Bill & Ed's Excellent Adventure...Day 1...Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Wow...the 39th Annual Summer Picnic is a "wrap", but the work had just begun. Three days of cleanup, leftover disposal, errands...and a full twelve-hour day of packing.
At 8:00AM, I am on the road. It is hard to describe how good I feel as I pull out of the driveway...it is, for me, the very best day of the year. In many ways, it's the fulfillment of drams that I had as a boy...reading about great explorers in history and wishing that I could do what they did.
Traffic is light across 696 up to Port Huron, and then across the Blue Water Bridge to Canada. I'm a little bit nervous because I am carrying twelve bottles of liquor, thirty-six bottles of wine, and five cases of beer...oh...and a hundred cigars. The Canadian Customs gal could care less...all she cares about is my teardrop camper and the solar panel. I tell her that I'm heading for the Maritimes, and she says that is someplace she's always wanted to visit. I'm through free and clear.
It's an easy drive east across Ontario...light traffic and a sunny day. Around 12:30, I'm crossing back into the U.S. at Buffalo. The U.S. Customs guy wants to know what all the stickers are...they're from National Parks, I tell him. He tells me that's what he wants to do when he retires...he could care less about the alcohol and the cigars.
thirty minutes later, I'm in a suburb of Buffalo for lunch at Charlie the Butchers. When you think of food from Buffalo, you're probably thinking chicken wings, but Buffalo has another local specialty..."Beef on Weck". It's rare roast beef served on a roll that's topped with coarse salt and caraway seed...it's one of the World's great sandwiches. On previous trips to Buffalo, I've had this sandwich at a place called "Schwabl's", but this time I'm giving Charlie's a try. It is fantastic...the beef is so tender, it melts in my mouth...although a bit pricey at $5.00.
Back on the road, I'm heading further east to the town of Herkimer, where there is a nice KOA Campground. I roll into there around 6:00PM and, by 6:30, I'm set up and enjoying a cocktail. I grill a steak and some asparagus for dinner with a nice California Pinot...excellent. Off to bed in the camper at 10:00PM...a great day.