Tour of Thunder Bay

There was an impressive storm overnight with lots of rain, thunder and lightening. This is the third city I have been in (after Regina and Winnipeg) where I have felt incredibly fortunate to be in a house, instead of a tent during a storm, maybe someone is looking out for me (although it's a shame he/she clearly has no influence on the wind!!). 

I biked around in the morning doing some errands. Biking without Bob almost doesn't count as biking it feels so easy!! I had lunch at Hoito's famous Finnish restaurant (fortunately not famous for expensive prices!!). It opened in 1918 on the bottom floor of the Finnish Labour Temple and has been in continuous operation since. Hoito means care in Finnish and it opened to provide affordable and filling meals for the logging camp workers who had found accommodation in town. As it is known for the Finnish pancakes I sampled them and I wasn't disappointed!!

In the afternoon Jo-Ann and Bill took me on a tour. First up to the Terry Fox Memorial. If you are not Canadian and do not know who he is hopefully you can zoom in on the photo below or look him up. His 1980 marathon of hope inspired a nation and still inspires. I have no idea how he ran a marathon a day with a prosthetic leg, he must have been incredibly strong, it's amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to something.

Then we stopped at a number of parks. I got some good views of Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes and largest freshwater lake in the world. I am going to be following its shores for quite some time between here and Sault Ste Marie. The cloud cleared enough at one point for me to see the famous Sleeping Giant. 

Then we went out to Mount Mackay lookout for views over the city and lake. And also stopped at Chippewa with a long history. It was great to see some of Thunder Bay's highlights and we went for Chinese on the way home. Great day in Thunder Bay!!