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Old 27 Sep 19, 02:54 PM  
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CrispyA
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Join Date: Oct 11
Great Lakes Grooving: Day 12 Sault Ste Marie

Thursday 18 July

We all had a bit of a lie in this morning, mainly because nobody could really be bothered to get up! Unfortunately, the weather forecast wasn't great for today, so it didn't look like going back to the Falls for a swim was on the agenda.

We had a lazy breakfast and chill out before deciding on a plan B. One option was to visit the Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point but it seemed a little macabre, so we gave that one a miss. Instead, we decided to take a trip to Sault Ste Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Marie) which is across the water from Canada and visit the Soo Locks.

The drive took around an hour and on the way, we passed through Strongs, a town which claimed to be the Black Bear capital of Michigan. Guess how many we saw?

Yes, that's right, not one single bear. *sigh*

On the way into Sault Ste Marie, Paul inexplicably took the road to go south on the I75, rather than north as instructed by the satnav. This lead to a 12 mile detour, hitting the same rainstorm on the way down the I75 as we did on the way back up. Fortunately, it was his mistake and nobody else's and we did manage to laugh about it, while mocking him regularly.

We parked up near the visitor centre at Soo Locks and it turned out to be good timing as there was a Cruise ship coming into the locks. The locks are on St Mary's River which link Lake Huron and Lake Superior, allowing ships to move between the two.





It was great to watch this huge ship manoeuvring through the narrow locks and see how efficient the whole operation is. There was barely any room between the ship and the sides of the lock and we were very impressed with the captain's ability to steer such a large vessel.

After the cruise, we watched a tiny tour boat going back through the locks.

The water is low in this picture



Then you can see how it has filled up.



We also looked around the visitor centre, finding out that 21% of the world's freshwater is in the Great Lakes. There was also information on how the locks work and what a feat of engineering they are. The centre has information on the big ships due to go through the locks and there wasn't another one for several hours, so our visit had been well timed. It takes 6 hours to negotiate the passage from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, going along the St Mary River and then through the locks.

After being super nerdy, we got a coffee and had a mooch in the shops, in search of another UP coozie. That search was unsuccessful but I did get a T-shirt and a fridge magnet. We also found this Sasquatch.





It looks as though me and Sasquatch are dating . . .



By this time, we were ready for lunch so we drove to a nearby Arby's. Mindful of the Pole incident, Paul gave his name as "Joe" but the guy behind the counter took three goes to understand that as well. Poor Pole, he really isn't THAT hard to understand!

It was still raining, so we called to TK Maxx and Bath and Body Works for some bargains and did pretty well.



We also got some food shopping in at Meijer, which was far superior to the disappointing Paradise foods.



It was 5.00pm by the time we got back to the cabin and although the rain had stopped and the sun was out, it was too late for swimming. We did try playing cornholes in the garden but it was a big too buggy, so we went back inside. A few bugs sneaked in with us but they had an electronic bug zapper which was rather satisfying!

We had some fried chicken and lobster fishcakes from Meijer, so had a surf and turf dinner and planned out the next day, which was a trip to Mackinac Island. Then it was time to carry on with Stranger Things on Netflix before bed.
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Old 27 Sep 19, 03:55 PM  
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katiebaz
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The locks looked fascinating and my boys would have enjoyed that too. Glad you got some decent food this time and love the pictures with the Sasquatch
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Old 28 Sep 19, 06:46 PM  
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Melbatb
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I love watching boats go through locks (we have one in our village but nothing like that size! )

Overall , looks like a really nice day! And your evening meal sounded delicious!
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Index of my trip reports
2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg
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Old 30 Sep 19, 03:23 PM  
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CrispyA
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Originally Posted by katiebaz View Post
The locks looked fascinating and my boys would have enjoyed that too. Glad you got some decent food this time and love the pictures with the Sasquatch
When I mentioned that we were going to watch the locks in action, neither of the offspring looked particularly thrilled but it brought out the nerd in all of us and we really enjoyed it!
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Old 30 Sep 19, 03:25 PM  
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CrispyA
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Originally Posted by Melbatb View Post
I love watching boats go through locks (we have one in our village but nothing like that size! )

Overall , looks like a really nice day! And your evening meal sounded delicious!
Watching the boats was fascinating - especially the really big ones. I think mine would be pinging off each wall if I had been driving it.
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Old 30 Oct 19, 08:42 PM  
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WileyCoyote
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Interesting fact filled day there.
Lol at poor Pole. I got called Allison at Starbucks. Still trying to figure out how that came from saying Amanda ! Unless there was an Allison and I took her coffee , oops.
Anyway, Evan looked thrilled by the shopping , sounded like a nice dinner though.
What are cornholes and how do you play it ?
Stranger Things again ... great evening choice ! Must be the Eggos..
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