As you may already know, I try to get to Thunder Bay at least once or twice a year. I have usually gotten up there in late spring and early fall for the past few years. I utilize the long days for county collecting. That is why I typically don't go during the summer. This time, I figured I'd ignore that. June would be perfect for enjoying the Canadian summer.
To prepare, I headed to the bank before my trip and got some Canadian currency.
On the Friday I was headed up, I dropped off Little Dude at daycare. I then headed to Casey's for some breakfast.
From there, it was a lot of long driving. There are many long stretches between Madison and Thunder Bay.
After a lot of driving, I finally made it to Superior. I stopped at Kwik Trip for gas and lunch.
Once I hit Minnesota, getting to Thunder Bay was another long stretch.
I got behind many slow pokes who couldn't even drive the speed limit. It was frustrating since I was trying to make the best time possible. At least I got excellent gas mileage between Duluth and the border.
Gas is normally $5-6 a gallon in Canada, so I fill up in the USA. The gas station at Grand Portage, Minnesota, was a bit sketchy. It appears that their pumps were broken, and they only had premium. That gas is still cheaper than in Canada, though!
When I got to the border, there were two lanes open. I went into the lane with fewer boats and RVs, thinking it would go through faster. I was wrong. The wait took a long time. Fortunately, when it was my turn, it took about a minute. My part at least went smoothly. I was soon free to roam Canada!
Some Canadian Geese were hanging outside the customs office. That definitely felt like an appropriate welcoming committee.
My first stop was Walmart. I figured I'd get some snacks and supper from their deli. I wanted to compare the differences between Walmarts in the USA and Canada.
I don't go to Walmart too often anymore, so I'm unsure if the USA ones are doing this. The Canadian ones are like Aldi, where you must put a Loonie in the slot to get a cart.
I may have gotten paper bills, but I had no Loonies. A basket it is!
I did a little walk around the store. It was still very similar to the USA Walmarts.
They may have had a little more hockey gear.
One thing that has changed since I started visiting Ontario is that they now allow beer to be sold at stores. You used to have to go to The Beer Store or LCBO.
With that being said, beer is expensive. A six-pack of Budweiser is $13.24!
I grabbed some snacks and made my way to the deli. They didn't have much there unless I wanted to buy a bunch of sandwiches.
They did, surprisingly, have sushi.
I got some sushi and took the rest of my snacks to check out.
They didn't give bags there, so I had to buy one.
I had a reservation at the Prince Arthur Hotel, so I drove there.
I specifically made sure to reserve a lake-view room. You can't beat these views!
I realized that the fridge was completely frozen up. I unplugged it and let it thaw.
As you saw before, beer in Canada is expensive. I'll bring up a case with me to save a few bucks. My Canadian friends are also interested in trying cheap American beers.
Since I couldn't use the fridge, I put the beer on ice.
I then ate my supper while waiting for my friends to arrive.
I also ate a few pepperettes. I've tried Grimm's in the USA, and these were good too!
In the meantime, some friends dropped by my room, and we had a few beers. We also enjoyed the views as it got later into the night.
We then walked to Waterhouse. They really had the area torn up from construction!
It's my tradition to get at least one Caesar when in Canada. That was my first drink at Waterhouse.
I then stuck with some of the Canadian staples for beer.
My friend Ryan and I always hang out when I come to Thunder Bay. He knows pretty much everyone. I typically meet a new person or two when we go out on the town. His friend Leonard dropped by. Leonard stayed sober so we could go a ways from downtown.
We first went to Royalton. It was pretty low-key there.
We then finished the night at Shooter's. There was a bit more going on there.
Leonard gave me a ride back to Prince Arthur and then everyone else a ride home. Looking out the window was nice and peaceful.
I had a few snacks and went to bed.
The following day, the sun was brutal. It served as an alarm clock.
On Saturday, I planned to relax. Ryan and I usually go to Nipigon, but he had other stuff going on. I instead set up my computer. I played with AI, and I enjoyed the views.
For lunch, I installed the Skip the Dishes app. I had some coney sauce poutine delivered to me.
Now, I could eat lunch and continue to work on things while enjoying the view. I was also able to take a nice nap.
The fridge also thawed out so I could put the beer in there.
The clouds and radar looked threatening.
I had hung out in the hotel room, but it was time for me to leave for church. One thing I like about Thunder Bay is that they have Eastern Catholic Rites. I like going to the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Holy Cross. They use the Byzantine Rite instead of the Latin Rite, which is something different that I don't get to experience much.
It started raining on my way to church.
As the Mass went on, the stained glasses started to become brighter. After Mass, it was somewhat sunny out.
I made it back to the hotel. My friend Dan dropped by, and we had a few beers. I saluted Sleeping Giant.
Dan left, and Ryan and a few other people dropped by. By then, there was a nice rainbow.
We finished up the beer I had left and headed back to Waterhouse.
They had karaoke the night before, and tonight, they had live entertainment. The guy was pretty good!
I'm not one for taking too many selfies. I did get one with me, Ryan, Matt, and Nathan.
After a while at Waterhouse, we went to On Deck. That place has a bit more room and is great to buy pitchers.
Ryan and Nathan ended up leaving around midnight. Matt and I got in deep conversation solving the world's problems. Before you know it, it was closing time. Everyone spilled out to the sidewalk and waited for their rides.
The nice thing is, I didn't need a ride. It was a short walk back to the hotel.
I had a bit of the beer munchies, so my leftover poutine went down well.
The next morning, I was a bit hungover, and my allergies hit me hard.
I took some time to get ready and started to feel better. When I got to my car, it was raining a bit.
When I'm at home, I attend two different church services. I go to Catholic Mass on Saturday night and a Methodist service on Sunday. I decided to check out the United Church of Canada, which appears to be the closest to the United Methodist Church in the USA.
I stopped by St. Paul's United Church for their Sunday service. The building itself was very historical. The service was close to what you'd experience at a Methodist service. Interestingly, there were also two baptisms that day, so I got to experience that.
After church, I went to Maltese grocery to get some Heartbeat Hot Sauce to bring home.
I then headed to the marina. I got a glimpse at everything, including some condos built close to the water. I'd love to buy one of these condos if money were no object. I would have even better views to work on stuff than I did at the Prince Arthur.
It was lunchtime, and I was getting hungry. I headed to the mall and got some Tim Horton's. They have a pretty decent selection of sandwiches and other lighter items.
I got the chicken bacon ranch wrap.
I then headed to Metro. This is always my last stop before heading back to the USA.
I only got a few things and headed back to the border.
The crossing itself was pretty painless. It's rare that both sides go smoothly. Usually, one side will hassle me a bit. I was glad I was hitting the road and heading home. Now, there were just long stretches of driving!
My GPS kept alerting me of speed traps. This was a first and, in many ways, annoying. I drive slightly over the speed limit to keep up with traffic, but nothing that would get me a ticket. I guess this is another "feature" I don't want that was turned on automatically.
I had my cruise control set, and the roads stayed nice and open.
They were open to the point that I continued to get really good gas mileage.
I hadn't eaten much, so when I topped off before getting home, I got some supper from Kwik Trip.
It's too bad Skip The Dishes wasn't nearby. I could have easily gotten food from them. Overall, the app worked pretty seamlessly.
I enjoyed taking it a little easier when I went to Thunder Bay. Typically, it's a matter of go-go-go. This time, I took my time and made sure to visit with a bunch of friends. It's kind of amazing the friends I've made in Thunder Bay. I definitely look forward to my future visits. We'll make sure to shoot the breeze and drink some more cheap American beer.