Parkway through a few brief rain showers.  Have traveled this route before and it’s a favorite because of it’s lack of traffic.  Not one single vehicle passed us all the time we were on it.  We had the whole 4 lane expressway to ourselves and we credited that to this day being Columbus Day in the States and the further west we traveled the lighter the sky became.

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HEADING INTO THE WELL MANICURED AND MAINTAINED HAMLIN STATE PARK RIGHT ON THE SHORES OF LAKE ONTARIO

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THE LAKE ONTARIO STATE PARKWAY BOARDERS LAKE ONTARIO

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A FEW SMALL HAMLETS ALONG THE WAY

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A FEW SHOWERS ALONG THE SAY

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ALTHOUGH I KEEP TRYING TO GET KELLY TO USE GOOGLE MAPS SHE PREFERS THESE OLD PAPER MAPS THAT CAME ACROSS ON THE MAYFLOWER

The final couple miles to the U.S.-Canada border at Lewiston is a real dog’s breakfast of twists and turns and especially right now with a lot of construction happening on the American side right at the border itself.  Weaving our way through the construction zone we finally spotted the border booths ahead and to our surprise there were no line-ups.  Nothing, nada.  As we approached one car pulled away.  This was our third of four stops.  Easiest border crossing ever and we were on our way inside of two minutes.

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COULDN’T BELIEVE OUR EYES THAT THERE WERE NO LINE-UPS AT THE BORDER

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THIS SIGN KINDA SAYS IT ALL

Today being Thanksgiving in Canada went a long way in cutting traffic down on the six and eight lane Q-E. (Queen Elizabeth Way)  This stretch of highway running between Niagara Falls, Hamilton, and Toronto is one of the busiest stretches of highway in all of Canada.  And today, lucky for us, it was a walk in the Park.

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UNUSUAL TO SEE LITE TRAFFIC LIKE THIS ON THE Q-E

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A FREIGHTER NAVIGATES THROUGH ONE OF THE LOCKS AT THE WELLAND CANAL

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APPROACHING HAMILTON’S SKYWAY BRIDGE

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Swung off the Q-E in Hamilton and picked up the 403 heading us west to our last of four stops in Brantford.  Tim Hortons for coffee to go.  ‘Ahhhhhhh’.

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HERE’S PHEEBS AND I PATIENTLY WAITING FOR OUR FAVORITE COFFEE LADY…..WHERE THE HECK IS SHE ANYWAY??

We were soon in Woodstock and on the infamous 401 for a short stretch before exiting north onto the Embro Road.  What a big relief this was because it finally meant the end of the four lane highways for us and the beginning of a nice quiet hour and a half country drive home.

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NO IT’S NOT AN OLD BUILDING OUT OF AN AMERICAN SOUTHWEST GHOST TOWN IT’S AN OLD BOARDED UP GENERAL STORE IN THE LITTLE BURG OF STAFFA ONTARIO CANADA

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Skies continued to brighten and within forty minutes of home old Sol finally broke through the cloud cover.  What a great homecoming that was and we both finally began feeling rejuvenated, relaxed, revitalized, and relieved to be almost at the end of our three week journey.  Seemed like we had been away on one of our usual four, five, and six month winter stretches. 

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And then all of a sudden there it was, our Five Seasons Estate Park.  What a great sense of relief it was to turn in and finally slide the Big E into her spot under the Pine trees at the end of our house.  A silent thank you to the powers that be for returning us home safe and sound.

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HOLY SMOKES THERE’S OUR PARKS SIGN AHEAD…..WE’RE ALMOST HOME:))

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WHAT A GREAT FEELING TO PULL THE BIG E INTO HER SPOT AND SHUT ER DOWN

Unlike other homecomings from long distance travels we didn’t immediately set about trying to empty the entire the Motorhome in one big sweep.  Fridge contents and that was about it.  We both flopped in our recliners and marveled at our surroundings just looking around and taking everything in.  We usually return in March sometime and the scenery is pretty bleak and barren.  How nice to come home to all the greenery we left with the prettiest time of the year right on our doorstop for the next couple weeks.  Of course I will have lots more to say with my afterthoughts about the past 3 weeks and the weeks and months ahead.

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I MAY NEVER LEAVE HOME AGAIN……..WELL NOT AT LEAST UNTIL NEXT TIME THAT IS

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MY TWO FAVORITE GIRLS

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‘AWWWWW SHUCKS DAD’

And a big thank you to you readers for all your Birthday wishes, the kind things you say, and your words of encouragement.   With your support I will try to keep my daily blog going over the winter months even if we may not travel too far.  It will be a challenge of course to make it interesting and there will no doubt be a number of depressing days but if you can hang in there with me Pheebs and i will be out most mornings looking for some photos and a few things of interest to stimulate my imagination…………….Say did I happen to mention how great it is to be home:))))))))))))))))))

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HAPPY TO BE HOME AND OF COURSE YOU KNOW WHERE PHEEBS AND I WILL BE FIRST THING TUESDAY MORNING EH…..RHYMES WITH ‘MEEP HIDE’

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A fresh-faced lad on the eve of his wedding night asks his mother, "Mom, why are wedding dresses white?" The mother looks at her son and replies, "Son, this shows the town that your bride is pure." The son thanks his mom, and then seeks his father opinion, "Dad, why are wedding dresses white?" The father looks at his son in surprise and says, "Son, all household appliances come in white."

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“Why did the lumberjack lose his job? He axed too many questions.”

Knock Knock Who’s there! Aardvark! Aardvark who? Aardvark a hundred miles for one of your smiles!

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A senior citizen said to his eighty-year old buddy: 'So I hear you're getting married?' 'Yep!' 'Do I know her?' 'Nope!' 'This woman, is she good looking?' 'Not really.' 'Is she a good cook?' 'Naw, she can't cook too well.' 'Does she have lots of money?' 'Nope! Poor as a church mouse.' 'Well, then, does she set your heart to a pumpin?' 'I don't know.'  'Why in the world do you want to marry her then?  ''Because she can still drive!'

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17 comments:

  1. Traveling is lots of fun but it always feels great to be back home.

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  2. What a beautiful drive!!! Don't u think so??

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  3. Happy you had safe travels and smooth sailing back home. Love the last close up of Miss Pheebs. What a sweetie she is!!!

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  4. I get the itch now and then to do another long distance trip, but I know I won't. I think you are not far behind me in thinking - you no doubt have some more traveling days, but it gets to the point where you just don't want to do it anymore.

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  5. Glad you made it home. Your photo of the old building with the guy hanging out the second floor is quite intriguing. It makes me want to tell a story.... about what happened to the building?... why is that guy sitting there?... a little danger! could he fall? Also love the fall colors in the trees.

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  6. Welcome home, the last leg is always a good one and uneventful for you as well. Love that lake Ontario State Parkway such a wonderful 4 lane scenic drive. Gotta love the easy border crossings.

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  7. I'm with Kelly. I prefer the paper maps as well.

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  8. Welcome home, but remember: We out here in the American West will ALWAYS welcome the Bayfield Bunch, with low humidity, blue skies, uncrowded highways, and a friendly wave.

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  9. You can tell Kelly I like to use those MayFlower maps too! My daughter just about has a coronary when I do. Glad you got home without incident.

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  10. Glad you're home safe and sound and happy to be there as well. Keep those feet up for a while!

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  11. Glad you got such a peaceful drive home. I did manage to eat some extra turkey the other day, just for you Al!

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  12. Welcome home! Glad the drive was uneventful and beautiful.

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  13. I tried to reply earlier and couldn't on my laptop but I can now on my desk top.
    Glad you folks had a safe trip home. Looks like those recliners will be getting a work out for a day or so.
    Al here's a belated "Happy Birthday Greeting." Not sure when it was buy hoping you had a happy birthday. Enjoy your Tim Hortons
    Coffee!

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  14. Seeing as how it's Canadian Thanksgiving you should've picked up the guy sitting in the doorway at the abandoned building and take Him Home and fed him supper he was trying to text you but you didn't get the message

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