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What I did on my Second Spring Vacation
The Pre-Gather with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ladystarlightsj
Sunday the 10th
Headed East on the 402 from the US/Canada border and after about an hour I had the pleasure of parking on the freeway. And then watching a helicopter circle the area then land on the road not all that far in front of me. Didn't bode well. Neither did the sudden onflux of cars driving on the shoulder heading back the way we'd come. The freeway was closed and yep, we all had to head back. I waited until most of the cars in my vicinity had cleared out because then I could just drive the wrong way on the road itself. And passed the semis that were backing down the road -- something you don't see every day. Lucky for us there was a back road that ran essentially parallel to the freeway so detouring wasn't a big deal. And I rather like driving the back roads when I can. Of course, this did change my time table for getting to the Toronto airport to pick up LadyS but I figured, hey, three hours instead of four hours early? Still plenty of time. Found the airport, made sure I could find both terminals 1 and 3 [no, I have no idea what they have against 2 -- maybe it's a Canadian thing] and then headed out to find food and a nice place to read until it was closer to arrival time.
Pierson is nice in that instead of making one drive around and around the arrivals area they give you a nice spot to park and wait for a cell phone call to let you know your party is there and waiting. Unfortunately, my cell phone company is less nice, in that they decided to wait until we were halfway to Niagara Falls to let me know I had a message. Very cute. Phone makes 'voicemail chirp' and I look at LadyS and allow as how she seems to have arrived. Luckily, I got bored waiting (okay, I reached the end of a chapter in my book) and went looking for her. And there she was!
The drive to the Falls was uneventful if one discounts the fact that I had LADYS WITH ME AND WE WERE GOIN' TO NIAGARA FALLS!!! No unplanned adventures, and our hotel was exactly opposite the Horseshoe Falls. W00t!! We checked in, did prezzies (EEEEEE PREZZIES!!) and had dinner in the room because, well, we rather thought we had an excellent spot for the Fireworks over the Falls. (The official Niagara Falls Cam is from this hotel). And then LadyS conked out and I took advantage of the gigantic whirlpool tub. *g*
From the room:
Our Room
Sunday Night Fireworks Over the Falls
Monday the 11th
After having had a minor discussion with the company I'd booked our tour with ("No, we don't have that tour" "You did when I booked the end of March" "Well, call when you get to your hotel") and then calling when we got in to confirm our hotel and room number we were told we'd be picked up at 9:15 (not noon-ish) which boded well for getting the original tour I'd booked. And so it was. Dave, our tour guide, picked us up early and we set out on our adventures.
We first went to see the famous Floral Clock and, in what we were told was a very rare occurrence, were the only ones there!
Floral Clock
After that we went to tour the Beck I Power Plant, which as LadyS and I noted at the time isn't something one would think "Oh, must see this!" but great big ginormous machines? The six-year-old in me was very happy. We also learned what I consider to be my favorite Fun Fact of the trip: that the Falls are only at about 50% their full volume with the other half diverted for the hydroelectric power, and that after the lights are turned out at night they're reduced by another 25% so that the hydroelectric is using 75% of the volume at night. "Hey, Harry, the lights are off! Turn down the Falls!!"
Beck I Power Plant
Then it was time to see how well we did with things that took us up in the air. First to the whirlpool where we took the aero car across and back. The aero car is the only one of its type in existence and is esentially an open air semi-cage. I did not panic, yay me. The whirlpool happens when the upstream water is moving with enough force that it cuts underneath, then whips around and back over itself to continue downriver. It did not, however, make the familiar cone-shaped whirlpool becuase it wasn't going 'down'.
Niagara Aero Car and Whirlpool
After that we got to test the next 'over the Falls' experience, the helicoptor ride over the Falls. For me this was just too cool (as opposed to LadyS who was just happy not to barf -- and yet she can still gloat to her boys that she's been on a helicopter). We went over the general downtown area, the river, the wirlpool and the Falls. Very, very cool. The only minor drawback was that because there was no line (!!!) I didn't have a chance to acquire the small Mountie Bear on Horse I saw there.
Helicopter and Falls
When we got off the helicopter our lunch had been delivered and so, zipping rapidly past the 'thank you but no' obligatory photo pickup, we headed out to find a nice place to eat it. We found a nice little park that was mostly populated by Canada geese, most of which were fishing for their own lunch and gave us entertainment while we dined alfresco. Dave was perfectly polite and discreet and retired to another table for his own lunch, which was very Canadian of him, but not necessary from our point of view. And short-lived after some woman came up, plopped her big ol' cooler on top of his table and started getting things out. Understand that there were at least five other completely unpopulated tables available, one of which was right next to that one. I told Dave afterward that as a 'rude American' I thought she was incredibly rude. But there were swimming and diving geese and ducks!
Canadain Geese! In Canadia, even!
After lunch (no one was joining us, so the private tour continued) we headed to a late 19th Century Carmelite Monastery, now known as the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre (and used for a variety of secular retreats as we learned from our cab driver on Tuesday). We saw the interior of the chapel and the gift shop, where LadyS searched in vain for anything with St. Jerome, the patron saint of librarians. No mini Mountie Bear on Horse, though. I wasn't surprised.
Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre
After that we saw a little more of the city and the area along the river before heading to the next must-do activity, the "Behind the Falls" tour. Which really does go behind the Horseshoe Falls at two different viewing points, and also has an observation platform at the edge of the Falls. This was also the first thing we did that required a nice plastic rain poncho (yellow, with the Behind the Falls logo on it) which they gave out for free and which was much appreciated as it did get just a bit dampish. Even afterward when walking along the rail over the Falls it can be very wet with the breeze blowing the spray over you. Still no mini Mountie Bear on Horse. Phoo.
Behind the Horseshoe Falls
From the Observation Deck next to the Horseshoe Falls
From the Walkway along the River
From there we headed back along the river road passing a few notable sites such as the Schoellkopf Powerhouse that was destroyed in a rockfall [rocks fall, only one person dies], the Anglican Church where the Princes William and Harry went to church when they visited with their mother (they also did the Behind the Falls tour) and the newly-built multi-million-dollar Buddhist temple.
And then we reached our next destination: the Butterfly Conservatory on the grounds of the Botanical Gardens, which is one of the largest collections of free flying butterflies in North America (and I think Dave said it was the largest in Canada, but that may have just been Ontario). As I'm sure will come as a shock to many of you, I took pictures of them. Including the nice-sized Blue Morpho that decided LadyS' purse was just a cool traveling flower bush. We didn't go in the gift shop.
Blue Morpho Traveling on LadyS' Bag
We made the obligatory souvenir stop, and I think Dave is maybe a little bit evil. He first took us into the Artistic Glassblowing Studio and introduced us to Angelo Rossi, a Master Glassblower from Venice who is one of only three artisans in the world currently producing 'cranberry glass' which is created with 22K gold. They have fewer pieces than they did when we arrived, and it wasn't all because of me! Then there was a mid-sized standing bear in a raincoat and hat who sang "Singing in the Rain" and danced (sort of) when you squeezed his paw. And no mini Mountie Bear on Horse! What kind of Canadian souvenir shops are these?
Souvenir City
Cranberry Cornucopia and Cobalt Dolphin
Now that we were all dried out from going behind the Falls (as opposed to not being dried out after the humidity of the semi-tropical butterfly environment), we were ready for the pièce de résistance, the Maid of the Mist boat ride. w00t!! This is one adventure that really has to be experienced to be truly appreciated. Them thar Falls is big. And you get a cool new plastic poncho with the Maid of the Mist logo and this one's BLUE! They, too, had no mini Mountie Bear on Horse but they did have a shot glass in a barrel that I picked up for someone who collects such things.
The only way to see the Falls from the American side
The American Falls
The Rainbow Bridge between the USA and Canada
Bridal Veil Falls
Canadian Horseshoe Falls
At this point it's time for dinner, which turns out to be in the Revolving Dining Room of the Skylon Tower, and our table was right next to the window. LadyS had a peach daquiri in a souvenir cup and I had a Pina Colada (but not one for each hand) and we didn't even care that there were umpty gazillion 8th graders just beyond us. Well, really somewhere around fifty of them, and remarkably well-behaved, considering. I know LadyS got the salmon but for the life of me I have no idea what I had other than it was good. Huh. The company and the scenery was way more engrossing.
Skylon Tower
Views from the Skylon Tower
When it came time to leave, we'd been told it could take as long as an hour to get down since there are only a few (two in service) elevators for the whole place. So we found the li'l girls' room (up a flight of stairs to the buffet level) and then found the elevator was right around the corner from there. And in the amount of time it took to mess with LadyS' post-peach-daquiri mind (slowly moving sideways as if the floor was rotating hee!) the elevator was there! Yay! We went down, I looked for mini Mountie Bear on Horse (no such luck) and she got her favorite Starbucks coffee. We sat down to watch for the red tour van which we never found because it had turned into a big black tour bus. Luckily, we recognized Dave who had not changed.
We got on the bus and headed out for the last few stops of the night. There was the whirlpool for photo ops, but the aero car was no longer running. ("My girls here went on that earlier today," says Dave). We try not to look smug. He also pointed out the helicopter tour as we passed it. ("My girls took advantage of that earlier, too," he tells them). We endeavor not to look superior.
Then we stopped at the Floral Clock (where there were indeed other people) noting as we passed the Beck Power Plants and the Butterfly Conservatory that his girls had visited those earlier, too. I considered turning around and just telliing them that, yes, they'd all missed everthing cool on the tour, nyah. But instead we managed to look humble and fortunate. And possibly virtuous. Dave decided to take us all a little farther than the usual tour as a surprise stop at Queenston Heights Park atop the Niagara Escarpment, where there is a, ummm, monument to General Brock. On a very, very tall pedestal/spire. Not that anyone was feeling inadequate when they created it or anything. There's also a monument of more normal proportions for Laura Secord who is known in Canada as a genuine Canadian heroine for her part in helping the UK win the War of 1812 (the American one, not the Napoleonic one which is the one with the neat overture -- the one with cannons in a crowded music hall). In the US she's just known as 'beeyotch'.
Lily Pond around the Floral Clock
Atop the Niagara Escarpment
Brock's Monument
Monument for Laura Secord
Once we were all in the bus (there was a small amount of cat herding involved) we were off for a quick stop at Souvenir City again, where we do NOT go back into the glass shop. But there's a Singing in the Rain bear in my car now. Well, 'quick' is a relative term when herding cats. There was one family who did not seem to have any concept what "we'll meet back at x:00" meant. Seems that means "wander back this way whenever you're ready." So we were a little late leaving there, which was no big deal to us since we'd already had a totally awesome day, but I think the others wanted to get on with things. Eventually they got in the bus and we moved on. Dave, being both a nice guy and an optimist, makes an impromptu stop at the Falls, near the Behind the Falls area. Once again we're given a time frame "No more than ten minutes. TEN MINUTES" to get some pictures and be back on the bus. LadyS and I stayed on the bus because a) been there done that already today (as Dave also told everyone; yes, everyone, sucks to be you, hah!) and b) we're parked right below our hotel room. Ten minutes comes and goes. Fifteen minutes comes and goes. We're heading into twenty and the cat family is nowhere to be seen. Poor Dave has to go find them and, seriously, the mist is really being blown over the walk. More like a misting rain, really. But he goes and retrieves them and we all give them disapproving looks, like that has any effect on cats. Last stop is the Skylon Tower for the observation deck to see the colors on the Falls. (There's only fireworks on Fridays, Sundays and holidays). Many of us opt out of that since we aren't early and it'd take forever to get up, force one's way to the windows where the Falls can be seen, and get back down. The cat family is the only one that wants to go up (surprising no one, heh). Dave decides to take them in, get them on the elevator and then come back so he can take the rest of us back to our hotels. As we're waiting, the newlywed 12-year-olds (I swear they looked that young) got off the bus and went for a wander around the Tower. Until Dave came back and LadyS went to retrieve them. Apparently he was caught pretending to put the 'P' in their 'ool' while she recorded it for posterity until they were hailed with MomVoice TM and came hurrying, chastened, back to the bus. And then we went home, sorted out our loot and got one last shot of the Falls. LadyS conked out again and I, once again, took advantage of that nice big tub. Awesome day. Woohoo!
The Falls, before the lights go off and they're turned down.
Continued in next post...
The Pre-Gather with
ladystarlightsjSunday the 10th
Headed East on the 402 from the US/Canada border and after about an hour I had the pleasure of parking on the freeway. And then watching a helicopter circle the area then land on the road not all that far in front of me. Didn't bode well. Neither did the sudden onflux of cars driving on the shoulder heading back the way we'd come. The freeway was closed and yep, we all had to head back. I waited until most of the cars in my vicinity had cleared out because then I could just drive the wrong way on the road itself. And passed the semis that were backing down the road -- something you don't see every day. Lucky for us there was a back road that ran essentially parallel to the freeway so detouring wasn't a big deal. And I rather like driving the back roads when I can. Of course, this did change my time table for getting to the Toronto airport to pick up LadyS but I figured, hey, three hours instead of four hours early? Still plenty of time. Found the airport, made sure I could find both terminals 1 and 3 [no, I have no idea what they have against 2 -- maybe it's a Canadian thing] and then headed out to find food and a nice place to read until it was closer to arrival time.
Pierson is nice in that instead of making one drive around and around the arrivals area they give you a nice spot to park and wait for a cell phone call to let you know your party is there and waiting. Unfortunately, my cell phone company is less nice, in that they decided to wait until we were halfway to Niagara Falls to let me know I had a message. Very cute. Phone makes 'voicemail chirp' and I look at LadyS and allow as how she seems to have arrived. Luckily, I got bored waiting (okay, I reached the end of a chapter in my book) and went looking for her. And there she was!
The drive to the Falls was uneventful if one discounts the fact that I had LADYS WITH ME AND WE WERE GOIN' TO NIAGARA FALLS!!! No unplanned adventures, and our hotel was exactly opposite the Horseshoe Falls. W00t!! We checked in, did prezzies (EEEEEE PREZZIES!!) and had dinner in the room because, well, we rather thought we had an excellent spot for the Fireworks over the Falls. (The official Niagara Falls Cam is from this hotel). And then LadyS conked out and I took advantage of the gigantic whirlpool tub. *g*
From the room:
Our Room
Sunday Night Fireworks Over the Falls
Monday the 11th
After having had a minor discussion with the company I'd booked our tour with ("No, we don't have that tour" "You did when I booked the end of March" "Well, call when you get to your hotel") and then calling when we got in to confirm our hotel and room number we were told we'd be picked up at 9:15 (not noon-ish) which boded well for getting the original tour I'd booked. And so it was. Dave, our tour guide, picked us up early and we set out on our adventures.
We first went to see the famous Floral Clock and, in what we were told was a very rare occurrence, were the only ones there!
Floral Clock
After that we went to tour the Beck I Power Plant, which as LadyS and I noted at the time isn't something one would think "Oh, must see this!" but great big ginormous machines? The six-year-old in me was very happy. We also learned what I consider to be my favorite Fun Fact of the trip: that the Falls are only at about 50% their full volume with the other half diverted for the hydroelectric power, and that after the lights are turned out at night they're reduced by another 25% so that the hydroelectric is using 75% of the volume at night. "Hey, Harry, the lights are off! Turn down the Falls!!"
Beck I Power Plant
Then it was time to see how well we did with things that took us up in the air. First to the whirlpool where we took the aero car across and back. The aero car is the only one of its type in existence and is esentially an open air semi-cage. I did not panic, yay me. The whirlpool happens when the upstream water is moving with enough force that it cuts underneath, then whips around and back over itself to continue downriver. It did not, however, make the familiar cone-shaped whirlpool becuase it wasn't going 'down'.
Niagara Aero Car and Whirlpool
After that we got to test the next 'over the Falls' experience, the helicoptor ride over the Falls. For me this was just too cool (as opposed to LadyS who was just happy not to barf -- and yet she can still gloat to her boys that she's been on a helicopter). We went over the general downtown area, the river, the wirlpool and the Falls. Very, very cool. The only minor drawback was that because there was no line (!!!) I didn't have a chance to acquire the small Mountie Bear on Horse I saw there.
Helicopter and Falls
When we got off the helicopter our lunch had been delivered and so, zipping rapidly past the 'thank you but no' obligatory photo pickup, we headed out to find a nice place to eat it. We found a nice little park that was mostly populated by Canada geese, most of which were fishing for their own lunch and gave us entertainment while we dined alfresco. Dave was perfectly polite and discreet and retired to another table for his own lunch, which was very Canadian of him, but not necessary from our point of view. And short-lived after some woman came up, plopped her big ol' cooler on top of his table and started getting things out. Understand that there were at least five other completely unpopulated tables available, one of which was right next to that one. I told Dave afterward that as a 'rude American' I thought she was incredibly rude. But there were swimming and diving geese and ducks!
Canadain Geese! In Canadia, even!
After lunch (no one was joining us, so the private tour continued) we headed to a late 19th Century Carmelite Monastery, now known as the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre (and used for a variety of secular retreats as we learned from our cab driver on Tuesday). We saw the interior of the chapel and the gift shop, where LadyS searched in vain for anything with St. Jerome, the patron saint of librarians. No mini Mountie Bear on Horse, though. I wasn't surprised.
Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre
After that we saw a little more of the city and the area along the river before heading to the next must-do activity, the "Behind the Falls" tour. Which really does go behind the Horseshoe Falls at two different viewing points, and also has an observation platform at the edge of the Falls. This was also the first thing we did that required a nice plastic rain poncho (yellow, with the Behind the Falls logo on it) which they gave out for free and which was much appreciated as it did get just a bit dampish. Even afterward when walking along the rail over the Falls it can be very wet with the breeze blowing the spray over you. Still no mini Mountie Bear on Horse. Phoo.
Behind the Horseshoe Falls
From the Observation Deck next to the Horseshoe Falls
From the Walkway along the River
From there we headed back along the river road passing a few notable sites such as the Schoellkopf Powerhouse that was destroyed in a rockfall [rocks fall, only one person dies], the Anglican Church where the Princes William and Harry went to church when they visited with their mother (they also did the Behind the Falls tour) and the newly-built multi-million-dollar Buddhist temple.
And then we reached our next destination: the Butterfly Conservatory on the grounds of the Botanical Gardens, which is one of the largest collections of free flying butterflies in North America (and I think Dave said it was the largest in Canada, but that may have just been Ontario). As I'm sure will come as a shock to many of you, I took pictures of them. Including the nice-sized Blue Morpho that decided LadyS' purse was just a cool traveling flower bush. We didn't go in the gift shop.
Blue Morpho Traveling on LadyS' Bag
We made the obligatory souvenir stop, and I think Dave is maybe a little bit evil. He first took us into the Artistic Glassblowing Studio and introduced us to Angelo Rossi, a Master Glassblower from Venice who is one of only three artisans in the world currently producing 'cranberry glass' which is created with 22K gold. They have fewer pieces than they did when we arrived, and it wasn't all because of me! Then there was a mid-sized standing bear in a raincoat and hat who sang "Singing in the Rain" and danced (sort of) when you squeezed his paw. And no mini Mountie Bear on Horse! What kind of Canadian souvenir shops are these?
Souvenir City
Cranberry Cornucopia and Cobalt Dolphin
Now that we were all dried out from going behind the Falls (as opposed to not being dried out after the humidity of the semi-tropical butterfly environment), we were ready for the pièce de résistance, the Maid of the Mist boat ride. w00t!! This is one adventure that really has to be experienced to be truly appreciated. Them thar Falls is big. And you get a cool new plastic poncho with the Maid of the Mist logo and this one's BLUE! They, too, had no mini Mountie Bear on Horse but they did have a shot glass in a barrel that I picked up for someone who collects such things.
The only way to see the Falls from the American side
The American Falls
The Rainbow Bridge between the USA and Canada
Bridal Veil Falls
Canadian Horseshoe Falls
At this point it's time for dinner, which turns out to be in the Revolving Dining Room of the Skylon Tower, and our table was right next to the window. LadyS had a peach daquiri in a souvenir cup and I had a Pina Colada (but not one for each hand) and we didn't even care that there were umpty gazillion 8th graders just beyond us. Well, really somewhere around fifty of them, and remarkably well-behaved, considering. I know LadyS got the salmon but for the life of me I have no idea what I had other than it was good. Huh. The company and the scenery was way more engrossing.
Skylon Tower
Views from the Skylon Tower
When it came time to leave, we'd been told it could take as long as an hour to get down since there are only a few (two in service) elevators for the whole place. So we found the li'l girls' room (up a flight of stairs to the buffet level) and then found the elevator was right around the corner from there. And in the amount of time it took to mess with LadyS' post-peach-daquiri mind (slowly moving sideways as if the floor was rotating hee!) the elevator was there! Yay! We went down, I looked for mini Mountie Bear on Horse (no such luck) and she got her favorite Starbucks coffee. We sat down to watch for the red tour van which we never found because it had turned into a big black tour bus. Luckily, we recognized Dave who had not changed.
We got on the bus and headed out for the last few stops of the night. There was the whirlpool for photo ops, but the aero car was no longer running. ("My girls here went on that earlier today," says Dave). We try not to look smug. He also pointed out the helicopter tour as we passed it. ("My girls took advantage of that earlier, too," he tells them). We endeavor not to look superior.
Then we stopped at the Floral Clock (where there were indeed other people) noting as we passed the Beck Power Plants and the Butterfly Conservatory that his girls had visited those earlier, too. I considered turning around and just telliing them that, yes, they'd all missed everthing cool on the tour, nyah. But instead we managed to look humble and fortunate. And possibly virtuous. Dave decided to take us all a little farther than the usual tour as a surprise stop at Queenston Heights Park atop the Niagara Escarpment, where there is a, ummm, monument to General Brock. On a very, very tall pedestal/spire. Not that anyone was feeling inadequate when they created it or anything. There's also a monument of more normal proportions for Laura Secord who is known in Canada as a genuine Canadian heroine for her part in helping the UK win the War of 1812 (the American one, not the Napoleonic one which is the one with the neat overture -- the one with cannons in a crowded music hall). In the US she's just known as 'beeyotch'.
Lily Pond around the Floral Clock
Atop the Niagara Escarpment
Brock's Monument
Monument for Laura Secord
Once we were all in the bus (there was a small amount of cat herding involved) we were off for a quick stop at Souvenir City again, where we do NOT go back into the glass shop. But there's a Singing in the Rain bear in my car now. Well, 'quick' is a relative term when herding cats. There was one family who did not seem to have any concept what "we'll meet back at x:00" meant. Seems that means "wander back this way whenever you're ready." So we were a little late leaving there, which was no big deal to us since we'd already had a totally awesome day, but I think the others wanted to get on with things. Eventually they got in the bus and we moved on. Dave, being both a nice guy and an optimist, makes an impromptu stop at the Falls, near the Behind the Falls area. Once again we're given a time frame "No more than ten minutes. TEN MINUTES" to get some pictures and be back on the bus. LadyS and I stayed on the bus because a) been there done that already today (as Dave also told everyone; yes, everyone, sucks to be you, hah!) and b) we're parked right below our hotel room. Ten minutes comes and goes. Fifteen minutes comes and goes. We're heading into twenty and the cat family is nowhere to be seen. Poor Dave has to go find them and, seriously, the mist is really being blown over the walk. More like a misting rain, really. But he goes and retrieves them and we all give them disapproving looks, like that has any effect on cats. Last stop is the Skylon Tower for the observation deck to see the colors on the Falls. (There's only fireworks on Fridays, Sundays and holidays). Many of us opt out of that since we aren't early and it'd take forever to get up, force one's way to the windows where the Falls can be seen, and get back down. The cat family is the only one that wants to go up (surprising no one, heh). Dave decides to take them in, get them on the elevator and then come back so he can take the rest of us back to our hotels. As we're waiting, the newlywed 12-year-olds (I swear they looked that young) got off the bus and went for a wander around the Tower. Until Dave came back and LadyS went to retrieve them. Apparently he was caught pretending to put the 'P' in their 'ool' while she recorded it for posterity until they were hailed with MomVoice TM and came hurrying, chastened, back to the bus. And then we went home, sorted out our loot and got one last shot of the Falls. LadyS conked out again and I, once again, took advantage of that nice big tub. Awesome day. Woohoo!
The Falls, before the lights go off and they're turned down.
Continued in next post...
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