24th & last day of our trip. We Cross from Indiana to Ohio at 9:30 am.

Green fields & farms along I-75 North.

Toledo, Ohio behind us, we head for Detroit Michigan. Don’t know if there are other parkways named after cars around here or not.

La la la…. Listening to our book, thinking about home, in la-la land, whatever. Suddenly, Paul notices the gas gauge needle is lower than we thought it possible to sit. We’ve always considered it near empty if it gets below quarter tank (something to do with the sender position). Now it’s barely above the E. Thankfully, there was a station within a couple of miles. Tank holds 12 US gallons.

Another nice welcome center. Needed this to complete the set.

Detroit scene on I-75. We have travelled this stretch many times over the last 35+ years. When DW & Christopher (our sons) were younger we would always comment on the various items discarded along the interstate in Detroit. There have been mattresses, tires, chairs. Today I just missed getting a picture of a soggy mattress. This picture doesn’t show the extent of the trash. Don’t recall seeing another interstate or road like it.

Very busy border crossing, but one with many booths. We stopped going through Detroit and opted for Sarnia Ontario / Port Huron Michigan for several years. But wait times at that crossing have increased and we’ve sat for 1-1/2 hours during summer crossings. Detroit has improved the road surface (finally – after 35+ years of being horrid) and so we’re back to favoring the Detroit MI / Windsor ON crossing.

In the background, you can see the Ambassador Bridge leading to Canada.

Permanent condition at the Detroit border. They must move the concrete dividers around on a regular basis so the roads won’t get worn out in the same lanes! Each year it seems you drive a different path to get to customs.

Ambassador Bridge – more pylons.

Our turn at Canada Customs.

Cleared and welcomed to Canada (Windsor Ontario at least).

Welcome to Ontario. Didn’t stop at the official Ontario Welcome Center to get a proper picture. We’ve been there in years past but only to use the washroom facilities.

The Canadian side of the border at Windsor ON looks a bit different than the US side at Detroit. They have many differences and population is a major one. I read that Detroit has 50% of Michigan’s population living in it, while Windsor INCLUDING Sarnia has just 2% of Ontario’s population.

What would a ‘welcome back’ picture be without a Tim Horton’s? Didn’t stop, but we’re not ‘normal’ Canadians or we would have.

Scenes of crops & farms along the 401. King’s Highway 401, also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway and colloquially as the four-oh-one, stretches from Windsor to the Quebec border. The segment of Highway 401 passing through Toronto is the busiest highway in North America, and one of the widest and busiest in the world. Together with Quebec Autoroute 20, it forms the transportation backbone of the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, along which over half of Canada’s population resides. The posted speed limit is 100 km/h (62 mph) throughout its length. People around Toronto would love the 80 MPH limit we had in Texas.

Some crops are still in the early stages, but everything was green and lush. Hopefully, rainfall will keep them that way.

Typical scenery outside of the larger 401 cities of London, Cambridge, and definitely Toronto (16 lanes each direction).

and more scenery about 30 minutes from home.

Exiting the 401 on one of several exits we could take to get home. We exit where the mood dictates.

Home again. Young man is spending the summer helping his grandparents who live next door. He had never seen our car and was shocked when we drove up. I think he expected to see someone else driving – maybe someone younger?

Hugs from Ava, DW’s youngest. Ava was just waking up from a nap when we got home. As Sarah was getting her out of bed, Ava commented, “I hope Grandma & Grandpa had fun!” We did, but it was good to be home and see everyone again.

Miles driven this trip: 6,318. Speedo total of 22,119 is actually about 1,500 miles on the low side. The day after we got it on the road on August 1, 2009 we drove it to Louisville for the NSRA Nationals, but the speedo wasn’t working. The car has been on the road for a total of 12 months: August through October 2009; May through November 2010; May & June 2011. Car ran and held up beautifully. Thanks, DW, for a job well done!