First of all, I feel totally guilty for neglecting my blog and I cannot believe it has taken me so long to be able to play catch up. We recently drove our van all the way to Toronto and back home again - and logged 2,885 miles in doing so. When I told Faith's teacher that she would be missing school for eight days as a result of our vacation, she asked if we would do a travel journal so Faith could share it with her class. Here is that journal that she got to share with her class on her 8th birthday which was this past Tuesday.
On Saturday, October 8, 2011 me and my mom and dad left from Bismarck, North Dakota and drove in our van all the way to Toronto, Ontario Canada.
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| Faith is all settled in and ready to do some serious traveling! |
Canada is another country and is often called “our neighbor to the north” but to get to Toronto we always kept driving east. This is where my dad is from so we went to see my grandparents who live there along with other friends and relatives. I had lots of fun but it seemed like we drove forever and ever.
On Saturday night we made it all the way to Duluth, Minnesota. This city is located right along Lake Superior. On our trip we got to see four of the five great lakes including: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and finally Lake Ontario. Next time we’ll also get to see Lake Erie. That’s all five of the Great Lakes.
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| Faith and daddy relax in Duluth, Minnesota in the only hotel room left in the city! | | |
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| Passing through Duluth the next morning - they had some beautiful fall foliage |
We drove all day Sunday and went through the state of Wisconsin which is known for making lots of dairy products like milk and cheese. For some reason my mom and dad were excited to find and A&W in Iron River, Wisconsin so they pulled over for a bite to eat. I had most of my feedings in the van while we were driving and in the hotels where we would stop for the night.
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| This A&W had a carhop who came out to our car to take our order! |
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| I sure do miss the A&W in Bismarck! |
Eventually on Sunday we made it to Michigan. We went across what is called the Upper Peninsula. Michigan is sort of divided by Lake Michigan. That night we stayed in a pretty little town called Manistique which is right along Lake Michigan.
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| Rest stop in Michigan. Faith loved the sound of all the crunchy leaves. |
On Monday morning it was kind of exciting because we got to cross over the Mackinac Bridge. It’s huge! The bridge is four miles long and is very high. On one side I saw Lake Michigan and on the other Lake Huron went as far as I could see. After going over the bridge we stopped in Gaylord, Michigan because my dad had to stop at a coffee shop called Tim Horton’s that is well-known in Canada. They also have shops in Michigan, too.
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| Crossing over the Mackinac bridge |
Monday, October 10th was Columbus Day but also Thanksgiving Day in Canada so it was fun to cross over into Canada on this day. We sure had lots to be thankful for!
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| Oh Canada! |
My dad got sort of lost so we ended up staying in a town called Ingersoll that night. My mom came down with a bad cold so she didn’t get much sleep because she was coughing so much. The next day my dad told us about the history of the town but I don’t really remember it.
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| Totally tuckered out after finally making it to Canada |
We finally made it to the first destination of our trip – Waterloo which is where my dad’s cousin lives. I call him Uncle Brock. I was so excited to see him. He just put a swimming pool in his backyard for his three boys. I got to dip my feet in the water! I wish I could have gone swimming but it was a little cool outside.
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| Faith and Uncle Brock |
We spent the whole day with Uncle Brock and his family. The next day I finally made it to Mississauga, which is right next to Toronto and I got to see my grandparents! Me, my mom and dad stayed with them and then my Aunty Joh came to stay with us for the weekend. We had so much fun shopping at the mall in Toronto. I got to pick out some early birthday and Christmas presents from the Lego store and my Grandmother bought me a pretty dress and a purple Smurf shirt.
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| Going shopping! |
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| Taking a little break |
While in Mississauga, we mostly did lots of family activities which was fine with me because I was kind of tired of being in the van all day long! My grandparents even had an early birthday party for me with a birthday cake and candles and presents. It was fun having a birthday in Canada!
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| A few early birthday gifts. The pink one is a cupcake purse! |
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| Happy early Birthday Faith! Grandmother let her stay in her cupcake pajamas for the occasion! |
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The time went by way too fast and before we knew it, we had to pack up and leave. I loved seeing my family in Canada and hope we get to go back again.
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| Faith with Grandmother and Grandfather |
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| Faith with her aunty Joh and one of two cats (Lucy) that was also there to visit for the weekend |
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| Our last family event in Canada - dinner with Steve and Susie |
We stayed in Cambridge, Ontario that evening to get a little head start for home. Then we stayed in Gaylord, Michigan. The next night we stayed in North Branch, Minnesota. We finally made it home around 5 o’clock on Friday, October 21st.
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| We're not the only ones who want to go to the U.S. |
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| Going back over the big bridge - this time in the wind and the rain |
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| Rob did most of the driving the whole trip |
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| A tired girl finally makes it back home. |
It was sort of fun staying in all those motels but it is so wonderful to be home and sleep in my own bed!
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