Great Lakes Expedition Cruise - Sep 24 - Oct 1, 2022

 September 24, 2022 - Happy 75th Birthday, Colonel Kleimon!

     Let's celebrate!!! Off we go - and the sweet Delta gal got our TSA precheck on the ticket, after several unsuccessful phone calls.  While in line, I heard my name being called only to discover Susan Sims and Kendall Keesling also in line for a girls' trip to Scottsdale, AZ.  Amazingly, we received another Delta Upgrade!! After an uneventful flight to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Viking provided an easy transition to the ship, lunch, and to Cabin 2017.  Viking does it right - even the Muster Drill, complete with champagne was lovely.  

AND... the lovely birthday cake waiting for us back in our room was incredible!We quickly unpacked and Lana headed out on the 2:00 PM shuttle to the Public Market where she quickly purchased spices on a recommendation from the welcoming folks at the airport. 

 I ordered an Uber to the Harley Davidson Museum Shop to purchase t-shirts for Richard.

After a couple of successful purchases, I headed back to the Public Market, then onto the shuttle to return to the beautiful Octantis.  The views from the harbor are so amazing.

Not to mention the fabulous views inside, as well.   Our ship has a full bakery, which means the smells are enough to make you drool!  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the World Cafe and slept great!

September 25, 2022 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  Remember that bakery - well the sticky buns were under a hot lamp, and I simply couldn't resist. I can honestly say that it was worth every calorie!  We boarded our luxurious bus for the "Highlights of Milwaukee Tour" which included the Lakeshore Lighthouse, three main "towns", Art Museum, the Harley Davidson Museum (Shed, Tsunami Cycle, Elvis bike and Military bikes)

Then we ventured over to the Pabst Mansion, Cpt Frederick Pabst's owner, with intricate ceilings, walls, PBR pictures.  Did I mention that each guest was handed a cold PBR to sip while touring?

We purchased a few items in the PBR Mansion gif shop, then rode the bus back to the ship for lunch.  As we sailed away, I took pictures under the Horne Bridge.

I attended the first of many Bird Lectures. Then I toured the very cool science labs and Hangar complete with Zodiac, SOB (Special Operations Boats) and submarines!

Tonight we enjoyed an amazingly delicious dinner at Manfredi's - we'll be back!

September 26, 2022  -  Mackinac Island, MI

Woke up to clouds and sprinkles, but luckily the skies cleared just before we boarded our horse-drawn carriage for the tour of Mackinac Island.  First stop, Surrey House, then on to a lovely ride through the state park.  Mackinac Island was the 2nd National park in the us.  We stopped to take pictures at the Arch.

From there we rode to Fort Mackinac built after the War of 1812.  

We rode past The Grand Hotel which was lovely.  Did you know, that if you'd like to stroll around the hotel, you must first pay $10?  

We called home to check in with Ari, then the rain started AGAIN, we were cold, so we took the tender back to the ship.  We enjoyed an amazing lentil soup for lunch.  I worked out at the beautiful gym and later attended our daily briefing.  Dinner was at Manfredi's Italian Restaurant - another delicious dinner.  When we returned back to our room, we found a small box of fudge from Mackinac.  I forgot to mention that the island is known for it's fudge.  There are 13 fudge shops on that small island.

September 27, 2022 - Alpena, MI

We slept in.  After breakfast, we went to the Travel Consultant and booked another Viking Cruise. Vietnam - Feb 2024! Sooooo excited! It is overcast, drizzly, and chilly, so Rob opts to stay on board while I visited Thunder Bay Maritime Sanctuary.  Unfortunately, due to the lousy weather/high swells and winds, our Shipwreck Cruise is canceled.  Fine by me. The museum was pretty cool.

Rested, read, worked on needlework, and then it was time to attend the Daily Briefing.  Tonight we tried The Restaurant where we enjoyed a fabulous meal.

September 28, 2022 -  Detroit, MI

It was an absolutely  beautiful sail into the Detroit Harbor.  We lucked out because our bus guide, Glen, was hysterical and very entertaining.  The Henry Ford Museum was FABULOUS!!! Henry Food was definitely a collector!  The museum was filled with cars, planes, trains, violins, etc.  Many items told America's story - The declaration of Independence, Lincoln's chair he was assassinated in, Kennedy's car, the Wright Brothers' plane, Rosa Parks bus, Game Boy, Atari, etc.

Back on board, I worked out at the gym and then attended the Daily Briefing.  We had "our" table at Manfredi's.

September 29, 2022 - Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada

We awoke to the best weather yet on this cruise! After breakfast, we boarded our bus for the 45-minute ride to the Canadian Niagra Falls.  The drive here was lovely with the sun glistening on the rivers and falls.  After a quick bathroom break (the guide assured us that even if we thought we wouldn't have to go, upon hearing all the water falling, we'd be looking for a bathroom IF we didn't go now) we put on our pretty pink ponchos to sail away!

We chose to stand behind the port side glass window where we could see everything very clearly, both the American and Canadian Falls, without getting drenched. I ducked outside a couple of times for photo ops until I started getting wet. Sooooo beautiful!

We took cat naps on the way back, so we were ready for our hamburger and hot dog splurge once we were back on board. As we left the bus, we noticed a beautiful sea of red umbrellas - it was the staff forming a lovely arch for us to walk under.  Like I always say, Viking does it right.

  Rob rested while I walked the promenade deck for an hour until we started going through the Welland Canal - 26.7 miles dropping the ship 323 feet from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario which takes about 10 hours. The berth of our ship was 77 feet and the canal was 80 feet wide. Whew!

That hot tub in the Spa - OMG!!! Totally relaxed, I went back to the room to shower.  As usual, I attended the Daily Briefing while enjoying an Old Fashion.  Life is good.  We dined at The Restaurant for dinner where we met two sweet couples next to us celebrating their 51st and 50th anniversaries.

September 30, 2022 - Toronto, Candada

 Breakfast, then got Rob settled in The Living Room with his cappuccino while I left on the 9:00 Tour of Toronto.  Unfortunately, their rush hour resembles Atlanta's so we sat in LOTS of traffic.  Eventually, we toured the various parts of Toronto - Public Market, three City Halls  - we actually stopped in the most recent one for a bathroom break where an Indigenous People's Day was being celebrated.

We drove past a neat castle, the financial district, the CN Center, the University of Toronto, the Opera House, Distillery district, and then sat in lots more traffic on our return to the ship.

   At 12:45, I headed off for my Zodiac Ride in the Toronto Harbor.  Our guide/driver, Josh, from Spain was delightful, as well as fellow passengers Diana and Lou on this 6-passenger Zodiac.

 It was a perfect day for a harbor cruise where we saw planes flying overhead and Canadian geese.  While taking pictures, I moved over a bit to get a better view, and it's a really good thing that I did because one of those geese let loose a huge poop which landed on the guy sitting next to me and it would have landed on me also. Now, I really won't complain about that wave that splashed onto my butt!  It was a glorious ride with the city skyline and cormorants everywhere!

Back on board, Rob and I enjoyed lunch with Diana and Lou, then Rob went to nap and I enjoyed a fabulous bird talk.  After my shower, I attended the MOST amazing 25th-anniversary celebration of Viking. There was a wonderful video capturing our week's activities. It brought tears to my eyes as the wooden facade was raised to see the full staff standing on the bow of the ship waving to us.  BEAUTIFUL!!!!  Our evening ended with a perfect dinner at Manfredi's.

October 1, 2022 - Farewell to the beautiful Octantis and the amazing staff.  This is THE BEST cruise we've ever taken.  We have an abundance of memories to treasure.