WHITE RIVER, ONTARIO

Day 11, Wednesday, May 10, 2017

This was the second night rooming with J.B.  My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM and we got up, dressed and packed our bags.  I put on my brand, spanking new “Thunder Bay” t-shirt.  It was awesome!  NO, WAIT…I don’t have one.  I couldn’t put one on.  I took my bags out to my Motor, took the cover off and packed my bags into my Motor.  My Motor wasn’t very dirty but I wiped it clean.  I went to the breakfast area.  J. B. was already there.  The others came in and had breakfast.  It was a slim breakfast, something that we were not used to.  We ate what we could and then went out to our Motorcycles.  It was cold this morning, 50 degrees, and we were bundled up with long johns, extra jackets and heavy gloves.  We left at 9:12 AM.

I was in the lead with Jan following.  C.E. was next, then Chuck, Ken, Jake and J.B.  We rode on Can. 17, which ran along Lake Superior.  We rode for 59 miles and at 10:11 AM we stopped in White River, Ontario.  For those who don’t know, White River is the birth place of “Winnie the Pooh.”  Alongside of the highway, there was a Winnie the Pooh display.  There was a tree and Winnie the Pooh was sitting on the tree holding a jar of honey.  We all walked over and took pictures.  Chuck got on his Motor and rode up in front.  We took pictures of Chuck sitting on his Motor in front of the Winnie display.  Chuck rode off and it was my turn.  I stopped where Chuck did and pictures were taken.  OK, let the Cops come!  We went into the Esso gas station mini mart and took a break.  Since it was cold, coffee was in order.  I didn’t have any…I love coffee...I’m not allowed.  I hate those guys!  We were ready to go and left at 10:54 AM.

We continued to ride Can. 17.  We were now riding south.  It was still 50 degrees and we were going to have to stop for gas soon.  We continued and after 59 miles, we stopped in Wawa, Ontario at 11:56 AM at an Esso gas station and gassed up.  There was a sign on each of the pump that read that we needed to leave the vehicle parked next to the pump when we were done gassing up.  We had to go in and pay and then we could move our vehicles.  It took a little longer for all to gas up.  After we were all done, we rode to the Subway for lunch.  Can you believe we went to Subway?  We finished our meals and we left at 1:05 PM.

It was C.E.’s turn to lead.  Ken was next, then J.B., Chuck, Jake, Jan and Me.  We rode on Can. 17 and rode away from the Lake.  We started to climb a little and it got a little cooler.  We continued and C.E. stopped at the Algoma County Scenic Overlook after riding 79 miles at 2:26 PM.  This was a good stop.  We neatly parked our Motors…we looked professional.  We were taking pictures of each other and our Motors, with Lake Superior in the background, and I went across the parking lot with my camera and tripod.  I set it up for a 10 second delay.  I’m sure that all of you know that I DON’T RUN.  Jan volunteered to go with me to my camera.  I showed him what to do and I returned to my Motor.  Jan set the camera to take the picture and ran back to his Motor.  We waited a few seconds and the camera took the picture.  We were happy with the picture and Jan didn’t have to run again.  We saw two young ladies climb to the parking lot from the shoreline.  It was a good trek to the shore.  Chuck, Jan and Jake went down so they could “touch” the cold water.  I’ve got to tell you that it was very humorous to watch these old men climb up.  We all laughed.  After the “old guys” got up, we got ready to go.  We left at 2:55 PM.

We continued on Can. 17.  Our next stop was Sault Ste. Marie.  For you non-French speaking people, it is pronounced So Ste. Marie.  We rode for 67 miles and at 4:03 PM we stopped in Sault Ste. Marie and the first Fairfield Inn.  After we parked, Chuck told us to listen to the room assignments before we went inside.  The room assignments are:  Jake and C.E., J.B. and Ken, Chuck and Jan and I am solo.  Jan followed me inside to “make the deal.”  I spoke with the Clerk and gave him all of the information.  He gave us a great rate, I looked at Jan and Jan told the Clerk, “We’ll take it.”  I agreed and then we all signed in.  We unloaded our bags from our Motors and took them to the rooms.  We also tucked in our Motors for the night.

 We didn’t have to ride to dinner.  The Boston Pizza Sports Bar was across the parking lot.  We knew where we were going for dinner.  After we claimed our rooms, we decided to go to dinner.  We were seated and had a very good waitress.  Her name was Iona.  Comments were made about her name and she told us that that wasn’t the best of it.  She told us that her last name is, “Seamen.”  We let that go!  We didn’t want to comment on it.  She was a good waitress and took very good care of us.  We finished dinner and had to walk a long way, across the parking lot, to the Hotel.  Next was the Hot Tub.  The Hot Tub was good and then we went to the breakfast area for some “Man Talk” and Blog typing.

Today we rode for 264 miles.  We got to see Winnie the Pooh’s birth place.  It can’t get much better than that.  We can also say that we got to ride around the north side of Lake Superior.  Tomorrow we will return to the United States and travel west into the northern part of Michigan.  I don’t know where we will end up.  We shall see…