Back from Windsor, Ontario. Had a great time visiting with the various Le Blanc relatives. This was Dennis' first visit to his "hometown" since 1988. The nieces and nephews are all grown up with children and in one case a grandchild! Windsor is probably the most America of all the Canadian cities due to their close proximity to Detroit. Lot's of American business there such as Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, etc. And of course Costco! And yes, we did shop there because you know there's different merchandise at every Costco.
One very Canadian business is Tim Horton Donuts - I can't figure out what the big deal is with these donuts - they don't have many choices and I find them to be very dense and too sweet. But there's a Tim Horton's on almost every corner - Canadians love them!
Saw the house Dennis grew up in and he didn't recognize it. It is a very small house, hard to believe that 9 to 13 people lived in it. Unfortunately, it is now in what is considered a not to good part of town. In fact, Dennis didn't recognize much of the city but then again, he has been gone for 27 years.
Windsor is very flat. No hills or the mountains in the distance. Lots of open fields inside Windsor as well as in the surrounding communities. Houses are made mostly of brick and have basements something one doesn't see in Los Angeles. However, Windsor is growing so lots of tract homes being built like one sees in America.
Here's an interesting fact - the bridge one takes to get from Detroit to Windsor is privately owned! I didn't know that a private person could own a bridge.
Here's what we did during our stay: Walked along park that runs along the Detroit River on the Canadian side. A section of the park has some very interesting pieces of art. I visited the Hiram Walker Distillery and even drank some Canadian Club Whiskey. I really enjoyed that tour - not because of the whiskey - but because of the history of the place. Took a walk in a great park near Juanita's and Sonny's house (where we stayed) trying to see the bald eagle that lives there - didn't see it but saw lots of geese and ducks. Visited Amherstberg a small town outside of Windsor famous for the Battle of 1812. Talk about beautiful homes! Apparently quite a few wealthy Americans own the homes in this area that face the river. Wow would I love to live there! Went to Point Pelee National park - walked out to the point which is the farest part of Canadian and is on Lake Erie. Ate at the famous Tunnel BBQ that Dennis has been talking about for 25 years. Also had lunch at Maleck's Deli another place I've heard about for years. Went shopping for Canadian souvenirs for Kaylee - got lots! Dennis played golf with his brother Gerry and nephew Aaron. We ate and ate and ate some great meals with various family members. Experienced a thunderstorm. Wow what a show! Probably wasn't too smart to be taking video and pictures during the storm especially when one of the bolts looked like it hit just down the street! But it was exciting especially when it started to rain and came down in buckets with wind blowing like crazy.
It was a good time for Dennis to catch up with his family. Dennis was able to spend lots of quality time with his brother Gerry. Finally, we also went to the cemetery to pay our respect to Dennis' mother Roseanne, his sister Beverly and her husband Ron Steele and their son Dean.
It was a great trip but it's nice to be home. Now if our luggage would show up, I'd be happy!
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