Sudbury Ontario to Grayling Michigan

It was a cool 6 C (42 F) when the alarm went off at 6:00 AM. It had warmed up a bit by the time the second alarm went off at 7:00. Since we only had about 350 miles to go today and check-in time at the Ramada in Grayling, Michigan was 4:00 PM, we were in no rush.

With the trailer connected, bike loaded and suitcases on board yesterday, all that was left after breakfast this morning was to take out our overnight bags. On travel days, these smaller bags carry all the essentials we need to take in to a hotel for an overnight stay. The bigger cases only come out when we get where we are going. By 9:00 AM, we were ready to leave.

 Ready to roll

The trip to the Soo was relatively uneventful. Skies were blue and traffic was light. We had to iron out a few bugs with the new (to us) car, even though it was much like the old one. On the plus side, it rode better pulling the trailer than the 2014 did. But the Chev "infotainment" system refused to acknowledge incoming texts through Bluetooth even though the old car did. Sandy forgot to take her sheepskin seat belt pad out of the 2014 while I forgot to install the small convex blind spot mirrors.

As we drove along, we listened to Billy Crystal's audio book, Still Foolen' Em. It was written a couple of years ago when he was 65 and some of his observations on getting older were both hilarious and spot on.

 Highway 17 is still undergoing rehabilitation

 This was either a huge cask or a wooden bear trap

 Nobody works on weekends

 It was back in Blind River in 1962......

 Police officers don't usually drive slow

 Mennonites near Bruce Mines

We stopped at McDonald's in the Soo for lunch. Sandy had a hamburger, cranberry orange muffin and strawberry banana smoothie. I had an Angus bacon and cheeseburger with an extra patty and no condiments except onion. I threw away the bun and ate it with the knife and fork they gave me. It was good.

As we ate, I searched Google for Chev Infotainment and texts. Following a few tips, I unpaired the phone and then, when I paired it again, allowed the phone to share texts. Bonzo. We were now text capable. (This means that when a text is received, the car reads it to you in a mellifluous female voice. You are not allowed to reply unless the vehicle is in park but you can press a button and make a hands free voice call.)

Since my brother Rabbi and his buddy Dave were golfing, we headed straight to the International Bridge. I had never seen it so quiet. No Canada bound line. On the US side, we drove right into a vacant booth. Surprisingly, I had shut the Chev entertainment system off but the car still announced "Caution - border ahead" as we approached the international boundary.

The border agent asked where we lived, where we were going and why. Sudbury Ontario, Eureka Springs, Arkansas and to ride the motorcycle in the trailer around the Ozarks. He asked when we last crossed and I said we came back from the US in the third week of June. He asked where we crossed and, for the life of us, neither Sandy nor I could remember right at that moment. Embarrassing. Shades of Billy Crystal's commentary on aging. He laughed and asked if we were retired. When we replied in the affirmative, he said he envied our lifestyle. Just before leaving, I asked where we did cross last time. He said he didn't know. Sometimes they ask questions just to see how you react.

Right after we left the booth, we remembered it was in the Soo. We remembered the very hot stop at the McDonald's in Newberry on the way. 

 The Soo Locks Cruise Boat

 International Bridge

 No line whatsoever

We drove south on I-75. Speed limits were 75 for cars and 65 for trucks with a minimum of 55 MPH. We were doing 60 to save fuel. There was very little traffic and no semis as all on the highway or on the Mackinac Bridge. The first stop was the Walmart in Gaylord, Michigan, where Sandy got another seat belt pad. I got two dozen bottles of Five Hour Energy drinks and four bottles of Seafoam (can't beat $6.97 a bottle at home). We both got snacks. They were out of two packs of small convex mirrors.

 The Upper Peninsula is flat along I-75

 View from the Mackinac Bridge

 Always awe inspiring

 By the shining Big-Sea-Water....

Bikes about to transition to steel grating

 Sandy's new camera has 40x zoom

On the last leg from Gaylord to Grayling, we talked to Sherm, who was already settled in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the night. He will arrive in Eureka Springs tomorrow while we should pull in after lunch on Monday.

The Ramada in Grayling was old but presentable. It had better trailer parking that the Days Inn next door. We had a second floor room overlooking the inside courtyard and pools. They served food in the bar until 9:00 PM, so we wandered on down for supper. My Super Salad with grilled chicken was awesome, while Sandy's roast beef sandwich au jus was more than she could finish.

 Our home for the night in Grayling Michigan

 Lots of room to park

 The inner courtyard

 The other end

 The lounge was pretty quiet

 Waiting for food

 Huge Super Salad with grilled chicken

 Roast beef sandwich au jus with sweet potato fries

 Did not see the Nomad rider

Sandy and her leftovers

Back in the room, Sandy went to bed while I posted bills, sorted and uploaded photos, transcribed notes and wrote this story. Towards the end, I ate the meat out of the half sandwich she brought back in a box with no guilt whatsoever:-))

We will get up early tomorrow and probably try for Collinsville, Illinois. That should leave a short day into ES on Monday.

Today's Route (340 Equinox miles):

Interactive map

Departure Day Minus One

We leave tomorrow for what I calculated on my fingers and toes to be the 18th Annual Vulcan Riders and Owners Club Eureka Springs Reunion in Arkansas. I have a query out to the Powers That Be to see if my digital calculations are, in fact, correct.

It has been a busy week. Larry installed a Class III hitch on the new (to us) 2017 Equinox. I've been working on a number of initiatives for several organizations I belong to. As Chapter Treasurer, I convened the monthly luncheon for the Ontario Provincial Police Veterans Association Chapter 13. There was a mass Emailing to Safe Ride Home 2017 volunteers informing them of the inaugural Grab The Wheel Run/Walk Against Impaired Driving being held October 21st. Somehow, I have found myself in charge of event registration. It was also time to begin doing some prep work in anticipation of the Safe Ride Home Sudbury 2018 campaign, where I have scaled back a bit and will now just be the Volunteer Coordinator. Right. I finished the Freedom Riders August Treasurer's report but came up short on the overhaul of the Constitution and Bylaws. Plus there were all the usual month end tasks covering our and mother-in-law Jan's affairs. Typical retired life. I haven't stopped working, just stopped getting paid:-))

As the week went by, what were originally essential tasks on the To Do list were reconsidered and some were shuffled to a date after our return.

So here we finally are. The list has been cleared one way or another except for this blog post. The trailer is hooked up and the bike is loaded. Suitcases are on board. The three cameras are ready to go. All we need tomorrow is to throw a few toiletries and meds into the overnight bags, have breakfast and head out the door.

Early departure will not be a necessity. We are only going 350 miles to Grayling, Michigan on the first day. We'll push it on day 2 and, hopefully, roll into Eureka Springs early on Monday afternoon.

We'll leave ES a week from Sunday morning and arrive in DuQuoin, Illinois on Wednesday afternoon for the Gold Wing Road Riders Association Southern Illinois Ride In, organized by our own Willie Wonka and The Lovely Carlene. On the way, we will swing by Cape Girardeau, Missouri and pick up a GL1800 final drive for a friend. This is one of the weak spots on the 1800 but new final drives are regularly discarded when bikes are converted to trikes. We depart DuQuoin the following Sunday and should be back home on Monday the 24th.

One of the goals on this trip will be to streamline these blog posts. Spending hours every night sorting photos, reviewing notes and writing stories is getting old. The other goal will be to not fall behind. We have to work and let the pictures (a thousand words each) tell more of the story. That means emulating Sherm, Linda G and others in capturing more descriptive shots. We'll see how that works out.

You may have read in my previous posts that I have been fairly successful in reducing my blood sugar by essentially eliminating starchy carbs from my diet. Before I went back to that regimen in early July, my morning glucose readings were over 13.0 (230 for my American friends) with bread and potatoes being the only real offenders. Now they are consistently in the low 7's (around 130). My readings four hours after meals during the day are consistently around 6.0 (108). So bread (or rice or potatoes) have not crossed my lips in almost two months. That was until noon today, when I had a three cheese and bacon sandwich with curly fries  for lunch at Arby's (we took Sandy's Mom). Four hours later, I dreaded the glucose reading. Much to my surprise, it was 4.8 (86). What? I guess I still don't understand what is going on here because I haven't seen a number this low since I can't remember when. No matter. I will be back on the carb restricted food in the morning. Hell, I had roast beef and salad for supper.

So we are out of here in the morning. Stay tuned if you want to see how the journey unfolds.

By the way, my conversation with the organizers and final arbiters of all things ES has informed me that the first World Reunion in 2000 in Durango, Colorado (Hey, Bucky), commonly known as V2K, is being counted and that this is officially Reunion Number 19. That works for me.

Picking Up The New (To Us) Equinox

We went to our doctor's appointment at 9:00 AM only to find that our GP had decided to stop having office hours on Thursdays. Somehow, no one notified us but the receptionist was very apologetic as she rebooked us for next Tuesday.

As a result, we were early for our 10:00 AM appointment to exchange Equinoxes at Southside Chevrolet Buick GMC nearby. Ray offered us coffee while we waited for Clare with the paperwork. He arrived not long after and we finished the deal by trading a bank draft for the registration slip and bill of sale.

All that remained was the ceremonial switching of the licence plates from the 2014 to the 2017.

Plates on the 2014

Plates on the 2017

With the plates swapped, we set out in search of new adventures.

Cruising the North Channel

The Ontario Provincial Police Veterans Association welcomes retired all sworn officers, civilian employees and auxiliary members of the OPP and other forces as full members. They specifically include Special Constables who served with the Snowmobile Trail Office Patrol (STOP), which is how several of us who worked beside a number of these officers ended up as members. In fact, I am currently the Treasurer of OPPVA Chapter 13 Sudbury/Manitoulin.

Chapter 13 usually holds an August Fish Fry in Sheguindah on Manitoulin Island hosted by members Rick and Gail. This year, however, a family event prevented this, so Chairman Ron suggested we take a cruise on the North Channel to visit the Benjamin Islands. North Channel Tours operated out of Little Current and offered a number of cruise options including this one.

There was no rush to get started this morning because our cruise started boarding at 9:30 AM and the dock was a ten minute walk away. An intial look outside confirmed that it was raining but the weather app on the phone promised it would stop soon.

Rain, rain go away....

We went down to North46 and ordered breakfast. Sandy just had oatmeal while I ordered off the sides menu to avoid toast and potatoes. I asked for two scrambled eggs and sides of bacon, sausage and ham. The bacon was a regular size order, as were the very tasty sausages. But the ham consisted of three thick slices which would have been sufficient on its own. I ate it all even though, in addition to avoiding carbs, I am supposed to be watching the calories. 

I did not eat the fruit

The rain had stopped by 9:00 AM. We opted to leave the car in the hotel parking lot and walked along the waterfront along what appeared to be a rarely used street.

This tree has seen better days but it has character

The Little Current waterfront

Triumph was getting ready to cast off

The rest of our tour group and others were waiting to board when we arrived at the Grand Heron gangplank just before 9:30. I could see our friend from yesterday on The Triumph was pulling in his water and power lines, preparing to get underway.

After being welcomed by captain/owner Chris and crew member Brittany, we got settled. It started raining off and on just after we cast off at 10:00 AM, heading northwest towards the Benjamin Islands. Brittany set out coffee and pastries shortly after we got started. I had coffee and looked longingly at the baked goods.

The Chapter 13 contingent

Life ring

Life jackets

Inflatable raft

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, a huge GPS screen on the wall kept us abreast of our route and position. The people at the next table operated a farm east of Ottawa and were camping on The Island in a 42 foot 5th wheel towed by a Ford F450 diesel. They were snowmobilers, so we had a number of things in common.

Captain Chris and the GPS screen

Low lying clouds over the La Cloche Mountains

Moving right along....

Most folks stayed inside due to the rain and spray

Many rounded granite islands in the North Channel

I forgot the name of the First Mate/Boat Driver (Helmsman)

Captain Chris

It all looks like a Group Of Seven painting

The North Channel

Before we arrived at our anchorage spot in a bay at South Benjamin Island, the crew (Brittany) served lunch. We had sausages on a bun. hamburgers on a bun, potato salad and pasta salad. I had sausages and hamburgers (no buns) with a diet coke. I did cheat with one small spoon of potato salad but I went outside when they served the desserts.

Someone moored in a secluded area (I need a bigger zoom lens)

South Benjamin Island

After we dropped anchor, Captain Chris took anyone who wanted to explore or swim ashore in the Zodiac. Norm (retired CP Police and friend) was the only one in our group who felt so motivated. There was a nearby cabin that was for sale along with five acres of land. They were only asking $799,000 Canadian dollars. It would be a nice, secluded location if it wasn't for the cruise boats:-))

Look for a corner of the cabin roof on the left side

Low lying wind swept rocks

Rick is pointing something out to Ray and Ron

Some of our gang

Norm ashore in the yellow shirt and yuppie sweater

The explorers return

After a couple of hours, we weighed anchor and started back towards Little Current.

Underway again

Near Little Current - less rock and more trees

Old lumber mill on Picnic Island

Happy sailors

I like a classic cabin cruiser

I can see our dock

Brittany prepares to tie us up

Unlike Gilligan, we all returned safely

We arrived back at the dock a little before 5:00 PM. Norm and Leslie Ann, who parked near the dock, gave us a ride up to the hotel parking lot. Again, the traffic light was green as we approached the swing bridge and started the last drive in our trusty old 2014 Equinox. We stopped at Tim's in Espanola for a bathroom break and then made it the rest of the way home without incident.

Today's Route (86 Equinox miles):

Interactive map