We escaped the Kenora vortex

So much for the plan to leave on time in the morning. We left Winnipeg around 11:30 after sleeping in at the hotel, visiting Louis Riel's house (very nice and knowledgeable interpreter in costume) and driving by his grave.


Driving through Manitoba was fine, but as soon as we entered Ontario it was like we were cursed. It was not a good first introduction to the province. The roads were terrible and we must have hit at least six different construction sites. We decided to go into Kenora, the first biggest town, for lunch and ended up getting sucked in for over an hour. It was a vortex. We only drove 2.5 hours from Winnipeg and got out of Kenora at 3pm. Then it took till 4pm just get past the next exit to Kenora due to all the godforsaken road construction. And the speed limit in Ontario is 90km/h, and they're sure to remind you by posting a bit sign detailing the ticket prices as you enter the province.

We pressed on after stopping for lunch/diaper/boob/pee on a pull-out on Dogtooth Lake, very appropriate. Ate some leftovers from the night before.

It was a long, tough haul and there were no shacks to look at. There were few towns but lots of cottages and foreign license plates to see. We got into Thunder Bay at 8:30 and are paying $90 plus the $10 dog fee plus tax for a room at the Victoria Inn. It has a pool, though, and high speed internet. I think Scott went and "accidentally" billed the room $7 for the privilege of playing some video games. He was playing around with the service, which he never used, and thinks it might have happened. Grr.

Tomorrow it's a stop at 344 Richard St. to see if my dad's childhood home is still standing, the onward to Sault Ste. Marie. We may try camping tomorrow night, weather depending. The KOA campground offers tent sites with wifi access. Weird, but okay!