Winds this morning were under 10 mph and out of the west, so 48° did not feel like sub-0 temps, but close. It was a nice ride this morning, but nothing really remarkable to see, not even a barn.  Just a nice day to take a ride on a flat road.  We had several sections on busy roads, then sections on neighborhood trails. In St. Claire we got our first glance of the St Claire River and cannot believe the color.But with a huge power plant and houses packed along the riverside, it is difficult to get a good photograph.  Our first potential stop for the day was Marine City at 48 miles.  Arriving just after noon, we decided to have lunch and talk about the rest of the day. Naturally, we decided to go further.  We waited for the ferry to take us across the river/borderinto Canada. Here we rode along the river with plenty of opportunities to take pictures;just could not get enough of the Caribbean blue waters.A special photograph for Bobby T.-the only person who will not appreciate this swan. Six miles from our final destination, we turned away from the river and saw our first Canadian barn….…no different then across the border.  Our last few miles were finally blessed with a tail wind.  Our short day ended up being 61 miles, we must stop doing this to ourselves.

Our extra miles yesterday resulted in a short day today and we actually stuck to that.  Not leaving until 10:30, allowed the morning to warm to a balmy 18°; so nice to wear short sleeves again. Oh Canada remember uses celsius not fahrenheit, so by U.S. measurements it was 64°.  The warmer weather today, came in on the south east breeze, though mild it was directly in our face.

Not much to see today but long stretches of flat landcorn and tomatoe fields.  Felt obligated to take a picture of a barn, as there was nothing else to see.  Canada does have slightly different ways to convey road conditionsand the first green barn on this trip.My highlight of the day was this darling little thing; she almost made it onto my bike.

Stopped for a light lunch on our way to our motel.  Not sure we even need dinner after that steak sandwich and only doing 30 miles, but when has that ever stopped us.

It’s a small town, the yards and along the street are filled with flowersbut not much else to report.

Almost 60° this morning as we pushed off just before eight o’clock. The forecast was for the NE winds to pick-up and switch to offer a little assistance for our ride, unfortunately an hour into our ride, it only picked up heading directly toward us, fortunately only 10 mph.The wind generators were a constant reminder of the wind direction.  Though we rode parallel to the shores of Lake Erie, only once or twice could we see it in the distance.  We saw more century old homes in between the barns on our very straight road.  The manicured lawns were the perfect canvas for the long shadows cast by the morning sun.We were surprised to see these large grand homes in the middle of farm fieldsand understood when some had been abandoned.

The road was not as busy as yesterday; everyone was courteous,farmers working even on a Saturday.Our straight road threw in some rolling hills, just to keep the day interesting and challenging (not what we needed).

Late morning, we stopped in a little country gas station for water and they were just taking the fresh peach cream pie out of the oven…..But the best part of the stop was the hug I got from this little kitty.We continued our roll up and down, the wind still working on us, but not without pretty and interesting livestock to keep our attention.  The earlier nondescript sky was beginning to paint beautiful pictures for us.Arrived at the edge of town by 12:30, but took us about an hour to pedal through town to the other edge where our hotel was.  Not exactly the St. Thomas of the Caribbean, but we were happy to be here after 60 miles.

Ludington, Michigan to St. Thomas, Ontario

It was a warm, sunny, lazy sunday morning as we pedaled past a few homes and into the countryside;still mesmerized by the huge pines that bordered the corn fields.  An hour into the ride we got our first glimpse of Lake Erie;the horizon was obscured by the early morning fog, that had lifted but left behind a hazy sky.

Once again we had relatively flat terrainthrough farmland and small townswith some interesting driveway adornments.

These signs always elicit an UH OH from us as we know it cannot be good.  Such was the case when entering Port Bruce, our first steep drop and climb in days. The the road was filled with empty boat trailers taking advantage of the beautiful Sunday morning.  The fly down was great, but the climb was steep, thankfully, we only had a few such towns/drops/climbs. As we paralleled the Lake, we were surprised that farm fields lined the waterfront and homes that had waterfront land were hunched by the roadside (note the changing leaves). But no matter what direction you looked, the landscape had wind turbines.Our next town was Port Burwell, complete with a lighthouse, lunch and a submarine.

Saw more motorcycles today than we had in over a month, but then this is only the second day over 80° we have seen in over a month, too.  Also saw tobacco and asparagus fieldsfor the first time.  More new experiences included biking through Copenhagen, Vienna and then to Norfolk.

It was a beautiful day, but the breeze had picked up, and though it was less than ten mph, it was in our face making it a very long day.

There is about a 200 foot drop from the shoreline to the water on the Canadian side of Lake Erie, so this seemed strange to see,as did this.Our last climb was into town, this one we were happy to do as it meant we could stop for the day.  At 4:00 and 58 miles, we were ready.  Our darling port side town had a restaurant at the bottom of the hill (of course), but the view was worth it.

The best thing about staying in a bed and breakfast for the evening, is the scrumptious breakfast that awaits in the morning.Another glimpse of Lake Erie as we pedaled away from the sleepy town and straight into the fields of asparagus and soybeans with a wily corn stalk.Our ride this morning was anything but straight or flat. We stopped counting the number of 14% grade drops/climbs and just slowly pushed through each one……legs screaming.  Thankfully, the variety of homes

and landscape helped divert our attention…..not really, but definitely more interesting than yesterday.  Flowers graced the perfectly manicured lawns, even when barns had been abandoned the yards were still maintained.As we traveled further east, the homes began to line the shore,large homes tucked next to little cottages.The homes were getting larger and larger, but nothing had prepared us for this (35,000 sq.ft.) monstrosity under construction.Back to reality, we biked through lovely small towns and ports on Lake Erie and past a huge electric plant on one side and farms on the other;energy alternative abound.We traveled past vineyards, finally getting a glimpse of the land drop to the water.

After lunch, we opted for the more direct route to our destination.  Excellent decision as our original route was closed for construction, plus the on-shore wind had picked up and offered a nice push; a nice respite from our morning hills.  On flat, straight roads, we saw many more barns,finally a field of sunflowers and a new twist on solar panels.Crossed the Grand River into Dunnvill and our motel romantically situated on the water.Just down the street, we stepped back in time for pizza and a hug with superstars.

Not a bad 53 mile day and over 3100 miles for the trip…..and we are not there yet!

Left early this morningto bike the couple of miles to our favorite Canadian coffee stop. By 7:30 we were sufficiently sugared and coffeed and pushed off into the warm 68° humid morning. For our few miles in the countryside, we enjoyed the wind blowing at our back. Then our course took a turn and we rode along the Lake Erie in the Low Banks area, finally able to see the water and shoreline. The area was filled with an assortment of homes,large to small, cottages to castles, nestled side by side all enjoying the view. Some houses were so large we couldn’t get the entire house in the picture. There were still areas the farmland had not been overtaken by homes or vacation cottages.

We had a couple of rolling hills, but out in the open we had the wind at our back, so was not brutal like yesterday. We rode through small towns, parks, ports and a few miles of private trails. Didn’t expect to see a high rise skyline as we rounded a corner and got our first glimpse of the United States. It was also neat to see Fort Erie and the U.S. flag as it was when we captured the fort in 1814.  Everyone was enjoying the day along Lake Erie where it flows into the Niagara River. Duckies stopped for lunch overlooking Buffalo, NY while we took a break.  We followed the road along the river with the United States off our right shoulder, enjoying beautiful tree lined streets and ridiculously large homes.

Our course offered the unique opportunity to bike right on the riverbefore it fell into the infamous falls, which at times gave pause as to if we were allowed on this part.You could hear the rush of the water and see the plume of water spray that came up for the drop, but noting really prepares you for the sight of the falls, even if you’ve seen them before…..just spectacular.Though we could see the States and the bridge over was close by, it was too late to try to navigate the border.  And the day had gotten warm; summer had finally arrived, so at 64 miles, we called it a day.