We planned this trip to Canada by ourselves. Daphne booked a hotel room in Niagara Falls, and we used airbnb.com to rent apartments for our stays in Toronto, Kingston, Montreal, and Quebec City.
We were going to rely on public transportation, so we knew we had to pack light. You don't want have to drag much luggage around if you're hopping on and off the subway, buses, and trains. Since three of the apartments had washer and dryer units, we restricted ourselves to about four outfits. Daphne could run a load of laundry while we were out sightseeing.
It makes sense on paper, but it is hard to restrict yourself to so few outfits. We also had to check the forecast and make educated guesses on what clothes would work best. Here's our luggage for the entire trip:
Also, here are a few of our secrete travel weapons for Charlotte. My old MacBook plays DVDs and has decent Wi-Fi reception - it's a great time-killer in airports and on trains. I bought the dogeared copy of The Essential Calvin and Hobbes at a Goodwill for 79 cents- 254 pages of good times that she read at least twice. Let's not forget a jar of peanut butter. Peanut butter toast sure takes the edge off in the morning before we leave for the day. It's the breakfast before breakfast and/or a great late night snack.
Just don't expect to bring an open jar back into the USA. In fact, I call these secret travel weapons because I wouldn't want to lose them, but if we did, we wouldn't be out much money.
Tuesday, July 10, was an early morning for us. Our first flight was at 5:40 AM. Charlotte was in great mood in the car at four in the morning, but she was pretty crabby once we got to the airport. She likes flying as much as I do. Daphne does a great job of keeping Char occupied during the flights.
We were in Buffalo, New York after two, hour-long flights. The best value for crossing the border to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls is to take a taxi from the airport. The ride took 45 minutes and cost a flat fee of $85. There was quite a traffic jam at the border, and I was glad to let someone else do the driving.
I was amazed that we were in our hotel room before noon. Here is our room's view of the Horseshoe Falls.
We were leaving for Toronto the next day, so we had to make the most of our one day at the Falls. To do this, we bought Classic Adventure Passes.
With this pass you can can experience the Niagra's Fury, the Journey behind the Falls, ride on the Hornblower Niagara Cruise, and take a White Water Walk. The young lady who sold us the passes assured us that we could do all four in about five hours, and she gave us a schedule to follow. I'm happy to say her schedule was spot on.
Our fist stop was the Niagara's Fury experience. "Re-live the formation of Niagara Falls with this exciting 4-D experience, perfect for the whole family."
We were given plastic ponchos and then ushered into a standing room only area.
The title screen in the viewing room looked formidable, but we were rewarded with a cartoon about a chipmunk in detention. He falls into a book and time travels through the events that created the Niagrar Falls. Char thought is was okay; I was pretty bored.
The second part of the experience takes you into a large round room with screens surrounding you. You stand on a moving platform that is surrounded by a moat. The platform shakes as water sprays and rains on you. The light show was impressive, and the sound effects jarred Charlotte. I had zero expectations, so this 4-D show about the formation of the Falls was fun. I wouldn't do it again, though.
According to the schedule, our Journey Behind the Falls was next. "Traverse the network of tunnels and make your way to the base of Horseshoe Falls to enjoy one of the world’s most remarkable views."
The water falls so hard you can barely see through it. I suppose that is remarkable.
It was then time for our Niagara Cruise on the Hornblower. "Sail into the heart of the Horseshoe Falls on this thrilling boat tour. This gentle mist will transform into a downpour as you approach the spectacular Canadian Horseshoe Falls!"
Char wasn't as excited about the cruise as Daphne and I were.
It was time to put on our third plastic poncho. The 20-minute cruise first takes you past the American section of the Falls.
Then the boat turns towards the Horseshoe Falls. You cruise closer,
and closer,
and closer,
and closer,
and closer
until you are getting soaked, and you're afraid you'll ruin your phone, so you put it away and just enjoy the show.
On the way back you are treated with a rainbow. (The guy on the left was really nice. He enjoys riding his motorcycle from Canada through various U.S. nation parks. My Yosemite t-shirt started the conversation.)
The cruise looks like this from above.
Our last adventure for the day was to take a White Water Walk. "Experience a first-hand lesson in the raw power and peril of the Niagara River’s Class 6 white water rapids." The White Water Walk is truth in advertising. You walk on a wooden path that flows along side the rapids.
This is my favorite picture from the day:
This is my favorite picture from the day:
The rapids' waves reach a height of 6 feet. I can't imagine anyone trying to navigate that water in a boat, but people have tried.
We swam in the hotel pool for awhile after dinner, but we made sure were in the room by ten o'clock to watch the fireworks show above the falls.
Char had been awake for 18 hours by the time the fireworks were over. It was time for her to go to bed. I felt the urge to to text a few pictures from my phone to my laptop and then maybe start a blog post. But since I couldn't send a text in Canada, I went to sleep, too.
It was a big day, and we still had nine ten more days to go.
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