Adventures Galore

Sorry this is being posted so late after the fact.... I'll catch up.

So, we are up to recalling the events of Friday! =) What a fun day! We got up early again and headed out of Mackenzie's early as she had to get to work early as well. We went to Niagara Glen where our oh so fun adventure would take place... more on that later. Before that adventure, we had another. =) I love being obscure! We had breakfast at the top of the gorge, and then climbed down this thing:


Niagara Glen is home to a whole series of hiking trails. Seeing as we had plenty of time before our big adventure, we decided to poke around. Turned out to be THE best decision ever. Our hike was moderate... not too challenging, but enough adventure to keep Dan and I entertained. We saw lots of wildlife and great scenery along the way:

Dan decided to climb =)

It very much reminded me of the Smoky Mountains in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Once we got to the bottom of the trail, we encountered the ever so lovely Niagara River. Now it was my turn to decide to climb:


Now, mind you, when I trekked over there, the rock was completely barren. The river wayyyy out there. As I climbed back down, and headed back to where the trail was.... the water line was suddenly closing in on where I was. (Note to our mothers: it was not like a flash flood event... just a more noticeable change in the water level) We decided to sit up on another rock further back and see what was going on. Within a short amount of time we were watching the water ebb and flow from the main river that you see above. It would surge in, then suck back out, but then each time the shoreline got closer to us. By the time we left to head to our other adventure, that rock I was standing on looked like this:


This all occurs because they decrease the flow in 2 areas: one above the falls which would be to our right in the photo, and one at the generating stations to our left. In the morning, they open the dams and increase the water flow. What we got to see, was that exact moment in which they switched things over in the morning. It was quite a privilege to see... and something the typical visitor doesn't get to experience. We hiked back up for our next adventure of the day. This one is one of the highlights of the entire week. We did a Jet Boat Tour to the whirlpool in the Niagara River. Holy Moly that was awesome. So let's start at the beginning. We all load into a bus (12 + a tour guide named Tino) to head down to the dock. In that time, the entire bus got into a conversation of marvel at our Five Finger shoes. Hahaha even the bus driver had to turn around to see our shoes. After the whole event, a gentleman asked if he could take a picture of our feet. =) Our Five Fingers were a hit in Canada. Anywho, we get down to the dock, and get life jackets on... We opted to do the Jet Dome, so we would stay dry and get amazing photos/video. =) Our guide, Tino talked to us through head sets, explained the boat, it's design and all of the neat stuff about the power plants, the gorge, and everything in between as we went along. We raced down the gorge at a good 60mph past the zone where the coast guard has stated that they refuse to go because of the danger ahead. We reached white water rapids, and got to take them on. There is one area called the Devils Hole that we went through about 3 or 4 times. =) We got to go further down and see the whirlpool that is at the end of Class 6 rapids (remember the previous post... They usually only go 1-5). Along the trip we got to see the little cove where we had been earlier in the morning too. Ohhhhhh man, all I have to say is that this was sooooooo amazing!

After that amazingness, we went to a Butterfly Conservatory. It was basically an indoor oasis for all sorts of butterflies that they raise and release into the conservatory. There are literally butterflies everywhere. 'Twas a nice walkabout.





We went to this amazing farm stand called Kurt's Market that we went to the day before and got a sandwich and dried fruit and went back to Niagara Glen to eat. We made friends with a chipmunk and many little birds. The chipmunk turned out to be not such an impressive little thing... the birds kept getting the food before he did when we were trying to feed him! Cute little thing though!



Adventure number 3: We went back down that crazy stair system to hike in the other direction than we did that morning. We were slightly annoyed as there was a group of 4 people behind us hiking, with one gentleman in particular that kept creeping on us. He was on our tail the entire time. Eventually we opted to just stop, let them pass and give them a good amount of time to get way ahead of us. Oy. They were the type of outdoors people who aren't really outdoors people but like to pretend that they are. Quite annoying really. Anywho, we went on our way... this trail being really laid back. It was open and easy. This time we ended up at a different point along the River... and perched ourselves on some rocks to just take in life. We got to wave at folks speeding by on the open Jet Boat tours. =) On the American side of the gorge people were fishing in the river.


Adventure number 4: Soooooooo to be completely short and sweet about it: we got lost. Very very lost. On the way back, somehow we got off the trail without even realizing it, and ended up in dense mountain/forest stuff, with not a trail in sight. Oh man, the excitement. You know you are meant for your partner, when you can get so lost in the middle of the woods, and not argue or kill them. Success! =) We stayed as logical as possible... keeping the sound of the river to our right. Eventually we were bound to find A trail... not sure which one, but a true trail at least. There was never any flat land... it was all either up, or down... or semi cliff face (not so much rock, more just wooded land... if that makes any sense). Hahahaha oh man. So we worked our way around and over things and much of a time later, discovered the trail we had been on originally! Major success! =) We found the area where we had gone astray the first time, and took the correct route. Finally we ended up back at that crazy staircase... very much hot.... very much tired... very gross. =) We climbed out around 6pm... we had gone in around 2 or 2:30. Soooo all in all, not too bad, but a very awesome experience.

We headed back to St. Catharines to Mackenzie's. We stopped at a grocery store and got food to cook for her. Dan cooked us all a scruptious meal. After the wonderful food... we got to look at pictures from all of her travels around the world. We are really jealous of all of her travels. She taught English in South Korea for a year, shes been to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Austrailia, New Zealand, Bermuda, South Africa (3 months), China, and Thailand. She is currently going to school for wine making. Pretty awesome.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd so that was the pretty awesome, pretty adventure filled and pretty exhausting Friday that Dan and I had. =) I don't have pictures of the latter half because my camera battery kicked the bucket from all the videos I took on the Jet Boat. Luckily we didn't miss anything too exciting picture wise.

Under the Falls... Sort Of.

This morning we checked out of the hostel... and bid adieu to the owner Patrick. He will be greatly missed. We learned a lot from him through our numerous conversations.


It was truly a wonderful experience. We wandered down to the IMAX theatre to see the Mysteries of the Great Lakes film. 'Twas ok. Not entirely what we expected... but it was interesting. It just happened to be more about sturgen (spelling is way off I know) than anything else. But, what did keep us entertained was the IMAX sound system:


We went back to the main building where we had the amazingly priced meal the first day, to have lunch. As soon as we sat down with our lunch, the sky opened up and suddenly, we were under the Falls....sort of. Lucky for us, we were already inside, seated. Others were not so fortunate. =) We waited around the building for a few hours waiting for it to stop raining. Eventually we were able to meander back up to Dan's car at the hostel and head on our way.


On our way to our Couch Surfing host... Mackenzie... we stopped a few places. We stopped at a winery and sampled some local wine. We stopped at an orchard shop and got some AMAZING dried fruit, and pound cake (now, I mention that I enjoy end pieces, and the lady throws in another piece for free). We went almost across the street to a park area by the Niagara River to enjoy our dried fruit, before another threatening shower scared us away.

We arrived in St. Catharine's to our host's apartment. The apartment is absolutely amazing... as is our host. She has traveled extensively and lived in Korea for a year teaching English. Now she goes to school for Wine making. We went out and got a pizza, had pizza, wine and pickles... and then played Rummy for a bit on her wooden back patio/balcony/fire escape thing.

SUPER fun plans for tomorrow!!!!! =)

The American Experience

Yesterday we decided to cross the border and experience all that America had to offer in relation to the Falls. 'Twas a great comparison for us as to how America and Canada differs.

Once we got parked and paid $10 to park for an entire day, we went to try and find our Adventure Passes. We went into the information center, where instead of giving us the info we were asking for, tried to sell us a package that was a good $20 more expensive than the pass we wanted. In the end, they never actually ever told us where we could buy them. We wandered around the store... where the novelty sort of wore off being on the American side and all. Everything was instantly more expensive. We wandered outside trying to find anyone else who worked there who could direct us. We found one lady and she just pointed us in a general direction to walk. We eventually find a smaller building, that is like a Welcome Center sort of thing. Once in there, the lady at the desk, then directs us to yet another area and desk. Once there, we actually get what we wanted to get a good 20 minutes ago. On our way out to start adventuring, we got stopped because of our shoes.... a young couple was amazed at our Five Fingers. We turn around, and now a group of 3 older individuals are asking us about them. =)

We decided to do Cave of the Winds first. As we walked over there, we decided to go off road. We found a little hiking trail that took us right down to the Niagara River.

We continued on, taking advantage of the numerous viewing sites they had of the Falls. It's a completely different perspective from the American side than the Canadian. The way they have it set up, you could touch the Falls, if you didn't heed their version of the warning sign:


There were some really good photo opportunities:




There was one place that we could see, just how awesome the Cave of the Winds tour was really going to be:


You literally get pounded by Niagara Falls itself. Holy Moly, how awesome! Much of what we did, I don't have pictures for, but will try and describe. We used a waterproof disposable camera to capture the insaneness of all of it. Cave of the Winds was absolutely amazing. You not only get to see the Falls up close and personal, but while walking along the walkway, get to walk right into the Falls! Dan and I had our picture taken standing right under that crazy flow of water getting beaten to a pulp. It was so cool! =) What's even better, is that you get soaked in the process even with the ponchos. They did offer free sandals to wear during the tour, but Dan and I kept to wearing our lovely go anywhere Five Fingers. =)

After that, we went to the Top of the Falls restaurant for lunch. Food was ok, nothing to write home about. Then we got on the trolley and took a tour around the entire Park. We learned about the rapids... that whitewater is generally categorized between 1 and 5 of severity. These rapids have been rated a 6. We also learned about all the daredevils and accidents that have happened here. I still find the boating accident story amazing. A 7 year old boy went over the falls in just a life preserver, after his family's boat stopped functioning. He lived. Holy Moly.

Next stop: the Discover Center and Aquarium. Discovery Center would be cool if you had kids. Soooo off to the Aquarium. It was a cute little aquarium!





After the Aquarium we got back on the trolley and went to the observation tower. We decided to go ahead and do the Maid of the Mist yesterday so we didn't have to worry about crossing the border again today. Oh man, what a good decision that was. There weren't many people on the boat like you usually see, so we had room to move about and get pictures. What a breathtaking experience! Being right in the middle of Horseshoe Falls... feeling the boat struggle against the current, feeling the mist soaking you... even though you again have your poncho on. It was such a great experience! I hope the pictures from the water camera come out ok. Then we went back up the observation tower to play with the video taking property of my camera and to also see if by any stroke of genius, we may be able to find someone who knows how to take a picture! We asked a gentleman who worked at the Park if he could take our picture with the Falls. As soon as we handed him the camera, we knew we picked a winner. Someone DOES know how to take a good picture! =)



After all of this, we headed back to the Welcome Center where we would get to sit for 40 minutes to watch their IMAX movie about Niagara. It was a great film... it went over the Myths, Legends and Daredevils of the Falls.

We completed pretty much everything that America has to offer in the way of the Falls. So, we headed back over to Canada... having to deal with border patrol again. Man... those people are intimidating. Once we were back, we relaxed for a little bit... and then went out for dinner. We ate at this place down by "Disney World" called Kelsey's. It was all open air, even though you're in a booth in the restaurant part. This was definitely an experience worth sharing. We ordered a sandwich, which came with a salad, and then a baked potato. He and I were going to share the whole thing. Our waiter, Kameron, was what waiters should be. I can't directly describe our interaction with him, but he was super friendly, attentive, and on top of things. The restaurant was really busy which caused our food to take a bit longer, to which he apologized thinking we would get mad or something. We assured him that it was fine. Then once our food did arrive, he had given us fries instead of the salad. Poor guy... he runs off to get the salad and gives the fries to us on him. When he brought the bill... while most waiters tell you they'll take it when we are ready... he just drops it off and scurries away. They also at this restaurant give you little candies rather than mints. Generally they give you the number based on how many people. Haha we open the bill, and there lies a mound of candies. =) Hence why he scurried away so quickly. We gave him a lovely tip, and a note of thanks for everything on the back of the bill.

After that, we got some ice cream and went and watched the light show again.

Today will be a slower day. We're going to do the IMAX in Canada at noon, and then wander around the shops and the Falls one last time. Later this afternoon, it's off to St. Catharines! I'll try to keep posting once we're there but I'm unsure of our internet access. But to sum Niagara Falls all up.... the American side has better attractions, but the Canada side has a much more pleasant, less stressful, and elaborate experience. I'm a big fan of Canada.

The Falls

After waking up ridiculously early yesterday, we got ready and headed downstairs. We had a light breakfast and talked to the hostel owner, Patrick, about what we should definitely see and do while we are here. We opted to stay in Canada for the day and do what there was to do on the Canada side. The hostel is a 5 minute walk from the Falls, so we started meandering around the town in that general direction. We encountered what is knows as "Disney World" on Cliffton Hill. There is basically what I like to think of a mix of Disney and LA squished into one. As we reached the bottom of the hill... we said "Oh! Hey!" we weren't expecting this...


The falls were directly in front of us!

We continued on, being completely overwhelmed with the grandeur of the falls.



As we wandered we encountered the place where you can buy passes to certain things. So we decided to check out what Canada had to offer. We opted to do the Journey behind the falls and the Fury of the Falls. We walked down the road along the falls where that building was. We were hungry so we got amazing food at this shop in the building that has all the touristy things. The reason I even mention this, is because we expected to pay and arm and a leg for food. We got 2 wraps, a bottle of water and a cookie... for $5 American. Dude... go someplace like that in America and buy that much food, and you're gonna pay a good $20 or more.... just because they can charge that much. We saved the receipt for proof. =)

We continued on to do the Fury of the Falls. That was a 4D experience thing where you have to wear a poncho because you'll get wet in the process. It went over how the Falls were formed since the last Ice Age. The 4D part of it wasn't as intense as we had expected, but was still decent. Then we did the Journey Behind the Falls. Again... poncho time. We were slightly disappointed at first... they take you down in tunnels and you can come out beside the falls.... like where the folks are standing in the 2nd photo above. We thought that was it, and were like, man that was lame. You can get just as close when standing on the walkway above. But then we discovered other tunnels to explore...





And BAM you get to for really be behind the falls! That's much more of what we had anticipated. It's incredible that 34 million gallons of water go over those falls every minute. Sheesh.

After that lovely experience, we wandered the town and shops for bit.

Now, as a sidebar... there are always crazy things happening around here apparently. They have all these signs:


Apparently, someone wanting to end their life, did not heed this sign back in March. The story is pretty darn amazing... here is the link for you to read all about it.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/600895

Now, before you read it I'll preface that they are pretty dry in the details. So read it first, then come back here and read what I have to say.













The guy jumps in the Falls wanting to commit suicide. He survives the initial jump, but had whacked his head and was bleeding. They try and rescue him, but he swims to the middle. Keep in mind that there are chunks of ice floating in the water too. The helicopter goes into the Falls to get him with a rope. The guy takes OFF the rope and swims away. The helicopter then turns the helicopter on its side, in the gorge... and blows the man to the shore where he is picked up by EMTs. All in all, the guy survived the entire ordeal. Wow.

The rest of the day we pretty much wandered around. We played mini golf. Not just ANY mini golf... we played Dino Mini Golf. =) We were very much impressed with that. The place was very well constructed and there was actually sand in the sand pits!!! Much fun was had by all.



We had supper at this place called the Spicy Olive. Great food, great service, great bill. =) We both had entrees, beverages, and a dessert for $26 American. Sweet. The rest of the evening we spent wandering down by the Falls waiting for the light show. During the light show we also went on a mission to have someone take our picture. That proved quite difficult... folks to not know how to take pictures... even the ones with serious looking cameras.










Today... We are heading to the American side, to experience all that they have to offer... except the Maid of the Mist. We're also going to do an IMAX movie about the Falls here in Canada tonight. We have an exciting plan for Friday... so stay tuned. In the meantime... off to America!

Good Morning, Canada! Eh!

Our journey to the land we call Canada began after a series of necessary last minute stops. We stopped at the house I have been house sitting to do a final check of everything, and to make sure the cats were properly stocked with food and water for the remainder of the time that their parents are on vacation. We then made the glorious decision to stop for these....

As we got back in the car to continue on, we started noticing this rather pungent and foul odor permiating the air. First we thought that he and I had to have stepped in something. After a shoe check that came back negative... we still couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from. By the time we got to where we had to turn, I thought... the only way the smell can keep on like this, is if there is a manure or trash truck secretly in front of us. Lo and Behold! About 3 vehicles in front of us... was a truck matching that description. Mystery: solved.

Our travel companions were also ready for the adventure...




After one last stop at Wawa, we aimed at not having to stop unless it was for gas along the yahoomaps deemed 7 hour and 39 minute ride. The journey was pretty uneventful. We managed to get to Canada, in one piece, without getting lost! The ride was quite scenic and not such a hassle as far as traffic goes. Much of the time there was a lack thereof. I held my breath all the way through the Lehigh Tunnel. =) A feat most children attempt on every road trip. Another thing that caused me to get into exciteable mode... was encountering this:

Note that it is not your typical school bus! It's all in French!!!! And this was just in Upstate NY.... not Quebec. That truly held my excitement for a good amount of time. It's when I realized that we were on our way to something different than New Jersey. While the scenery, yes more curvatious than NJ, still looked very much like home. Dan at one point turned a corner and said "Hey when did we get back to Woodstown?" because it looked oh so similar. One thing that did distinguish it from home... were numerous groupings of these:

They were pretty much everywhere in one section of New York. It was pretty fascinating.

We got to see the sun set over the "mountains"...


We also eventually did have to stop at a rest stop for a necessary trip to the loo. And then another stop in Dansville (hehehe) to feed the car. The final leg of the journey was interesting in a few ways. The directions took us off of major highways to roads similar to Rte. 77 at home. One of the towns we passed through, was incredibly creepy. Not creepy in the sense that you can actually pin point why it is eerie. But an overwhelming feeling of a bad vibe. We concluded that we will never live there or stop there. And then just past Buffalo... was the wonderful trek across the border. The experience with border patrol, made us realize that we were in fact going someplace new. The border patrol lady, was quite pleasant, but moreso intimidating. When we were given the "ok" to enter their country, we were quite excited to see visual indicators that folks "we're not in NJ anymore". Everything switches to metric, signs are different, road patterns are slightly different and suddenly, we have to navigate this whole new world. Once we got our bearings and got over the fact that we're in a new country, we successfully made it to our hostel. We were greeted by a woman who works at the hostel and given a quick rundown of the area and how the hostel works. They serve breakfast around 8:30...and at that time we'll talk more about what there is to do around here that is beyond the typical things they advertize about Niagara Falls. Our room is on the third (top) floor of the hostel... pictures to come later of what is around us. There is a small kitchen on the floor along with the shared bath facilities.

What is today going to bring? Who knows! It'll be an adventure, on a beautiful day in Canada.

Piece One...

The beginning of our first vacation together, falls on our 7th lunaversary. While this puzzle of our lives as each others other half has already been started, we add "international" travel to our list of accomplishments together. Our trip to Canada will be jam packed with randomness, and things that will make the average person raise one eyebrow in confusion... but this blog aims at capturing our favorite moments each day and share it with those who are interested.

So eager readers of North America... stay tuned for the start of the journey.