September 2-5, 2013 Thousand Islands...St. Lawrence River

Easy drive down the road to Ivy Lea, Ontario, Canada, to the Ivy Lea KOA.  Plan a couple of days here mainly to cruise around the 1000 Islands in the St. Lawrence River.

Met a nice gentleman in site next to ours.  He is from Ottawa and camps here all season (a few weeks in the middle of the summer and every weekend May-October).  He reminded me of my Uncle Arvin.  We had a nice chat about the area and he made some recommendations for us.

First day was for exploration and discovery.  We drove the Thousand Islands Parkway to Brockville which is at the east end of the islands area.  Walked around the town and had lunch with the locals at a deli downtown.  Delicious chicken salad on fresh made light rye.  YUM!! 

Found the First Presbyterian Church on the square.  Tried to get in the door but locked.  Went around to the office and was given the keys to the Sanctuary by the secretary.  Beautiful church built in 1879…lots of wood and stained glass. There are two other churches on the same square and three other churches in the town.  Walked down to the marina and had some ice cream while walking back to the car.  Cute little town.

Drove all the way back west to Gananoque (pronounced:  gan-a-knock-way).  Booked a boat tour of the islands for tomorrow morning.  This is a bigger town with a Dairy Queen!  We made a note to visit there after the boat tour.  The weather has been cool with clouds, rain, sun and more clouds and rain. 

Next morning got up to cold temps…in the high 50’s.  Weather says it will warm up later with the sun out.  We can only hope we have good weather out on the river.  Our tour is 2 ½ hours.  We layer the clothes and head off to Gananoque.  Sun is coming out but very windy and still cool.

The tour was great.  It’s off season so the boat was not very full.  We had lots of room to move around and see everything.  The commentary was in English and French.  Amazing that people have built homes on tiny little islands.  There are larger islands too but many, many small ones.  Some are in Canadian water and some is USA waters.  We toured all around Heart Island…home of Boldt Castle.  During the season you can do a tour and get off to see the island.  They only offer that now on weekends and we will be in Ottawa then.  We still enjoyed our tour and made a note to come back if possible.

Had dinner that night at a restaurant recommended by the gentlemen I met on the first day.  Rapid Valley Family Restaurant is a local place with a service station outside.  Huge portions of family cuisine.  I had a plate full of baked haddock, steamed carrots, mashed potatoes and coleslaw served after a delicious salad with 1000 Islands Dressing, of course.  We finished our dinner with pie…Jim had coconut cream and I had cherry.  Please excuse me while I burp!  We were stuffed.  Back to the rig to enjoy the night for tomorrow we hit the road again.  Ottawa here we come!

Toronto, Ontario, Canada...August 29-September 1, 2013

Had a good trip from Niagara Falls, NY, to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Only hitch crossing the bridge to Canada was getting in the wrong lane and ended up going through with the big trucks.  Guard informed us we were in the wrong place but we pleaded ignorance.  He was nice, asked all the regular questions, then let us pass.  We took the 401 Express through Toronto (our campground was on the other side of Toronto).  Express….I don’t think so!  Traffic was crazy.  Bumper to Bumper almost all the way.  No problems though and we found the campground easily.  Checked in to our reserved spot, #84 which has 50 amp electric and water.  The whole campground looks like a park and everyone parks every which way…at least that’s what it looked like to us.  The sites weren’t very clearly marked.  Anyway, Jim tested the electric and it was not grounded!  We had to move.  The girls in the office were very accommodating and marked the map with all available sites and let me find us a new place.  We moved just “next door” to #86.  A really nice 30 amp site with water.  We set up camp, settled in and had a beer!  

Woke up early after a good cool night.  We’re going into Toronto on the GO train.  The girls in the campground office gave me a schedule and directions to the local station…Rouge Hill.  We drove to the station to take the 10:05 am train.  Thankfully they have free parking at the train station.  The train car was really nice…very clean and air conditioned!  That’s good since it’s hot here.  While we waited for the train we noticed that our station was right on the edge of Lake Ontario.  It was a nice trip into the city. We found our way to the main hall at Union Station and purchased tickets for the Hop On-Hop Off Sightseeing bus.  Our tickets are good for three days.  That’s just perfect for us.  All we need to do is go out to the Starbucks on Front Street to catch the bus.  Is that all?!?!  We exited the building to find ourselves completely surrounded by construction!  Everywhere we looked was fencing for construction sites and detours to streets.  We had no idea which way to go.  We eventually found the Starbucks after crossing one street and then another only to cross again.  Plan is to take bus all around the city to get an idea of where we want to get off.  Actually got off to see Casa Loma.  Beautiful "castle" built in early 1900's.  No air conditioning but fans were strategically placed for relief from the heat.  Spent all day there!  Well worth the stop and the time.

Next day, we wanted to get an earlier start seeing the city so we caught the GO train at 8:07 am.  We have

Scarborough GO Station all waiting
for buses that never came.

lots of plans for today…Boat trip around Toronto Islands, see CN Tower and Rogers Center, ROM museum and Art Gallery of Ontario.  Well…ever hear about Murphy’s Law?  We got on the train headed for Union Station in Toronto then the announcer came on and said that Scarborough would be the last stop…no trains going further.  Seems there was an incident on the tracks which meant all trains cancelled.  A few people said someone had been hit by a train but we never found out exactly what happened.  Anyway, followed others to the local TTC bus stop and took that to the nearest subway station which we road into the city.  Once we got back on the streets we found one of the sightseeing buses and hopped on.  First stop…the ROM, Royal Ontario Museum.  Museum is huge and has many exhibits.  I think we saw them all.  Sculpture, photography, antiques, dinosaur bones…you name it.  The first exhibition was textiles.  Amazing displays of fashion and how it’s constructed.  There was also samples of embroidery and beading.  We also got to see a bride and groom along with all the bridal party getting ready for a wedding in the museum.  It was well worth the time.

Next stop, the AGO...Art Gallery of Ontario.  We hopped back on the bus and took it around to the AGO where we found a pub nearby…The Village Idiot.  Had a great lunch there before going into the gallery. Since it was Saturday there were lots of other people in line to purchase tickets.  A stranger…a nice looking man, came up and gave us two tickets…just gave them to us.  We weren’t sure exactly if they were OK so we asked one of the employes.  He said to go right in!  We spent the rest of the day there looking at classic paintings and sculpture, contemporary art and everything in between.  Believe it or not we left the gallery at closing and also saw them setting up for a wedding.

Last day in Toronto took the train (no problems) and walked right to the sightseeing bus at our regular boarding place.  Hopped right on and actually got a seat on the open top level.  We decided to ride all the way around to see what we’ve missed being on the bottom level each time.  It’s a whole ‘nother world up there!  We drive under some low bridges and electrical wires for the streetcars so it’s important to stay seated.  Took some better pics of sights but not very good ones as there are power lines and construction everywhere.  The best pics were taken when we took the island boat tour.  There are islands in the bay which you can access with a ferry boat.  Beautiful parks and yacht marinas.  There is even a sailing school on one of the islands….not to mention a clothing optional beach!  Since it was a beautiful day today the parks

were full of people riding bicycles, picnicking and even wading in the water.  There was an air show nearby and we could enjoy the jets and old planes flying around over the bay.  Toronto has a small airport on one of the islands…only prop planes allowed.  We cannot disturb the condo residents in the harbor area.  The Harbour Center has an event every weekend.  Lots to do for all the family.  Since the boat ride was the last thing we wanted to do we walked back to Union Station area and visited the Loose Moose to have a beer.  Nice way to finish the trip and the day.  We headed back to the motorhome on the train.  We will leave Toronto tomorrow and hit the road for 1000 Islands area on the St. Lawrence River.

First Morning in Niagara Falls

We awoke to rain.  Our American Tour of the Falls is not until 2:20 PM so Jim and I hop on the road and head up to Fort Niagara.  It's only about 25 miles away and up on the most northwest tip of New York State and on the shore of Lake Ontario.  We drove thru rain and arrived at the beautiful Fort Niagara park.  They have a huge swimming pool and soccer fields and playgrounds as well as picnic areas on beautiful grounds with lots of large trees.  At the end of the park stands Old Fort Niagara.  I didn't expect it to be so loud but it shook all of us with the BOOM!

The first building on the site of Old Fort Niagara was built in 1726 by the French.  This fort has been occupied by the French, the British and the American forces.  This location played critical roles in the French & Indian War, the American Revolution and the War of 1812.  There are also many other buildings on the site built by the French, the British or the Americans...whenever they were in control of the Fort.  There is even a wall which was built during the Civil War when it was feared that the British would come from Canada to help the South.

We headed back home in bright sunlight anticipating our first look of the falls.  Arrived back to the motorhome with enough time to eat lunch and gather what we needed for our bus tour.  While waiting to leave the rig we checked our emails, etc.  All the time clouds were gathering and it kept getting dark then darker in the motorhome.  Finally we heard a loud clap of thunder.  It started pouring rain!  We were under a severe weather warning!

We were picked up by our tour guide was told we were the only two on the tour!  Even though it's still raining we head out in the 15 passenger bus.  Our guide, Rita, is born and raised in Niagara Falls.  She does manage to give us hope that the rain will pass and we will have a good time.  She took us on a drive around the immediate area and the city of Niagara Falls, NY.  On the way to downtown she drove us along the Niagara River and explained how the city uses the water for the power plant.  She drove us onto Goat Island...the piece of land that divides the river into the two major sections of the falls...the American and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.  First stop was Cave of the Winds.  We are given plastic ponchos and special rubber sandals to wear as we will be walking outside on wooden decks at the foot of the American and Bridal Veil Falls.  Why did I wash my hair this morning?  I roll up my pants, try to protect my phone and camera and head down in the elevator and to the falls.  The site is amazing and the sound is roaring!  And everyone is wet!  We walk all the way down and the back up to the Hurricane Deck which is right under Bridal Veil Falls.  I get a great pic of Jim.



We returned back to the top of the falls and walked all around the pathways above the falls.  The speed of the water falling over the edge is fast and the size of it all is huge!   We get right up to the edge of Horseshoe Falls and are mesmerized just watching it rush over the edge.  Of course, there are people with cameras everywhere and posing with family and friends.  I'm sure the crowd was lighter than usual since it was a weekday and because of the earlier rain.



Next we get to the boat ride...Maid of the Mist.  We again are given a plastic poncho to wear to protect us from the water.  Ha!  We'll see.  Our guide told us to get on the bow of the boat..right in front on the bottom level.  Lots of others have the same idea but we manage to find a great spot there.  Finally we get underway and head past the American Falls and straight into the foot of Horseshoe Falls.  It's too wet to bring out the camera but I manage to get a couple of pics in the less wet areas.  The mist is heavy and blowing like a gale.  The perspective is powerful.  We hear stories of people who have dared to go over the falls in homemade barrels, etc.  One story sounds too miraculous to be true.  In 1979 a young 7 year old boy, wearing a swimsuit and regular life jacket, was swept over the falls and survived!!