Lake Country

I'm back in Canada and pretending that I can understand French. Have just arrived in Montreal and first impressions are good. Very European, very friendly, very happening. I'll be here for 3 days so plenty of time to explore and enjoy.

The past couple of days driving through upstate New York have been wet and windy. It's not the spectacular scenery I have been experiencing over the last couple of months in the west coast mountain ranges but none-the-less it is pleasant and it could be described as pretty. The lakes seem like oceans - especially with this wind, there have been waves big enough to surf. Ontario's coast is dotted with thousands of tiny islands which would be awesome to explore if only one had a boat. Thes rocky outcrops also mean lots of cute lighthouses. The landscape is very rural with farmhouses and barns beside fields of hay and corn. I passed quite a few pumpkin patches with the biggest orange pumpkins imaginable. Here comes Halloween. Every now and again an Amish buggy trots by and once in a while the fields change to forests which are all the possible shades of green with hints of the first yellows and reds of fall.

I had an iffy moment crossing the border as I said I was visiting as a tourist and had come from Detroit. The official didn't believe that anyone could be a tourist and choose to go to Detroit. Poor Detroit - surely it can't be that bad!