NIagara Falls and Day #1 in Toronto

Starting Data
Mileage:  64,356 miles
Time:  8:27
Temperature:  59º
Weather:  Cloudy
Book:  Pops


First let me catch you up on last night's stay in Port Huron.  We both were very pleased with our motel.  The bed was very comfortable and the WIFI signal strong.  Dave went down to b'fast this morning and said that it was one of the best motel b'fast's that he'd come across.  In addition to the usual waffles, yogurt, bagels, toast, pastries, dry cereal etc, they also had a nice blend of scrambled eggs, sausage, red and and green peppers, onion and a bit of cheese.  He said for "fake eggs", which of course they were, they were excellent.  We would stay at the Hampton Inn in Port Huron again.


Our first job this morning was to cross into Canada.  We had our passports and additional picture ID's ready and with only a limited number of questions, were allowed to cross.  The toll on the bridge was $3.  By 8:40, we were in Ontario and zooming along.  (Christopher, as we were turning on the street that lead to the bridge we followed a car with Michigan vanity plates that read:  "GO HWKS" with a University of Iowa license holder.  Thought immediately of you!)


We saw several interesting signs today, but the one that really struck us read:  Monroe's Honey and Meadery.  Not an advertisement for anything I have ever seen in our travels around the US.  Signs for honey--yes.  Signs for mead--no.  We stopped around 10 at a very upscale rest area like the service islands along the Kansas Turnpike.  Dave used a Starbucks gift card from Amber (from our retirement) to get some coffee.  (Amber, we save those gift cards for when we are traveling.  Thanks!)  He also withdrew some money from the machine since we did not see a spot to exchange currency when we crossed the border.


The truck traffic was incredible!  In fact, it made the truck traffic on I-80 seem like nothing.  We had decided that we were going to follow the speed limit since we had heard all sorts of dire things about insurance and penalties, especially if you are not from Canada and are picked up for speeding.  Apparently the rest of Ontario decided that today was the day not to follow the speed limit.  (The two low points had to have been being passed by a Smart Car and a "short" bus!)  The maximum speed limit was 100 km which translates to about 62 mph.


As we got closer to Niagara Falls we saw lots and lots of signs for wineries.  Neither one of us had ever really thought about Ontario as being a big wine producing area.  I haven't had a chance to research that yet, but I'll try to let you know what I find out.  We stopped at a spot just outside of Niagara Falls to go in and use the restroom.  We remembered that finding restrooms (called washrooms in Canada) was challenging at the Falls.  

We arrived at the Falls about 12:20 and spent 2 hours walking around and admiring the Falls, but especially admiring the beautiful gardens that were planted everywhere.  

The rose garden was stunning.  There were several statues that we thought worth taking a picture of.  

King George VI

King's Crown done in landscaping!

Nikola Tesla

One was of King George VI (For those of you that saw the movie The King's Speech, this is the king that it was based upon.) and also a statue of Nikola Tesla.  Who?  Well, Nikola Tesla developed the world's  first hydroelectric power system--but that wasn't why we took the picture.  He was also the developer of Tesla coils.  Think of every science fiction horror film you've seen.  Remember those scenes in the laboratory with electrical current zapping between one pole and the next?  Remember the movies Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein?  Well, those zapping things are tesla coils, invented by good old Nikola Tesla.  

We headed back towards Toronto around 2:20 and found the traffic, while heavy, nothing like what was leaving the city.  Our GPS performed admirably, with one heart-stopping exception when it lost the signal because of all the tall buildings surrounding us, and we found our home for the tonight and tomorrow--The Metropolitan Hotel.  We are in the heart of the city.  Our car is safely tucked away 3 floors underground and won't move again until we leave on Thursday morning.


After we got settled, we grabbed a map and headed out to explore.  Wow, we aren't in Iowa anymore folks!  Toronto is a very ethnically diverse city and we are in the heart of a very young part of town.  We looked like the ancient mariners!  However, everywhere you look there is fabulous architecture and the people watching is top-notch.  Our first goal was to locate Massey Hall.  It was important to us to seek this spot out because Gordon Lightfoot has played a series of concerts in this location every year since early in his career.  As many of you know, Gordon Lightfoot has been a huge influence on Dave's musical development.  

Not Gordon

Massey Hall

We ate supper at a bar and grille called Mr. Green Jeans located in Eaton Centre.  Looking out our window was a beautiful old church--Holy Trinity. 

Holy Trinity Church in downtown Toronto

 After we ate, we continued our exploration.  We walked past both the old and new city hall,  a large public square where there were lots of messages for Jack Layton, a popular politician who died August 22, written in chalk on every imaginable surface. 

Old City Hall, Toronto

 There was a gathering of people listening to opinions of whether public spaces should be named.  Continuing on our way we walked through a beautiful courtyard surrounding Osgoode Hall.  This is where the Ontario Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of Justice along with several large law libraries are located.  It was a beautiful spot.

Still not Gordon.