Toronto to Chicago.

[sammi]

This is my family's first major road trip in a while, also the first one in our car. (The time we went to Montréal/Ottawa, my mom's cousin got us there, so I don't really consider it.)

My dad's cousin has made plans since ...(thinks)... around March break(?) that we should go over to their place in Chicago some time. We decided the best time would be the winter, so we're going to their place around the last week of the year. Their ZIP code is 60441.

Removed ZIP+4 because apparently that was too specific.

The route so far is: ON-401(duh.) - ON-402 - I-94 - I-69 - I-94 - I-80 - I-355 - US-6.

Does anyone know a better (i.e. shorter, faster, or less expensive) route? I know for sure that the route above will be passing through the Indiana Toll Road, the Tri-State and Veterans Memorial, so perhaps I can find a way that doesn't involve as much toll roads.

And to any frequent border crossers here, is it better to cross at Windsor or Sarnia (regardless of toll)?

[NE2]

No Indiana Toll Road on that route. If you want to avoid the Tri-State toll you'll have to use local roads, basically staying with US 6 in Illinois.

[Brandon]

This is my family's first major road trip in a while, also the first one in our car. (The time we went to Montréal/Ottawa, my mom's cousin got us there, so I don't really consider it.)

My dad's cousin has made plans since ...(thinks)... around March break(?) that we should go over to their place in Chicago some time. We decided the best time would be the winter, so we're going to their place around the last week of the year. Their ZIP code is 60441, and I don't think I have to be any more specific than that.

The route so far is: ON-401(duh.) - ON-402 - I-94 - I-69 - I-94 - I-80 - I-355 - US-6.

Does anyone know a better (i.e. shorter, faster, or less expensive) route? I know for sure that the route above will be passing through the Indiana Toll Road, the Tri-State and Veterans Memorial, so perhaps I can find a way that doesn't involve as much toll roads.

And to any frequent border crossers here, is it better to cross at Windsor or Sarnia (regardless of toll)?

Instead of using I-355 to US-6, get off at Briggs Street(Exit 134), turn right.  Briggs goes straight up to Lockport, ending at Division Street.  Briggs has a limit of 35 to 40 until you get through Joliet, and 50-55 until you get to Lockport.  There's only three traffic lights as well.  You'll avoid paying the toll on I-355 that way.  You will still have to pay a 60 cent toll to exit the Tri-State Tollway to follow I-80, but that's not too much, and it's far better than following US-6 through Harvey.

I would also suggest crossing at Sarnia/Port Huron as you can stay on the freeway that way and have a choice of routes after getting into Michigan.  You can follow I-94 or follow I-69 via Lansing back to I-94 near Marshall.

I've taken the routes between this area (Joliet/North Will County) and Port Huron, Lansing, and Detroit many times as most of my family is over there.  I-94 will be fast, they tend to fly at 75-80 mph along it until you get up to the Toll Road where you meet I-80.  Then traffic slows to 70 mph or so (speed limit 55 mph).  The only rest are in Indiana sometimes has maps, and the Lincoln Oasis has both State of Illinois maps as well as Illinois Tollway maps and a rather well stocked visitors center.

[sammi]

No Indiana Toll Road on that route.

That's weird... I'm pretty sure I put it there.

Noted.

[sammi]

Instead of using I-355 to US-6, get off at Briggs Street(Exit 134), turn right.  Briggs goes straight up to Lockport, ending at Division Street.  Briggs has a limit of 35 to 40 until you get through Joliet, and 50-55 until you get to Lockport.  There's only three traffic lights as well.  You'll avoid paying the toll on I-355 that way.  You will still have to pay a 60 cent toll to exit the Tri-State Tollway to follow I-80, but that's not too much, and it's far better than following US-6 through Harvey.

I'm looking at Google Maps right now, because I have absolutely no knowledge of the area.

The place is about half a mile off S Cedar Rd (IL-4) near Division St. (I hope I'm not giving too much away. Especially after I posted their ZIP+4. ) How would using Briggs be different from, say, US-30 - IL-52 - US-6 - S Cedar Rd (IL-4)? Or turning onto N Cedar Rd directly from US-30 then just going north from there?

[Brandon]

Instead of using I-355 to US-6, get off at Briggs Street(Exit 134), turn right.  Briggs goes straight up to Lockport, ending at Division Street.  Briggs has a limit of 35 to 40 until you get through Joliet, and 50-55 until you get to Lockport.  There's only three traffic lights as well.  You'll avoid paying the toll on I-355 that way.  You will still have to pay a 60 cent toll to exit the Tri-State Tollway to follow I-80, but that's not too much, and it's far better than following US-6 through Harvey.

I'm looking at Google Maps right now, because I have absolutely no knowledge of the area.

The place is about half a mile off S Cedar Rd (IL-4) near Division St. (I hope I'm not giving too much away. Especially after I posted their ZIP+4. ) How would using Briggs be different from, say, US-30 - IL-52 - US-6 - S Cedar Rd (IL-4)? Or turning onto N Cedar Rd directly from US-30 then just going north from there?

Cedar has a county route number, but it is not posted anywhere.  Off Cedar and Division (aka 167th Street), you might be best to exit at US-30 (Maple Street, Exit 137), turn right into New Lenox, and then turn left at Cedar.  There's a train station on the NE corner of US-30 and Cedar Road.  Division (167th) is a few miles north of there.

Briggs would be too far if the place is near Cedar and Division (167th).  I just went by the ZIP originally, not the plus 4 part of it.

[JREwing78]

As little time as you'll be spending on the toll roads (Tri-State and Veterans Memorial), I don't think they'll be an issue. You'll want to have sufficient change on hand (the local Veterans Memorial exits aren't manned). Otherwise, it won't be a big deal.

I would certainly recommend the Sarnia/Port Huron routing over going through Windsor and Detroit, due to the lighter traffic and (likely) faster passage over the border. The 4-lane sections of I-94 (Ann Arbor west to Benton Harbor) have heavy traffic, particularly truck traffic.

You could also follow I-96 west of Lansing, then follow M-6 around the south side of Grand Rapids to I-196. It's not significantly farther (about 13 miles), and will be less truck-clogged. Watch the weather reports, however - I-196 is in prime lake-effect snow territory.

[Brandon]

^^ If that's the case, snowy weather, then the Indiana Toll Road becomes an option.  I've used it to avoid squalls along I-94 near Saint Joseph/Benton Harbor from time to time.  But, as JRE says, it is all weather dependent.

[sammi]

Merry Christmas from Lockport! I have Internet access now (lost power in Torontoland over the weekend), so I thought I'd post some details of the trip.

We were scheduled to leave at 8:10 am EST directly from my mom's workplace in Mississauga, ON, and arrive in Lockport at 3:46 pm CST. But she had to go home and pack (because of said power outage) so we actually left at 1:15 pm.

In the next 35 minutes, we made multiple stops, to get gas, pay rent, and get braising sauce for that dish we were planning to make once we arrived, and some dumplings so we could eat on the way. Left T&T at 1:50.

1:57, km 7.4. Dufferin and Steeles. Officially started our trip here.

2:10, km 13.7. Entered ON-400 S. It was actually pretty nice to take pictures on this part of the highway, even with lots of buildings to the sides. I pulled out our camera, only to find out that the battery was empty. D: Used my potato cam phone.

2:14, km 20.1. Merged onto ON-401 W. Here we go. 3 hours to the border.

2:26, km 37.2. 401 at Hurontario. Suddenly there was some kind of slowdown. I couldn't really tell why.

2:34, km 45.0. 401 at Winston Churchill. Okay, the traffic's gone. Still don't know what happened though.

The part west of Mississauga was pretty long. My dad hasn't driven this before, so he doesn't know how far. Took a few pictures too. Will post them as soon as I can upload.

3:54, km 193.0. Merged onto ON-402 W. Just another hour to the border.

4:44, km 288.9. The sign in Sarnia reads: "Toll Bridge to U.S.A.   7". Oh crap, we still haven't eaten the dumplings yet, and we're close to the border. And our gas is less than halfway. Quick, find the nearest exit with a gas station.

4:47, km 292.0. We missed exits 9 and 3, which both would have had gas stations. Exited at 2.

4:49, km 292.5. Stopped at the Shell at Christina and Exmouth in Sarnia. Had a snack, filled up, used the washrooms, then went back onto the 402.

5:09, km 294.6. The bridge is here. Get the $3.50 ready. Shit shit shit.

5:12, km 296.7. "Alright, I'm gonna ask you to pull over to the side for inspection." ><

5:50, km 296.9. We get back to our car to see the stuff moved around. Our luggage bag was slightly open, the clothes inside packed differently from how we did it back home. They messed it all up. But it doesn't matter as much; we're in the States! ^^ I took a picture of the sign just after the crossing that says

    ^  94  Detroit
     \  69  Lansing

but it was pretty dark by this time so it wasn't as good as my day pictures of rural Ontario.

5:58, mi 187.3. Note the change in units. I didn't get used to them too fast. "Welcome to Pure Michigan". Exited onto I-69, tried to take a picture but I couldn't get anything so I just gave up. No more pictures. I was also wondering why I-69 was signed WEST this whole time. I thought I-69 was a north-south.

6:22, mi 212.0. My mom wanted to go use the washroom restroom, so we pull over at the rest area, which is for some reason like 30 miles from the border. @_@ I got up to use the restroom too, and got myself a map of "Pure Michigan". Left 6:29.

It's pretty faaaar. The miles take so much longer to go by. The mile markers are farther apart than I'm used to. Counting down...

7:54, mi 306.9. Now in the west end of Lansing. I-69/I-96 is here. We're exiting in a few.

8:00, mi 311.9. Exit onto I-69. Oh okay, I-69 is a north-south.

8:30, mi 345.7. Exit onto I-94 W. 100 miles to the state line. Sloooowww...

              94
    Detroit - Chicago
         v           v

8:50, mi 368.6. Exited onto I-94 EXIT 85, spent 23 min at the Shell in Galesburg MI.

9:13, mi 369.0. Went around because the road was divided and we couldn't turn left to get back to the Interstate. ><

9:15, mi 369.5. No it wasn't. It just looked like it because it was covered in snow. Merged back onto I-94.

The last 45 miles of I-94 in Michigan were a total bitch. Lake effect snow. I have been warned, I guess? My dad had trouble seeing through the snow, so much so that we were probably sitting right on the lane stripe for some time. We were also going 60 in a 70 zone, leaving just enough to see cars in front (not like there were a lot).

Was pretty sleepy by this time. Counted down for quite a bit. 100 miles is so much longer. My brother kept asking whether we were at the state line yet. @_@ Also passed the 700 km mark within this stretch of 94.

9:38, mi 453.3. Crossed into Indiana, and subsequently into Central Time, because obviously you can't do 90 miles in 20 minutes. Lake effect snow continues into Indiana. I had this recorded as 10:38.

One thing that really woke me up upon entering Indiana was the presence of button copy signs. o: They look soooo much better IRL than what I see on AARoads. Also, when we got down to about 15 miles to the state line, I liked the mile markers, the ones that went by 0.1 mile so I could actually see how fast we're driving through.

10:18, mi 498.4. Crossed into Illinois. Almost there! ^^

10:26, mi 506.3. Exited onto I-80. My brother said I-88 also goes to Chicago, but I said that was a toll road, so we're taking this one. Oh, we're at the toll booth. Get the $1.10 ready.

We were on I-80, about 10 miles from the I-355 exit we were supposed to take. I was texting my dad's cousin (because my dad was driving), and he suggested we take an exit at LaGrange instead of 355 to save 90¢. Just a few seconds after I put down the phone I looked up and saw an advance sign for LaGrange. Last minute.

10:36, mi 515.5. Exited at LaGrange. Got somewhat lost because I thought US 6 was straight the whole time and I was looking for it too early. >.> At this point we actually used the GPS navigator now.

11:01, mi 527.3. Arrived at my dad's cousin's place.

I actually thought we were gonna get there around midnight, then I remembered, oh yeah, time zones.

[KEVIN_224]

I hope you enjoy your time there! Sadly, I haven't been in Chicago since July of 2010.

The Bean on the west side of Millennium Park, near Michigan Avenue


Leaving Chicago on a Southwest Airlines plane to Bradley Airport north of Hartford. In view are US Cellular Field, home to the White Sox and I-90/I-94.


Soldier Field, home to the NFL Bears, was in view here, as we were lifting out


So long Chicago. Hope to get there again! 

[Brandon]

Merry Christmas from Lockport! I have Internet access now (lost power in Torontoland over the weekend), so I thought I'd post some details of the trip.

Welcome to North Will County, my neck of the woods. 

5:12, km 296.7. "Alright, I'm gonna ask you to pull over to the side for inspection." ><

5:50, km 296.9. We get back to our car to see the stuff moved around. Our luggage bag was slightly open, the clothes inside packed differently from how we did it back home. They messed it all up. But it doesn't matter as much; we're in the States! ^^ I took a picture of the sign just after the crossing that says

    ^  94  Detroit
     \  69  Lansing

but it was pretty dark by this time so it wasn't as good as my day pictures of rural Ontario.

On the way back, roll down the window as you go past the US customs, extend your left arm, and extend your left middle finger.  There's no excuse for stopping a family at customs. 

5:58, mi 187.3. Note the change in units. I didn't get used to them too fast. "Welcome to Pure Michigan". Exited onto I-69, tried to take a picture but I couldn't get anything so I just gave up. No more pictures. I was also wondering why I-69 was signed WEST this whole time. I thought I-69 was a north-south.

Nope.  East of Lansing, I-69 is east-west.

6:22, mi 212.0. My mom wanted to go use the washroom restroom, so we pull over at the rest area, which is for some reason like 30 miles from the border. @_@ I got up to use the restroom too, and got myself a map of "Pure Michigan". Left 6:29.

The normal welcome center is under reconstruction.  This is a rest area pressed into service as a welcome center.

It's pretty faaaar. The miles take so much longer to go by. The mile markers are farther apart than I'm used to. Counting down...

7:54, mi 306.9. Now in the west end of Lansing. I-69/I-96 is here. We're exiting in a few.

8:00, mi 311.9. Exit onto I-69. Oh okay, I-69 is a north-south.

8:30, mi 345.7. Exit onto I-94 W. 100 miles to the state line. Sloooowww...

              94
    Detroit - Chicago
         v           v

8:50, mi 368.6. Exited onto I-94 EXIT 85, spent 23 min at the Shell in Galesburg MI.

9:13, mi 369.0. Went around because the road was divided and we couldn't turn left to get back to the Interstate. ><

9:15, mi 369.5. No it wasn't. It just looked like it because it was covered in snow. Merged back onto I-94.

The last 45 miles of I-94 in Michigan were a total bitch. Lake effect snow. I have been warned, I guess? My dad had trouble seeing through the snow, so much so that we were probably sitting right on the lane stripe for some time. We were also going 60 in a 70 zone, leaving just enough to see cars in front (not like there were a lot).

This area is always a bitch in the winter.  This is the Lake Michigan Snowbelt, and it extends along I-94 from Kalamazoo through Gary.  You got lucky not to encounter it until Hartford, between Paw Paw and Benton Harbor.  Sometimes I go south on I-69 to the Indiana Toll Road just to avoid the snow.

Was pretty sleepy by this time. Counted down for quite a bit. 100 miles is so much longer. My brother kept asking whether we were at the state line yet. @_@ Also passed the 700 km mark within this stretch of 94.

9:38, mi 453.3. Crossed into Indiana, and subsequently into Central Time, because obviously you can't do 90 miles in 20 minutes. Lake effect snow continues into Indiana. I had this recorded as 10:38.

One thing that really woke me up upon entering Indiana was the presence of button copy signs. o: They look soooo much better IRL than what I see on AARoads. Also, when we got down to about 15 miles to the state line, I liked the mile markers, the ones that went by 0.1 mile so I could actually see how fast we're driving through.

Indiana still has a lot of button copy signage.  InDOT was one of the last users of button copy.

10:18, mi 498.4. Crossed into Illinois. Almost there! ^^

10:26, mi 506.3. Exited onto I-80. My brother said I-88 also goes to Chicago, but I said that was a toll road, so we're taking this one. Oh, we're at the toll booth. Get the $1.10 ready.

We were on I-80, about 10 miles from the I-355 exit we were supposed to take. I was texting my dad's cousin (because my dad was driving), and he suggested we take an exit at LaGrange instead of 355 to save 90¢. Just a few seconds after I put down the phone I looked up and saw an advance sign for LaGrange. Last minute.

10:36, mi 515.5. Exited at LaGrange. Got somewhat lost because I thought US 6 was straight the whole time and I was looking for it too early. >.> At this point we actually used the GPS navigator now.

I would've kept you on I-80 a bit longer, up to Maple St (US-30, Exit 137) instead of getting you off at 96th Av (aka LaGrange Rd, US-45, Exit 145).  96th Av has a lot of traffic lights compared to exiting at US-30 and going up Gougar Rd to US-6 and back east a mile to Cedar Rd.

11:01, mi 527.3. Arrived at my dad's cousin's place.

I actually thought we were gonna get there around midnight, then I remembered, oh yeah, time zones.

Well, welcome to my area. 

[sammi]

This is annoying. A police car U-turned on I-94 without stopping, causing us to crash into another car behind it. My family is stuck in a gas station in Chelsea, MI trying to call car rentals, but they're closed. D:

More details on the trip when I get back to Toronto.

[Brandon]

This is annoying. A police car U-turned on I-94 without stopping, causing us to crash into another car behind it. My family is stuck in a gas station in Chelsea, MI trying to call car rentals, but they're closed. D:

More details on the trip when I get back to Toronto.

Hence why I believe all crossovers on freeways should be closed.  Your family should get the department of the scout car that cut across the median and sue the shit out of them.

[mhh]

This is annoying. A police car U-turned on I-94 without stopping, causing us to crash into another car behind it. My family is stuck in a gas station in Chelsea, MI trying to call car rentals, but they're closed. D:

More details on the trip when I get back to Toronto.

I'm not sure how it works since you're not from Michigan, but under Michigan's no-fault insurance law if another driver is more than 50% at fault for an accident and you have limited or no collision coverage, you can sue the other driver (or his insurance company) for up to $1,000 to cover your deductible and out-of-pocket expenses such as car rental and lodging. This is called "mini-tort", you can google it or check this link:

http://www.michiganautolaw.com/no-fault/mini-tort/

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer so this isn't legal advice, but my late mother worked for an auto insurance company so I managed to pick up a little bit of insurance knowledge.

[NE2]

On the other hand, your parents may have been following too closely, in which case they're at fault.

[sammi]

On the other hand, your parents may have been following too closely, in which case they're at fault.

Nope. I was in front. We were doing 40 mph (I think it was a 70 zone) because the left lane had some snow and I think there was a truck on the second lane. The brakes didn't work for some reason, so our car didn't stop. Besides, my dad and the driver of the other car agreed that the police car was the one at fault.

"I saw you, you were so far. [...] It was this crazy cop." - other driver

And the officer didn't give a ticket either.

#stuckinmichigan

[hbelkins]

Did the cop car have its emergency equipment operating?

And how did this happen? Did the cop car turn from the oncoming lanes into your lanes of travel, the car in front brake to avoid it and then you ended up hitting it?

If the police car had its lights on, I have a feeling you're screwed, because drivers are supposed to yield right-of-way in such instances.

[Brandon]

Did the cop car have its emergency equipment operating?

And how did this happen? Did the cop car turn from the oncoming lanes into your lanes of travel, the car in front brake to avoid it and then you ended up hitting it?

If the police car had its lights on, I have a feeling you're screwed, because drivers are supposed to yield right-of-way in such instances.

Even with his emergency lights on, it is still his responsibility to make sure it is clear before proceeding.  He cannot just whip it around through a median crossover without first checking to make sure traffic can adequately stop or slow in time for him to cut through.  That's why you'll see scout cars, fire trucks, and ambulances slow before crossing through an intersection with a red signal.

[sammi]

Hey everyone! I'm no longer #stuckinmichigan thank god. Arrived exactly 8:43 pm (I kept a log of my entire trip!) into my second-floor Torontoland apartment, when we found out that the electricity was out for quite a while. The fridge apparently died, probably the entire time we were out. So this happened.



It's nice to be back in Toronto, even if we came home to a smelly apartment and no food in the morning.

[KEVIN_224]

Does the baking soda thing really work? Our fridge is presently empty, due to December power issues in the kitchen. Welcome back home Sammi! I hope the Toronto area isn't as frigid as it is here! I had -4 F/-16 C at 8 AM Eastern near Hartford. It was only 14 F/-10 C yesterday, plus we had a snowstorm just before that. The interstates are fine, but these secondary roads are still partially snow covered.

The frozen tundra that is Central Connecticut (looking south) 


I then saw this several minutes later. Does our forum cover this mode of transportation? 

[Alps]

I then saw this several minutes later. Does our forum cover this mode of transportation? 

Public transit?

[rickmastfan67]

Did the cop car have its emergency equipment operating?

And how did this happen? Did the cop car turn from the oncoming lanes into your lanes of travel, the car in front brake to avoid it and then you ended up hitting it?

If the police car had its lights on, I have a feeling you're screwed, because drivers are supposed to yield right-of-way in such instances.

Even with his emergency lights on, it is still his responsibility to make sure it is clear before proceeding.  He cannot just whip it around through a median crossover without first checking to make sure traffic can adequately stop or slow in time for him to cut through.  That's why you'll see scout cars, fire trucks, and ambulances slow before crossing through an intersection with a red signal.

Once had a WV cop (I think it was a State Trooper) pull an asshole move on a line of 4 cars drafting behind him on I-79 near Morgantown, WV.  We were all in the left lane on NB I-79 (my dad was 2nd in line, not counting the cop) going around the speed limit of 70mph (maybe as high as 75), and then all of a sudden, the cop slams on his brakes (*no lights*) to make a U-Turn via a crossover to go SB.  Near about caused a 4 car chain reaction wreck.  Amazingly, everybody was paying attention and nobody wrecked (and thank goodness no trucker was coming up in the left lane behind all of us because that wouldn't have been pretty).

[agentsteel53]

a few weeks ago, I had one pull a sudden U-turn on an undivided five-lane arterial (two lanes each direction, mutual left turn lane) without even bothering to turn his emergency lights on.  he was in front of me in the right lane, and we were both doing 32 in a 35 - then he slammed on his brakes.  I changed lanes into the left lane to avoid him, then had to avoid him again as he crossed in front of me.

the only time I've ever given the Universal Digital Gesture to a cop.  he earned that one.

[sammi]

Oops, I didn't realize I already posted the outbound trip log here. o_o


Already logged elsewhere in this thread.

January 2



12:17 km 000.0 Left the uncle's house.

12:21 km 002.2 Stopped over for 6 minutes at the CITGO to get some gas, because it's a lot cheaper in the US than Canada.

12:37 km 009.3 We're at US 6 now. Here we go.

12:52 km 018.2 Merged onto I-80 east.

13:03 km 033.7 Paid $1.10 at the toll booth.

13:13 km 046.6 Crossed the border into Indiana.

13:16 km 051.7 Hmm, there's a backup on I-80/I-94.

13:19 km 052.2 Removed my jacket because it was getting hot in the car. Had to remove my seatbelt too. But it doesn't matter as much because we were going really slow.

13:32 km 055.4 Backup cleared. The two right lanes of 80/94 were closed because of a crash.

14:08 km 119.1 Crossed the border into "Pure Michigan". Also changed time zones, but I still kept all my trip logs in EST.

The mile marker started from 0. Aww, we can't count down anymore. At least I still had my map, so I knew which exit we were taking.

About half an hour in, my mom needs to use the restroom again (as she always does). So we needed to stop at the nearest whatever we could find.

14:40 km 180.3 Take EXIT 39 to Coloma. There's a McDonalds just around the corner.

14:44 km 181.7 We kinda lost ourselves for a moment, before turning into the McDonalds in Coloma. We didn't eat though, we just went in in pairs and used the restrooms and then left. Was there for 11 minutes.

14:58 km 182.9 Merged back onto I-94.

16:29 km 326.6 Take EXIT 130 to Parma, because my dad needed gas and there was a CITGO there. Nope. It was closed. We had to turn back and find the next gas station.

16:39 km 339.1 Take EXIT 137 to Jackson, because there actually was a gas station there this time. It was a BP.

17:25 km 380.2 Just passed EXIT 162 on I-94 in Chelsea. We're about 30~40 m behind another car, more than enough space, doing about 60~80 km/h because the snow wasn't completely gone on the left lane, and we see a police car coming in from the westbound side. Just ahead is a U-turn slot. The police car was approaching the U-turn slot, and in one motion made the turn without stopping or even slowing down.

The car in front of us comes to a complete stop, just before the U-turn slot, and makes enough room for the police car to turn. We stop right after, but our brakes weren't strong enough, and a few seconds later, we bump into the other car. My mom and brother wake up in the back, seeing what happened and freaking out. Meanwhile, the police car speeds off like nothing happened. It was too fast for me to record the plate number.

Aww, crap. What now?

The driver of the other car came out and talked to my dad. I could hear bits and pieces of it.

"I saw you, you were so far."

"It's this crazy police car."

Apparently, they both agreed that the police officer was the one at fault in this situation, and my dad was not blamed for the incident.

We would have been fine, to drive what's left of our 2012 RAV4 across the border and have it fixed there. But our radiator was broken, and coolant was dripping, so we couldn't even turn the engine on without it overheating. Our car was undriveable. Dammit. At least the other car was still fine. They just lost some trunk space.

17:48 A police car pulls over behind us. Thankfully not the same one that got us into the accident earlier. "License and registration?" and all the typical stuff they ask for. Blah blah blah. "Is your car driveable?" "No." Then the officer said she was gonna get a tow truck for us and they might know some car rentals.

18:05 The tow truck arrives, talks to my dad a little bit, and takes us to a gas station where he told us to just ask for help from the store owner.

18:15 We're sitting at the Subway at that gas station. Had dinner first because we haven't eaten yet (and were expecting to eat once we get back in Toronto). Call insurance, call car rentals, they were all closed at this time. So we just went and booked a hotel room in Chelsea.

We also tried to call a police car to get us to our hotel. Waiting...

20:30 The police car comes and takes us to our hotel. Very uncomfortable... >.>

20:37 We're at the hotel. We thank the police officer because I know they don't usually do that. Resume our road trip tomorrow with some sort of rental vehicle.

January 3 log follows in a few minutes.

[sammi]

January 3

We have breakfast at the hotel, my dad calls Enterprise to come pick us up. They come at 12:14, and we get to the Enterprise in downtown Ann Arbor at 12:32. Get a rental car. Well, not a rental car.


It's a Grand Caravan, Michigan plated, no front plate. American, so miles everywhere. >_< So we're off.



We leave at 13:12 16628 mi. We go over to where the car got towed last night.

13:27 - 13:43 16636 mi. Get all the stuff we have in our car and transfer it to the rental.

13:59 16638 mi Get onto I-94. We passed the crash site again.

14:52 16690 mi Exit onto M-10 "Tunnel to Canada".

14:57 16693 mi Exit onto surface streets, heading for the tunnel.

15:06 16694 mi Pay toll, go through the tunnel, clear customs, back in Canada. Follow signs for "401 and ALL HIGHWAYS".

15:22 16701 mi Merge onto the 401. The first sign I saw was the exit number 14, which means I missed the end of the 401. D: (Now I know I didn't really miss that much, but I still didn't clinch the 401. >_<)

17:19 16828 mi Stop for some Tims, as is typical for a Canadian road trip apparently. The nearest one was in Ingersoll. Left 17:30.

We're in that part of the 401 where you feel like you're never getting close to Toronto.

18:57 16921 mi Finally, we're almost here. Exit onto Allen Rd.

19:07 16926 mi We decide to just have dinner at this Filipino restaurant. Left 20:09.

20:31 16930 mi Finally home. You know what happened with the fridge etc.