Good morning, Sault Ste Marie! Lorraine (my sister, best friend, and publisher) and I arrived late yesterday afternoon. We set out from our friend's house in Brampton early yesterday morning. We had been following the weather for the Soo area, and when I woke at 06h00 and saw the updated red screen predicting the possibility of ice rain and 20 to 30 cm of heavy wet snow, I walked over to Lorraine's bedroom door and, tapped lightly. She responded instantly, and I said we had to leave earlier than expected. We gathered our belongings, thanked our hostess for our lovely time, and made it out the door in record time. We planned on picking up books to bring to the Book signing meet and greet on Friday, March 21st at the Sault Ste Marie Mi Visitors Center Open House. We arrived at the printers 5 minutes after they opened and loaded the car.

Lorraine has been to the printers so many times to pick up books. They greet her like a friend. We have really enjoyed working with them. We asked for a rush order to be printed so that we could bring books to the event and they had them ready.

Lorraine and I love a road trip, and when we set out, the sun was shining. We went on many road trips from a very young age and our father trained us that we only stopped when the car needed gas. We stopped for gas in Parry Sound and at the same time had breakfast. We like that you can get a quick breakfast at McDonalds. I had seen the ad for their new Jalapeno burger and thought, the spicy sauce that they use would be good with the eggs and sausage that I had planned on ordering. The habanero sauce did not disappoint, and we said we would definitely order that again.

We stop when the car needs gas. We enjoyed a quick breakfast at McDonalds and the new habanero sauce went well with our eggs and sausage.

The trip went so fast. I enjoyed seeing the signs and thought about the trips I made into the ports. There were towns that I had heard of, but never visited and then there were signs that were just fun to read. The name giving away what you could expect like: Crooked Road, Go Home Road, Twelve Mile Bay Road. As the drive went on, the sun disappeared. The rain started an hour before we got to the Soo, and we said a special thank you when we saw the Sault Ste Marie sign in the distance; and it was still just raining. We unloaded our bags and checked into the hotel.

We were one hour into our trip when I took this photo. The entire driving part of our trip took 6 hours and 42 minutes.

We always comment on how much work it would have been to cut through to build the highway. The rock cut was particularly long.

Part of the trip was single lane traffic, but they always offered an extra passing lane every 10 km giving you hope if you were behind a slow moving vehicle. There wasn’t much traffic during our trip.

When Lorraine and I are in the car together she always drives. I enjoy being a passenger and like to take photos.

I was especially excited to see that we would be passing Bruce Mines because I had been there a few times before. It is a beautiful area

One of my trips to Bruce Mines to load stone

This morning I looked out at the freshly fallen snow and was so happy we did not have to drive in the snow. It is so exciting to be here for the 2025 Soo Lock Opening. I, like many of you, am excited to see the shipping season start up again. Being here to welcome the first ship to pass through is a bonus. I have been through the Soo locks many, many times, and it's so much fun to be on this side looking in. Our hotel has a great view from the fifth floor. I looked at the landmarks that I see when I am on the ship and wondered how many times I had passed under the international bridge. I thought about the time I was on the Tadoussac for the month of November in 2021. We made four trips, and each time we were downbound, we came under the Soo International Bridge at supper time.

November 2021. We passed downbound under the Soo International Bridge 4 times during my time on the Tadoussac, and it was somehow always at supper time.

I look forward to driving around and exploring a bit. In 1981 I was on the Frontenac and we were running between Marquette Mi and Sault St Marie, Ontario. I would get off the ship every time in the Soo and walk to the corner store, and when time permitted, I would walk or ride my bike to the Station Mall. Our hotel is right across the street from the Station Mall and the memories are coming back. We will be at the Sault St Marie Visitor Center this evening and tomorrow from 09h00 to 15h00 for a book signing-meet and greet. Bring your books to be signed or pick them up at the event. We are donating 10% to the Soo Lock Visitor Center. We are so happy to be a part of this special occasion and look forward to seeing you there. Have a great day.