to Montreal
2011/09/04
Continued on from Belleville to Montreal today, with a couple of stops along the way.
First stop, the SkyDeck observation tower on Hill Island, in the midst of the Thousand Islands. The Thousand Islands really strike my fancy because you get what looks like a nice upscale suburban neighborhood, only with a river instead of roads, and instead of freight trains you get cargo ships passing by your back yard. Nice neighborhood if you can afford it:
Next stop, Upper Canada Village. My parents tell me I was here once before, but I don’t remember it. We were on a trip to evaluate a nearby hippy commune (I vaguely remember that part) and also did a boat tour of the Thousand Islands, which I also don’t remember.
I spent two hours at the Village but could have spent more. It’s the biggest heritage village I’ve seen in Canada so far. Lots to see. I enjoyed it a bunch. I’ve rarely seen so much quaint packed into such a localized area. But one thing about these heritage villages that most other people can’t say: I can honestly say I’ve lived in a place that makes these farmhouses look modern and luxurious.
Assorted Village pics follow.
Concluded the day by driving into Montreal and meeting up with my aunt Claudette and her boyfriend Gaëtan. I haven’t seen Claudette since the last time I was in Montreal, in 1985. Gaëtan is a new meet.
[gmap type=”satellite” file=”__UPLOAD__/2011/09/20110904.kml” visible=”true” zoom=”auto” center=”files”]
Leaving Niagara
2011/09/03
Heading toward Montreal now. I took a side trip to check out Niagara-On-The-Lake, which turns out to be a really nice little town. On the way this small hydro facility caught my eye:
But for some reason I like the view towards the lake more:
The rest of the day was just driving. I took the superhighways through Hamilton and Toronto. In the morning I thought to make a reservation at my intended destination, Kingston. However, everything there was full up – I guess this being a moving weekend, a long weekend, just before back-to-school AND Kingston being near the Thousand Islands made it a popular spot.
So I drove as close as I thought I could get a room and ended up staying in Belleville. It was pretty crowded there too, and I didn’t get an ideal room.
Along the way I stopped at The Big Apple, a roadside dessert shop my friend Winston had recommended:
and got an apple pie to go. It was pretty good. I’m not a pie connoisseur (more of a cake person) but it was definitely worth a bite.
I haven’t been east of Toronto since 1985. I’m moving out of familiar territory and into dimly, distantly remembered areas and new lands now.
[gmap file=”__UPLOAD__/2011/09/20110903.kml” type=”satellite” zoom=”auto” visible=”true” center=”files”]
Niagara Falls
2011/09/02
Spent the day doing touristy things in Niagara Falls today. I’ve been here twice before, as far as I know. Once as a toddler (I’m told almost fell in because of the hypnotic effect of the falling water) and once in my early teens.
I remember being impressed by the bright neon lights of the tourist strip, and they light up the falls at night, so I went out twice – once in day and once at night.
Amusing building design: tipped over skyscraper
I also went up on the big ferris wheel they have overlooking the river. Here you can see the rivers leading to the falls – a feature often overlooked:
I went on the Maid of the Mist boat tour. It’s a short boat ride that takes you near the American falls and right up beside the Canadian falls. The spray is incredible. They give you a disposable raincoat, but you’ll still get soaked. It was almost hard to breathe there was so much water flying through the air – like being under a dozen showerheads at once. Luckily my camera bag proved itself quite waterproof, but needless to say I didn’t take any pictures that close to the falls. This is when I had to put my camera away:
I did get this panorama of the American falls on the return leg:
The next place I went was Table Rock, which is the name of the best vantage point above the Canadian falls – and where a young woman recently fell in. This compressed panorama doesn’t do it justice – there’s a lot of water there. It’s about 20cm deep where it goes over the edge, and moving fast.
Just below here is an attraction called Journey Behind the Falls. There are three parts to it. Two are tunnels that come out behind the significant overhand of the falls. You can’t get right to the tunnel mouths though – what you see is this:
That whiteness is the wall of water falling down. Sometimes the wind blows some spray into the tunnels.
The third part is an observation deck near the foot of the falls. Lots of spray here too, but I was able to get a more dramatic angle:
On the return trip, at the request of my friend Liam, I photographed the monument to Nicola Tesla, world’s greatest mad scientist.
That’s the documentary view, but I like this angle better since Tesla was inspired as a child to want to harness the power of the Niagara Falls:
You’ll note he’s standing on a partial model of the AC motor, one of his world-changing contributions.
I’m not much interested in the wax museum type stuff that dominates the tourist strip here, but I did go into Brick City, hoping for a Lego extravaganza. Also I had heard the Lego model of the CN Tower that is no longer at the CN Tower was moved here.
Unfortunately it was a disappointment. What you see here is everything:
Basically a moderately substantial Lego collection for a single person. The CN Tower model is not the original, and is not as well done. Lots of trains, and some nice constructions, but also a lot of “canned” stuff – ie off-the-shelf Lego sets that have simply been assembled and added to the mix. Overall this exhibit is less substantial than the touring Lego shows that used to go to department stores across the country.
When I was here as a teenager, there was a big arcade on the strip where I and three other kids spent a crazy amount of money playing Gauntlet II. That arcade is gone and I’m not certain of where it was exactly. There are four new establishments that have (a poor selection of) arcade games, but they more correctly identify themselves as midways:
More shots from the strip:
OMG, there are dinosaurs and the like after those mini-golfers!
A couple of moon compositions:
Night shots of the lights illuminating the falls, and their effect on the cloud of spray:
Night shots of the falls:
A bit blurry, but there was a horse-drawn carriage lit with Christmas lights that I thought was neat:
They also had fireworks over the falls tonight, but I was up on the ferris wheel at the time and there was too much internal reflection in the gondola windows to get good shots.
I had a good time, but I don’t think I need to return anytime soon. If you do come here, the Maid, the Behind observation deck and the ferris wheel are all highly recommended. You can get multi-venue passes to save a few bucks and there are also coupons to be had everywhere.
[gmap file=”__UPLOAD__/2011/09/20110902.kml” type=”satellite” zoom=”auto” visible=”true” center=”files”]
to Niagara Falls
2011/09/01
Not much to comment on today. I left Toronto as I arrived, under dark clouds and rain. Took Lakeshore Drive down to Hamilton – slower than the superhighway, but a much more pleasant drive.
No pictures today – didn’t really stop anywhere scenic.
From Hamilton I went south to Binbrook, a small town where my mother once lived for a short time, then west to Niagara Falls through the back roads. Nice area – lots of little hobby farms. But I see it being gobbled up by the expanding suburbs of Hamilton and Niagara Falls.
Although I did live in Hamilton for a short while and had some notable experiences there, I didn’t stop in on my way though, and I don’t think I will on my way back north either. I don’t have a whole lot of happy memories associated with Hamilton, and there aren’t really any particularly meaningful spots to photograph.
[gmap file=”__UPLOAD__/2011/09/20110901.kml” type=”satellite” visible=”true” zoom=”auto” center=”files”]
Toronto day 7
2011/08/31
Today had three things in it: Shopping, the ROM and one last dinner with Nav.
Shopping
Remember all those stores I was reminiscing about the other day? I revisited a bunch of them today, without my camera bag so I could go inside.
I’m happy to report that the World’s Biggest Bookstore is still pretty good – it hasn’t degenerated into a gift card store like Chapters has. Still two large floors packed with books, books, books. It definitely is one of the biggest brick-and-mortar new-book stores in Canada still.
The Silver Snail is also still excellent. They’ve got a good selection of new and old comics and action figures, but the real highlight is the busts and statues they have on display – very expensive, but amazing. There were several variations on life-size Alien heads, a cutaway Millennium Falcon to scale with the old Star Wars action figures (of which they had many for sale), and best of all, some of Dr. Grordbort`s steampunk rayguns.
Active Surplus is not as diminished as I had thought. They no longer have a storefront, but what they do have is stairs leading to a second-floor store that is still at least two thirds the size of what they used to have. Plus it`s much better organized, so they may actually have more stock now – and they also have a second location now on top of it. This store is an electronic nerd`s dream. I grabbed a basket and walked every aisle, tossing anything that looked interesting in my basket. I ended up spending well over $100 on random interesting junk, and could easily have spent more had I more time.
I went to check out Toby`s Famous Eatery, one of three restaurants claiming to inherit the mantle of my old favorite, Toby`s Good Eats. As a test, I had their Buster Brownie – the classic hot fudge brownie with ice cream dessert I love so much. It was good, but nowhere near as good as it used to be.
I was going to go check out Bakka Books as well, but time was getting short so I skipped it.
The Royal Ontario Museum
I`ve always loved the old stone building that houses the ROM. I was distressed to learn they have grown this ugly crystalline cancer on the north side of the building:
But thankfully they didn`t remove any of the old building – it`s all still there, including the old entrance on the east side:
Due to time constraints, I concentrated on the two most interesting exhibits – paleontology and minerology, but also took a quick pass through the rest. Assorted photos follow.
the paleo exhibit is really something – it gives a dramatic reminder of just how big some of these extinct critters really were.
Interesting headgear:
Armadillo the size of a VW bug:
Meow:
Check out these amethyst geodes. The first one is more than six feet tall. I`ve always dreamed of finding a geode, but finding something like this would be mindblowing:
Slice from the largest black mica crystal ever found – three meters by two meters (can`t recall the original thickness):
I like this art deco clock. Must make something like this:
Dinner
Got together with Navtej one last time, and he took me to his favorite Indian buffet – the Tandoori Flame in Brampton. It was great. The food was at least as good as my favorite Indian place out west, and there was a much greater selection here. I tried a bunch of new things. Nav made me try their white pumpkin desert – it looks like an ice cube. Unbelievably sweet – I couldn`t finish a single bite without setting off my coma alert warnings. I don`t think I have ever tasted anything so sugary – not even pure sugar or honey comes close.
Back on the road tomorrow. I`ve had a nice break from driving and am ready to resume my journey now, and I`ve done everything I wanted to do in Toronto.
[gmap file=”__UPLOAD__/2011/09/20110831.kml” type=”satellite” visible=”true” zoom=”auto” center=”files”]
