Our View From The Road

Sharing where we've been and what we've seen

Tag: MI

  • Day 4: Bugs on the windshield

    Day 4: Bugs on the windshield

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    After a couple of nice days visiting family in S. Ontario it was time to really start our adventure.

    10:00am and we’re on the road heading towards Sarnia and the Bluewater bridge as our entry point into Michigan.

    Bluewater bridge, Sarnia, ON

    My brother had suggested that I try jumping the small gap that remains on the Gordie Howe bridge currently under construction in Windsor. I gave that a pass and instead we find ourselves lined up at the end of the Bluewater bridge waiting for a US customs agent.

    Trucks lined up for US Customs, our lane is empty

    The traffic moved fairly well and the agent had no issues with letting us into his country. The journey was now really underway.

    We headed towards Lansing, MI and witnessed too many outcomes of deer vs. truck. We lost count of how many deer lost their battles in the short 75 mile stretch we drove. 😞

    We stopped at a restaurant stop for a quick lunch in the van and then returned to the highway heading towards Kalamazoo, MI. We turned South and made a detour into Elkhart, IN the home of most of the largest RV builders in North America. 🚐

    Downtown Elkhart, IN

    We missed seeing the biggest of the factories because of how we entered the town, but did see one of the Thor assembly plants and Forest River facilities as we headed South out of town.

    Driving the back roads allowed us to slow down and enjoy our surroundings, but it did add more than an hour to our overall drive time for the day. It was worth it. I mean, did you know that “Tippecanoe” is a real town in Indiana? Well it is & we’ve been there!

    Tippecanoe, IN

    Our back roads drive resulted in us meandering along US25 towards Logansport which is part of the Historic Michigan Road that was built in the 1830’s to connect the Ohio valley to Lake Michigan.

    Purple Deadnettle

    Our day ended with a Westward jaunt along I-74 towards Urbana, IL where we stopped for the night at a Cracker Barrel restaurant (Yes, they allow overnight stays for RVs).

    Arriving in Illinois at sunset. Apologies for the bugs on the windshield.

    Our day tomorrow will be much shorter than today and will include a special place to visit and a meetup to conclude the day.

  • Arriving in Indy

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    After enjoying a beverage and slice of pizza at our hosts last evening, we enjoyed a long and silent night.

    The views across the farmland this morning were serene. Windmills on the horizon quietly turning about their business whilst a few early farming types were up and running about getting a jump on the days chores.

    We get going at about 8:45am and head back towards highway 401. The border crossing at Windsor is only about 45 min away and so we are hoping to beat the Saturday rush. Not quite.

    Crossing into Detroit

    US Customs is busy with many lanes open for traffic each having between 6 and 9 vehicles waiting. We join a line of 6 cars and 1 minibus. Mistake #1. The minibus takes a while for all passengers to be processed and then the lane is closed temporarily while there is a shift change of agents.

    Our turn comes and it isn’t long before we realize that we have inherited the badass agent out to prove something to someone. We’re grilled. We’re boarded. We’re released. Phew. 25 minutes in all to clear US Customs. Argh.

    Detroit driving is actually very good and the I-75 South towards Toledo flows smoothly. Potholes, lots. Construction, also lots but as it’s Saturday we pass right through without any delays.

    Before we know it we’re driving around Toledo and onto US-24 towards Fort Wayne, IN. This is a beautiful road. Quiet, smooth, relatively flat.

    When we arrive in Fort Wayne we head towards town and stop for fuel and groceries at a WalMart. Whilst stopped we made ourselves lunch in the van.

    Back on the road we head now towards Indianapolis. Traffic builds as we get into the city as there are lots of construction zones we need to slow down for. We head around the city on I-465 and then take I-65 towards the Speedway. A few more turns and we’re driving down Georgetown Road towards IMS Lot 1-A where we are camping whilst in town.

    A friendly campground host sets us up in a really nice spot at the edge of the camping field away from the rowdiest of campers. Excellent!

    IMS Lot 1-A campsite

    We’re meeting friends while here and they pick us up in their truck shortly after we arrive. We go back to their hotel which is next to the Indianapolis Colts football stadium and enjoy a couple of drinks while catching up on everyone’s travels from Ottawa to Indy.

    We take an Uber downtown to Fogo de Chāo a Brazilian Steakhouse where all enjoyed a wonderful meal while telling tales and laughing at ourselves and the escapades enjoyed throughout our long term friendships.

    Barb and I took an Uber back to the campsite to end the day and fell asleep to the thrum of generators, music and fireworks.

    Tomorrow, the Indy 500. That’s it, that’s all, a motor race. Sleep tight everyone! Vroom, vroom.

  • Day 44: It’s nice to be back, Eh!

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    So this is it, our last day of this trip in the USA and it starts with another beautiful morning. We enjoy a quick breakfast and pack up the van for the drive.

    We head out and immediately have a small issue, our phones (used for GPS mapping functions while on the road) are not connecting to a network. Luckily as this is the last US leg and we’re somewhat familiar with where we are going we can push on. We figure out over the next few hours that it’s only an issue with AT&T, if we change our phones to use Verizon they work fine.

    We head towards Fort Wayne, IN and have to decide which route to take. Detroit or Lansing. I’d prefer to avoid Detroit because of traffic and construction, but Lansing will add about an hour to our drive time. We’re tired of driving and so Detroit it is. At Fort Wayne we head NE towards Toledo, OH and hope that we don’t get caught up in any major delays.

    We’ve already noticed the lack of leaves on the trees when compared to our drive of yesterday. Spring is only just beginning in the Northern states.

    Toledo, OH is under construction, or at least the I-75N is. It gets better as we cross into Michigan, but then in Detroit it feels as if they’ve decided to completely redo the entire highway system. We muddle on and emerge the other side of the city unscathed. Yay!

    A quick lunch stop at McD’s and then a stop at one last US gas station. It seems like just a few minutes later and we’re paying the bridge toll (Debit/Credit only, cash no longer accepted). Over the Bluewater bridge and into Ontario.

    Canada Border Protection Services happily allow us to re-enter Canada with a minimal delay (less than 5min total from bridge to Hwy 402). Yay, we’re home, Eh!

    Our last hour for the day takes us along the shore of Lake Huron to Grand Bend where we stop at Tim Horton’s for a coffee (Mmm, Timmies) before heading to Exeter, ON where we are spending a couple of days with Barb’s parents.

    This marks the end of daily posts for this, our 2023 Southwestern US tour. I will put up a post in the upcoming days about our drive across Ontario towards home as well as one or two posts summarizing the trip in the next week or so. Whether you’ve followed us regularly or just found our blog, thanks for reading. I hope that you’ve enjoyed our view from the road.

    Thanks for coming along with us!

    BTW, we are planning a tour of the Maritime provinces in just a few weeks, so watch out for another series of posts starting soon. Cheers.

  • Day 6: May 25 – Exeter, ON to New Castle, IN

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    After two relaxing and enjoyable days visiting Barb’s parents, it’s time to head out. We spent the morning preparing for the longer road trip we would have that afternoon and at about 11:00am pulled out of their driveway. Thanks again Jack & Mary.

    Our route took us to Sarnia, ON where we would cross into the US and drive South towards Detroit and then onto Dayton, OH before turning West on I-70 towards Indianapolis, IN.

    The driving today was how everyone hopes it might always be when they travel, uneventful. The border crossing was very quiet and the process was quick. Detroit through to Toledo, the traffic was moderate and the roads not as rough as we’d expected. We stopped for gas shortly after Toledo and met up with Dean, Cathy & J-P who we were joining for our weekend in Indy.

    After turning West onto the I-70 is where the weather changed. The warm and grey conditions became warm and wet with a few heavy rain downpours along the route. Luckily the heaviest of the rain was gone when we pulled into our overnight destination, the Walmart in New Castle, IN.

    We’d chosen this particular Walmart as it’s about an hour away from Indy and therefore would be a good point from which to drive tomorrow into the Indy campground. It also allowed us to stock up on groceries.

    After the re-provisioning was complete, we all enjoyed a drink and an hour or so of conversation catching up with each other before heading off to sleep. Good night to all.

    Tomorrow we head into Indianapolis.