Road Trip - Day 8 - October 16

Woke up today and the sun is shining!!  We have had rain for the last 2 days.  They were filming in the park in front of our hotel.  We walked over and found out from Barrel Man (a guy in a barrel suite) that it was a TV show like the Amazing Race (one of our favorites) called Cache Craze only the contestants were children.


We went on a behind the Falls tour.  It was a tunnel built in 1903 that had 3 lookouts where you could see the falls pouring down. 

 

A couple of interesting facts we learned was that the Falls are on the Niagara river which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario.  Another fact was that there has been only one person who has accidently gone over the falls, a 7 year old boy who was in a boating accident.  He had on just a life jacket and a swimsuit when he went over and was rescued by one of the Lady of the Mist boats that take tourists close to the falls.  He was uninjured.  His sister was rescued before going over.  

Lady of the Mist

Here are just a few of the pictures we took at the Falls. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Headed back to the U.S. and got to New York (the Empire State) about 12:30.  We are traveling east through Northern New York.  We stopped in East Syracuse, NY because our car needs maintenance light had come on so we decided to have it serviced.  It took a little while, so we just decided to stay there for the night.  We had traveled 180 miles. 

 

We went to dinner at the Dinosaur Barbeque that was recommended by one of the workers at the service shop.  Best barbequed ribs I have ever had.  The restaurant was pretty laid back ambience, but it was packed.  

 

Road Trip - Day 7- Oct 15

Before heading out, we went to a laundromat in Parry Sound, Canada.  We had to go to the bank to get loonies ($1) and toonies ($2) coins for the machine.  At the bank we saw a line that was a "Business Wicket" and found out that a wicket is the place where a customer performs a transaction (in other words, a line).  After getting our laundry done, we left Parry Sound and headed to Niagara Falls. 

Along the way, we stopped at a town called "Bradford"  which of course, reminded me of my daughter and grandkids.  Sure do miss them.

Since arriving in Canada we have seen some fast food places called "Tim Hortons".  Because we had never seen one before Canada we decided to try one out for lunch.  The menu consisted of toasted sandwiches comparable to Quiznos.  We saw they had combos so we ordered one.  It wasn't frys or Chips and a drink, it was any flavor of coffee and a donut!!  Pretty good!!

We needed gas so we took a Toronto exit.  Wow!!  Gas in Toronto was $1.27 per liter or about $4.84 per gallon. 

In Canada we traveled on the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way).  We went on a bridge over Lake Ontario.  It was called the Skyway because it was high enough for ships to pass under.  We saw lots of factories along the shore. 

Along the way we passed about 40 winerys.  A couple of the more interesting names were the Organized Crime Winery and the Foreign Affair Winery. 

We drove 243 miles today and arrived in Niagara Falls, Canada.  We stayed in the Sheraton in a falls view room.  When we open the window, we can hear the roar of the falls.  We can also see the US side of the falls.  Here are just a few pictures from our room. 

Horseshoe Falls



American Falls

Both - American on the left and Horseshoe on the right

Panoramic view -  US is just over the bridge, American Falls, and Horseshoe Falls

Our Hotel

Road Trip - Day 6 - Oct 14

Left hotel in Sault Ste Marie and gassed up since the hotel clerk said gas in Canada is over $5 a gallon. 

When going from Michigan to Canada we had to cross a toll bridge ($3) that went over St. Mary's river which separates the US from Canada.  Both sides are Sault Ste Marie.  We headed East towards Sudbury, Canada.  The scenery was beautiful.  Lots of trees in all their fall colors, yellow, reds, browns and golds.  It was too rainy to take pictures. 

Stayed in Parry Sound, Canada and on the recommendation of the desk clerk, ate at Wellington's Pub and Grill.   

Today we were in one state, Michigan and two countries, the U.S. and Canada. 

Drove a total of 302 miles.