Weather woes
32 Celsius is warm! Especially with some humidity. But it could have been worse...
So I started the day out with walking over to the Skylon tower. You ride up to the top in elevators on the outside of the building. But you get a really good view going up and down. And fabulous views of the falls. The most interesting thing was seeing the river above the falls, the sheer amount of water that goes through is amazing. Especially after learning that about half of the potential water is actually diverted to the power stations.
After that walk I checked out and headed up for more Niagara Falls fun. First I did the whirlpool aero car. There is a spot where the river goes around a tight corner and it causes a massive whirlpool. And some crazy guy years ago built a car to go across. It was a strange little ride. Especially when you are close to the far side everyone walked in a circle so you can see both views. But you're still hanging way above the river. But the views were amazing!
I also did the Sir Adam Beck hydro plant tour. It was really interesting. Upon the many things that I learned the most amusing was that the US and Canada have actually signed a treaty with each other setting minimum amounts of water that must flow over the falls during tourist times. So basically they can take almost all they want at night but must slow down during the day. But the tour was informative and you get to go through viewing rooms to see all the generators and how everything works. And did you know that it is safer for the fish to go through the plant than over the falls? It really is.
Then I headed north to Toronto. But didn't just want a boring drive only to sit in the hotel room. So first I stopped at the Welland Canal. They have the locks along the welland river to allow the boats to go through. I did get to see a boat come through and watched it lift way way up with the water. But didn't have the time to fully watch it go through. But what a marvel of technology. The boat comes into this narrow little canal that it barely fits in. They close the lock behind and then slowly open the lock in the front, the area fills with water, lifts the ship up and then the ship sails through onto the next lock. It was worth the stop.
Then I went to Dundurn Castle. It was far more exciting than I expected. I went on the guided tour with a guy from France so it was a nice small tour and the girl who did the tour was really interesting and knowledgeable. I also got a military museum tour but there was a reason it was included for free.
After I went to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was a bit of a mixed bag. By the time I made it through the building to the gardens it was pouring. But the girls at the desk warned me and I did have my umbrella. And it's not like I had time to come back so I was determined to see something. I went part way down the walk and it really started raining. I was going to just go and take a few pictures of the rose garden and then head back when these two random guys in a van came up and started telling me I should go back. I'm not sure who they were but they seemed irritated that I wasn't
Running from the rain. It's water, I'm not going to melt. I've been wet before! I did end up going and seeing some of the inside gardens. And then the rain stopped as fast as it started and I finished going through. It was an okay place. I guess I've just seen much nicer gardens, and even the flowers in Niagara Falls were more exciting and showy than this place. But I did have a laugh because they had some mallows growing and I laughed because mine were twice the size of theirs.
I finally headed up to the hotel and was pretty successful with all the roads. No getting lost today! And it also helps that I have been travelling against the rush hour traffic. The other direction wasn't as lucky and people weren't quite as aggressive today!
Tomorrow is the first Toronto day. I'm hoping to take the subway in, but have a backup plan just in case that doesn't happen. I'm hoping to maybe check out the museum and take the bus up rue at the very least.
So I started the day out with walking over to the Skylon tower. You ride up to the top in elevators on the outside of the building. But you get a really good view going up and down. And fabulous views of the falls. The most interesting thing was seeing the river above the falls, the sheer amount of water that goes through is amazing. Especially after learning that about half of the potential water is actually diverted to the power stations.
After that walk I checked out and headed up for more Niagara Falls fun. First I did the whirlpool aero car. There is a spot where the river goes around a tight corner and it causes a massive whirlpool. And some crazy guy years ago built a car to go across. It was a strange little ride. Especially when you are close to the far side everyone walked in a circle so you can see both views. But you're still hanging way above the river. But the views were amazing!
I also did the Sir Adam Beck hydro plant tour. It was really interesting. Upon the many things that I learned the most amusing was that the US and Canada have actually signed a treaty with each other setting minimum amounts of water that must flow over the falls during tourist times. So basically they can take almost all they want at night but must slow down during the day. But the tour was informative and you get to go through viewing rooms to see all the generators and how everything works. And did you know that it is safer for the fish to go through the plant than over the falls? It really is.
Then I headed north to Toronto. But didn't just want a boring drive only to sit in the hotel room. So first I stopped at the Welland Canal. They have the locks along the welland river to allow the boats to go through. I did get to see a boat come through and watched it lift way way up with the water. But didn't have the time to fully watch it go through. But what a marvel of technology. The boat comes into this narrow little canal that it barely fits in. They close the lock behind and then slowly open the lock in the front, the area fills with water, lifts the ship up and then the ship sails through onto the next lock. It was worth the stop.
Then I went to Dundurn Castle. It was far more exciting than I expected. I went on the guided tour with a guy from France so it was a nice small tour and the girl who did the tour was really interesting and knowledgeable. I also got a military museum tour but there was a reason it was included for free.
After I went to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was a bit of a mixed bag. By the time I made it through the building to the gardens it was pouring. But the girls at the desk warned me and I did have my umbrella. And it's not like I had time to come back so I was determined to see something. I went part way down the walk and it really started raining. I was going to just go and take a few pictures of the rose garden and then head back when these two random guys in a van came up and started telling me I should go back. I'm not sure who they were but they seemed irritated that I wasn't
Running from the rain. It's water, I'm not going to melt. I've been wet before! I did end up going and seeing some of the inside gardens. And then the rain stopped as fast as it started and I finished going through. It was an okay place. I guess I've just seen much nicer gardens, and even the flowers in Niagara Falls were more exciting and showy than this place. But I did have a laugh because they had some mallows growing and I laughed because mine were twice the size of theirs.
I finally headed up to the hotel and was pretty successful with all the roads. No getting lost today! And it also helps that I have been travelling against the rush hour traffic. The other direction wasn't as lucky and people weren't quite as aggressive today!
Tomorrow is the first Toronto day. I'm hoping to take the subway in, but have a backup plan just in case that doesn't happen. I'm hoping to maybe check out the museum and take the bus up rue at the very least.
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