Day 6

We left Saginaw, around 8:30 and headed toward Canada.  We had a pit stop in Flint for gas and breakfast from the cooler.  Traffic was a breeze, thank goodness.  I of course, picked the wrong lane when we got to the border… I always pick the slowest lane in the grocery store.  Once through the border, traffic was pretty good.  We made it to Toronto in about 5 hours.  Since we did not have any cell service due to being in Canada, we had to try to get to our accommodations based upon what we remembered (Note: We are unable to use our phones for the next three days due to extra fees).  Luckily, we recognized the house from the website, and were able to park the car no problem.  Our hosts were not exactly ready for us, because we arrived before expected, so we had an adventure on our bikes.

We ended up finding a very interesting local bar and restaurant, where we were welcomed openly.  It was one of the locals’ birthdays, so he bought a cupcake and cut it into enough pieces for the number of people in the place.  So, we got a small free piece of chocolate cupcake.  The guys were hilarious and thought that they should curb their behavior due to the “lady” who was there, which was me.  I quickly told them not to worry about it at all, and the mayhem continued.  The bar tender made sure that we took a shot before leaving, which ended up being some sort of sweet Greek Brandy.  It was tasty.  From there, we were told to head to the waterfront and so we did.

We stopped into a place five miles down the road to get some refreshment.  It was a nice establishment with really cool people, and I got to talk baseball with some of the locals.  The ride back was a tough one, because it was all up hill.  We made it, but it was exhausting!  We met the other occupant of our accommodations, Hartmudt, and hung out with him the rest of the evening.  He is from Berlin, and is very easy to talk to.  We have enjoyed conversing with him and comparing the differences between our countries very much.  Poor Hartmudt thought the drinking age of Canada was 21 and he is only 20, but we quickly educated him that 19 is the legal age. 

We attempted to go to the “Beer Store”, but they were closed due to it being a Sunday.  So, we decided to head back to the house, and hit the box of wine that Mom Susan gave us…as well as the Strawberry Rhubarb pie.  We enjoyed our time with Hartmudt very much.

Day 5

After a fortuitous late night run in with Shawn outside of our room, Sarah and I helped her and many of her family members put away flowers for the next day and “Fluff Balls,” which consisted of us all fanning out folded tissue paper to make decorative paper balls. Once we finished helping out, we went back to our room, finished our wine, and eventually went to bed.

The next morning, we woke up around eight and went down to the dining room to be greeted by Shawn and her family as well as a nicely prepared buffet style breakfast. After a few plates of food and many cups of coffee, we decided to take a ride to find the nearest gas station (something we desperately need to be able to make it to tonight’s accommodations).   We were told by one person to take a left out of the Inn and then take the next left and we cannot miss “four corners” where the small town of Hubbard lies.  Another person said to take a right and then a left.  It led to a humorous conversation over the difference between right as in direction versus correct. 

We head out on the bikes and decide to venture left then left.  We are greeted first by a long uphill battle which made Sarah’s sciatic nerve burn, but at least flying downhill made it worth it.  We then encountered two more intense hills on a dirt road.  We ended up making a loop and decided to forget the goal of reaching the gas station on the bikes.  We just rode in the other direction until feeling like turning back.  It appeared as though the road was going slightly downhill, but, as Sarah kept commenting, it did not at all feel as though we were riding downhill.  After hitting about three miles, we decided to turn around and were pleasantly surprised to find out that indeed, we were not riding downhill, but rather, slightly uphill.  We flew back to the Inn reaching a maximum speed of 24 at one point.  We were hoping for 8-10 miles, but feel as though the 4.44 miles we accomplished were well earned.

After getting cleaned up and checked out, we help out with setting up chairs and other wedding tasks.  Then, it’s time for lunch.  Upon Shawn’s recommendation, we decide to check out Smokey’s with Jen, Alex, and Robin.  While the service was lacking, the food was pretty good and the beer selection was decent given the location.

After lunch, we headed back to the Inn, where we helped out with random tasks.  All the wedding preparations and the wedding itself went off without a hitch.  Shawn is an amazing woman and looked gorgeous!  Jason is a lucky man.  We had a nice time during the cocktail hour and the reception, although we had to leave early due to accommodations.  Unfortunately, we had to stay 2.5 hours away in Saginaw, MI.  We wanted so much to stay longer, and the party was just getting started when we had to go.  We made it safely to the motel, however, and hope to have a nice smooth drive to Toronto tomorrow.

 

Day 4

I was so excited about the adventures to come that I did not sleep very well and neither did Ty.  We did get up around 7 and hit the country pavement with the bikes, however.  We went around the block twice which ended up being 6.28 miles.  After a little snack, we packed up the car and headed to Catawba Island to visit Dad Mark.

We unexpectedly got the first brewery tour of the trip, thanks to Dad’s connections.  Catawba Island Brewing Company was not open for business, but we ended up getting a personal tour from one of the owners, anyway, which was really cool.  Unfortunately, we were unable to sample any of the brews, but we will be back during their hours of operation on another trip. 

After a nice lunch with Dad at the Thirsty Pirate, it was time to head to Michigan.  We made it to the border in an hour without much trouble, but soon after crossing into Michigan, we ran into a lot of traffic.  I thought that taking 23 instead of 75 would avoid said traffic, but that was not the case.  The off and on rain did not help at all.  I thought Michigan drivers were known to be speed demons, at least that has been our experience through Ohio.  It was quite a frustrating drive and we needed a break around Flint.  Ty found a German place through Yelp that sounded interesting and it was in Bay City, so we decided to check it out.  It was really neat!  The building was really old and had an authentic feel.  It also had several beer steins around the room, so many beer steins that it was almost like a house of beer steins.  By the way, the name of the place was Stein Haus J

The hour long break was much needed after all the frustrating traffic, but it was time to hit the road again.  I knew that Hubbard Lake was quite a ways away, but the drive seemed endless.  The traffic was much better, but I have never passed so many people on a two-lane highway before.  We finally arrive at the Inn at 8:23.  It’s not exactly what we were expecting, but oh well.  This is an adventure after all. 

The Inn is pretty pricey and they tell us the kitchen is open for 30 more minutes.  We assess the situation and decide to eat some leftovers from the cooler.  Man, I’m glad I packed some veggies and Ty had half a Patty Melt left.  Dinner was cheap and tasty.  Oh, and the box of wine that Mom Susan bought us came in handy.  Thanks, Mom. 

Day 3

After staying up until 3:30 with Josh, I slept in a little bit…okay, until 10 when Ty decided it was time to get moving.  We hit the road at 11:10 to head to Bellevue, Ohio to Ty’s parents’ place.  This was the easiest and quickest drive of the whole trip, only taking an hour.  It was only 48 miles.  Josh and LJ decided to meet us for lunch at the Sport’s Hut in Bellevue, which was very nice. 

Since we forgot our wedding attire in Pittsburgh, it was now time to go shopping.  We went treasure hunting at the Goodwill and were very successful.  I found two potential dresses each for $5 and Ty found a pair of khakis and a nice purple short sleeved dress shirt.  The lady at the register told him he’d look like a celebrity…how funny!

We had a nice dinner with Mom, Dad, Aunt Vicki, and Uncle Michael consisting of fried perch, coleslaw, fresh fruit, cheddar bay biscuits, and blueberry buckle cake.  I have to be careful not to eat too much, but it’s hard around family! 

We spent the evening sitting in the Florida room talking and watching the storms roll in and out.  Not a bad way to spend a day.

Day 2

We had a great time staying with the Downs' in Pittsburgh, but, unfortunately, we ran into some cooler issues with the soft coolers leaking in the car.  We decided to move some supplies to the hard cooler and that helped.  We also ran into some issues with our plans for accommodations for Friday and Saturday night.  We planned on camping for our friends' wedding, but the weather does not look like it will cooperate.  We feverishly searched for a place to stay, and had to end up booking a room 2.5 hours south of the location of the wedding and reception.  At least it is 2.5 hours closer to our next destination of Toronto.  Oh, and we ended up leaving our attire for the wedding in Pittsburgh.  I guess we are going shopping.

Once we finally got the car up and ready to go, we ran into an issue due to an inconsiderate driver.  He slammed on his breaks because he decided to turn left at the last minute, and my salad dressing went all over the shifter inside the car.  I pulled over as soon as possible, and we cleaned up.  Thank goodness we had wet towelletes and toilet paper packed.  After cleaning up, we were back on the road.  We made it to Avon in pretty good time and the Winking Lizard always helps to calm our nerves.  We wanted to check out the "Beer of the Month", but were not really interested once we found out it was only a Pilsner.  Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster was a good decision, however. 

Next, we headed to our brother's house to make dinner.  We got a little over zealous with the menu, but it turned pretty good.  We had grilled chicken, Italian sausage, potato salad, cucumber salad, homemade onion rings, and corn on the cob.  Needless to say, it's been a long day.  I felt as though I was on Dinnr Impossible and I was Robert Irvine.  It was fun overall.  We look forward to the adventures that are waiting for us in the next couple of weeks and embrace challenge.

Made it to Pittsburgh!

After a very frusterating drive, we are at Jim, Lindsay, and Atom's house in Pittsburgh.  We made it through DC traffic okay...that is, being accustomed to Maryland's crazy drivers.  We stopped into the "Your Game Bar and Grille" for lunch, and ran into a Michigan fan from Ohio who was pretty cool, despite the fact that he was a Michigan fan.  The patty melt Ty had was pretty good.  We did run into some setbacks in Pittsburgh, but not anything we can't handle.  Now, it's time to relax and enjoy the company of our awesome friends.

Day 1

After some last minute preparations, we had a chance to catch some miles, 6.7 to be exact, biking around the neighborhoods for one last time before starting our adventure. We are now ready to take off to our first destination, Pittsburgh, Pa. Jim, Lindsay, and Atom, here we come!

Slider picked his window seat and is just waiting on us to get going.

Ready for the Road

After a very long day of packing and buying of supplies, we are just about ready to start our adventure.  There will be no need to hit up convenient stores for snacks or drinks, and no stopping unless we need gas.  We are excited to head out onto the open road.  First stop, Pittsburgh, PA.  As die hard Cleveland sports fans, it is difficult to like this city, but our "adopted son" and his family are always a great way to start and end any road trip.  Thanks, Jim and Lindsay for always putting us up, even sometimes at a last minute's notice.

Introduction

It is summertime and, therefore, time to travel.  This summer, we are embarking on a journey which will include over 4,000 miles and several states and even a jaunt into Canada.  Along the way, we will attend a friend’s wedding, tour lots of breweries, spend time with loved ones, soak in some sun on the beach, and hopefully catch a Cleveland Indian's game with a beloved brother.  We have never gotten quite this adventurous on previous excursions, and we are excited to see what the open road has to offer.  We are going to chronicle our progress and experiences through this blog.  Here is the itinerary so far. Enjoy!

Date	Cities	Breweries & Hours	Accommodations
6/25-6/28	Pittsburgh, Lorain, Bellevue, Port Clinton		Family and Friends
Saturday 6/29	Hubbard Lake, MI
Sunday to Wednesday 6/30-7/3	Hubbard Lake, MI to Toronto		Yohan & Sarah Bowie Ave M6E 2P5 Toronto
Wednesday & Thursday 7/3-7/5	Toronto to Buffalo	Flying Bison Brewery Thurs. noon to 6 tour 5 Community Brew Works Thurs 3-7	Celmers’
Friday 7/5	Buffalo to Syracuse to Utica to Troy	Middle Ages Brewery Fri. 11:30-6 Saranac Fri. 10-6 Brown’s Brewing Company- Brew Pub	Potential -Troy – Old Judge Mansion $60
Saturday 7/6	Troy to Saratoga Springs to Middlebury, VT to Shelbourne	Olde Saratoga Sat. 12-10 Drop In 11-7 Middlebury Otter Creek 11-6 Middlebury Fiddlehead 12-9	Potential- Shelbourne Camping Area $26 Papura Residence
Sunday 7/7	Shelbourne to S. Burlington to Windsor to Manchester	Magic Hat 12-5 Long Trail 10-7 Windsor Harpoon 10-6 Windsor Milly’s Tavern Manchester	Potential- Econolodge $65
Monday 7/8	Manchester to Boston to Woodbridge to West Haven	Sam Adams 10-3 New England Brewing 10-4	Potential- Super 8 $55
Tuesday 7/9-?	West Haven to NYC	Brooklyn tours @5 reservations only 718-486-7422 Employees Only call before 5 510 Hudson St. 212-242-3021 dinner 6-12	J
?	NYC to Phillie	Yards 12-7 South Phillie Tap Room
Saturday 7/13	HOME
7/14-7/21	Outer Banks, NC	Weeping Radish Outer Banks Brewing Co.	House with Family
7/21-7/25	Home
7/26-?	PA and Ohio		Family and Friends