Niagara Falls, part 2

Now I am going to tell you about the trip. I finally got things caught up and have time to write this!

Sunday we just drove to our hotel in Elkhart, IN. The only noteworthy thing was that we got caught in a traffic jam that it turns out was caused by two semi’s colliding. Traffic was backed up for 25 miles and it took 6 hours to clear it. Fortunately, we made the decision to break the law (carefully!) and make a u-turn and go back to the previous exit and take another road. Still, we were in it for well over an hour before we did that. We were actually at our hotel and settled in before the mess was cleared up.

On Monday, we drove all day and got to the border crossing by about 6:45, thinking we would be at the hotel by 7:00. Not. It took about an hour to get through, because we were about the 7th bus in line and each bus had to totally disembark and each person go through customs, then load the bus again. That may not sound like it takes long, but it does! But we didn’t have any problems. Turns out another bus behind us wasn’t allowed in because of some trouble with their driver. We were fortunate to have a good, legal, organized driver!

Tuesday started our touring. That day we toured the general area of Ontario. It is called the “Miami of Canada” because of its temperate climate, caused by its location between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and the land formation that causes the warm air to stay there. So there are a lot of orchards and vineyards and everything is very lush and beautiful. We also watched boats go through the locks heading from one great lake to the other. We spent time in Niagara-on-the-lake, a cute little town with lots of shops – kind of like Hayward, WI. We ate supper at a Rain Forest Cafe (very good!)

On Wednesday, we headed to Toronto. There is only one main highway there, so traffic can really get bad. Our guide said we lucked out, because we pretty much traveled steadily, although not always fast. When we arrived, we drove around a bit, just seeing the city. It is big – about 4 million, counting the suburbs. But it is a very beautiful city. (I think you would love it, Kylene!) Then we went to Casa Loma, a castle that is right in the city. It was really cool and I have lots of pictures to show you later.  After lunch, we toured Toronto some more, seeing their different ethnic areas, then finally ending at the waterfront where we shopped a bit and I took more pictures. We ate at a buffet about halfway home, then headed back to the hotel. We had a bit of a sing-along on the way. It was a very fun day!

On Thursday, it was finally our turn to tour the Niagara Falls park system. Only so many buses are allowed each day. We saw the falls from all the different angles, as well as seeing lots of other beautiful places along the river. One place, you can stand right by the edge of the top of Horseshoe Falls. It was windy and the mist coming off the falls just soaked me, but it was an awesome feeling! We also had our trip out on the Maid of the Mist. They give you ponchos with hoods, so I kept drier. That was also an incredible experience to be in the middle of the river by Horseshoe Falls, basically surrounded by the falls on three sides. We did some more shopping, more touring, then headed to dinner, which was atop an incredibly high needle. You felt like you were in an airplane, it was so high. It was higher than any of the surrounding buildings and they were well over 20 stories. I probably wouldn’t have gone up if I didn’t have to in order to eat dinner (and lead my group!), but I’m glad I did, because the views were breathtaking. It had been cloudy and drizzly all day and the sun came out after we ate. Amazing!

We left Friday morning and stopped in Cleveland to visit a museum of natural history midday. I had visited there before and it isn’t really an interest to me, so I walked around outside, taking more pictures of the surrounding area, which is also quite beautiful. We made it to our last hotel, which was also our first, in Elkhart. I even had the same room as I did the first night. There were restaurants for dinner right next door, so I had dinner at a Bob Evans and texted Dad, who was having dinner here at Pokegama!

We left early Saturday morning and didn’t waste any time getting home. We arrived in Chetek at about 3:00, hours ahead of schedule, but glad to be home. The most beautiful part of the trip as far as fall colors was from Chippewa Falls to Chetek!