Blenheim, ON
July 17, 2010 7:07 am
We are now in Blenheim (BLEN-um like the apricot), Ontario, Canada.
There is a strong wind outside. Through our motel window, I can see the plants on the ground shaking. I’m going to go out now and figure out from which direction the wind is blowing. Motel flag says, west to southwest. Our route today is mostly to the northeast.
Yesterday, we left the Anchor Inn at just before 11, and had breakfast at a cafe on the shore, a block from the Blue Water Ferry. It was going to be a short day, so we were in no rush.
The shore in the background is Canada.
The ferry was just $1 for each of us, including the bikes. It was a short ride. A good swimmer could easily have made it across. In fact, I suspect that in times of slavery, some people did. In Dresden nearby, there was the Uncle Tom’s Cabin interpretive center, but as it was off-route, we didn’t visit.
Customs on the other side was simple. They asked us a few questions about how much money we had, and whether we had any firearms or mace.
We stopped at the first grocery store to test our US money. Yes, they took it at face value. No surprise, as it's still worth a little bit more than Canadian.
Wallaceburg was the first large town we encountered. I pulled some cash from a bank ATM, there. We stopped at the Fiesta Restaurant for a snack, but ended up having a full lunch.
The Fiesta Restaurant. Canadian streets were remarkably clean - or was it just Wallaceburg?
Elliot had Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti, and a bowl of Chicken Rice soup. I had a BLT and Sweet Potato Fries. It was not busy, so our server took this picture.
This is Alexa. She said that the Fiesta had been there since 1911, and was in its 99th year of operation.
We left Wallaceburg at about 3 pm. There were no motels on the route within range, but there was a campground 31 miles away. By going off-route 7 miles to Blenheim, we could reach a motel. Elliot thought it was worth it.
Who wants the scorn of the locals, anyway?
We reached Blenheim in the late afternoon.
I’m rather glad we took the detour, because Cherryfest was going on in Blenheim. My only concern was that the sole motel might be filled due to the event. Fortunately, it wasn’t.
The main street was closed.
We ate at Stephen’s II Restaurant, which served “Chinese and Canadian Food.” It was nothing like a Chinese restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I was glad to have a new experience. The food came in little covered platforms. White rice was included. We got chicken fried rice, shrimp with lobster sauce, and beef chow mein. The shrimp with lobster sauce was about the same as one would make at home, just a little saltier. The fried rice had just a hint of green onion, and no other vegetables in it at all. I looked for the mein in the chow mein, but apparently, the fried wonton strips on the surface count as noodles. Underneath, there was a beef and bean sprout stir-fry, which was good, as long as we didn’t expect it to be chow mein. Upon reflection, what surprised me most was that this was Stephen’s II – this place was popular enough to be a chain.
The Queen’s Motel was fairly priced at $65 Canadian. I declined wireless internet, though, which would have been $5 extra.
I could use more white T-shirts in this heat, and am considering getting the one at the beginning of this post. They’re only $10.
We rode 55.2 miles for the day.
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