The below is mainly a memento and contains much that may be of little or no interest, such as information that is easy to record but doesn't matter. We usually travelled on roads other than expressways, except where noted.
May 22
Starting mileage 150725.
Started driving at 9:05 am.
Travelled by expressways to Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. Visited Penny (photo R01), where she has a new apartment she hasn't yet finished moving into. Met her sister and the sister's granddaughter. Had lunch with them in the same building. Delivered quilt (photos R02, 01-003, 01-004).
Drove along north side of Cape Cod to about East Brewster, pleasant built-up area, fair amount of traffic because of approaching Memorial Day. Walked on beach. Visited Crosby Mansion (photo R03). Drove as far as Orleans, then along south side of Cape Cod to Hyannis (photo R04 of miniature golf course). Moved into motel room, inexpensive because the "season" had not yet started (photo R05). Dinner at Yarmouth House - very good, inexpensive for same reason. Checked out ferry to Nantucket, later decided not to go there.
Slept at Pine Knot Motel, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. $41.69
May 23
Mileage 150935.7
Started driving at 7:21 am.
Travelled southeast through Falmouth and then mostly by expressways to Hancock Shaker Village in western Massachusetts. Lunch on picnic bench near parking lot (photo R06). Toured the place with a guided group and enjoyed it (photos 01-005 to 01-013). Interesting old buildings and way of life. Pleasant farm buildings and animals. Drove through Lebanon, New York, to East Greenbush, New York and had dinner at the East Greenbush Diner. Drove aimlessly on back roads south along east side of Hudson River as far as Hudson and then back north, pleasant small towns and countryside (photos R07 to R09 of roadside sculpture exhibit).
Slept at Econolodge Motel, Castleton, New York. $72.89.
May 24
Mileage 151248.0
Started driving at 8:15 am.
Drove through Albany and up west bank of Hudson River to Saratoga Battlefield. Visited Visitor's Center and first three (of eleven) stations (photos 02-001 to 02-005). Outstandingly beautiful countryside, devoid of noticeable modern features other than roads and exhibits, which are well arranged. Very pleasant roads and paths. Saw numerous deer, birds, and other wildlife. Lunch on picnic bench near visitor's center (photo R10).
Drove to David's place. Went with David back to the Saratoga Battlefield and visited most of the other stations (photos 02-006 to 02-009). Dinner with David at the Quintessence Diner in Albany. Afterwards, David showed us Cohoes Falls, the "Flight of Five" locks on the canal, and other things (photos 02-010, R11 to R14).
Slept at David's apartment, Troy, New York.
May 25
Mileage 151329.5
Started driving at 9:13 am.
Travelled separately from David, through Amsterdam, Fonda, Little Falls, Utica, etc. Stopped at Schoharie Crossing, old aqueduct for Erie Canal (photos 02-011 and 02-013). Stopped at Lock 17 (photos R15 to R19) on New York State Barge Canal and watched it operate. Watched rock climbers on island next to lock. Continued to Fort Stanwix in Rome (photos 02-014 to 02-016). Saw end of musketry demonstration including David (photos 02-017 to 02-020). Stood in the hot sun and listened to harangue by Mohawk re-enactor and then rejoined David in fort. Daniel appeared as we started going to dinner. Dinner at Chinese take-out place, while Daniel had dinner with David and the other re-enactors. After dinner, went back to Fort Stanwix (photos 02-021 to 02-023) and listened to Eighteenth-Century music, after which we went to Daniel's apartment (photos R20 to R23).
Slept at Daniel's apartment, Rome, New York.
May 26
Mileage 1514??
Started driving at ? am.
Breakfast cooked by Daniel at his place. Church. As we passed Fort Stanwix on way to lunch, we saw David and other re-enactors outside sally-port. We stopped and watched them practice (photos 02-024 to 02-026). Lunch with David and Daniel at the Iron Kettle, after which David went off. Went with Daniel to Oriskany Battlefield (photos R24 to R29), where we saw bluebirds and beautiful countryside and creek. Went with Daniel to General Herkimer's house and got guided tour. Dinner with Daniel at good Italian restaurant in Rome. Watched "Guys and Dolls" at Daniel's apartment.
Slept at Daniel's apartment, Rome, New York.
May 27
Mileage 151572.5
Started driving at 9:04 am.
Breakfast including corn bread cooked by Katie at Daniel's apartment. Laundry there. Drove along north shore of Oneida Lake, past Rochester, and along south shore of Lake Ontario (photo 03-001). Lunch on picnic bench in park by lake. Visited Old Fort Niagara on Lake Ontario (photos 03-002 to 03-009). Crossed bridge into Canada. Wandered by car through Niagara-on-the-Lake (an expensive-looking town) and past numerous wine-making places. Dinner at Brew Pub in St. Catherines (very salty buns).
Slept at Holiday Inn, St. Catherines, Ontario. Can$109.21.
May 28
Mileage 151870
Started driving at 7:45 am.
Fairly hot. Drove to Lock 3 on Welland Canal (photos 03-010 to 03-025) and watched two ships, one loaded with flaxseed (the Lake Michigan, from Majuro) and the other with steel (the Utviken, from Nassau), pass through lock. Computer display in building gave position and name of ships and other information. Got guided tour of museum, guide being an old resident of St. Catherines and very knowledgeable. It was hot and sunny. Lunch at Freda's near by. Drove down road along Welland Canal (photos 04-001 and 04-002) to Port Colburne, pile of salt and ships docked (photos 04-003 to 04-008). Changed money at ScotiaBank and bought fruit. Travelled along Ontario Rte. 3 near north shore of Lake Erie. Dinner (fish) in restaurant in Haldimand.
Slept at Jay's Motel (Yvonne & Joe Sterman's Motel & Restaurant), Jarvis, Ontario. Can$69.89.
May 29
Mileage 151976.3
Started driving at 8:19 am.
Breakfast at motel restaurant. Weather hot. Continued driving near north shore of Lake Erie, seeing sheds for tobacco drying and other pleasant farmland. Lunch from car. Saw lots of large plastic greenhouses and numerous stands offering hydroponically grown tomatoes and other vegetables. Visited Point Pelee National Park (I still don't know how to pronounce it). Beautiful partly wooded and partly swampy penninsula with numerous birds and unusual plants. Tourist wagons pull you the last bit. Then a long narrow sandy spit juts into the lake (photo 04-009). There are also sections with extensive swamps with boardwalks and viewing platforms. We went out on one of these and saw numerous birds and turtles (photo 04-010 to 04-021). Somewhat cloudy. Dinner in restaurant during torrential downpour with hail. The roof of the restaurant leaked.
Slept at Blue Haven Motel, Amherstburg?, Ontario. $Can63.84.
May 30
Mileage 152210.5
Started driving at 8:46 am.
Breakfast from our own supplies. Drove through more of Ontario. Intended to cross into Detroit over the Ambassador Bridge, but we missed it and went through tunnel instead. Visited Ford Museum (photos 04-022 and 04-023) in Dearborn and had lunch there (Polish sausage etc.). Drove to Ann Arbor, Michigan by expressways. Visited Karen at her work. Registered at motel and then went to Karen's house and did laundry there. Dinner with Karen and Eleanor at Metzger's Restaurant (whitefish). Karen drove us around Ann Arbor, and we watched a drill of the "Ring of Steel" including Betsy.
Slept at Microtel, Ann Arbor, Michigan. $52.92
May 31
Mileage 152303
Breakfast at Guy Hollerin's Sports Bar near motel. Visited Karen at her work and used her computer.
Started driving at 10:45 am.
Went to Hell (photo 04-024). Back roads across Michigan, through beautiful farmland (04-025 and 04-026). Stopped at Holland for ice cream. Drove along east shore of Lake Michigan through Grand Haven, Muskegon, etc. Bought tomatoes and apricots at Mears. Dinner at Findley's Restaurant, where a group of eighth-grade girls on their way to a party livened things up. Drove near the shore and saw wild turkeys and other sights.
Slept at Pines Motel, Pentwater, Michigan. $45.70 (in the woods, old but homey, water unpleasant because of hydrogen sulfide).
June 1
Mileage 152602.3
Started driving at 7:30 am.
Breakfast in motel room from our supplies. Drove to Ludington, partly on expressways. The Badger took us across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc (photos 05-001 to 05-012). Lunch from our supplies. It was cool and windy on the lake. The coal smoke from the engines could be smelled in some of the rooms. As we neared Wisconsin, it gradually got warmer, and was hot when we landed (photos 05-013 to 05-018). Drove through countryside. Topping a rise, a wide, spectacular valley opened up, with Lake Winnebago at the bottom. Stopped by park in Fond Du Lac where people were bathing in the lake (photo 05-019). I went in. The water was surprisingly warm, with a steady wind from the south. Drove on back roads, the country being hillier than expected. Went through Waupun, Portage, and Baraboo. Saw numerous large fires composed of big piles of stumps and logs along many miles, apparently clearing the land for cultivation. Dinner at a Ponderosa Steakhouse near town of Wisconsin Dells. Church at Lyndon Station.
Slept at Center City Motel, Mauston, Michigan. $46.42 (pretty poor).
June 2
Mileage 152820
Started driving at 7:30 am.
Breakfast at crummy restaurant. Visited Rocky Arbor State Park. This was pretty diappointing, since it was meant more for campers. Drove some more and visited Wildcat Mountain State Park with beautiful overlook of the Kickapoo River. Rain. Travelled to La Crosse and Crossed Mississippi River into Minnesota. Travelled expressways to Rochester, but saw impressive bluffs anyway (photos 05-020 to 05-022). Reached house of Ann & Dale. Had a very pleasant visit with them (photo). They took us to dinner at Sandy Point Restaurant (ribs). They then gave us an auto tour of Rochester, after which we went back to their house and talked some more.
Slept at Ann & Dale's house, Rochester, Minnesota.
June 3
Mileage 153043
Started driving at 9:30 am.
Breakfast with Ann & Dale. Stopped at laundromat. Drove to Winona and then down the west bank of the Mississippi. Remarkable scenery along the Great River Road, with bluffs and river bottom. Lunch from car in little gazebo in St. Charles. Visited Effigy Mounds National Monument. Walked through beautiful thick, hilly woods there and viewed Indian mounds (photos 05-023 to 05-026). Drove more along the river, stopped and watched a tow in Lock 10 (photo R31). Dinner at Breitbach's Restaurant in Balltown, Iowa. Very old, pleasantly shabby restaurant with old junk and mementos hanging from the walls and ceilings, good food (catfish) and interesting local people. Crossed Mississippi and drove to Galena, Illinois.
Slept at Triangle Motel, Galena, Illinois. $49.95.
June 4
Mileage 153267.4
Heavy rain during the night. Started driving at 7:45 am.
Breakfast on Main Street in Galena, two blocks from Water Street, which was under water. It rained heavily on and off during the day. The Galena River was in flood, so that the water gates below the levee in downtown Galena were closed. We had to drive around the town several times on the high ground to get where we wanted to go, because of the flooding, which had washed the residents' garbage down the streets against the backs of parked cars. It also washed chunks of rocks and other debris into the roads. Visited General Grant's home. Drove to Elizabeth, bought groceries, and visited the Apple River Canyon Intepretive Center and learned about the Black Hawk War of 1832. It was too rainy to visit the restored fort, etc. Lunch at Sully's Kitchen (crummy place in a supermarket). Drove past flooded farmland to Sandwich and visited Mary and talked to nurse Sherril. Dinner at Sunrise Restaurant.
Slept at Comfort Inn, Rochelle, Illinois (photo R32). $75.44.
June 5
Mileage 153847.8
Started driving at 8:45 am.
Breakfast at motel. Visited Rochelle Railroad Park, with a viewing platform from which to watch trains going over the "diamond" and rumbling past. A crew of welders repairing something on the track had to move away every time a train came past (photos 06-001 to 06-009). Visited "Aunt Mary's Yarn Shop." Drove to Oregon, Illinois and visited the Adagio Foundry and Studio, even though the Tourist Information Center nearby was unhelpful in finding it. Saw excellent works of art, including statues in process, and talked to the owners. Lunch in front of courthouse in Oregon. Travelled to Ida and Loretta's new house in Polo. Had pleasant visit with them and their dogs Fudge and Ella and cat. Ida cooked dinner.
Slept at Super Eight Motel, Dixon, Illinois. $?.
June 6
Mileage 153553.9
Started driving at 8:37 am.
Breakfast at motel. Visited John Deere exhibit in Grand Detour (photo 06-010), watched a blacksmith demonstrate his tools, including forging a "leaf" from a bar of malleable steel. Drove along the Rock River, which was high (photo 06-011), then through flat farmland. Lunch in roadside park west of St. Charles, next to prairie (photos 06-012 and 06-013). Drove through the prairies toward Chicago. Visited Brookfield Zoo (photos 06-014 and 07-001 to 07-012). Today and for several days afterward, the cottonwood trees were dropping their seeds in great profusion. Dinner at Rainbow Restaurant in Elmhurst, where we ate several times last year. After moving into the motel, I drove alone to a nearby gargantuan shopping center to look for a magazine, but got slightly lost and arrived after the store was closed.
Slept at Extended Stay America, Elmhurst, Illinois. Same place as last year, but nightly rates are higher than when you stay four or more nights. $70.40.
June 7
Mileage 153716.7. Recorded after oil change.
Breakfast in motel from our supplies. Used laundromat in motel and got oil changed and brake light replaced.
Started driving after that at 11:18 am.
Drove to Chicago and up North Lake Shore Drive. Hazy over the lake and hot once you got away from the lake. Lunch at Pauline's Restaurant. Drove to Milwaukee on expressway. Visited cousin & family. Mary and I went through photo albums from Uncle Oscar and Aunt Elsie. Met Dave and Michael (photos 07-013 and 07-014). They took us to dinner at Pizzeria Uno and then for an auto tour of Milwaukee. Drove back to Chicago and then Elmhurst on expressways.
Slept at Extended Stay America, Elmhurst, Illinois. $70.40.
June 8
Mileage 153976.3
Started driving at 9:25 am.
Breakfast in motel from our supplies. Drove to Hyde Park (photos 07-015 to 07-017). Went to Museum of Science and Industry (photos 07-018 to 07-021) and had lunch there (pretty bad). Included U-505 submarine and coal mine. Short walk to lake. Dinner at the Berghoff. Concert at Orchestra Hall, the Dream of Gerontius, Barenboim conducting. Our seats were partly obscured by a pole, otherwise the price would have been too high. Drove back to Elmhurst on Congress Street Expressway.
Slept at Extended Stay America, Elmhurst, Illinois. $70.40.
June 9
Mileage 154036.3
Started driving at 7:40 am.
Breakfast at Rainbow Restaurant. Church. Drove to Chicago and swam at Montrose Avenue Beach (photo 07-022). The water was cool but pleasant. Lunch on grass in park near lake. Drove on expressways to Calumet region and tried to find Port of Chicago, without much luck (photo 07-023). Weather was pretty hot. Drove on back roads through northern Indiana, through Elkhart, Shipsewana etc. Saw numerous buggies with Amish?Mennonites in them and numerous nice farms with horses, etc. (photo 07-024). Went a long way to find a restaurant mentioned on the tourist map, but it was closed Sundays. All the other decent-looking restaurants we could find were also closed, so we had dinner at a Pizza Hut.
Slept at Econo Motel, Lagrange, Indiana. $44.00.
June 10
Mileage 154274.0
Started driving at 8:15 am.
Breakfast in motel from our supplies. Drove to Gene Stratton-Porter Estate, but it was closed Mondays. Walked a little through beautiful woods on estate, with statues, squirrels, and butterflies (photos 07-025 and 08-001). Windmill Museum also closed Mondays. Lunch at the C&J Family Resaturant. In some small town, saw strange wooden vehicles on display in yard (photo 08-002). Stopped at the site of the Battle of Fallen Timbers, but it was too hot to get out there. Drove to Castalia to see the Blue Hole, but couldn't find it, and locals told me it has been inaccessible for thirteen years; the Ohio Historical Society's web site mentions it as a big tourist attraction. Visited the Great Lakes Historical Society in Vermilion, Ohio. Nice displays in building in beautiful site on the south shore of Lake Erie (photos 08-003 to 08-009). Drove along shore west of Cleveland, where the houses look very expensive. Dinner at Tic-Toc Restaurant in Cleveland.
Slept at Vogue Inn, Madison or Unionville, Ohio. $45.00 (much the worst place we stayed at).
June 11
Mileage 154600
Started driving at 8:10 am.
Breakfast in motel from our supplies. Drove through rest of Ohio into Pennsylvania. In Allegheny National Forest, we went fifteen or so miles on gravel roads looking for a picnic site that wasn't there, but we saw some deer. Later had lunch from our supplies on a picnic table at a state campground. Scenery good, especially near Susquehanna River (photos 08-010 and 08-011) Visited Pennsylvania Lumber Museum, but it was too hot to go through most of the buildings. Dinner at Great Wall Buffet.
Slept at Quality Inn, Scranton, Pennsylvania. $64.35.
June 12
Mileage 154979.1
Started driving at 8:00 am.
Breakfast supplied by motel.
Cloudy and still warm at first. Drove on expressways all day, through rest of Pennsylvania, bits of New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. It got cool by the time we got to Connecticut and started raining in Massachusetts. Lunch at Tavern Restaurant in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Torrential rain through last part of Massachusetts and the final lap on expressway through New Hampshire.
Reached home at 3:20 pm (photo 08-013). Final mileage 155338. Miles travelled in all 4613.
As far as sight-seeing is concerned, the high points of our trip were Saratoga Battlefield (because of the countryside, although the historical displays are well done also), the Welland Canal viewing area near the Niagara River, Point Pelee National Park some miles east of Detroit, and the Great River Road along the west bank of the Mississippi.