The spirits we drank now ghosts in the room
I'm knackered again, come on sleep take me soon
And don't lift up my head 'till the the twelve bells at noon
- Spirit of the West - "Home for a Rest"
Rest Day – Sault Ste. Marie – Day 39
Blueberry Hill was not exactly a bustling metropolis and thus provided plenty of peace and quiet for a great nights sleep. The forecast had originally been quite negative (rain!) but the sun magically appeared this morning and there was nothing but blue sky overhead. The campground was quite isolated so we decided to head up the famed ‘Mile Hill’ and cycle the 30kms into Sault Ste. Marie and stay there for the evening. The strategy was a good one as it would allow us to sleep in and also shave off 30kms from the following day. We did a quick survey of those interested in making the journey and there were 12 brave souls – we nicknamed ourselves ‘The Dirty Dozen’.
The terrain into Sault Ste. Marie was lovely – rolling hills and a great shoulder on the highway made for easy riding. The traffic was also very friendly and accommodating with loads of friendly ‘honks’ and the occasional wave. It was fun to be cycling ‘on our own time’ rather than trying to get to a specific destination with the ultimate goal of setting up camp as so
on as possible. It was like we were on our own, set free, and off radar for a day. It’s strange how sheltered and in our own little world we’ve all become. I didn’t even know what day of the week it was this morning and had to ask Graham to check his fancy high tech watch….! It was a Tuesday but it felt like a Saturday because it was like ‘weekend’.
I was surprised to see that Sault Ste. Marie actually has a population of 75,000 and looked forward to all of the luxuries provided by a city of this size – namely, Tim Hortons, a mall for misc shopping, a movie theatre for evening entertainment, an array of restaurants. A diner for breakfast is also always a treat. Sault Ste. Marie certainly did deliver in those respects. We hadn’t booked a hotel so came in a bit on a whim but were lucky that Bob, who was the most organized of the Dirty Dozen, had done some reconnaissance and booked a Travelodge in the downtown core. Fortunately there was still vacancy at the hotel and we all decided that it would be perfect and piled into 4 rooms on the 1st floor – even the bikes made it up. Wow. This was the first time in about 39 days that I have had all my creature comforts at my fingertips – a tv, clean white (!!) towels, a shower you can stand in without wearing flip flops, clean sheets with a pillow that doesn’t smell of damp… Bliss..! I was liking ‘real world’ again and felt as though I was seeing ‘city life’ with new eyes and an entirely new perspective.
We showered and met at ‘old faithful’ – good ol’ Tim Hortons to ‘make a plan’ which involved library, bike shop and doing something educational. After devouring several donuts and a coffee we went our separate ways and headed into the Soo. I wandered the streets with Ian and we eventually ended up at the library where we were met by a friendly receptionist who gave us some ‘internet time’ and then I headed out to the Bushplane Museum with Bob.
I’d never heard of the Bushplane Museum (http://www.bushplane.com)before but was very pleased that I’d made the visit as it was a very interesting museum and the planes and movies were very well presented. The key highlight for me was about ‘The Beaver’ which is considered to be one of the top 10 Canadian Engineering Achievements of the 20th century..! The DeHaviland Beaver was revolutionary to global bushplane aviation and continues to operate in 50 different countries, 7 continents and pole to pole even though the last Beaver to roll off of the production line was in the mid 1960s. Other highlights of the museum were replicas of aviation control rooms and also information on the history of bushplane fire fighting.
The Dirty Dozen met back at the Travelodge for 5pm and according to plan headed straight out to the Docks for dinner. It was a gorgeous clear and warm evening and we sat outside around the table overlooking the Edison building (US) and a giant Moose (which Ian thought w
as a camel), sharing several pitchers of beer and having a laugh. The French Connection and Andrew all bought ‘toques’ at the bike and ski shop and were showing them off. The sky was dark and rainy over Sault Ste. Marie’s sister city in the US but the sun continued to shine over us for most of the evening. Our waiter was very patient with us considering that it is never an easy task to satisfy the appetit
es of 12 hungry bikers trying to make the most of their ‘Rest Day’..! I am fairly sure that the waiter had also never seen 12 plates of a main course and then dessert licked so cleanly. I had a fantastic burger topped off with a brownie with icecream for dessert – delicious..! By the time we finished dinner the rain which had been pouring down in the US had migrated over to Canadian soil (we had, in the meantime migrated to the inside of the restaurant for dinner!) so we walked back in the direction of the hotel in the aftermath of the shower. Unfortunately ‘Step Brother’ was Sold Out at the movies so we all headed to bed for an early night. A fantastic and prod
uctive rest day and I was very pleased to have joined the gang on the field trip to Sault Ste. Marie..!
Blueberry Hill was not exactly a bustling metropolis and thus provided plenty of peace and quiet for a great nights sleep. The forecast had originally been quite negative (rain!) but the sun magically appeared this morning and there was nothing but blue sky overhead. The campground was quite isolated so we decided to head up the famed ‘Mile Hill’ and cycle the 30kms into Sault Ste. Marie and stay there for the evening. The strategy was a good one as it would allow us to sleep in and also shave off 30kms from the following day. We did a quick survey of those interested in making the journey and there were 12 brave souls – we nicknamed ourselves ‘The Dirty Dozen’.
The terrain into Sault Ste. Marie was lovely – rolling hills and a great shoulder on the highway made for easy riding. The traffic was also very friendly and accommodating with loads of friendly ‘honks’ and the occasional wave. It was fun to be cycling ‘on our own time’ rather than trying to get to a specific destination with the ultimate goal of setting up camp as so
on as possible. It was like we were on our own, set free, and off radar for a day. It’s strange how sheltered and in our own little world we’ve all become. I didn’t even know what day of the week it was this morning and had to ask Graham to check his fancy high tech watch….! It was a Tuesday but it felt like a Saturday because it was like ‘weekend’.I was surprised to see that Sault Ste. Marie actually has a population of 75,000 and looked forward to all of the luxuries provided by a city of this size – namely, Tim Hortons, a mall for misc shopping, a movie theatre for evening entertainment, an array of restaurants. A diner for breakfast is also always a treat. Sault Ste. Marie certainly did deliver in those respects. We hadn’t booked a hotel so came in a bit on a whim but were lucky that Bob, who was the most organized of the Dirty Dozen, had done some reconnaissance and booked a Travelodge in the downtown core. Fortunately there was still vacancy at the hotel and we all decided that it would be perfect and piled into 4 rooms on the 1st floor – even the bikes made it up. Wow. This was the first time in about 39 days that I have had all my creature comforts at my fingertips – a tv, clean white (!!) towels, a shower you can stand in without wearing flip flops, clean sheets with a pillow that doesn’t smell of damp… Bliss..! I was liking ‘real world’ again and felt as though I was seeing ‘city life’ with new eyes and an entirely new perspective.
We showered and met at ‘old faithful’ – good ol’ Tim Hortons to ‘make a plan’ which involved library, bike shop and doing something educational. After devouring several donuts and a coffee we went our separate ways and headed into the Soo. I wandered the streets with Ian and we eventually ended up at the library where we were met by a friendly receptionist who gave us some ‘internet time’ and then I headed out to the Bushplane Museum with Bob.
I’d never heard of the Bushplane Museum (http://www.bushplane.com)before but was very pleased that I’d made the visit as it was a very interesting museum and the planes and movies were very well presented. The key highlight for me was about ‘The Beaver’ which is considered to be one of the top 10 Canadian Engineering Achievements of the 20th century..! The DeHaviland Beaver was revolutionary to global bushplane aviation and continues to operate in 50 different countries, 7 continents and pole to pole even though the last Beaver to roll off of the production line was in the mid 1960s. Other highlights of the museum were replicas of aviation control rooms and also information on the history of bushplane fire fighting.
The Dirty Dozen met back at the Travelodge for 5pm and according to plan headed straight out to the Docks for dinner. It was a gorgeous clear and warm evening and we sat outside around the table overlooking the Edison building (US) and a giant Moose (which Ian thought w
as a camel), sharing several pitchers of beer and having a laugh. The French Connection and Andrew all bought ‘toques’ at the bike and ski shop and were showing them off. The sky was dark and rainy over Sault Ste. Marie’s sister city in the US but the sun continued to shine over us for most of the evening. Our waiter was very patient with us considering that it is never an easy task to satisfy the appetit
es of 12 hungry bikers trying to make the most of their ‘Rest Day’..! I am fairly sure that the waiter had also never seen 12 plates of a main course and then dessert licked so cleanly. I had a fantastic burger topped off with a brownie with icecream for dessert – delicious..! By the time we finished dinner the rain which had been pouring down in the US had migrated over to Canadian soil (we had, in the meantime migrated to the inside of the restaurant for dinner!) so we walked back in the direction of the hotel in the aftermath of the shower. Unfortunately ‘Step Brother’ was Sold Out at the movies so we all headed to bed for an early night. A fantastic and prod
uctive rest day and I was very pleased to have joined the gang on the field trip to Sault Ste. Marie..! 
2 comments:
Hello, Heather ... from 4 Victorians & the parents of one of them. We all are thinking of you & wishing you well in all ways. Thank
you for sharing such grand times & travels with all of us in many corners of your world. All photos are very special, too.
... Huge wishes for safe travels for all of you; lovely weather; more grand memories to treasure.
... Beijing's Opening Ceremonies were so special. ... HUGS from us on Green Line
Ik denk regelmatig "i wish I was there" jou avontuur brengt zoveel herrinneringen naar boven.
Echt geweldig dat je dit doet en dat je er zo van geniet.
Dikke zoen Miranda
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