Our first day covered 525 miles and brought us to Amherst, NY.

We were up and gone by about 830 and soon left the US behind and crossed into Canada at Niagara Falls. Although the Canadian side was much spiffier and more maintained than the NY side, there were no crowds of tourists anywhere and we were. Surprised by the lack of traffic.

Above is waterfront across from the Canadian Falls.

We spent an hour or so riding around looking at the Falls before we headed for Toronto and the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Toronto is huge. We drove on the 16 lane QEW for a couple of hours to get to Yonge Street and the HOF. We parked in a public lot and walked a few blocks to the beautiful shrine.

A converted bank holds the “Great Hall” of all inductees as well as the original and HOF Stanley Cups. Most of the displays and the interactive games for the kids are under the building in a beautifully done melding of the historic bank and the glass skyscraper behind.

The foyer the HOF shares with the office building.

Bobby Orr has always been a personal favorite of mine.

I will unapologetically pose with the Cup every chance I get.

The only jarring sight was the almost life-size group shot of the Hawks posing with the 2013 Cup after game 6 at the Garden. It was a great photo but I couldn’t force myself to be happy for the Hawks.

We left and headed due north out of Toronto. Traffic, as always, was horrendous and we were stuck on the Don Valley Pkwy and Route 12 for a couple hours before we broke free about 3:00pm approximately 50 miles north of the city.

It sprinkled a bit as we drove but we saw no real rain. Upon reaching Midland and checking in to the legendary Silver Star, we heard on the TV that the storm we just missed flooded much of Toronto and closed down the subway and the Don Valley Pkwy about an hour after we passed.

A bullet dodged. We would still be trapped in the city.

On a language note: The phrase on the motel sign reading “Newly Renovated Rooms” is evidently Canadian for “1970s decor now heavily sprayed with Lysol”.

Day two: Midland, ON – 775 total miles.

Tomorrow: Sudbury and beyond! Maybe Sault Ste Marie?