After my night out in Thunder Bay, I decided to do a little exploring of Thunder Bay and then head up to Nipigon and get some drive videos with my Garmin VIRB. I also figured I’d visit some of the same places I did in May and see what they looked like frozen and with snow. When I woke up, the view of Lake Superior was amazing for a cheap hotel.
The hallway was still dimly lit, but less sketchy than the previous night.
I returned the remote and key and said farewell to the hotel.
For breakfast, I decided to hop on over to the Intercity Mall and hit the food court.
I knew there was a Tim Horton’s there. Like the night before when I ordered a Molson Canadian, when in Canada, get Tim Horton’s for breakfast.
I had this egg and steak muffin sort of thing with some coffee.
After a little surfing the net, I decided to walk around a little bit. Like Mall of America, there were still Christmas decorations up.
I decided to go to the same pier as last time. It was definitely a lot more frozen.
I drove up Water and then Cumberland Street. After a little more driving, I found an area they store small airplanes.
I drove down a snowy road to check out Fisherman’s Park.
Unlike last time, the warning about ice conditions was valid.
With the iced-up boat landing, a lot of boats were sitting there for the winter.
With the ice, I bet it would be hard for the boats to achieve the posted speed limits.
The rapids were a little more iced up than last time.
I decided to go to Walmart to do a little shopping for ketchup chips and Canadian candy bars. Even though Walmart is a bastion of ‘Murica, the Canadian flag was proudly flying.
In Walmart, there was a bunch of signs for Boxing Day\Week. I had no clue what it even was. When I think boxing, I think guys punching each other and fighting. What it really is is a holiday rooted in English tradition where employers traditionally gave gifts in boxes to their employees.
A Walmart is not complete in Canada unless it has an aisle of hockey gear.
Unlike the US Walmart, Canadian Walmart does not sell guns. You can, however, get ammunition.
If you have a valid possession and acquisition (PAL).
A little further down from the ammo and sporting goods was a Molson Canadian mini-fridge. When in Canada, drink Canadian.
After Walmart, I decided to go to McDonald's to get some poutine.
After that, I hit the road to Nipigon. Upon arriving in Nipigon, I saw the Canadian version of the American Legion, the Royal Canadian Legion.
I went to the Paddle to the Sea park. There were more boats in storage.
The boat launch area was all full of ice.
The scenery around the park was pretty awesome.
After doing a little site-seeing, it was time to head back. I drove all the way back down to Thunder Bay. By then, I was very tired. I drove a little further to Neebing, one of the last towns with a hotel before the border. This time I stayed at a Best Western, which was a lot less sketchy.
Walking to my room, the hallway was well-lit, and it seemed like it went on forever.
In the hallway, you could tell you were in Canada by seeing, "Pop" and "Centre."
Although the heater in the room measured in American imperial units.
The hotel room was nice.
It even had a couple locks on the door.
The view outside was pretty awesome!
In the morning, there was a nice complementary breakfast menu to order off of. The omelet was pretty good.
The whole time in Canada was great. Between the night out in Thunder Bay and all the exploring I did, it was a lot of fun, and I saw some awesome sights. You really can’t beat the scenery, and everyone is so friendly. I’m sure there will be many more trips to come.