Day 20 - Finger Lakes Region, New York

We've had great weather up to now. It rained off and on yesterday and today. So we did a couple of indoor things. Visited the William Seward home in Auburn. This home was in the family

through many generations, and so all of the furnishings and decorative items are original and owned by the family. It is a wonderful old home which has had some renewed interest due to the book "Team of Rivals" - about Lincoln's cabinet. The gardens, pictured here are really beautiful.

We had lunch in Skaneatelles, a charming town on Skaneatelles Lake. The homes are amazing.

We also drove along Cayuga Lake, visited one of the many wineries (pretty good wine), and visited the MacKenzie-Childs factory store (http://www.mackenzie-childs.com/). What an amazing place. Their colorful store full of whimsical items is pictured here. We had never seen anything quite like their pottery, furniture, table ware, decorative items, etc. Didn't know quite what to think.

Day 16 - 18 - Merrickville, ON

Gary researched this town and others on the Rideau Canal (pronounced read-oh by the locals). He was unsure just what we would find. When we drove in, his comment was, "I think we hit the jackpot". Was he ever right! This CHARMING town of about 3,000 permanent residents is just like an English village, complete with pubs, charming B&B's, artisan shops, wonderful restaurants, beautiful stone homes and best of all, this working canal which connects Ottawa and Kingston via the Rideau River, a series of lakes and a man-made canal with 33 locks. It was conceived and built right after the War of 1812 when it was feared continuing hostilities with Americans would threaten the inland ports. It was used commercially for some years but is now devoted totally to pleasure craft. Parks Canada runs the system including the hand cranked locks, the revolving bridges (one right next to our campground), and the grassy park areas and gardens which flank the canal. Our campground, run by the local Lions Club, is right on the canal. When we look out of our front windows, we see the canal and passing boats. Our weather here has been perfect, and we feel like we are living a dream. I have not been able to stop taking pictures since we got here, and have selected a few representative ones. This place is one to put on your visit list!!!

Day 13 - 15 - Toronto, ON

Our campground is just west of Toronto, very near the Humber River. We stayed here 11 years ago - the campground is so-so, but the access to the Humber River Bike System is excellent. We did a wonderful 4+ mile run along the river. I didn't have my camera - foolish. We saw the Toronto Blue Jays get beat by the Boston Red Sox at the Rogers Centre, formerly known as the Skydome. They had the roof closed that night due to the threat of rain. It was a sauna in there. We spent a day walking in the downtown Toronto area. Gary consulted here with Bank of Montreal in about 1996-97, and we walked about 4 miles in a residential area of beautiful homes called Rosedale. Gary used to run here. The picture here is of one of the residential streets.