Sept 20th to 22nd - Back to U.S.

Sept 20th - Sat - Niagara Falls, ON
Started the day in the laundry room and then back to Niagara Falls. Beautiful, sunny day - perfect for walking and taking pictures. Parking is quite expensive in Niagara Falls. We chose a lot that was $4 per hour to a max of $16 per day. We still had quite a walk to the falls area. We thought about taking the Maid of the Mist boat tour to the base of the falls but after watching a few boats we decided that we did not want to get wet and there is so much blowing mist that you couldn’t take your camera out to get pictures.
So we just walked a lot, took pictures, shopped a bit, walked more, went to the new casino (nice but not “knock your socks off”) and then walked back to the parking lot. On the way back, the mist was blowing over the sidewalk so loitering was not as much fun as on the first trip through.
We didn’t have lunch so we found a grocery store near the RV park, got some nice steaks and had a lovely, early dinner.
Terry took our bikes off the rack and we rode around the lake and then around the RV park. Almost all the campers are seasonal (permanent). There is a nice paved trail that runs for miles around this area and goes right past the RV park so we decided to ride a ways on it. Then a sign said “Lake Erie access” so we headed that way and a short ways later were watching the waves on the shore of Lake Erie. There is a sandy beach but there are lots of rocks mixed with the sand. There is no parking at the beach access so I don’t know who uses it.
I got hold of our friends in Michigan (thank goodness for cell phones as they are in Illinois) and we will be able to go visit them.

Sept 21st - Sun - to Otisville, Michigan
No septic hookup so we had to dump before hitting the QEW (Queen’s Expressway) for part of the trip to Michigan via Sarnia . We made a mistake and checked with Wanda just before Hamilton. She sent us through downtown Hamilton to Hwy 403 instead of leaving us on the QEW across the end of Lake Ontario and then turning on 403. The second option would have been 10 - 12 miles longer but probably 1/3 of the time. Guess I better practice navigating! There are no rest areas on 403 and towns are at least a couple of miles from exits so we were really looking for somewhere to pull over when Terry finally just took an exit and hoped it would be easy to get back on the highway. There was a pull-out area so we “took the pressure off” and then I made lunch.
Another toll bridge to go from the US to Canada ($8.25) and then long lines at customs. There were no signs directing RVs to any particular lane so Terry pulled in behind about 4 other RVs. After we had been there about 20 minutes, a lady came walking down the line and moved 3 of us to the lane next to us that just opened and told us that probably 2 or 3 of us would be pulled over and it could take us an hour to get through. Terry really needed that bit of information! It was finally our turn and we were asked the usual - where is home, where & how long in Canada, what fresh fruit (citrus not allowed), what meat (lamb & goat not allowed) - and then he had to go into the rig to check the dog food bag. We were OK since it was purchased in the US. I think it took 35 to 45 minutes to get through customs.
We had picked a PA park about 60 miles from the border and endured a bumpy highway to the exit. We were looking for liquor and grocery stores. Found the grocery store and found that liquor is not sold in grocery stores in Michigan. Finally found a liquor store and a place to park at the same time and then found the campground. Again, the park is nearly empty. Guess this is too far north for many campers at this time of year.

Sept 22nd - Mon - to Big Rapids, MI
Not a long drive today (3 hours) so we were lazy, drank coffee and had breakfast before leaving. This time we ignored Wanda and took what appeared to us to be the most direct route (or at least with the least turns & road changes) to Big Rapids - about 60 miles north of Grand Rapids. We pulled into the WalMart parking lot and visited Subway for lunch. Then we called our friends (Harold & Joanne) as they said they would come and lead us to their place where we will stay for a few days. They have 4+ acres and a nice long circular drive so we are parked right in front of the house and there is still room for cars to get past us.
We talked the afternoon away before deciding to go out for dinner. While we were having a drink before leaving, their son called and said he was coming right over. Harold thought he was going to borrow a truck but he - and his girlfriend - showed up with their newly purchased mini-van and took us all to dinner. How nice!! We went to a place called Brennigans - very good food at reasonable prices. Or maybe they just seem reasonable after being in Canada!
Jo taught us a new card game (“65”) and we played that and then talked some more until we finally headed for bed at midnight.