Great Race 2012 0 Start of Great Race June 23,2012 18-JUN-2012 12:10:57 This is the starting point for our trip. 0 Lunch St. Ignace 23-JUN-2012 15:43:12 We made it to St. Ignace! Not sure of how we did yet. Thousands were there to see us off in Traverse City. The cars could barely get out of town! 0 Checkpoint Soo Locks, Sault St. Marie, Michigan 23-JUN-2012 15:54:06 We made it to today's checkpoint! 0 Lunch Elliott Lake, Ontario 24-JUN-2012 11:41:53 Lunch stop in Elliott Lake, Ontario and said a prayer for those affected by the tragedy of the mall roof collapsing. Our prayers and thoughts are with you. 0 Arrival at Greater Sudbury, Ontario 24-JUN-2012 16:41:01 0 Bobby Orr Museum, Parry Sound, Ontario 25-JUN-2012 11:09:35 The small town of Parry Sound, has a population of around 5,000 that swells to over 100,000 in the summer. They put on quite a spread with all types of sandwiches and goodies for lunch for all the Great Race participants. The hospitality and enthusiasm of everyone is really, really something. 0 End of Day 3 Arrival in Barrie, Ontario 25-JUN-2012 14:29:38 The city of Barrie is an expansive beach-lined waterfront overlooking Kempenfelt Bay in Ontario, Canada. Although we experienced a lot of wilderness today on the road, black bears crossing the road, many signs for turtle crossings and deer crossings, Barrie is a beautiful destination for day 3 of our Great Race adventure. Driving in the 1941 Packard is a truly special way to experience the natural beauty of Canada. 0 Barry's Bay, Ontario 26-JUN-2012 09:48:30 Having some difficulties with the water pump but we made it to the lunch stop in beautiful Barry's Bay, Ontario. Hopefully we will be able to make it to the evening stop in Kanata, Ottawa where we have a replacement pump waiting. Great turnout once again from local citizens interested in seeing all the vintage cars, we feel very special and honored. The food is also delicious! 0 End of Day 4 Kanata, Ottawa 26-JUN-2012 14:33:32 By some miracle we made it to tonight's checkpoint without breaking down. The water pump was giving us difficulties all day and we weren't sure we were going to make it. About 10,000 people have come out to greet the arriving rally participants, and we are truly happy and thankful to not be riding in on a tow truck. 0 Arrival in Kingston for Lunch June 27 27-JUN-2012 10:16:32 Huge crowd, sunny skies, had to reroute because of construction. Got photo of Mary and me with the Kingston Town Crier which I will post later. We didn't get lost this morning, which is a good thing. Finishing up lunch and then we will head across the bridge to Clayton, New York. Let's see if the US can match the hospitality and enthusiasm we have experienced so far in Canada! Onward! 0 International Bridge Thousand Islands 27-JUN-2012 13:32:34 We had to travel East to cross back into the United States via Thousand Islands Bridge. Headed West again to the Clayton Museum 0 Antique Boat Museum, Clayton, New York 27-JUN-2012 13:40:22 Antique boat museum is a great place to stop and see wonderful vintage boats. 0 Watertown, New York 27-JUN-2012 17:55:17 Arrival in Watertown, New York, where they have grandstands errected to welcome the cars and drivers. Must have signed over 60 programs already. Great to see everyone and glad to have made it this far. 0 Watertown, United States 27-JUN-2012 23:05:19 0 Lunch on the Erie Canal, Fairport, New York 28-JUN-2012 11:08:27 About 25,000 people here to meet and greet in Fairport. We are having lunch on the Colonial Belle, on the Erie Canal, everything is Great Race themed, even the cookies. It is a fantastic reception and we are once again overwhelmed at all the enthusiasm and attention we are getting from local citizens wherever we stop. Thank you all for all your support and encouragement. Only a few more days until we finish on July 1st in Dearborn, Michigan so we are enjoying every moment along the way. 0 Pierce Arrow Museum Downtown Buffalo End Day 6 28-JUN-2012 17:41:48 My navigation skills were a bit off today, causing us to be in the wrong position for both legs of today's rally, but we did make it to Buffalo where we are at the Pierce Arrow museum. 0 Buffalo, United States 29-JUN-2012 02:12:43 0 Lunch: Franklin, PA 29-JUN-2012 20:33:06 0 Checkpoint: Warren, Oh 29-JUN-2012 20:53:09 Sorry for the late update, we didn't arrive at our hotel until very late. Talk about a harrowing experience, we woke up to a dead battery in the car this morning. Needless to say, in a race where every second counts, this could have been quite a set back. It turns out we had a bad generator so the battery couldn't properly recharge. We found the battery under one of the seats and got a jump from a fellow racer. By the grace of God and a possibly a little help from the spirit of an old friend, that car made it all the way to the next check point. We ended up at the Packard Museum in Warren Oh. Another bit of good fortune came our way when after dark we were able to find a mechanic to repair the faulty generator. The car is ready to go and we're looking forward to whatever adventure tomorrow brings. 0 Lunch: Mansfield, OH 30-JUN-2012 12:00:12 0 Arrival in Findlay Ohio 30-JUN-2012 17:00:10 We made it to Findlay, where the power is back on despite a terrible windstorm that came through here on the night of the 29th and left the town without power. The Great Race was prepared with generators in any event, but the power was restored at around 1pm local time and the racers pulled into town that had working electricity. We can relate! 0 Lunch Arrival Ypsilanti, Michigan 01-JUL-2012 12:07:14 0 The Lady Made It! Arrival in Dearborn, Michigan! 01-JUL-2012 14:34:21 We can hardly believe it, but we are rolling into the final checkpoint in Dearborn, Michigan. The Lady Packard, 1941, made it all the way in the Great Race and we're not quite sure how she did it. Thanks again to everyone for all your support along the way. 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