North American Vacation

Clouds over Highland Lake   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  11 x 14"

 Across the Lake   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  12 x 24"

 ​"Buffalo" on the Detroit River  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  11 x 14"

 Bulk Loader   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/wood  4.5 x 14"

Photo of Dalhousie Lighthouse(s) Lake Ontario

“Uh, oh…the GPS doesn’t work in Canada”.  So Blair and I began our bumbling vacation through the North American wilderness.   We were on our way to Detroit (Blair’s family reunion), and decided to make the break in the journey at Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls is one of my favorite places on earth (I guess I could skip “on earth”, because I haven’t made the moon trip yet).  We stayed at a hotel terribly far from the falls – no scale on the “bookings” map.   So that afternoon, instead of visiting the falls we went to the lighthouses on Lake Ontario.

I was surprised at the sandy beach with trees nearly up to the water’s edge.  The lake was shallow and Harika and I had a gander in our street wear.  Two wooden lighthouses illuminated the edge of the peninsula, just before you took your boat through the locks.  

The next morning, at 7 AM, we headed to Niagara – FABULOUS.  Nobody is there at 7:30 in the morning, save a very few Asian tourists.   We were able to feel the vapors:  for me, the energy of the moving water, the air, gravity infuse me with great motivation.  I feel, like Tesla, I could electrify the world.   We ate breakfast on a terrace overlooking the falls.

When I say we went to Detroit, it was really the greater Detroit area.  Hardly anyone lives in Detroit, and we were able to make an “unguided” tour of parts of the city.  Blair and I always thought it would be interesting to invest our time in a dilapidated house, which Detroit is famous for.   Instead, our trip “off the tourist route” was sobering – it was way beyond any project we could undertake.  

Architecturally, there were some beauties, sadly ruined from years of disuse and vandalism.

The reunion itself took place on the banks of the Detroit river.   Huge bulk-loaders passed by, allowing a quick brush at most.   We loved that.

Our route home took us to see dear friends in Toronto.   It was an easy jaunt from Detroit.  Our friends are art buyers of many styles, ages – a few Pessemiers hang on their walls.   He is now produces a terrific blog/newsletter about the Toronto Blue Jay’s games, in a sports writing style  (  http://longballstories.com/­ ).  We ate lunch, and planned a new route back.

We drove by the Thousand Lakes, and plan to spend a little longer there next year.   We passed over the metal bridge in the long golden rays of the late afternoon.   Our trip is in it’s final days, and we look forward to next year.