Susie's 65th-Part 1-Traveling through Canada, Lighthouse, Base Lodging

Sunday June 24th, 2018

We finished our packing and made sure the motorhome was ready to be left for a few days and got on the road.  We had 340 miles to drive and that would take approximately 5 1/2 hours.  That was without any stops and dependent on how long the border crossings into and out of Canada would take.

We had gone a few miles when I called the hotel to tell them there was a possibility we would arrive after 6pm, and to make sure they held our room.  The lady told me she was about to call me, as the commander that had just retired decided to change the lodging policy as one of his last acts!!!  She asked me if I had a US passport to which I replied, "No, but I have a dependent ID card and a Permanent Resident Card"  She suggested I call security as she didn't think they would let me on the base!!  Of course, panic set in as we were on our way.  After getting two different numbers from her, I eventually spoke to security who told me as long as I had a dependent ID there wouldn't be a problem.  Phew!!!  I called her back and told her that we were ok and she confirmed she would hold the room if we arrived after 6pm but they closed at 10pm.

We decided to stop at Port Huron, just before crossing the border into Canada, for lunch and to visit a Fort Gratiot Lighthouse there.  It was about the halfway mark in our journey, so was a perfect place to stop for a break.  It had rained on and off during our drive and as we arrived the sky was overcast.  We walked around the lighthouse and took pictures while the rain had stopped.

As we were walking back to the car, to get our lunch, the rain started again.  We sat in the car and ate our lunch and were glad we had looked at the lighthouse first.

We decided to look in the gift shop before we left.  A lady greeted us and told us that they did tours, but didn't recommend it today, as there wouldn't be a good view from the top, due to the weather.  We decided not to climb the tower but we got the lighthouse stamp and a stamp for the lightship, that is in a different part of town, that we were going to view on our way back.

It was a nice stop for lunch and to stretch our legs.

The border crossing into Canada went smoothly and only took a couple of minutes.

 The Welcome to Canada sign came out as a blur, due to the rain and probably my photography skills!!!!

 

Canada has the same wind turbines as the USA & UK.

The drive through Canada seemed to take forever, probably because we were both getting tired and there weren't as many rest areas/stops as in the US.

Eventually we reached the border to reenter the US.

The line was slightly longer but still only took a few minutes.

It was a short drive to the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station where we had reservations at the Niagara Lodge. We got on the base with no problems.  

Bryan saw this F-4 on display as we entered the base and took some pictures. It had shot down 3 MIGs during the Vietnam War.

The lady in lodging said she was surprised they let me on base, as a lady yesterday had been denied after being allowed on the prior day.  It turned out the receptionist was confused about the new ruling, as we saw signs that said you had to have a military or dependent ID card to be allowed on base.  So, no guests without a card.  It didn't matter what nationality you were.

That's a shame as this is a nice place to return to and it would be good to be able to bring family or friends here.  Maybe the rule will be changed back sometime in the future.

Here's some views from our room.

and finally the inside.  The room was nice, with a small kitchenette.

Tomorrow we decided to go to Cave of the Winds at Niagara Falls and possibly a trolley ride.

We discovered that the bed was really comfortable and we both slept well.