Someone at Google was having a little fun

Discovered a broken crank handle on one of our windows today. No big deal; it takes 30 seconds to fix if you have the part. Fortunately the dealer is located about 30 miles away so it was a good excuse for a ride.

I suited up and headed over there, taking a gravel road shortcut (I wouldn’t normally, but I drove it in the car last week and it was in good condition) because it’s just more interesting that way. And to be sure, I came across this bad boy walking beside the road. I had a much better view of him than this, but by the time I stopped, got the camera out, yada, yada, yada, this was all that was to be seen. He was a big ‘un and I wasn’t about to follow him into the woods in hope of a better shot!



The rest of the ride over was uneventful yielding nothing more than a couple of deer, a flock of wild turkeys, and a recently deceased skunk(!).

I got the part I needed, paying an outrageous sum for a bit of cast white metal, and decided to take the long way home as it was still early, the sun was shining, I had a full tank of gas, and nothing better to do. (A point which would be rather forcefully argued by the spousal unit, but she wasn’t there!)
I headed down through Perth, across to Lanark, Brightside and Calabogie on Highway 511 (one of the best riding roads in the area), then Burnstown, White Lake and home again. All told about 3 hours of good riding, great conditions, and virtually no traffic.

I forgot to set the trip odometer, so I thought I’d check in with Google Maps to get the distance travelled. Unfortunately I neglected to specify Perth ONTARIO when I entered the information, and so Google, quite understandably, provided driving directions from White Lake Ontario to Perth… Australia.


The directions started out okay, but when I got to Step 50, I knew this was more than just the long way ‘round to my Perth – the one in Ontario.



Yes, Step 50 says, “Kayak across the Pacific Ocean – 4,436 km”, followed by “Entering Hawaii”. A few kilometres later, presumably still dripping wet, we’ve crossed Hawaii and now we are back in the water. Step 64: “Kayak across the Pacific Ocean – 6,243 km” before “Entering Japan”, the land of unintelligible street names (at least to an English speaker).

Why travel across the Pacific by kayak and not steamer, or sail boat, or airplane? Only Google knows for sure, and they aren’t telling.

By the way, here’s the proper route – 185 kilometres or about 120 miles. No kayaking involved, although the route does parallel some great canoeing rivers. That will be another trip.