This is not rocket science, it’s Shirley’s birthday!
Make a wish!
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we get to the birthday part we’re lounging around at Leslie’s having breakfast and of course a lot of coffee.
In keeping with today’s birthday/gift theme we surprise Les with a couple of hostess gifts for being so generous and gracious in having us at the house all week.
Today we’re off to the Ontario Science Centre, just a short drive but once again on the freeways, yahoo! Lots to see and do and being the weekend, there are lots of kids and lots of noise.
Crazy Rube Goldburg rolling ball maze
Garry
Crocus coming up
Cancelling – Biggest Canadian mistake ever!
Shirley
Finally figured out what all the blockchain hype is about
After the Science Centre we get ready for the big birthday party and we head off to Ajax where Dorte & Ron live and a nearby Keg restaurant. Bob & Linda have driven in from Orrilia for the celebration and we have a great time around the table with some great food to.
Let’s get this party started!
After a great dinner is was back to Ron & Dorte’s for coffee and dessert. Les & Dorte both provided Shirley’s favourite, cheesecake! Not sure how we fit it in but I think most had a piece of each!
After all that food and fun we rolled into the car for the drive back to Les’s.
Another day in the bag. Tomorrow we hit the road for Chicago.
Time for a confession. I’m writing this on August 26 so some of the details are not so clear or fresh from here on out about the road trip, but I’ll do my best.
Today is about and extended visit with my Uncle Stan and more of the cousins and their families so after a late breakfast we head over to Mississauga for the afternoon.
Cousin Wendy and husband Roman host the gathering at their home. and between Wendy & Cathy they have rounded up the troops and we are made to feel exceptionally welcome.
Uncle Stan is there and we spend some time chatting about family etc., and just hanging out.
During the afternoon we took a lot of photos and several group shots, but somehow not everyone was included. Wendy’s son was there with his children Zoe & Hazel, Wendy’s grandaughters. However, his wife was working and unable to make it. Lots of pictures of Zoe & Hazel (being held), none of dad 🙁
Patti (standing left) was there and so was husband David, but somehow there were no David pictures!
Dean was also there and somehow avoided getting in any pictures. His wife Gillian was returning from Scotland so was not available. I think the grandkids stole the show and somehow they seem to be in almost all the photos!
The Gathering
We had a very special afternoon re-connecting with family. It was a very precious time and we were made to feel so special, honoured and loved. We basked in the memories for several days afterwards and will alway treasure the memories of this visit.
After we left Wendy’s we explored nearby Port Credit and stopped off for a “small” snack.
From Port Carling we’re back to our Toronto “home” base at Leslie’s for dinner and a relaxing evening reflecting on the day.
Today’s excursion is to Ripley’s Aquarium in the heart of downtown Toronto
Carol & Mel’s house
After we pick up Carol at her house and head downtown to the base of the CN Tower in the Entertainment District and pay some crazy parking price to get some parking close to the Aquarium.
After some roaming around various streets dodging construction we get the car in a lot and head over to the aquarium.
A bunch of guys handing around downtown.
Not sure how I feel about naming rights to everything these days.
There are a lot of fish in this place, it’s HUGE! We spend several hours wandering around exploring the exhibits. At one point there is a moving sidewalk like in airports to move people through an exhibit with the sharks swimming on both sides and overhead.
Shirley & I
Carol & Leslie
Just a few fish shots …
Look! I’m a Star!
Did you see that guy behind us?
Looking for lunch.
Which one is Nemo?
Right next to the aquarium was the Railway Museum and Roundhouse Park so I had to pop over for a look and a couple of pictures of course.
A late lunch at a popular burger spot rounds out our outing for the day.
The rest of the photos of the day are below ( or on flickr).
We’re off on a mini-road trip to day and the destination is Niagra-on-the-lake for some wine tours. As with the rest of the trip, this is not the best season for wine tours, the vines are bare, there are no leaves and there is not much happening. However, there are wine tastings!
En route, we pass the Welland Canal, and on a whim I turn in at Lock #3 for a look around. This is a structure that I’d heard of but never experienced in person. With the visitor centre & museum it was well worth the small detour to check it out.
Here we are on the edge of Lock #3 just 9km from Lake Ontario. We’re going to Chicago 782km later in the week but New York is only 478km. Hmmmm
The centre is quite nice and we explore the museum while waiting for the arrival of a ship.
Shirley & Leslie also walk around outside and explore the elevated viewing platform, from where I took this photo.
The lock is empty when we arrive, but is being filled in anticipation of the arriving ship.
The lock is now full and the upstream gate can be opened. The yellow device on the far wall is an automatic docking system which pushes and hold the ship against the near wall. No ropes involved.
Here she comes! The vertical lift road bridge in the background has opened to let the ship pass and it’s creeping along slowly towards the lock.
It’s a tight fit with only a few feet to spare! We’re told that the captain that actually slides the ship along the wall of the canal to ease it into the lock.
After observing the ship come fully into the lock and the gate at the back close we decide to move along to the original destination without waiting around to see the ship lowered into the next section of the canal. Back in the car and off to Niagra-on-the-lake. (why to they have the hyphens in the name anyway?)
We drive around “downtown” for a bit and then locate a restaurant for lunch. It was just adequate (barely) and service was so-so, not the best visitor experience. However, next we’re off to the wineries and some sampling. There are so many to choose from and we randomly pick Reif Estate Winery for out 1st stop.
Sadly, I didn’t take any pictures but we had a great server there which made our time together fun as we sampled 5 different wines. We all ended up buying the one we liked the best. After we left there I was officially the designated driver for the remainder of the day.
Out 2nd stop is the Château des Charmes, an impressive building to be sure. Again a little more sampling for Shirley & Leslie, I amused myself by looking around the building and grounds.
Nothing happening yet, but I’m sure the grapes are coming! My fav.
Mean while back in the tasting room these two are having a great time!
After some more driving around the area and a brief look around St. Catherines we head back to Toronto and another day is done.
The highlight of today and of the trip is to see my Uncle Stan, and cousins Wendy and Kathy for an afternoon visit and then dinner with Leslie, Carol & Mel
Around noon, after a leisurely morning of many cups of coffee and then breakfast, we head off to Oakville to where Uncle Stan and Kathy live.
We spend an enjoyable afternoon chatting with everyone and having lunch. My uncle shows us his art work which is amazing! He has a teacher that comes to the house and he has produced an significant body of work using many different styles and mediums, very impressive. We’re so wrapped up in the conversations that I don’t that any photos, so I’ve “borrowed” a couple from later in the week for this post.
Kathy holding Zoe and Wendy
Uncle Stan
After our visit we drive over to Port Carling since we’re in the neighbourhood and stop of for a “small” snack before heading home for the day
Super Nachos for 4-6 people!
After driving back to Leslie’s, a mere 1.5hrs on the freeway, we get together with Carol and Mel for a lovely home cooked dinner, thanks Leslie! Home cooking is especially good after a week of restaurants on the road. 🙂
First full day in Toronto and we spend all morning sitting around drinking coffee and talking with my cousin Leslie. We’re really enjoying being in a home and home cooking, thanks Les!
By late in the morning we’re beginning to think we should do something before the day totally slips away after all we’re tourists in the big city now. Now we don’t know the Aga Khan but Les suggests seeing the Aga Khan Museum, which is close by, so we spend a better part of the afternoon there on a tour and looking around on our own.
The museum had a special exhibition on The Moon which included this huge and highly detailed replica of the moon suspended high over one of the galleries.
I’ve got the whole moon in my hand, I’ve got the whole….
The building architecture was very impressive and the museum artifacts were also very interesting. As with most art/cultural spaces there is a donor wall where they acknowledge people and companies who have given money to support the Museum. As is typical, the donors are grouped into dollar amount categories, and the categories went to quite a large amount range. However, one amount range was still looking for it’s first donor, the $25+ million. Talk about calling it in!
Back at the house for some beverages, more home cooking and more discussions rounded out the day.
Like the previous days before leaving town we have a look around for a few hours to quickly take in some of the local sights.
Water is always a big attraction for me so off to the waterfront we go. And what do I find? A lighthouse of course. We’re seeing a lot of lighthouses all over the place, some of them not even close to the water!
As we’re roaming around I notice an attraction on a local tourist map. It’s amazing! So amazing it has it’s own website along with other things to see in Ontario
You can see the tower from several roads in the area but as we tried to navigate to the tower we managed to miss the turn, where there was a very small sign, and had to loop around a couple of times and just wing it to get to the bottom of the tower. There was a nice museum there, which like so many things this time of year was closed but the tower was accessible, so up we went.
High up on a hill…
How many more flights are there?
The view from the top was pretty spectacular.
Downtown Perry Sound looking towards the Sound
After leaving Perry Sound its a steady drive to Orillia to visit my cousin Linda and her husband Bob. We are greeted warmly on our arrival and spend a wonderful afternoon catching up and learning more about their life in Orillia.
Strangely, I didn’t take any pictures at Bob & Linda’s. No worries, they will show up on a later day.
After we leave Bob & Linda we tour around downtown Orillia, again no pictures, and then head on to Toronto where we’ll be staying for about a week with my cousin Leslie. Yes! No more hotel hauling for a few days! The drive is uneventful except for getting reacquainted with freeway driving on the 401. Yikes! A lot of cars, and a lot of lanes but the GPS keeps us on track plus I’ve driven here several times over the years on business trips.
Today’s drive highlight is to visit Richards Landing on St. Joseph’s Island and Sudbury, the city of two of my childhood homes. But 1st we need to checkout of the hotel.
Almost all of out stuff that goes in and out of the hotel rooms.
Checkout is not a problem it’s the packout that is more of an issue. It seems we don’t travel light on these road trips.
Thankfully, most hotels have these carts that can hold a crazy amount of stuff and usually one trip plus a few hand carried extras get us in and out.
Historic building on the edge of the canal
Before we leave town we drop over to the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site for a look around. Of course at this time of year the canal is still ice bound and not operational and there are no buildings open or tours available.
We drive around a bit and take a few photos of the very impressive looking brick buildings, the bridge over the canal and one of the ships at the marina.
Our next stop is approximately 90km away on St. Joseph’s Island so were off to Richards Landing.
Richards Landing is pretty small and we drive through to the end of town and stop for a look around and a few more photos. This is my 1st of several lighthouse photos on the trip. Our friends have a son, daughter-in-law and grandkids on the island and now we know what the area looks like!
My co-photographer at work. Still lots of snow in the area and the lake is frozen solid. For some reason I thought things would be opening up by now, but not yet.
Bigger boats like this tug boat are frozen in place. The marina docks are empty as all the pleasure boats have been removed to their winter storage locations.
The island is renowned for it’s maple syrup production but as luck would have it we missed the tapping of the trees and gathering of the sap by a couple of weeks. However, there is a demonstration area showing how the maple syrup is made and an attached restaurant and gift shop at he Gilbertson’s Maple Products. So, we set the trusty GPS and drive on. Sadly, they are closed one day a week on Sunday, and to day is Sunday. We’re a little disappointed but poke around and look in the windows. Perhaps another time.
The gate
There is another big attraction on the island and that is the Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site. We knew the site was closed for the season but thought what the heck, lets drive over for a look at the buildings. It turns out the island is way bigger that it looks on a map and after quite a bit of driving around we arrive at the above sign. The fort is 3km down that road. It is a nice day but time really doesn’t allow for a 6km hike for a quick look around. Foiled again!
Next stop is Sudbury, home of the “Big Nickel” and two of my childhood homes.
This is 1214 Gemmel, Sudbury Ontario the 1st of two houses I lived in. Memories include looking out the upstairs windows at night and watching molten slag being poured down a hill in the distance like molten lava. Other memories are special Christmas gifts ( a metal car transport truck, tabletop hockey game and a Daisy Air rifle), and being “shocked” across the living room floor
This is the second house in an area we called “new” Sudbury back in the day, 67 Roxburrow. Again special Christmas memories, my 1st model railroad set that started a long history of model railroad building over the years. Also, there was nothing across the road but an empty field and a “mountain” in the distance which provided for may hours of adventure with my friends.
Things across the road have changed a bit…
This is “across the road” which is now totally build up with many roads and houses right up to the “mountain” which while largely untouched now has a road up to the top and a large condo complex.
We’re done looking around in Sudbury so it back out on the highway to finish up today’s drive to Parry Sound in just under 2 hours.
Once were loaded into the local Comfort Inn we look around downtown Parry Sound while waiting for our take-out pizza to be ready. Back to the hotel for dinner & some TV and that’s the end of Day 3
On the road by about 9:39am. A bit of a surprise start as we’re driving in a bit of a snow squall off and on all the way to Kenora. Pretty uneventful drive except for a couple of deer running across the road, thankfully I spotted them well in advance and just slowed a bit to let them across.
After Dryden the road is new to us. It’s a pretty drive but not too much happening between there and Thunder Bay. We make the typical stops for gas and washroom breaks and one stop to take a photo of a giant metal sculpture of a mosquito carrying away a man in Upsala. ( Photo later, it’s on the SLR)
Highlight of sightseeing was Kakabeka Falls
Very pretty with the ice and snow surrounding the falls. Reputed to be the 2nd highest falls in Ontario after Niagara.
Another 30 km and we’re in Thunder Bay at our hotel around 8pm EST. Dinner at a Greek place and we’re done for the day.
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