Day Six: Toronto to Willoughby

There isn’t much to say about today. We decided to get an early start on today’s drive from Toronto to Willoughby, OH in case we hit some snags (which we did). Perhaps I’ll come back to Toronto one day, but based on my experience thus far, I think Chicago is a much better fit for me.

It took us longer than anticipated to arrive in Ohio due to construction on some of the roads. We took a detour between Pennsylvania and Ohio (thanks GPS unit!) and were able to see some of the countryside towns. Very nice. However, we didn’t get in early enough to see some of the Church history sites on our list, which had to be bumped to tomorrow’s schedule. Once we arrived at Homestead House Bed & Breakfast in Willoughby (a large, late 19th century restored property that operates on a much grander, larger scale than the others we’ve stayed in), we grabbed a bite at the Willoughby Brewing Company (Santa Fe Chicken Salad for me, Bibb Salad and Cheddar Potato Ale Soup for Mom) and ran back through the rain back to the hotel to rest. I think we are wearing out. Speaking of wearing out, I had seven episodes of major hiccups today. The owner of the B&B gave me a spoonful of wet sugar and made me swallow it. Guess what? It works.

My day ended in the bathtub. The room came with a big Jacuzzi bathtub, which seemed super cool. I haven’t taken a bath in years since, well, I’m too big to stretch out in a standard size tub. I poured in some bubble bath stuff and let the water flow (yeah, I know it’s not environmentally friendly to take baths). Once it seemed about right, I settled in and turned on the jets. AAAAH! Not aaaah as in “sigh…this feels nice,” aaah as in “oh no!” Within seconds of operation the jets churned out enough bubbles to send them rolling over the edge of the tub. Sigh. So I turned the jets off and just sat there. I reflected back on all the times I’d seen people portrayed in popular media as relaxing in a tub and I found that I didn’t have a bunch of candles (there was one, but no matches), chocolate covered strawberries (not my favorite anyway), champagne (I don’t drink), someone to make out with (sigh), or a novel to read (mine was sitting back in the car). Boring. I ended up getting so frustrated with my lack of being able to relax that I drained the tub and took a shower instead. Disappointing.