Harley Dave's

Sunday, August 24, 2008

My trips, better known as Lost in America

This is my latest trip and I am off to Sauble Beach, Canada. I probably should have been taking more pictures on the way up but I have been this direction many times and just forget to take shots of what I have already seen. I had planned on leaving Three days earlier but due to all the rain from the storms (Fay) my departure was delayed, mainly because my yard was flooded. Some parts of the state received over 30" of the wet stuff. As it was I still left a 3" groove in the back yard when I left. The ride up to Canada was average as nothing special to see or take pictures of.

By the way if you have never been to Canada there are some things to be aware of before you leave your home here in the U.S.A.. The first is that they require a Canada NON-RESIDENT inter-province motor vehicle liability card. This can be picked up from your Insurance company but be aware that it can take up to 30 days to get it to you according to my Insurance co. I was told that they will turn you away from the border if you do not have this. I was never asked for it going in or coming out of Canada. The best way for documentation is to carry your Passport to show, it saves time when crossing the border. Come the first of the year 2009 it will be required to enter. No more copies of your birth certificate will work then.

Another thing is that if you smoke you can only take 1 carton of cigarettes or (200) total per person in. If you run out of smokes don't be to alarmed at the cost, around $9.00 a pack. But that is easy to off set if you buy them on one of the Indian reservations. About the same cost as here.

And this one is very important, don't even think about carrying a hand gun into Canada the penalties are severe and can result in prison time and loss of your bike. This is another country and their laws are very much different than ours. Also all the speed limits are in KM not MPH. so if you don't have a duel reading speedometer then you better brush up on the conversion tables. Most hwy speeds are 50 MPH (80 KM) in towns it is 30 MPH (50) KM. These are just a few things to help you have a more safe and convenient trip.

The purpose of this trip was to help my friend paint his house. Yes thats right I do have friends LOL. Which we did in just 5 1/2 days start to finish. You always hear its about the journey not the destination but in this case it was both. I have pictures of his house in the winter when he is snow bound and with an all white house and the snow you can barely make out the house in them.LOL. So he decided to paint it green not just the color but environmentally green to match the area. Anyway enough rambling for a bit here are some pictures of the ride starting with Niagara Falls where people in the old days always wanted to go on their Honeymoons.

The arial shots are from when we took a helicopter ride to get the whole view in. It was well worth it to see everything in the area. The next pictures are from my buddy's house we painted, I put them up more for him because house painting doesn't interest most people lol.

These are from a small rally near by where they had a corn fest. A old car and bike show and an all around good time visiting and making new friends. The first picture is of my buddy Tony whom I met back in 2005 when I was up on my first visit to Canada. Tony rode over early the morning I left to ride part way with me on my departure. The other pictures are from the gathering.

If you are so inclined to take a different route back to the States you can make the loop around Lake Huron by taking the ferry across part of the lake and come out at Sault St. Marie and come back into Michigan. The ferry charges $18.00 and they supply you with tie downs for your bike. You are not allowed where your bike is during the crossing, so be sure to take your camera and anything else you might need for the approx. 2 hours time. Also it is smoke free for the ride.

Now for the finale of the trip. As anyone who knows me I have been and always will be an independent rider. I ride long and hard sometimes and don't know anyone that can keep up with me. I run the speed limit but I ride a long time. To give you an example On my return trip from Canada I rode to my home in Florida non stop 1300 miles in 23 hours and 15 mins. I have no affiliations with the Iron Butt Org. but I have been called one often LOL. I met a great many people in Canada and they were all very nice to me. So if your thinking of going out of the country this is a great place to go where Americans are not the bad guys that other Countries make us out to be.