New To Land Cruising....Cruised On The Water For 20 Years.

[merrymary]

George and I are new members of FMCA and looking forward to learning from all the experiences of it's members.

We purchased a 34 ft Coachmen, Class A, 10/2010 after selling our 36 ft trawler. Our home base is SW Florida. We are currently traveling along the northern borders of NYS in a westerly direction. From Niagara Falls we'll enter Ontario,CA and explore the Georgian Bay area, before reaching the upper peninsula of MI.

Any recommendations for route, points of interest or campgrounds would be appreciated.

Check out our blog: http://loveknotmc.blogspot.com

[wolfe10]

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

We made the transition from sea to land as well. From a sailboat to motorhome. We still do both-- in fact sailed this winter from Texas to the Bahamas and back. Passed through your stomping grounds in SW Florida.

Hopefully you will still be in the Great Lakes area later this summer and can attend the FMCA International Convention in Madison Wisconsin: http://www.fmca.com/conventions/madison-2011

A lot of fun and a great learning experience with many, many free seminars on topics of interest to you and your land travel.

Brett

[tbutler]

From Niagara, we enjoyed a trip along the north side of Lake Erie. It would be a side trip but one of my favorite areas of Ontario is the area around Leamington. Hwy 3 along the lake is a nice drive, small road, not much traffic. There are several campgrounds along this highway that overlook Lake Erie. Point Pelee National Park is the Canadian equivalent of Florida. The National Park is the southern tip of Canada. You can walk to the tip of the peninsula and stand with the water lapping at your feet. There is an off-shore island, Pelee Island, which is the southern most land in Canada. You can take a ferry to Pelee Island. Many of the homes in the area around Lemington are beautifully landscaped. There are huge greenhouses in the area so they do love their flowers. Much of the area is strongly British from the days of the American Revolution. In fact, we got a laugh about one hero mentioned in a local museum (the Cheese Factory Museum near London). She informed the British that there were American revolutionaries in the area! I also recall an Iriquois village and museum somewhere in the London, ON area.

We've always enjoyed the novelty of driving north from Windsor, Canada into the US on the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit. The Ford museum in Detroit is an excellent museum if you have time.

Back into Ontario, we participated in a bicycle ride (happening this weekend in Cambridge). In Stratford we enjoyed strolling along the lake. There were several nesting swan pairs which were just hatching eggs. One clutch had just hatched, the second was several days old and we stood by and watched while the hen took the brood to the water and into the lake for a swim with the cob trailing behind. There is also a Shakespeare Theater and many interesting shops, stores and parks. I highly recommend a stop in Stratford, some of our favorite memories. East of town as I recall there is a butcher shop, The Best Little Pork Shoppe. We stopped and got some great pork chops and sausage. We saw ads for this when we were in town.

From Georgian Bay west, instead of the Trans-Canada Highway, we took the slower and much more scenic route, Highway 17. That route takes you through Sudbury, and the nickel and gold mining area and closer to the lakes where you will find many waterfalls, scenic valleys and beaches. We enjoyed the nickel mining museum in Sudbury, appropriately called the Big Nickel! Continuing west, you will see some gold mines though they aren't labeled as such. One visitor center along the way described the gold mining in the area. Depending on your schedule you might be interested in taking a little more time to explore this area.

At Sioux Ste. Marie there are excellent opportunities to camp in view of the Great Lakes on the US side. You can watch the shipping going up and down the lakes. There is a freighter that has been turned into a museum there also. The Algoma Railroad has a day trip from the Canadian side that goes north to Agawa Canyon and returns in the afternoon. I mentioned this trip to my mother and learned that I was the third generation of my family to take that trip. Great scenery, and an interesting trip.

On the UP, we enjoyed the Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. As sailors, you will no doubt find the history of shipwrecks in Lake Superior interesting and sobering. A number of wrecks are detailed including the Edmond Fitzgerald. The light house keepers home and grounds are available for touring. Be ready to dress warm no matter what time of year!