So THIS is Paradise!

I enjoyed my cereal and juice this morning in the hotel parking lot and then I was (sing it with me) on the road again... My first stop of the day was Hilton Beach!! I mean, really - how could I pass that one up? It was a very small town just southeast of Sault Sainte Marie in Canada - and our name was everywhere! I stopped at the General Store - they didn't have anything Hilton. I did manage to get a t-shirt from the Hilton Beach Tourist Park (it's orange.) I made myself a picnic lunch sitting on the beach with stuff I had in my car. I'm getting pretty good at living out of my car! After I had seen all the Hilton stuff I could - I headed back to the U.S.

Crossing the border was even a hassle coming back IN to the USA. The customs agent finally said "put your car in park and turn off the engine." Geez - these people are so nosey! I tried to say as little as possible but apparently even that raises suspicion so I had to give him my whole sabbatical schpeel (how do you spell that?) so he could understand why I would be going from Kansas to Wisconsin via Canada. Why is that any of their business anyway? Can't a girl just take a road trip!?!

I finally made it to Sault Sainte Marie and I immediately stopped at the Visitor's Center to see what they recommend that I do or see. She suggested the Soo Locks boat tour so I jumped on that one. I'm a sucker for boats - and water! It was a two hour cruise through both the Canadian and American locks. It was awesome!
The cruise goes underneath the International bridge which you can see in the background (barely.) We went in the Canadian locks and they raised us up about 8-10 feet and then we came back through the American locks where they lowered us back down. It was so cool!! The water moved in and out farely quickly - definitely faster out - but it was fun to watch the boat slowly coming up over the side of the walls and then take off again.
I had to steal a picture with the life-whatchamacallit. :) (It matched my outfit) As I left the parking lot, I couldn't get the Gilligan's Island theme song out of my head so I sang the national anthem twice at the top of my lungs. It worked! :)

I left Sault Sainte Marie feeling like I had done what I needed to do and headed up the coast. It was a beautiful drive along Lake Superior and I stopped a couple of times just to admire the lake. I was hoping for a good sunset but it was behind me so never mind.

I stopped at the Iroquois lighthouse for some pictures. The tower was closed but it was beautiful - and cold!! The breeze off the lake is quite chilly!

I finally made it to Paradise about 8pm and found a room at the Paradise Inn.

I asked Don for a suggestion on where to eat and he told me there were only two places and they close at 9. I boogied over to the Little Falls Inn for some grub and brought it back to the room (so much for my new-found ability to dine alone) where I watched tv and worked on organizing my receipts. UGH! Amazing how fast your expenses add up - especially when you aren't watching!