Lake Ontario - The End of the Line

And we end, right where it all began. Lake Ontario. I never really gave this one much thought. It is always here. A Great Lake like the rest, but like Michigan, there was an air of familiarity that made it an also-ran. But experiencing the other lakes enhanced my image of the lake in my own backyard.

I've had some adventures on this lake. Tossing aside those faded pseudo-memories of a Lake Michigan beach visit, I can say that this was my first. I'm not from New York, but I did visit a cousin who lived near here, in Liverpool, way back in the mid-seventies. I remember distinctly a trip to Fort Ontario, an old British, and later, American fort. Once a battleground in the War of 1812. I remember getting a blue old timey military cap, the firing of cannons, and the biggest lake I had ever seen, just outside.

 In my time here in New York, our little family has been swimming IN Lake Ontario, eaten dinner BESIDE Lake Ontario, and even got stuck out ON Lake Ontario. Yes, out fishing with a friend, the motor on the boat took the rest of the day off. The oars came out and we did our Viking oarsman thing. Heave! Ho! Yeah, we got nowhere.  In the end, what got us to shore was a tow job from the U.S. Coast Guard. It was pretty cool to get screened and searched as if we might have been smugglers. Lots of questions. Checking our ID's and searching the boat. It was like being in an episode of Miami Vice. I'm sure I'm not the first person to compare Oswego, New York to Miami.

 

 The route of our Great Lakes trip took us along side of Lake Ontario on our way back through Canada. Even though we had been to Lake Ontario many times, to make it official, we took the time for an actual visit shortly after our return home. Of course, we went to Rudy's. If you're going to Lake Ontario, you have to go to Rudy's Lakeside Drive-In. Oh, what a wonderful place! Described by my wife as "deep fried yummy on a stick," Rudy's is not a place for health food. Like Sponge Bob says of the Crabby Patty, "It is good for your soul". Walk up to order cheeseburgers, fried shrimp, and wings along with a Byrne Dairy chocolate milk chaser. Sit and watch the waves while the kids swim. Or just chuck rocks out into the water. Watching the sunset and squeezing my woman. That is Lake Ontario to me.
 

So, we stopped by all five Great Lakes. Technically, what is the big deal? You could say they all look the same. Just some big lakes. But they all had unique views and experiences that made them special. What I remember most of Lake Ontario on our trip is seeing the Toronto skyline from the opposite side of the lake. All the way from St. Catherine’s, a good 30 – 40 miles away, there it was on the horizon, just waiting for us. We've done so much, and still, there is so much more to see.