Day 2 continued, to Hendersonville, North Carolina

 With the Pink Cadillac in the rearview mirror, we continue our trek south toward Hendersonville, NC to visit our friends, Meg and Irwin. We were close friends in Cleveland. Then they moved to Hendersonville about five years ago. We arrived in time for dinner, and what a spread they had prepared, much of it grown in their garden.

Fresh veggies and BBQ chicken and swordfish shish kabob

Day 2, to Lexington, Virginia

 Why Lexington, Virginia? Eric's first friend in the sixth grade now lives in Lexington. So, we headed east into the rising sun toward Lexington.

We met him for breakfast at the Pink Cadillac Diner, an institution just south of Lexington. It was great getting together with an old friend and talk about times gone by.

We are in front of the Pink Cadillac Diner

Today is the day we embark on our civil rights tour of the southern United States. We will be visiting friends along the way.  Our car is loaded with everything we need for our three week journey. Today, we head due south through Akron and Canton, southeast Ohio, and into West Virginia where we will spend the night in Lewisburg, just west of the Virginia border. If you should find yourself in Lewisburg for some reason, we highly recommend the Stardust Cafe. Make a point of trying the Forever Curry Chicken.

Eighth and last stop, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

The trip from Toronto to Montréal was a long two days. First, we had to traverse nearly the full length of Lake Ontario. Then we had to travel a similar distance along the Saint Lawrence Seaway from Lake Ontario to Montréal. Total distance was about 320 miles. As discussed in the previous entry, the trip was spectacular. Most of our group headed straight for the airport. We love Montréal, so we stayed over for two nights.

The highlight of our visit was our visit to Monte Royal (Mount Royal) a (little) mountain that rises all of 764 feet, just west of downtown Montréal. The name of the city is derived from the name of this baby mountain. The Chalet du mont Royal is located at the top of the mountain.

Here is an aerial view of the Chalet. what follows a pictures we took around the Chalet.   

  

The citizens of Montréal were kind enough to provide us with steps to get down from the dizzying heights. In the end, we were well rewarded for our efforts. It was a joy to spend a few days in one of our favorite cities. The natives were most tolerant of our fractured French. Actually, they are all bilingual.

As the plane flies, we got home in just a few hours. We were rewarded with one last look at the sights we had seen of the river.

The Saint Lawrence River from 30,000 feet

The Saint Lawrence River

 What's in a name? The word Ontario was given by the by the Iroquois tribe, and translates roughly to "beautiful lake" or "big body of water." This has been so for millennia before Europeans discovered America. The name was adopted by the United States and later by Canada. That name will not be changed with a sharpie or by Google.

Lake Ontario drains into the Saint Lawrence River. Some of the river is not navigable by ships, so canals were constructed in various places to bypass rapids. The name Saint Lawrence Seaway has been given to the combination of the river along with the constructed canals and locks. 

We only went as far as Montréal. Other than the northern lights, the journey down the Saint Lawrence River was the most spectacular part of our trip. Most of the surrounding land is wilderness with abundant wildlife. There are interspersed mansions and castles along the shores and on the islands. Most of our time was spent at the railing admiring the scenery as it went by. Upstream, the river separates Ontario Province from New York State. Further downstream, it separates Ontario Province from Quebec Province.

Snell Lock, Massena, New York

Snell Lock, from above

Snell Lock, from way above

Seventh Stop, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

We traversed the Welland Canal and crossed Lake Ontario overnight, arriving in Toronto the next morning. Toronto is a big, beautiful city that we have visited several times in the past. This visit would be more limited. We traveled in the city on a chartered bus which due to heavy traffic, had two speeds - slow and stop. We did get off the bus and explore some of the downtown architecture by foot. 

A vertical panoramic view

Sixth Stop, Niagara Falls, Canada

 Our ship, the Victory I, could not sail directly to Niagara Falls. That is always considered poor form.

AI generated. No ships were lost creating this picture

Instead, we sailed across Lake Erie from Cleveland to Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. The Welland Canal begins on the Lake Erie side at Port Colborne, consists of eight locks, and ends at Port Weller on the Lake Ontario side. The canal provides a shipping route that bypasses the Niagara River and Niagara Falls. We took a one hour charter bus ride from Port Colborne to the Canadian side of the falls.

We had been to both sides of Niagara Falls in the past, but we had never taken the tour boat up close and soaking wet to the base of the falls. That was quite an experience - once.

We returned to the ship late afternoon. From there, we would navigate overnight the length of the Welland Canal to Port Weller at the Lake Ontario end of the canal.

Dinner with our travel group aboard the ship with assorted photo bombers

Locks along the Welland Canal

Fifth Stop, Cleveland! (home)

The sailing distance between Detroit and Cleveland is about 110 miles, which we did overnight. For many on the cruise, the highlight of the trip was visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I did stop by there for a little while, although we had been there many times before.

The Cleveland Orchestra ranks as one of the world's top ensembles

The Cleveland Orchestra is a local treasure, and we patronize it frequently, but it was not part of this adventure.

Nearby Oberlin, Ohio is home to Oberlin College. It was also a vital link of the Underground Railroad. Historians estimate that 30,000 to 100,000 slaves escaped their enslavement thanks to the Underground Railroad. This clever monument has been erected on the Oberlin campus.

Underground Railroad      Oberlin, Ohio

Fourth Stop, Detroit

 The distance we traveled was about 300 miles. It took two days. Meanwhile, we had great entertainment by excellent musicians, tours of the ship including the bridge, and fine food.

It was still dark the morning we arrived in Detroit

We were in Detroit only for the day, so we had to choose one place to go. We had been to the Detroit Institute of Arts in the past, so we chose to go to the Ford Museum since we had never been there.

The sheer number and diversity of displays was amazing. Of course, there were old Fords.

But wait, there's more! There were multiple presidential limousines-Lincolns of course.

Also made in Michigan, but not by Ford, is the Eames chair.

Henry Ford not just mass produced cars for everyone, he also attempted to put the people in their individual airplanes.

This was a project that never quite got off the ground.

And there was so much more. Time ran out, and we had to head back to the ship.