A few nights ago we cleaned up our basement and put the computer down here so it feels like our house size has doubled! Not to mentioned that blogging is much easier which is why I am now motivated.
Our journey through Michigan's Upper Peninsula was enjoyable. It reminds me very much of the North Shore. We stopped at our absolute favorite restaurant in Michigan called Jeanne's Cafe. This food is amazing; it is one of those places that looks like a hole in the wall but it is a goldmine of food excellence! Everything is made from scratch - it really is gourmet cooking. Mike had a pasty (pronounced pass-tee)and I had my fish and chips. Their coleslaw is the best and their homemade pies are to die for.
We had a pizza dinner in Mackinaw and then walked around the tourist area for a few hours. We have grown fond of Mackinaw since we spent several days there last summer and enjoyed our time.
We got up early the next morning and headed north to Sault Ste. Marie on the border of Canada and Michigan. We arrived early in the morning, had a good breakfast at a local cafe and then found a wonderful orthodox mass at 8am. Afterward we headed over to a park across the street to relax for a bit. As I was cleaning out the car we chatted with a neighbor who lived there for forty years and we heard all about Sault Ste. Marie and the changes that have taken place over the years.
We ventured into Canada and we immediately knew we were in a different country. It had a different feel to it. The country side was vast and there was NOTHING in between small small towns. These small towns were few and very far between and a town could consist of 10 houses and one gas station. The U.S. has small towns but you usually don't drive more than 30 miles before you come to another town.
In the middle of the day we stopped in a bigger town that happened to be having an old car show. It was fun to see the vintage cars and we spent about 3 hours in a bar with the kids watching the championship World Cup game.
Everyone in the bar took quite a liking to the kids. Faustina played with the pool table while we chatted with a woman drinking several Budlights, she used a cane, had a lazy eye and a missing tooth. It was quite an experience! 
To pass time during our drive I read "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" aloud. We listened to music and several Catholic Lighthouse media cd's. We listened to one talk by Scott Hahn and were completely taken in by a new revelation (to us) about what Christ meant in the garden when he said, "Take this CUP from me". Hahn explained how in the Jewish passover there are four different times when a cup is passed around for all to drink from. During the Last Supper, Christ did not take a sip from the cup the fourth round. In the garden, when he was saying 'Take this cup from me' - he actually IS the cup as he knows he is on his way to sacrificing his life for humanity. Christ is the fourth cup since he is the sacrificial lamb. Anyway, Hahn obviously explains it much more clearly and it is fascinating.
Because we were so engrossed in this theological explanation, we did not fill up our gas tank during the evening and in Canada gas station close at 8pm on Sundays!! So around 11:30 am we were intensely praying a rosary (I kid you not) so that first of all we would not get stranded in the middle of NOWHERE and have bears come maul our car and secondly that we could find gas somewhere. I mean, we were fearing that the van would die in the middle of the highway in the pitch black where you can see your hand in front of your face - no exaggeration. We were denied at several locations and then at 12:30am as a last ditch effort we knocked on a house door by the highway in the country. After a few minutes an older man came out in his underwear (!) and was very friendly. He gave a us 1/2 tank of gas and we gave him all the cash we had on us (only $19.00!). Our prayers were heard and we made it into the outskirts of Ottawa around 3am and stayed at a Holiday Inn.
Faustina and Jude woke up in the morning and were as happy and could be; we could have used a few more hours of sleep!
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