Summer Vacation Part #2

I renewed my passport this summer so I could take an international trip! At the end of July I took a 9-day trip with 3 friends around Lake Erie to New York then Ontario, Canada.

We drove in my car, and an hour down the rode one of the brand new brakes I had put on the day before fell off (apparently it hadn't been installed correctly, thank you Bob Rohrman Hyundai), but God provided a mechanic in Gas City to fix it, and it only delayed us about 2 hours.


My friend Melissa Eikenberry was in a friend's wedding in NY, so while she attended to wedding duties, Brittany Bowser & Beth Hopper & I stayed with a family from the bride's church: the Fillions, who were very hospitable to us and even made us personalized pancakes for breakfast!


We then made our way to Canada, stopping at Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake on the way.


We spent the first night in Canada in Toronto with one of my best friends in the whole wide world: Jeannie Schafer & her husband Markus. We were also introduced to their 2-week-old baby Ferguson. They gave us the grand tour of the city that night. We even rode all major forms of public transportation: the streetcar, the bus, and the subway. And we experienced the wonder that is Ed's ice cream & gelato.

Then we headed to our main destination: Collingwood, Ontario and our Mountain View Villa Resort. Melissa had a time share that she was willing to share with us, so we had our own little room, kitchen, 2 bathrooms, cable TV, fireplace, and pool/grill access for 6 days.


We spent quite a few hours at Wasaga Beach, the longest freshwater lakeshore in the world on the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The water was great! (So much warmer than Lake Superior.)

One day we drove up to Parry Sound and took a 3-hour cruise on the water.

We spent one morning exploring and hiking in the woods near Old Baldy.


And our last evening was spent at Village at Blue with a free movie under the stars.


Well, this is just the brief overview. (There are quite a few more pics on Facebook.) I could keep going on and on about how the people in Canada were very friendly, how their milk comes in bags, and how no one drives the speed limit (which is in km). But I will refrain. I had never taken a vacation with friends before, but it was very relaxing, and I really enjoyed getting to know these friends better!