We booked an independent walking tour (through Viator) of Old Toronto and the St. Lawrence Market. We had a beautiful day and enjoyed walking through the neighborhood. The first picture below is one of the streets lined with colorful chairs where pedestrians could take a break, check their phones or just people watch. The next picture is one we saw a little later in the tour and has a very unique story. It is a piece of street art “hidden”…
We visited the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, which was one of the excursions Tauck offered on our Great Lakes cruise. Commonly referred to as the ROM, it opened in 1914, with the unique crystal addition opening in 2007. The first picture below is of the ROM and the second was taken from inside the museum looking out through one of the crystal panels. I found this interesting information about the crystal addition. Considered to be one of the most…
After making our way through the Welland Canal, we sailed on Lake Ontario to Toronto. After we disembarked the Le Champlain, our first stop would be Niagara Falls. It is actually made up of three separate falls. The American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Horseshoe Falls, or the Canadian Falls, are mostly in Canada. In the picture above the blog title, you will see Horseshoe Falls which runs the length of the picture. The American…
After leaving Detroit, we sailed from Lake Huron to the Detroit River and then entered Lake Erie. We spent the afternoon and night sailing up Lake Erie. It was carved by glacier ice. Of the five Great Lakes, Lake Erie is the fourth largest by surface area but the shallowest and smallest by volume. Lake Erie’s northern boundary lies in Ontario while the rest of it is bound by the states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. The picture…
Greenfield Village is the “outside museum” of “The Henry Ford.” Perhaps the best way to describe Greenfield Village is as Henry Ford’s collection of buildings – representing his heroes; his personal history; and the craft, industries, and homes that he felt both characterized the past and established a blueprint for the future. The Henry Ford Official Guidebook The picture above the title is a home typical of those on plantations. This one belonged to Henry J. Carroll, owner of the…
After leaving Mackinac Island, we spent the next day and night traveling down Lake Huron. We arrived in the Port of Detroit early the next morning. We saw beautiful views of the harbor, an incredible sunrise, and the Ambassador Bridge which connects Detroit to Windsor, Canada. Our shore excursion would take us to The Henry Ford in Dearborn. On the way, we stopped outside the Detroit Tigers baseball stadium where we saw statues of tigers, the team’s mascot. Henry Ford…
After leaving Traverse City, our ship sailed to the most northern part of Lake Michigan and crossed into Lake Huron. Our next destination would be Mackinac Island. As we sailed, we saw the Mackinac Bridge, a five-mile long suspension bridge connecting the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. Mackinac Island is a tourist’s delight! Most of the four plus square mile island is part of Mackinac Island State Park and the entire area is a National Historic Landmark. Motorized vehicles…
After leaving Holland, we sailed overnight to Traverse City, farther north on Lake Michigan. We then took a bus to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. While sand dunes are often associated with the desert, the wave action of the Great Lakes have resulted in sand dunes on the shores of Lake Michigan, Superior and Huron. Sand dunes are mounds of sand that have been blown by the wind. They often “land” when blocked by vegetation. In Michigan, the sand…
From Chicago, we drove to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where we boarded our ship, the Le Champlain. The pictures in this section show the ship, our cabin, and the main (open air) lounge. Le Champlain, an expedition class ship, sails under the French flag. It can accommodate 184 guests. The next morning we arrived in Muskegon, Michigan and then travelled by bus to Holland. Holland was settled by Dutch immigrants in the 19th Century. Our first stop was Windmill Island Gardens that…
We took Tauck’s Great Lakes Tour in the fall of 2019, the first time Tauck offered this tour. The tour began with two days in Chicago after which we traveled to Milwaukee to embark the ship. We have visited Chicago several times and wanted to see something within walking distance of our hotel where we hadn’t been before – and so chose Holy Name Cathedral. Holy Name Cathedral dates back to 1875, though it has undergone renovation, including restorative work…