Day 10: Niagara Falls, Whirlpool Aero Car

Happy 4th of July to my American friends!

Today's our last full day in Niagara Falls. We came, we saw ... We're ready to continue our road trip now.

It was a beautiful, sunny day today so we went for a ride on the Whirlpool Aero Car.

The Aero car was designed by a Spanish engineer, Leonardo Torres Quevedo and has been in operation since 1916. The cable car is suspended from six sturdy cables and offers a wonderful view of the Niagara Whirlpool which is formed at the end of the rapids where the gorge turns abruptly counterclockwise and the river escapes through the narrowest channel in the gorge.

The car crosses into the United States 4 different times during the 10-minute ride. My cellphone must have pinged a tower on the American side, because Rogers sent me a text message to let me know about their international roaming rates! :o)

Day 9: Niagara Falls, MarineLand

Friday, July 3, 2009

We went to MarineLand today. My bum knee was killing me after all the walking we did yesterday, so I sat on a bench and read a book while Husband and Child checked out the exhibits and rides.

I didn't mind that I saw so little of MarineLand. I've seen the Falls, which was my main priority.

This town is such a mix of contradictions. Every second house is a bed and breakfast, yet the downtown is little more than a gaudy carnival, complete with midway rides and crooked games.

Throughout the city, brand new and sparkly is comfortably nestled next to worn out and ramshackle — often they're juxtaposed together in the same building. It's not unusual to see a prim and proper tax preparation service next door to a dirty, neon-encrusted tattoo parlor. (I wonder if they ever do any cross-promotions? Get a tattoo while you're waiting for your tax return!)

The city's thin, touristy veneer is beginning to peel off for me. Gone is the glamorous Marilyn Monroe Niagara Falls, if it ever really existed in the first place. Now it's just one big tourist trap.

Day 8: more Niagara Falls

Thursday, July 2, 2009

We watched the spectacular Canada Day fireworks from our balcony last night.





Today we did all sorts of touristy things! We began the day on the SkyWheel, a giant ferris wheel with enclosed, gondola-style cars. In this town it's all about the view, and the view from the SkyWheel did not disappoint (as you can see from the pictures, it was a wee bit overcast today).





Next, we checked out the kinda lame Ghost Blasters ride, and the even lamer FX Theater, where the seats pitched up and down and side to sde while we watched a tedious, condensed version of the Brendan Fraser movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth.



After lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, we wandered through the Movieland Wax Museum and laughed our asses off at how phenomenally bad the wax figures were!

What's the big deal with wax museums here, anyway? There's one on practically every corner!




Get a load of the stuffed cat!


The Michael Douglas figure looks scarier than the Glen Close one!


Evil-looking Hannah Montana — Child thinks I should send this photo to Miley Cyrus so she can see how they've ruined her likeness


These are the crappiest Simpsons I have ever seen!


This was the most lifelike figure in the whole place

We topped off our day with a lovely dinner in the posh revolving restaurant at the summit of the Skylon Tower. It has been so challenging during this vacation to eat healthy, I almost wept when I saw vegetables on my dinner plate! Broccoli never tasted so good.

The restaurant revolves completely once every hour, so we enjoyed a view of the falls and the surrounding area while we ate (I told you it's all about the view here). The food was delicious and we we were entertained by live piano music while we ate.

Thursday thirteen: 13 things you probably don't know about Niagara Falls

I'm participating in Thurday thirteen!



1. Niagara Falls is actually three separate waterfalls:

• American Falls (far left)
  
• Bridal Veil Falls (mid left)
  
• Canadian/Horseshoe Falls (right)

2. The Niagara Falls are located on the international border that separates the Canadian province of Ontario and the American state of New York.

3. The two cities on either side of the border have the same name — Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York.


(image credit: Andi)

4. The original Niagara Falls were near the sites of present-day Queenston, Ontario, and Lewiston, New York. However, owing to the erosion of their crest, the waterfalls have retreated several miles southward.

5. According to the United States Geological Survey of Niagara Falls, almost 1/3 of the Canadian falls lies within US territory.


(image credit: Andi)

6. The Horseshoe Falls drop about 173 feet (53 m) and they are approximately 2,600 feet (792 m) wide.


(image credit: Andi)

7. The height of the American Falls varies between 70 and 100 feet (21 m) because of the presence of giant boulders at its base. The width is 1,060 feet (323 m).


(image credit: Husband)

8. In continuous operation since 1846, the Maid of the Mist boat cruise at Niagara Falls is one of the oldest tourist attractions in North America.


(image credit: Husband)

9. The volume of water approaching the falls during peak flow season may sometimes be as much as 202,000 cubic feet per second (5,720 m³/s). Since the flow is a direct function of the Lake Erie water elevation, it typically peaks in late spring or early summer. During the summer months, 100,000 cubic feet per second (2,832 m³/s) of water actually traverses the Falls, some 90% of which goes over the Horseshoe Falls, while the balance is diverted to hydroelectric facilities.

10. The Niagara Falls had long been identified as a potential source of power. One of the very first attempts to utilize the Falls as a source of energy was in 1759 when Daniel Joncaire built a small canal above the waterfalls to power his sawmill.


(image via: Wikipedia)

11. Many daredevils have attempted to go over the falls — some successful, some not. On October 24, 1901, Annie Taylor became the first person to conquer the falls in a barrel. After climbing inside her airtight wooden barrel, the air pressure was compressed to 30 psi with a bicycle pump. Though bruised and battered, Annie survived!

12. On October 22, 2003, Kirk Jones from Canton, Michigan became the first stunter in the history of Niagara Falls to survive the plunge wearing only the clothes on his back. Kirk entered the water on the Canadian side of the river and began swimming out into the swift current. Eight seconds later he made the 175 foot drop and swam to shore after passing up a free ride with the Maid of the Mist tour boat. Kirk was treated for minor bumps and bruises at a local hospital. He was also fined $2,300 dollars and banned for life from entering Canada.


(image credit: Child)

13. 28 million tourists are expected to visit Niagara Falls in 2009!

Day 7: Niagara Falls, Maid of the Mist

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Happy Canada Day!

Husband, Child and I had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe today. I know ... we're such tourists.



Afterward, we beheld the Niagara Falls up close and personal by going on the Maid of the Mist boat tour. The boat took us past the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls, and then it went right into the middle of the Horseshoe Falls. It was spectacular!

We were given rain ponchos to wear, but they weren't very effective at keeping the powerful mist from engulfing the passengers on the boat. I'm still drying off as I write this. :o)

The glare off the water was so powerful I couldn't even see what I was taking pictures of, so I just blindly snapped my camera in the general direction of anything and everything.











We're looking forward to fireworks tonight for Canada Day!

Day 6: Sudbury to Niagara Falls

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

It was probably because we were tired or because we're immature (or both), but we thought it was hilarious that we were travelling on Highway 69 this morning!

Husband was bugged by the bilingual road signs, however, so he vowed to butcher the French language all the way to Niagara Falls. Merci blah-blah!

According to Husband`s brilliant calculations (after consulting with the great oracles, GPS and Google Maps), all we had to do to get to Niagara Falls was hang a left at Toronto. I think he was oversimplifying just a bit.

We approached Toronto just as afternoon rush hour was getting started and we immediately became enmeshed in a snarl of freeway traffic. GPS to the rescue! She talked us through the nightmarish 10-lane gridlock like the pro that she is. And hooray for the HOV lane! We were able to blast past hundreds of motionless commuters by taking advantage of the carpool lane.

When we arrived in Niagara Falls we didn't even go to see the falls first. Nope. The first thing we did was find a Laundromat. We packed fairly light, which means we've run out of clean clothes! There will be plenty of time to oooh and ahhh over the falls tomorrow.

Day 5, Part 2: Thunder Bay to Sudbury, ON

Monday, June 29, 2009

We started our day at the Amethyst Gift Centre, an ancient little shop in Thunder Bay, nestled next to an nondescript old movie theatre that's been magically transformed into a combination pawn shop/payday loan place.

We were greeted by a chipper little elderly woman with frothy white hair who seemed grateful just to have someone to talk to. She inundated us with more information than we ever wanted to know about amethysts — the ones in the shop came from her family's mine just outside of Thunder Bay. The friendly woman even gave us a tour of the workshop where the cutting and polishing take place and the stunning amethyst clocks, desk sets, pendants, flowers, and other gifts are crafted.

Child fell in love with some lovely little trees sculpted from wire and dotted with amethyst "leaves" . She patiently examined every single price tag until she found the least expensive one in the store — and then she carefully counted out $70 to pay for it. (I personally wouldn't spend $70 for a knickknack, but I was proud of Child for paying for it with her own money.)



Our next stop was the Terry Fox Memorial, a monument built to commemorate Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope that was tragically cut short near Thunder Bay, Ontario in August 1980. Husband and I got really choked up seeing the statue. We weren't much older than Child when Terry Fox set out to run all the way across Canada after losing his leg to cancer, and we remember how heartbreaking it was when he had to give up his dream because he was too ill to continue.





We made a brief pit stop at White River, the home town of Winnie the Pooh. Child's Pooh Bear was thrilled and consented to pose for some pictures with his hero.





For most of the day we could see Lake Superior from the highway and it was absolutely breathtaking. Finally we just had to stop and walk on the beach for awhile — until the mosquitoes forced us back into the car.







We stopped at Sault Ste. Marie for supper and to grab some Tim Horton's coffee, then we got right back on the road. We're getting really tired of all the driving, so we decided to go all the way through to Sudbury before stopping for the night so we'll be that much closer to Niagara Falls tomorrow.

The drive from the Sault to Sudbury was rainy, misty and long. But we had fun singing and joking and enjoying the scenery (which was some of the most beautiful scenery we've seen so far on our halfway-across-Canada adventure).







We arrived in Sudbury some time after midnight, where we impatiently negotiated with Norman Bates for his very last room. Then the three of us happily fell into a coma-like sleep.

Please stand by

Internet issues! More updates soon. You can hardly wait! :o)

Day 5: Thunder Bay to Sudbury, ON

They say a bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work. Well, a rainy Monday spent in the car, drinking mini cans of Coke, eating bananas and All-Bran Bars, and singing Weird Al Yankovic songs beats work any day!!

We didn't arrive in Sudbury until after midnight and we're all exhausted, so I'll fill you in on Terry Fox, Winnie the Pooh, and our walk on the beach later.

Day 4, Part 2: Kenora to Thunder Bay, ON

My goodness it rained a lot in Kenora! The wind was so fierce that Child was concerned there might be a hurricane.



A little rain wasn't going to stop us from taking some pictures of Husky the Muskie, though.



It was a long drive from Kenora to Thunder Bay — because you're only allowed to drive 90 km/hour (55 miles/hour) on the highway! In Alberta the maximum is 110 km/hr, which means most people drive 120 (or faster). But there were signs all along the road outlining exactly what kinds of fines and demerits we would get if we dared to speed.

Oh well, at least the drive was more interesting than it was on the neverending open prairie in Saskatchewan (if your dog runs away in Saskatchewan you can still see him for 3 days!).

The highway here is bordered by lush green forests, interrupted every once in awhile by astounding outcroppings of granite. Along the tops of some of the rock outcrops visitors have built little inukshuk statues out of stones.





We also saw a huge inukshuk along the way in Vermilion Bay.



Apparently moose are a big problem on the TransCanada Highway in Ontario. We kept a lookout, but we didn't see a single one.





***************
Driving around, searching for someplace to eat lunch...

Me (spotting a bait shop): Leeches! I heard them's good eatin'.

Husband: Nah. I heard they suck.

***************

Hi, G! Do you miss me yet?

Day 4: Kenora, ON

Knock, knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

Bang, bang, bang!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Oh, good morning! Silly me, I forgot my key and I thought this was my room.

Did I wake you? Awww, that's too bad.

Say ... Aren't you the douchebags who kept us awake all night with your partying, shouting and guffawing?

Did you know your girlfriend laughs like a horse?

Well, I gotta go now. Have a nice day!

(Alas, I don't have the balls to do this. I will, however, be putting a sign on their door to let the maid know that she should feel free to wake them when she makes up their room.)

Day 3: Manitoba to Ontario

It rained all day today, which made for some dreary driving, but we made good time to Winnipeg, where we had lunch, saw the Legislature Building, and witnessed some sort of parade (or maybe it was a protest).







Tonight we're in beautiful Kenora, Ontario. We managed to find a hotel overlooking the Lake of the Woods and even though the weather is stinkin' miserable, the view is absolutely amazing!

Day 2: Saskatchewan to Manitoba

Oh. My. Gosh, I'm tired! We've been going non-stop all day, so I'll just hit the highlights so we can get to bed ...

We visited Rouleau, a.k.a Dog River, today — where they made Corner Gas! It was awesome seeing the locations from the TV show. Husband figured it must be like how a Muslim feels when he gets to visit Mecca. I wouldn't go quite that far, but it was very cool.











Oh, and on the way to Regina, Husband stopped to take some pictures of an old abandoned drive-in theater screen and sign ... and ended up losing his car keys!!! He and Child searched the tall grass in the field around the old movie screen for ages, but they couldn't find them.

I had my keys in my purse, but that was beside the point. Who loses their car keys in some farmer's field because he's taking pictures of a sign? It took me the better part of the day to get over it and forgive Husband.



We spent a fun afternoon at the Saskatchewan Science Centre in Regina and then we headed off to Manitoba, which is where we are now. Good night!

Day 1: Alberta to Saskatchewan

We got started later than planned this morning because Husband was adjusting the iPod dock in my car last night and blew a fuse! There was no way we could drive half way across the country without being able to listen to our iPods (we might actually have to talk to each other!). We have a CD player in the car, but we don't own a single CD!

Not to worry. Husband rushed to the car dealership the moment they opened this morning so they could restore our ability to listen to music. We ended up not leaving home until almost 10:00am. Oh well, we weren't in a big rush anyway.

We stopped in Brooks for lunch and spotted some really cool little Mini Coopers. This one from Florida was the coolest — it was modified into a little van!





For most of the day, every few miles we passed a big rig going in the opposite direction that was loaded with carnival rides — they were hauling midway rides to the Calgary Stampede (which we're gonna miss this year cuz we're not home). Their loads were interesting and often quite bizarre-looking. I tried unsuccessfully to take a picture each time we passed one, but they were travelling too quickly in their direction and we were travelling too quickly in ours.

Finally, when we stopped in Redcliff, Alberta (greenhouse capital of the prairies), we spotted one of the trucks parked across from a Wendy's and we were able to take some shots close up.







On our way back onto the highway, we managed to snap a quick pic of another truck, hauling the "Crazy Mouse" ride (whatever that is).



In Medicine Hat we stopped to see the world's biggest teepee.





We crossed the border into Saskatchewan around 3:00pm. Wow, Saskatchewan is flat! It's beautiful and boring at the same time. And it's weird to be able to see sky all the way out to the edges!

Dear life,

(via: OMG That Rocks)

Thursday thirteen: Vacation playlist

I'm participating in Thurday thirteen!

Today is Day 1 of our super-glorious, stupendous, fantabulous adventure!! In preparation for all the awesome fabulocity, I've put together a special make-me-happy playlist to listen to in the car:

1. Five O'Clock World — Bowling for Soup

2. Soak Up the Sun — Sheryl Crow

3. New Routine — Fountains of Wayne

4. I Love Life — Melissa Lefton

5. Happy Girl — Martina McBride

6. Be OK — Ingrid Michaelson

7. I’m Yours — Jason Mraz

8. Vacation — MxPx

9. My Happy Place — The New Odds

10. Nowhere With You — Joel Plaskett

11. Happy Together — Simple Plan

12. Holiday in My Head — Smashmouth

13. Island in the Sun — Weezer

Happy Summer!