June 26th, 2009- The Chaos Continues

Vacation- a time to relax and sleep in as late as your heart desires. And then you're woken by the fire alarm going off.
It was 10 AM. Mom and Maude shot out of bed, confused, looking around, trying to focus and figure out what was going on. I laid still, eyes still closed, listening. Meanwhile, Granny was in the bathroom panicking, thinking she had done something to set an alarm off.
Eventually, they came on over the PA system and gave the all clear.
How's that for a start to the day?

I dozed for a few more minutes before getting up and snacking on some leftovers with Mom while waiting for Maude & Granny to wake up for the day.

Around noon, we decided to take the initiative and help them wake up.

Finally, once everyone was up and ready, we headed out.

On the way to the elevator, we bumped into a lady from the housekeeping staff. While talking with her, we learned that the fire alarm goes off almost every day because of the continuing construction on the new wing.
Lovely.

The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cool, and sunny skies full of puffy clouds.

For our first stop of the day, we scooted across the street and up to the top of the Skylon Tower.

It was exactly as we left it last time, but still an impressive and gorgeous view, perfect for picture taking.

Beware Goat Island! Canada's only island fully inhabited by bloodthirsty Goat People.

We descended down to street level and pounded the pavement up to Tony Romas for a (really) late breakfast. I had been craving some really good chicken fingers for a while and these totally hit the spot.

Maude vs. Cheesecake

We also went and found my brick from last time.

I love it there- the food, the music they play, it all just does it for me. I wish we still had a Tony Romas around here.

Next up, we were aiming for the Pen Centre, so we headed back to hotel to get the van.
The sign said to allow up to fifteen minutes for valet to bring your vehicle. No biggie. So we waited.

And waited.

A half hour went by before the van showed up.
I've always been one to keep my cool when I'm frustrated, but this was pushing it. The little things were piling up and I wasn't digging this hotel.

So, we loaded into the van and hurried off toward St Catharines.

We wandered around the Pen Centre for a couple hours. It's so much bigger and nicer than the malls around here, I actually love just roaming around inside. It's even interesting to people-watch, it's so noticeable how much more peaceful, laid back, and just generally happy Canadians are compared to most folks in these parts.
I bought myself a copy of Let the Right One In on DVD and we headed back towards Niagara Falls.

We dropped off our purchases in our room, then made our way back down to the first floor to get some dinner at Romano's Macaroni Grill. I'm a macaroni junkie, so I was ready to chow down. So, we got to our table, looked at our menus for a few minutes, and then I asked a question I didn't think I'd have to ask- "Does anyone see macaroni on the menu?" We asked our waiter and it was confirmed. Romano's Macaroni Grill does not serve macaroni.
I repeat.
NO. MACARONI.

Macaroni disappointment aside, dinner was good. I particularly enjoyed the ultimate leaning bellini I had.

The restaurant itself basically seemed like a slightly more upscale (pricier) version of Olive Garden, though I think I prefer Olive Garden.

From there, we headed across the street to the casino for a little while. I'm not much of a gambler, so as usual, I gave myself a nice low limit and stuck to the slots. In the end, I didn't win anything, but had a good time playing.

It was getting late, so once Granny and Maude finished on the slots, we mozied on back to the room. The next day was the concert, so I definitely wanted to be well rested. Stuffed, tired, and hoping for no more fire alarms, I drifted off to sleep.

August 31st, 2007 - A Day at the Falls

Okay, so I didn't wake up early as I hoped. I ended up sleeping until 11:00. Yeah, it's vacation, but I've got things to do, baby.

We flicked on the TV as I went through my waking process as quickly as I could. There was a story dominating the news about a guy sending out letter bombs to people in Toronto. Mom and I watched as the news chopper followed the bomb squad escorting the explosives out of the downtown area to be detonated.
Not exactly an inviting story, knowing that we would be heading to Toronto on Sunday, I wasn't worried.

I was a bit worried about the bed situation in the hotel though. The beds in our room didn't quite work with the lift I use to transfer me out of my chair. We managed to work through it the first night, but Mom's back couldn't withstand much more of that kind of strain, so we went to the front desk. The manager and two electricians (the maintenance man wasn't available) came up to our room and, with some creativity and elbow grease, came up with a solution and fixed our problem.

With that taken care of, Mom and I headed to the Falls for the day. Our first stop was the SkyWheel on Clifton Hill. The SkyWheel is a giant ferris wheel, over 175 feet tall with climate controlled cabins that can seat up to eight people inside.

I was excited and ready to go, but Mom has never been a fan of heights. She used to be nervous about the Skylon Tower until we went up, so I was hoping this would be similar.

Personally, I thought she did great, but she didn't feel as at ease as with the Skylon, mainly because of the windows on all sides. If anyone in the control room was listening in, they certainly got themselves an earful.

The view from up there was beautiful, though. Such an awesome perspective of the Falls, Clifton Hill down below, and a good chunk of the city.

After a few rotations, we were back on solid ground, much to Mom's relief. All the employees we talked to on the way in got the rundown from Mom on her take on the whole experience. From there we popped into a shop to pick up a couple souvenirs for family and friends back home.

Clifton Hill


Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf

We wandered for a few minutes in a good sized, yet surprisingly well hidden park in search of a shortcut towards the Falls. Not finding one, we wandered back to the van and drove down.

The park

We usually come up to the Niagara area after Labor Day, so it was a bit more crowded than we're used to, but thankfully the crowds weren't nearly as bad as they looked. The weather was gorgeous: warm and not a single cloud in sight. Most of the trip seemed to follow in that weather pattern.

The Maids of the Mist


Across the gorge


Into the mist

Walking by the Falls was fantastic, as always. The mist, the rainbows, even the crowds just made it great. The kids were full of great little quotes to overhear. One family was obviously also from Ohio, as the young son looked out over the rushing waters and proclaimed "I can see Cedar Point!", which was followed by a pause of deep thought and then concluded with "Can we go to Cedar Point?"

Mom & Me

Our stroll led us down to the Table Rock Center at the top of the Falls, which is currently under construction as they add onto it. We sat behind the building for a few minutes and just took it all in as a nearly full rainbow seemed to rise right out of the water before it went tumbling over the precipice.

A few feet away, another little boy exclaimed in an excited voice "It's all so amazing, Mommy!"

The Rainbow Bridge

After a little while, we were getting hungry, so we hopped back in the van and headed up the hill to Tony Roma's. I went for the sure-fire route and got the chicken fingers. Simple, but always tasty.

We arrived back at the hotel shortly after 10:00 PM, where we decided to stop at the bar in the lobby for a glass of wine to unwind.

Up your nose with a rubber hose

Back in the room, I got to sleep as early as I could. I had to be ready for concert day, after all.

August 30th, 2007 - Another Adventure Begins

I managed to wake up at 9:00 AM, which is early for me, but later than I had hoped to be up. Within a couple hours, Mom and I were packed, in the van and on the road, but we weren't aiming for Canada just yet.

While printing driving directions and room information the night before, the power cord on my MacBook up and died for no reason. A couple aspects of the trip required me to be in touch with people via email, so our first stop was the Apple Store. It was a frustrating start to the trip as they told me my warranty would cover a replacement, but only if I had an appointment and they were booked solid for the next two days. Reluctantly, we bought a new one, fully intending to return it before their two-week return limit is up.

We were finally on the road toward Niagara-on-the-Lake at noon. It was a dreary, drizzly day, much like our first big trip which, in an odd coincidence, began exactly three years before. Little did we know how many parallels to that trip would pop up this time around.

Before too long, we pulled into the rest stop in Angola, New York, where we took the opportunity to play with my recently purchased new toy: a bright, shiny, Kodak Z712.

A spider on the outside of the window of the rest stop's overpass

Pictures were snapped, mashed potatoes were devoured, and the road was hit.

As soon as we crossed the border at the Peace Bridge, the sun broke through the clouds as if on cue. It was like an entirely new day. That seems to happen quite a bit on our trips, it seems strange, but you'll not catch me complaining.

I weighed the hotel options over and over again, which lead to me getting headaches over and over again, due to the absurdly high rates over the Labor Day weekend. I love staying at the Falls, but I flat out couldn't afford it, so I decided on the Hilton Garden Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which was way cheaper, a short drive from the Falls, and it looked nice enough.

Upon arriving at the hotel, I was met with a flashback to the 2004 trip. I stared across the street as I got down from the van and wondered why it all looked so familiar. The road, the freeway, the multi-restaurant rest stop, I knew I had been there before.

And then, along with a fit of uncontrollable laughter, it hit me. This was the same rest stop where we had an unforgettably hilarious experience with Grandma, and we were back, three years to the day later.

The rest stop across the way

Still chuckling to ourselves, Mom and I checked in and headed up to our room. It was a bit cramped for my chair, but it worked well enough.

We relaxed for a little bit and unwound after the drive before hopping back into the van and heading to the Falls.

As we searched for cheap (or better yet, free) parking, we noticed everyone on the streets was standing still and staring upward. After parking, we saw what all the eyes were drawn to- a tightrope walker taking a stroll high above the city. A perfect opportunity to try out the camera's zoom.

Without zoom


With zoom

The height of the wire was impressive enough, but when paired up with the distance from start to finish, it was a mind-boggling feat.

The Falls beckoned, so we headed down once the man reached the end of his walk and began to climb down. It was already getting dark as we made our way down Murray Street, but it was a beautiful evening, if a bit chilly. Another nice chance to see what the camera could do.

View of the Skylon Tower from Murray Street






The SkyWheel




The Rainbow Bridge at night










A shot of the Fallsview Casino

Our casino visit was a fun one, though brief and uneventful. We left with what we came in with, which is nice, though a jackpot would have been nicer.

Inside the casino


The fountain


Above the fountain

Bellies were a-grumblin' after a long day and lots of walking. We marched our way up to The Keg for my one splurge meal of the trip. Seated by the giant window overlooking the Falls, I had a glass of champagne and tried filet mignon. I'm not much of a steak guy, but it was tasty and enjoyable.

Then came the one bummer about not staying at The Falls. At the point where we'd normally walk back to the hotel and crash, we had to walk back to the van, load up, and drive back to the hotel. At least it wasn't too long of a drive.

On the way back to the van

Back at the hotel, I relaxed online a bit and got to sleep. Saturday's events would fill up most of the day, so I had to rest up and fit in the rest of our Niagara Falls sightseeing on Friday.