I haven't had time to do photos but I'll tell you what happened. We left town around 3 pm. Exhausted we had dinner in Syracuse at Dinosaur BBQ and stayed overnight in Rochester at Red Roof Inn. It cost us $62 includes taxes for the night, took dogs, and very clean and comfortable.

We left early the next morning for Niagara Falls, ON. My DH drove on to Pearsons Toronto Airport to ship our dog. He went to DH's parents until the end of August. I believe it cost us $250 to ship as cargo on top of the $90 international health certificate.

We stayed at the Crystal Inn in Niagara Falls and it was terrible. We had booked 2 nights thinking we needed extra time because of the dog, but decided to move on the next day. Unfortunately I booked the hotel through Booking.com and was unable to change the reservation. So the $96 we spent for 2 night was $96 for 1 night in a really crappy hotel. Oh well say la vie.

I will say we had a great time in Niagara Falls and we did the Whirlpool Aero Car and Hornblower Cruise. The kids loved both and my DH had a blast though he's been dozens of times to Niagara Falls. He thoroughly enjoyed himself seeing the kids get soaked on the boat and loving the night scene at the Falls. We had actually gone back about 3 years ago, but our oldest didn't remember a thing. Kids make sometimes the same trip more pleasurable having experienced it through new eyes.

We drove the next day to Bay City, MI and just spent the night at the Econolodge at the rate of $59.60 night all taxes included. It was very clean and much bigger than we are used to. This was just a place to rest as we continued to St. Ignace, MI.

We stayed at St Ignace overnight so we could do Mackinac Island. We stayed at K Royal Motel for $71.60. It was fine. The real gem was going to Mackinac Island. The island has no transportation other than horse carriage or bikes or walking. So we rented 2 bikes and 2 bike carriers and did the 8 miles loop of the island. Our kids love biking and so do we and it was great. Took us 3 hours including stopping for lunch but the pictures and pleasure was amazing.

We also walked the Fort Mackinac and the town. Even the ferry ride over from St Ignace was great. We went under the "mighty mac" Mackinaw Bridge. FWIW it's a lot easier to go from St. Ignace than Mackinaw City. The ferry ride is only 15 minutes, except when they go under the Bridge.

The food along the way has been interesting an exceptional. I'll post photos later. But it's truly been a pleasure.

Next up was the Soo Locks in Sault Ste Marie. It was something cool for the kids and we enjoyed seeing a part of Canada my DH's never been too. We've actually done a boat tour of the Yangtze River which was very similar but on a much larger scale.

Then we're moving onto camping at Picture Rock National Lakefront. I can't wait.