Spending five weeks together driving across America is a great test of a marriage. We have always done everything together – just not four hundred miles a day for so many days. The results were a stronger relationship, so many more memories together, shared delight in the God moments we witnessed, and a greater appreciation for the beauty of and freedoms enjoyed in America. This was our 2023 journey. We hope you will plan your own…
Crossing into Canada was easy. You need your passport. The tariff was $4. Remember that two bottles per person is allowed to travel into Canada. Tip: change your car system from English to metric. It makes monitoring your speed much easier. At 100 KPH you are going 62 MPH. As an example, if you go over the speed limit of 100 KPH there is an $85 fine plus demerits. The fine goes up based on the KPH over the limit. The maximum speed we saw on the highway was 100 KPH except for a small strip at 110 KPH.
Since we “rambling” on this trip, we made destination reservations as we went. We were not on a schedule and could be spontaneous in our explorations. Hotel bookings can be challenging. For us it created another Godmoment.
We tried to book through our online account but had problems at every accommodation upon arrival. This day God helped us in a way we did not even realize we needed help. I tried to book online for our hotel in Barrie, but the account would not let me book. So, I called and after explaining our problem to three different agents, finally got an agent that really looked at our account and realized what was wrong. They were able to fix it over the phone and book our next few stays as well. Praise!
Problematic details can be so frustrating. Frustration can put a strain on any situation. If ever we thought we were in complete control, this trip and these circumstances certainly reminded us to have faithrest and patiently let others help.
The drives are long and often we munch on snacks. One of the snacks was pretzels. The first one was Unique Snacks Extra Salt. They were delicious. This led to a new adventure of discovering the best pretzels!
We stopped for lunch in Barrie at il Buco, an Italian restaurant that had been there for 15 years. It overlooked the lake and Spirit Catcher statue. The statue was created for the 1986 expo and speaks to the prevalent indigenous history of the area.
Paul had the veal piccata and I had the Caesar salad. Both were excellent. We enjoyed them with a nice local white house wine blend of Trebbiano and Pinot Grigio. The Tartufo for dessert was excellent. 31 Dunlop St. E, Barrie, ON L4M1A2, Canada. www.ilbucoristorante.com
Dinner was at the Urban Dish Grill & Wine Bar. This was a hidden gem. It is ranked #1 and we understand why. I had the chicken roulade on a spicy baba ghanoush and topped with tabouli and dusted with dry beet powder. Paul had lamb shank. The meat was so tender it fell off the bone. Chef owned and very creative. 367 Yonge St, Barrie, ON L4N4C9, Canada. www.urbandish.ca
