From Limerick to Lake Chandos: the lake life in 2 countries with waterfalls in between

This has been the driving portion of our nearly 2 month trip. So lucky I am to be with a guy who patiently zips along for hours at a time with no complaints. It is a time in the trip that you hope for boredom as the alternative is generally of a car problem solving nature. And lucky to have a friend who patiently sits in the back seat deleting photos while waiting for the next coffee stop.

As navigator my job is often to find a picnic spot not too far off the road preferably scenic with bathrooms. Well 2/3 isn’t too bad:

Sokokis Lake was more than worth the wait. Nice to spend a couple days exploring especially when one day is a brilliant blue sunny day as the foliage begins to turn

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The first day was gray cold drizzly rain. It was a typical fall day coupled with a drive through towns and countryside that gave me Deja vu. And sometimes a deep sense of sadness, as I remembered moments with my brothers so long ago. California is where I think I will always feel my deepest connection, Mexico is my beautiful ocean playground and New England is somehow still my home.

We didn’t have long enough to bask in the sun but we will be back! Next stop was Cooperstown, home of the baseball hall of fame and museum. The museum was much more interesting than the sport itself and without the tacky music! I learned lots of baseball trivia and even got to practice my Spanish in the Latino exhibit. It was great people watching (and eavesdropping). Truly my favorite part was watching the joy and excitement in people’s faces (especially the old folks which was surprisingly the majority) as they saw an exhibit on their favorite player. Sometimes the chatter of statistics was harder to follow than the spanish placards. Overall I thought Cooperstown was very pricey and a bit odd. A fun stop but one night was plenty.

Next stop… Niagara Falls.

Lucky for us we got a wonderful room with truly spectacular view of the falls (part luck, part Marriott card and price). Honestly I could have spent the day in our room.

It is also lucky for Americans that the person who designed Central Park convinced the US to buy 100s of acres around the falls. Regardless it is still a bit shocking to see these majestic falls next to skyscrapers and casinos.

Our friends chipped in with lots of recommendations which could have taken days to do but honestly after 2 nights we were ready to move on. Lots of other stuff to come back to see though. I would like to ride the rapids.

As always surprising to take a hike and leave most of the folks behind… just forest and rushing river.

So glad we did that boat ride, the not just mist but drenching waterfall spray. I went to Niagara Falls when I was very young and so wanted to do it. How fortunate to get the opportunity to come back and get wet!

We also went to Niagara on the Lake which was a surprisingly busy spot. I could see why our Michigan friends say how the Great Lakes are like an ocean (though like is a matter of degree), but oddly the very best PEI mussels of the trip was at a restaurant in the typical cutesy town. We had a nice tasting stop at a winery where we got a couple bottles but regret not getting a case of red for our friends. Earlier in the trip I had ice wine so skipped the liqueur wine but was surprised at the quality of one of the reds.

Yet again kind friends picked us up. It is hard to believe that we have been traveling for about 6 weeks and we were still right on schedule. This time we dropped off our faithful Ford escape we had rented in Quebec City about 2 weeks earlier and were promptly picked up by our Los Barriles friends in Oakville. Great to get some shopping done, a little sightseeing, play pickle ball and ping pong, meet family and of course lots of great food and conversation in Oakville. Fun to learn some history at a local museum, especially learning about Canada’s role in the underground railroad. (It’s not the first time we have looked foolish and cruel to other countries). Then we left for another beautiful cabin next to another beautiful lake. It is interesting in this trip to get to be in 2 family cabins where 2 people spent their childhood (And both lovingly renovated over the years).Both of those folks grew up to be kind and caring yet very self sufficient folks…. Maybe this is “lake effect” …. And I thought that was just snow?

Our trip has had great variety (though not as crazy as the combo of Italy and Iceland). While both our “lake friends” had a million things they offered to do we reassured that our greatest gift was being together and soaking up the beauty of the lakes. We promised to come back for the other 950,000 activities. So glad we made it in time for the tent yarn sale and even more glad that another LB friend who also lives in Oakville has offered to drive my yarn purchases to LB! Wow… I should have bought more!

We have delayed our friends from Thanksgiving prep and close down for Mexico long enough. Once again we leave thankful for wonderful friends. Time to head for the original inspiration for this entire trip. It’s about time!