We started our day with a nice hot continental breakfast, before going shopping in St. Jacob’s. Much of our shopping trip was about taking pictures of the quaint shops and hopefully to get a sighting of a horse and buggy, which is not so uncommon in this area.
We did manage, however, to make a few purchases along the way. At one point as we were sipping our Timmies coffee, sitting in the parking lot at the Outlet Mall, Shannon started getting really excited and saying “Oh! Oh! Oh!” while frantically reaching into the back seat. As I tried to figure out if she had burned her tongue on the coffee I glanced up to see a horse drawn carriage gently making its way down the street right in front of us, oblivious to the commotion he was causing in our motorized carriage. Turns out, Shannon was just trying to get her camera so she could take a photo or two, of this phenomenon which does not occur in the West (ironic don’t you think).
Well the vacation is winding down now and all our excitement is behind us, or so we thought. We determine that we have enough time for a leisurely drive to Hamilton, with a slight (very slight) possibility of stopping at one more store or two, so we head southeast towards the airport. Twenty minutes or so later we realize that somewhere along the way we managed to get on the wrong road and are actually heading west on Hwy 8, instead of south east. Oh my! We did not realize this until we had lost half an hour- now running late for airport check in and not sure of our bearings, we asked directions. The directions we received sounded good, but turned out to be only partially correct. Turn left at the “DELTA”, should have been, turn left at “DUNDAS”. So we went through the intersection at which we should have turned left, because we were looking for the Delta. We did realize fairly quickly that something was amiss, so we asked a taxi driver for directions. He shok his head, sucked in his breath and said “You have a flight to catch in Hamilton in 45 minutes……right….good luck.” But he gave us directions that were correct and we were on our way.
There were only 3 cars in the whole province going the speed limit at this moment, and they were all three right in front of us. Shannon’s expert Andretti personality kicked into gear and she made a beautiful multiple vehicle pass, quickly leaving the more faint of heart to hang back behind the law abiding trio. Bless the Hamilton airport for knowing we would need guidance. We must not have been the first to find ourselves in this predicament, for they found it prudent to post signage to navigate our land flight in from many miles away. We adjusted our luggage quickly, to accommodate our most recent purchases before entering the terminal. Picture packages strewn around the parking lot behind the car with the trunk and the doors open, suitcases and knapsacks open, and zippers being taxed to their limits. We held our breath that Shannon’s parcels would not split out of the largest black plastic shopping bag that she managed to finagle from a store clerk, as this was to be her carry on luggage. Shannon went to stand in the ticket line while Gloria-Rose went to turn in the rental plane,…..uh uh I mean car.
Shannon’s luggage was admittedly suspicious looking, resulting in her being physically searched from head to toe, chemically swabbed down for cocaine residue and patted down by a rather friendly security guard, causing Shannon , arms stretched out to accommodate the pat down, to call out to Gloria-Rose who was in the next line over, “ I think she likes me. Next she’s going to ask me out on a date.” Shannon then asked if the female security guard performing this pat down if she was married?…..to a man?
Her packages were taken out of the large black plastic carry on and checked over item by item.
Of course, Gloria- Rose did not have to suffer these indignities as it was apparently evident that she is angelic.
So we ended our journey with a little more excitement than we had thought we would get to enjoy.
Signing off now until our next adventure. We hope you enjoyed our travels.
The travel bugs.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Happy 50th Jan -October 26th
After a late night gigglefest and a good night's sleep we got up before breakfast to the smell of fresh coffee and homemade muffins in the oven. We exchanged contact information with our new friends, said our farewells to Trudy and Teresa and then to Marie. Parting was bitterweet.
As we proceeded South we made a quick excursion into Bracebridge - the land where Santa spends his summers - and did some phototaking sessions before proceeding to Barrie where we stopped for a very sweet visit with Jan, Gloria-Rose's childhood friend. Jan, as you will remember, was the reason for this trip to Ontario, as she turned 50 on Friday. Reminiscing and catching up was punctuated with tender moments and was very touching. Shannon says Jan is a friend she wishes she had in Alberta and is someone with whom she could see herself becoming very good friends.
The rain has returned to grace us with liquid sunshine so we made an executive decision to forego Black Creek Pioneer Village in lieu of a more indoor activity at a Beading/Scrapbooking store in downtown Toronto.
The store proved to be very limted in options but we managed to find a couple of treasures.
We then phoned Elton and made plans to meet at Jeremy's house before going out to Tucker's for dinner with the whole family.
Gloria-Rose was asked out to a Halloween Dance this weekend with a most gentlemanly young man named Vincent. Once he learned that he would be expected to pick his date up at her house, purchase a corsage for her, and then deliver her back to her home, and that his mother would not loan him a credit card with which to accomplish this, he apologized and feigned disappointment that he would not be able to fulfill this date. Gloria-Rose was naturally brokenhearted but asked for a raincheck. She will however recover after a glass of wine (or two). dinner at Tucker's was fun. it has been a long time since either one of us has been to a smorgasbord dinner.
Visiting with Elton and his son's family was fun and completed Shannon's introduction to Gloria-Rose's family. This left her processing the family dynamics all the way to St. Jacob's where we decided it was wise to position ourselves for the night, so we would miss out on rush hour traffic on the 401, and so we would not miss out on a moment of tomorrow's shopping experience in Amish country. Shannon is really hoping to see a horse & buggy transporting an Amish family before we must leave this beautiful area. The preview we saw of St. Jacob's, promises a lovely day exploring very quaint specialty shops, housed in old cottage country style store fronts, that promise us the opporutnity to tax Mike's and Jack's resources to the fullest!
As we proceeded South we made a quick excursion into Bracebridge - the land where Santa spends his summers - and did some phototaking sessions before proceeding to Barrie where we stopped for a very sweet visit with Jan, Gloria-Rose's childhood friend. Jan, as you will remember, was the reason for this trip to Ontario, as she turned 50 on Friday. Reminiscing and catching up was punctuated with tender moments and was very touching. Shannon says Jan is a friend she wishes she had in Alberta and is someone with whom she could see herself becoming very good friends.
The rain has returned to grace us with liquid sunshine so we made an executive decision to forego Black Creek Pioneer Village in lieu of a more indoor activity at a Beading/Scrapbooking store in downtown Toronto.
The store proved to be very limted in options but we managed to find a couple of treasures.
We then phoned Elton and made plans to meet at Jeremy's house before going out to Tucker's for dinner with the whole family.
Gloria-Rose was asked out to a Halloween Dance this weekend with a most gentlemanly young man named Vincent. Once he learned that he would be expected to pick his date up at her house, purchase a corsage for her, and then deliver her back to her home, and that his mother would not loan him a credit card with which to accomplish this, he apologized and feigned disappointment that he would not be able to fulfill this date. Gloria-Rose was naturally brokenhearted but asked for a raincheck. She will however recover after a glass of wine (or two). dinner at Tucker's was fun. it has been a long time since either one of us has been to a smorgasbord dinner.
Visiting with Elton and his son's family was fun and completed Shannon's introduction to Gloria-Rose's family. This left her processing the family dynamics all the way to St. Jacob's where we decided it was wise to position ourselves for the night, so we would miss out on rush hour traffic on the 401, and so we would not miss out on a moment of tomorrow's shopping experience in Amish country. Shannon is really hoping to see a horse & buggy transporting an Amish family before we must leave this beautiful area. The preview we saw of St. Jacob's, promises a lovely day exploring very quaint specialty shops, housed in old cottage country style store fronts, that promise us the opporutnity to tax Mike's and Jack's resources to the fullest!
PS to yesterday's post
Dad reminded Shann of her grandpa and she wanted to just hug him and take him home to be the her dad because he is "the dad everybody would want". She refrained, thinking it may have been misunderstood by all concerned.
In mom, shannon saw a kindred spirit, forthright and outspoken. The drive and the scenery are so very picturesque Shannon could not believe I could have moved away.
In mom, shannon saw a kindred spirit, forthright and outspoken. The drive and the scenery are so very picturesque Shannon could not believe I could have moved away.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Screaming heads - October 25th
We started Sunday with a very nice breakfast out, shopping (which we have not done nearly enough of on this trip) in the metropolis of downtown Huntsville on a Sunday morning. This was followed by a pleasant drive north to see the origins of one freespirit, we know her lovingly as Gloria-Rose.
A brief drive down memory lane, stopping for photo sessions in all sorts of places.
Upon arrival at the family farm Shannon commented that she did not know she knew anyone prestigious enough to have a road named after them.....Taverner Road....really!
Brief hellos and introductions followed by coffee with Mom & Dad Taverner, were the pre-drive to see Screaming Heads, an art exhibit created and put on display by Gloria-Rose's high school art teacher, Mr. Camani. The exhibit is bizarre, a little gothic perhaps and very intriguing. It would be very nice to know the background, motivation and story behind the creation. After letting mom & dad banter about our agenda, lunch then art/art then lunch, we proceeded to Magnetawan for lunch. Lunch was great.
We then drove over a rollercoaster road over hill and dale to get to the screaming heads. Screaming Heads is a piece of artwork that extends over 80 acres of land way off the beat and track in backwoods country Ontario. We had a pleasant visit and dinner with mom and dad Taverner then returned to Marie's for a visit with the girls.
Upon arriving at Marie's house for the evening......all I can say is 5 women - add wine - just imagine......
goodnight
travel bugs signing out to go join the girls
A brief drive down memory lane, stopping for photo sessions in all sorts of places.
Upon arrival at the family farm Shannon commented that she did not know she knew anyone prestigious enough to have a road named after them.....Taverner Road....really!
Brief hellos and introductions followed by coffee with Mom & Dad Taverner, were the pre-drive to see Screaming Heads, an art exhibit created and put on display by Gloria-Rose's high school art teacher, Mr. Camani. The exhibit is bizarre, a little gothic perhaps and very intriguing. It would be very nice to know the background, motivation and story behind the creation. After letting mom & dad banter about our agenda, lunch then art/art then lunch, we proceeded to Magnetawan for lunch. Lunch was great.
We then drove over a rollercoaster road over hill and dale to get to the screaming heads. Screaming Heads is a piece of artwork that extends over 80 acres of land way off the beat and track in backwoods country Ontario. We had a pleasant visit and dinner with mom and dad Taverner then returned to Marie's for a visit with the girls.
Upon arriving at Marie's house for the evening......all I can say is 5 women - add wine - just imagine......
goodnight
travel bugs signing out to go join the girls
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Body World- October 24th, 2009
Words cannot begin to describe the exhibit of Body World we experienced at the Toronto Science Center. It was eyeopening on several levels, literally and figuratively. They were real bodies, plasticized and torn apart to educate the world on the inner workings of our bodies. It was nothing short of amazing.
Eglington Avenue was an experience in contrast to the viewing of Body Worlds. A full hour of driving straight west, watching the close up results of congestion of human social interactions played out in humans just performing their daily tasks with no connectionto the scientific reality which allows them to exist. You never know how badly you need glasses until you drive in a foreign city and need to read road signs (words spoken by the driver as we zoomed through downtown Toronto).
I saw close up where Shannon's lack of respect for rules may have originated. People crossed busy congested streets, pausing to allow traffic to pass by on either direction on either side of them as they stood in the middle of the road waiting for an opening to traverse the second half of the city street. U-turning cutting in and unrealistic speeds were the order of the day - and not by Shannon - She was angelic.
We chose to stop for a quick bite to eat so we would not have to pay exhorbitant prices for food at the franchise show, just to arrive and learn that over 50 percent of the booths were restaurant franchises serving substantial servings of their wares. We could have saved ourselves $20. Gloria-Rose made up for it by collecting over $20 of samples from the other booths.
The show itself was not as expected. It was much less extensive and inundated with restauranteurs.
A leisurely drive, escaping the city before the 401 and 400 was infiltrated with rush hour, took us north to Huntsville to Marie's, where we are now. Marie had prepared a fabulous home cooked meal, John poured us a glass of wine, and we feel very welcomed. To entertain ourselves after dinner we ate homemade apple crisp and watched Nickole's Christmas present.
We are wrapping up the night with "the Devil wears Prada!"
Goodnight
your travel bugs
Eglington Avenue was an experience in contrast to the viewing of Body Worlds. A full hour of driving straight west, watching the close up results of congestion of human social interactions played out in humans just performing their daily tasks with no connectionto the scientific reality which allows them to exist. You never know how badly you need glasses until you drive in a foreign city and need to read road signs (words spoken by the driver as we zoomed through downtown Toronto).
I saw close up where Shannon's lack of respect for rules may have originated. People crossed busy congested streets, pausing to allow traffic to pass by on either direction on either side of them as they stood in the middle of the road waiting for an opening to traverse the second half of the city street. U-turning cutting in and unrealistic speeds were the order of the day - and not by Shannon - She was angelic.
We chose to stop for a quick bite to eat so we would not have to pay exhorbitant prices for food at the franchise show, just to arrive and learn that over 50 percent of the booths were restaurant franchises serving substantial servings of their wares. We could have saved ourselves $20. Gloria-Rose made up for it by collecting over $20 of samples from the other booths.
The show itself was not as expected. It was much less extensive and inundated with restauranteurs.
A leisurely drive, escaping the city before the 401 and 400 was infiltrated with rush hour, took us north to Huntsville to Marie's, where we are now. Marie had prepared a fabulous home cooked meal, John poured us a glass of wine, and we feel very welcomed. To entertain ourselves after dinner we ate homemade apple crisp and watched Nickole's Christmas present.
We are wrapping up the night with "the Devil wears Prada!"
Goodnight
your travel bugs
Friday, October 23, 2009
Travel bugs - on the move to Toronto - October 23rd
Happy Birthday Shannon!
The continental breakfast in the lobby was a wonderful way to say happy birthday don't you think. Shannon didn't expect the 50 person reception for breakfast, but the tour bus full of people from Holland were only too happy to let us join them in the breakfast room which was built to accommodate 35 people. I had noticed one of the family members had an envelope with the name Vandenberg, so I asked about them and as I had a pen in my purse with Vandenberg Cattle Farms on it, I gave them a souvenir from Canada.
8:30 a.m. finds us making our way back down to the falls for a last photo op session. As we round the bend Shannon gasps "look they have already started". She pauses and then realizes what she has just implied.....like the falls get turned off at night to conserve water.......those Ontarians truly are green friendly!
Driving Laws? what are those?
Finally we found the Chapel of Love Internet cafe and venture in, not knowing what to expect as it is in a shabby little brick building with more signage than Dodds has liver pills. Immediately our nostrils were assaulted with a stench that burned, but we sacrificed our own comfort to get our blog posted for our many followers back home ------icky icky stinky!
After an unplanned tour of Thorold ( we momentarily lost our way), and friendly locals honking horns and waving like they know us, we were pleased to learn their local wave. They don't wave with five fingers extended. They do some kind of funky local code, each finger must have its own significance. The Welland Canal impressed us both tremendously as we watched a ship of that magnitude climb the canal of stairsteps with ease. Even if you had no internest in shipyards or ships it was as captivating as it was interesting, educational and thrilling to watch.
Casa Loma: The Auction of the Century became the Bargain of a Lifetime. Casa Loma is the Spanish name meaning "house on the hill". Casa Loma was a beautiful castle with a heartbreaking history of rags to riches and back to rags again. When Sir Henry Pellat died as a pauper, he was given a funeral of royalty with full army salute because he was so revered as a man. Thank God the elegance of the castle was left to shine without the assistance of the cheesy Hollywood theme parks of Clifton Hill.
Toronto architecture in the Casa Loma area was reminiscent of London, England in style. There is no such thing as a half hour drive in Toronto and pedestrians don't differentiate between the road and the sidewalk.
Coffee Stop at, and you guessed it, "Timmies"...(We did learn however that you can drive by a Tim Horton's without dying and without stopping in, else you would never make it through downtown Toronto in a month of Sundays.)
We made our way through China town in the rain. Everyone must have heard that it was Shannon's birthday today because they all kept honking at us as we paused momentarily in the middle of traffic to snap the perfect photo, or flipped a "u"ey to double back on something we wanted to see. Union Station from the outside was disappointing but just down from it was a beautiful piece of architecture. Of course we stopped and took photos from the car.
We drove down past the CN tower, foregoing the $21.50 each for the elevator ride to the top, just to see the fog from above. We did get a great picture of the base of the tower.
Driving through downtown snapping photos I wondered if we would inadvertently capture on film a drug deal going down and end up with some thug after us, but alas, there was a traffic cop with a striking orange cap to throw them off our trail. When we took his photo and he came over to our open car window Shannon assured him "we're tourists". Satisfied that this explained our behaviour we moved along. Then as we came out the wrong end of a one way street a cop nonchalantly looked at us with a smirk on his face and never even came around to give us alesson in Toronto driving rules. He must be friends with the one with the orange cap.
We did take a moment to do some shopping in downtown Toronto on a Friday night. We stopped at a beading shop and at craft supply store, risking pneumonia as we ran through the rain to get from our parking spot to the store.
Hopefully tomorrow we will see something other than the torrential rains that belong in April, not October.
travelbugs anonymous.......
love ya'll
until tomorrow..........
The continental breakfast in the lobby was a wonderful way to say happy birthday don't you think. Shannon didn't expect the 50 person reception for breakfast, but the tour bus full of people from Holland were only too happy to let us join them in the breakfast room which was built to accommodate 35 people. I had noticed one of the family members had an envelope with the name Vandenberg, so I asked about them and as I had a pen in my purse with Vandenberg Cattle Farms on it, I gave them a souvenir from Canada.
8:30 a.m. finds us making our way back down to the falls for a last photo op session. As we round the bend Shannon gasps "look they have already started". She pauses and then realizes what she has just implied.....like the falls get turned off at night to conserve water.......those Ontarians truly are green friendly!
Driving Laws? what are those?
I have learned why Shannon has not written a book on driving. It is becasue she refuses to follow driving rules anyway. After breaking at least 5 commonly known driving "guidelines" while looking for an internet cafe last night, and failing, we parked in three different no parking zones so we could take some glorious photos of Niagara Falls lit up in a spectacular light show.
Then when we went for refreshments, she expected me to drool, hunch over and limp so she could get away with parking in the handicap only parking spot of the LCBO.... to which I responded, if you buy me enough product inside to make it worth my while I will cooperate....she bought lots.
Finally we found the Chapel of Love Internet cafe and venture in, not knowing what to expect as it is in a shabby little brick building with more signage than Dodds has liver pills. Immediately our nostrils were assaulted with a stench that burned, but we sacrificed our own comfort to get our blog posted for our many followers back home ------icky icky stinky!
After an unplanned tour of Thorold ( we momentarily lost our way), and friendly locals honking horns and waving like they know us, we were pleased to learn their local wave. They don't wave with five fingers extended. They do some kind of funky local code, each finger must have its own significance. The Welland Canal impressed us both tremendously as we watched a ship of that magnitude climb the canal of stairsteps with ease. Even if you had no internest in shipyards or ships it was as captivating as it was interesting, educational and thrilling to watch.
Casa Loma: The Auction of the Century became the Bargain of a Lifetime. Casa Loma is the Spanish name meaning "house on the hill". Casa Loma was a beautiful castle with a heartbreaking history of rags to riches and back to rags again. When Sir Henry Pellat died as a pauper, he was given a funeral of royalty with full army salute because he was so revered as a man. Thank God the elegance of the castle was left to shine without the assistance of the cheesy Hollywood theme parks of Clifton Hill.
Toronto architecture in the Casa Loma area was reminiscent of London, England in style. There is no such thing as a half hour drive in Toronto and pedestrians don't differentiate between the road and the sidewalk.
Coffee Stop at, and you guessed it, "Timmies"...(We did learn however that you can drive by a Tim Horton's without dying and without stopping in, else you would never make it through downtown Toronto in a month of Sundays.)
We made our way through China town in the rain. Everyone must have heard that it was Shannon's birthday today because they all kept honking at us as we paused momentarily in the middle of traffic to snap the perfect photo, or flipped a "u"ey to double back on something we wanted to see. Union Station from the outside was disappointing but just down from it was a beautiful piece of architecture. Of course we stopped and took photos from the car.
We drove down past the CN tower, foregoing the $21.50 each for the elevator ride to the top, just to see the fog from above. We did get a great picture of the base of the tower.
Driving through downtown snapping photos I wondered if we would inadvertently capture on film a drug deal going down and end up with some thug after us, but alas, there was a traffic cop with a striking orange cap to throw them off our trail. When we took his photo and he came over to our open car window Shannon assured him "we're tourists". Satisfied that this explained our behaviour we moved along. Then as we came out the wrong end of a one way street a cop nonchalantly looked at us with a smirk on his face and never even came around to give us alesson in Toronto driving rules. He must be friends with the one with the orange cap.
We did take a moment to do some shopping in downtown Toronto on a Friday night. We stopped at a beading shop and at craft supply store, risking pneumonia as we ran through the rain to get from our parking spot to the store.
Hopefully tomorrow we will see something other than the torrential rains that belong in April, not October.
travelbugs anonymous.......
love ya'll
until tomorrow..........
Falling for the Falls (October 22nd)
TAXI! TAXI!
Take us to the airport please. .....not the scenic route, no time for this at 5:45 a.m.
Now we are at the airport and have a moment to soothe Shannon's coffee craving, but where to find Timmie's. Well when all else fails "ask directions", after all we're not men. So Shannon walks right up to Starbucks and asks where we can find Tim Horton's.
Shannon witnessed a bolt of lightning, forever to be known as Gloria-Rose, when they announced general boarding and she gathered herself to get into line only to look up and see that Gloria-Rose was already at the front of the line and ready to board.
Shannon had the most delightful seat companion on the plane. He slept most of the way with his aroma permeating the area with a strong mixture of stale lysol and whatever else was served at the party the night before. He must be a well-loved person to have had such a grand fairwell party held before his departure. Are we ever jealous?
We reached an altitude of 41,683 ft. travelling at 631 miles per hour.
When we landed, after collecting our luggage and our rental care we made our way to the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way) and drove to Niagara Falls, Along the way we were regaled with beautiful fall colours on our right and Lake Ontario to our left. Shannon commented several times on the colours of the leaves. They are stunning right now. Our trip took us past several fabulous looking golf courses and for two girls who were missing their guys we were very tempted to go a round in honour of them. We considered bringing back our completed score cards as proof that we had missed them enough to make this sacrifice, but feat that our scores would be wonderfully low we thought it might make them too jealous.
Once in Niagara we found a hotel room a couple of blocks from Clifton Hill and the Falls themselves. Now if mention of Niagara Falls conjures up images of romance and classy rendez-vous, it was rather shocking to see the Falls as backdrop to Clifton Hill, a cheesy replica of something from an amusement park. It strongly reminded Shannon of Universal Studios or Disneyland. Her exact words "It doesn't fit the image of Niagara Falls. The two don't go together." Only in Clifton Hill would you see a pirate flag on top of the House of Frankenstein. As this is Shannon's first visit (Mike note, she may want to come back) we will use her words, "Wow! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The shear size of it was much more than expected and the power and amount of water continuously flowing is tremendous. We were running short of time before attractions would close so we had to make a choice of the tunnel, the butterfly conservatory or the maid of the mist. We chose the latter. Much to our delight a sales gimmick they practice for this attraction is to take your photo before the ride and print it with the falls as a backdrop, ready for you to pay $$$$$$$ for upon your exit from the attraction. Well to two photo freaks this was a great idea. Before leaving we double backed to have an "after" picture of us taken in our drenched, bedraggled state so we could compare the before and after effects of the falls on our countenances. We are stunning I might add.
Back to our room to freshen up and then a short jaunt down Clifton Hill to find sustenance and here we sit sipping a Shandy, oops that was another trip, another country, another girlfriend, we are actually sipping wine.
The lessons learned for the day were: don't over dress (Shannon overheated) and bring flip flops so you don't need bandages for your toes. And finally we cannot believe how hard it is to find internet access, and when you do, blogging is blocked. What century is this here in Southern Ontario?
After supper and a night time viewing of the Falls, we dragged our sorry asses back to the hotel room ready to crawl into bed, have a little more wine and pass out, only to realize that the clock read 9:49 pm, which would be 7:49 pm in Alberta. What losers!
Take us to the airport please. .....not the scenic route, no time for this at 5:45 a.m.
Now we are at the airport and have a moment to soothe Shannon's coffee craving, but where to find Timmie's. Well when all else fails "ask directions", after all we're not men. So Shannon walks right up to Starbucks and asks where we can find Tim Horton's.
Shannon witnessed a bolt of lightning, forever to be known as Gloria-Rose, when they announced general boarding and she gathered herself to get into line only to look up and see that Gloria-Rose was already at the front of the line and ready to board.
Shannon had the most delightful seat companion on the plane. He slept most of the way with his aroma permeating the area with a strong mixture of stale lysol and whatever else was served at the party the night before. He must be a well-loved person to have had such a grand fairwell party held before his departure. Are we ever jealous?
We reached an altitude of 41,683 ft. travelling at 631 miles per hour.
When we landed, after collecting our luggage and our rental care we made our way to the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way) and drove to Niagara Falls, Along the way we were regaled with beautiful fall colours on our right and Lake Ontario to our left. Shannon commented several times on the colours of the leaves. They are stunning right now. Our trip took us past several fabulous looking golf courses and for two girls who were missing their guys we were very tempted to go a round in honour of them. We considered bringing back our completed score cards as proof that we had missed them enough to make this sacrifice, but feat that our scores would be wonderfully low we thought it might make them too jealous.
Once in Niagara we found a hotel room a couple of blocks from Clifton Hill and the Falls themselves. Now if mention of Niagara Falls conjures up images of romance and classy rendez-vous, it was rather shocking to see the Falls as backdrop to Clifton Hill, a cheesy replica of something from an amusement park. It strongly reminded Shannon of Universal Studios or Disneyland. Her exact words "It doesn't fit the image of Niagara Falls. The two don't go together." Only in Clifton Hill would you see a pirate flag on top of the House of Frankenstein. As this is Shannon's first visit (Mike note, she may want to come back) we will use her words, "Wow! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The shear size of it was much more than expected and the power and amount of water continuously flowing is tremendous. We were running short of time before attractions would close so we had to make a choice of the tunnel, the butterfly conservatory or the maid of the mist. We chose the latter. Much to our delight a sales gimmick they practice for this attraction is to take your photo before the ride and print it with the falls as a backdrop, ready for you to pay $$$$$$$ for upon your exit from the attraction. Well to two photo freaks this was a great idea. Before leaving we double backed to have an "after" picture of us taken in our drenched, bedraggled state so we could compare the before and after effects of the falls on our countenances. We are stunning I might add.
Back to our room to freshen up and then a short jaunt down Clifton Hill to find sustenance and here we sit sipping a Shandy, oops that was another trip, another country, another girlfriend, we are actually sipping wine.
The lessons learned for the day were: don't over dress (Shannon overheated) and bring flip flops so you don't need bandages for your toes. And finally we cannot believe how hard it is to find internet access, and when you do, blogging is blocked. What century is this here in Southern Ontario?
After supper and a night time viewing of the Falls, we dragged our sorry asses back to the hotel room ready to crawl into bed, have a little more wine and pass out, only to realize that the clock read 9:49 pm, which would be 7:49 pm in Alberta. What losers!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Ten... Nine... Eight....Seven....Six.....
Well, one more sleep.
Contacts in Ontario are all prepped for our visit, with the exception of our birthday girl.....she, of course, is not to know, so sh-sh-h-h! don't say anything.
Just this morning I spoke with my sister and she is right pumped about our visit. It has been five years since we have seen each other and she is such a delight. We were menu planning for Saturday's dinner.
Our itinerary is complete, although not set in stone, as road conditions and traffic could affect getting it all in, but we will do our very best.
Ta-ta! We will try to fill you in tomorrow night on the first day of our journey.
Take care......
Contacts in Ontario are all prepped for our visit, with the exception of our birthday girl.....she, of course, is not to know, so sh-sh-h-h! don't say anything.
Just this morning I spoke with my sister and she is right pumped about our visit. It has been five years since we have seen each other and she is such a delight. We were menu planning for Saturday's dinner.
Our itinerary is complete, although not set in stone, as road conditions and traffic could affect getting it all in, but we will do our very best.
Ta-ta! We will try to fill you in tomorrow night on the first day of our journey.
Take care......
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Count down to take off
Five more sleeps and we're off to great adventures!
The bags are almost packed.....just a few more items to put in them.
This evening we will finalize our itinerary provided we get response from the man with whom we hope to dine in Toronto so we will know how to set up that part of our activities. He knows we are coming to the big city and he would like to go for dinner. We just have to find out if he prefers to do that on Friday night, or on Monday night.
I have been reviewing photos of previous trips to the area and getting excited to go back to some of the same sites, but of course this time there are a few new sites on the agenda, for me, and some of the sites to which I have been, I have not actually seen since junior high so I don't remember many of the details.
Anyway this was mostly to test that I still remember my access codes to the site and to ensure the blog was up and running correctly, as I have only blogged once before.
Until next time.......this freespirit is going to fly down to the kitchen to join my husband for a short visit before completing the packing of my suitcase.
The bags are almost packed.....just a few more items to put in them.
This evening we will finalize our itinerary provided we get response from the man with whom we hope to dine in Toronto so we will know how to set up that part of our activities. He knows we are coming to the big city and he would like to go for dinner. We just have to find out if he prefers to do that on Friday night, or on Monday night.
I have been reviewing photos of previous trips to the area and getting excited to go back to some of the same sites, but of course this time there are a few new sites on the agenda, for me, and some of the sites to which I have been, I have not actually seen since junior high so I don't remember many of the details.
Anyway this was mostly to test that I still remember my access codes to the site and to ensure the blog was up and running correctly, as I have only blogged once before.
Until next time.......this freespirit is going to fly down to the kitchen to join my husband for a short visit before completing the packing of my suitcase.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Planning the trip
Any fantastic vacation starts out with goals and ideas on how to achieve those goals. The purpose of this trip is to surprise a childhood friend for her 50th birthday.
First problem: her birthday coincides with the birthdate of another friend and I don't want to let either one down.
Solution: take the the second friend on the trip to surprise the first friend.......and the trip takes shape from there. It becomes a double birthday trip.
First friend (almost 50): Jan
Second friend (happy to travel): Shannon
Me: Gloria-Rose
Now we have the three main characters of the events to come.
Tickets are purchased. Car is reserved. Contacts are made.
While the final itinerary is still being tweaked, things are developing and this weekend should see the final version completed.
First problem: her birthday coincides with the birthdate of another friend and I don't want to let either one down.
Solution: take the the second friend on the trip to surprise the first friend.......and the trip takes shape from there. It becomes a double birthday trip.
First friend (almost 50): Jan
Second friend (happy to travel): Shannon
Me: Gloria-Rose
Now we have the three main characters of the events to come.
Tickets are purchased. Car is reserved. Contacts are made.
While the final itinerary is still being tweaked, things are developing and this weekend should see the final version completed.
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