Last night in Toronto and back to the USA

Tuesday as we were waiting to hear if my package had arrived I got an email from Jim and Grace who were on the Alaska tour with us.  I had forgotten that they lived in Toronto.  We were able to arrange to see them in the afternoon and had a very nice visit.

They are in the process of moving to a condo so that they can travel more.

We went to Tom and Camilla’s to pick up my package and had another good visit with them.  Hopefully it won’t be fifteen years before the next visit.

Wednesday morning we got up and headed for Michigan.  The bridge was a welcome sight after having been gone for more than two months.

Our first glimpse of Michigan.

 

The welcome to Michigan sign was good to see.

Hunting for Ice Cream

Monday evening Wayne got a craving for ice cream so we went out on the hunt.  In order to get to the closest town we had to drive by the Mohawk Racetrack and OLG Casino.

 

They race surreys there as you can see by the silhouette of the horse and driver against the evening sky.

We drove into Campbellville where I got pictures of some of their cute shops.

 

I also got a better picture of the building that I think was a fire station because of the tall garage door.

   

The corner at the Esso at the main intersection of town had beautiful landscaping.

 

No ice cream here so we turned around and headed out the other way.  Mostly what we saw were farms.

 

We finally found a convenience store that was larger than most that had ice cream.  It even had my Ben and Jerry’s Fudge Brownie Yogurt.

To Niagara Falls, ON and back

We drove down to Niagara Falls today.   We saw the falls fifteen years ago from the American side but this was the first time that we had been on the Canadian side.  The whole area near the falls has one amusement after another.  The traffic was very congested and there were people everywhere.

This is Queen Victoria Place which was a very pretty building with a garden out in front.

Next to it was this round structure with a picture of the falls that you could stand next to to get your picture taken.

 

They have a vertical tram similar to Quebec, QC but it is not as steep.

 

The  area around the falls was full of people.

 

These pictures were taken from inside Table Rock Welcome Center.

When we got outside the sound of the falls is awesome.  The power of the water is something you just can’t describe.  The American Falls can be seen on the left with the Canadian Horseshoe Falls on the right.

 

You can get so close that you feel like you are on the edge.

Here is the Maid of the Mist journeying up close to the falls.  We did it fifteen years ago and didn’t feel the need to repeat the trip.

 

Here I am with the water behind me.

   

And here is Wayne.

You can see the observation deck on the American side.

This was very interesting spotted grass that was planted at Table Rock.

This is the building at Table Rock.  It has restaurants, shopping, visitor services, etc.

As we were leaving we spotted some old abandoned buildings on the river side of the street.

It is a shame that the buildings couldn’t be recycled into museums or something.

We followed some signs leaving the parking lot and then took a wrong turn that took us through the Dufferin Islands park that was very pretty.

There were seagulls, ducks, and geese sharing the water at this location.

The rapids above the falls are swift and look unmanageable.

   

This is a shot of only the American falls.

We left town a different way but it still had attractions on every corner.

On the way home near Hamilton there is a rusting ship on its side with three masts.

We went home a different route and came through Campbellville.  This building looks like an old fire house.

This pretty gingerbread house is also in town.

As is this old Presbyterian Church.

To Campbellville and Toronto West KOA

We had to pass through Peterborough again and I finally  took a picture of this large goose statue.  The sign says “Come in for a Gander.”

Along the way we passed another of those churches with all the unusual spires.  I really must find out what kind of church they are.

While out walking Trouble a woman came out with a Yorkie puppy.  He was just Trouble’s size so I told her to bring him down to play.  And play they did for about an hour.

They are both going to sleep good tonight.

Shady Acres Resort

Saturday was rainy.  The good news was that we got a beautiful rainbow out of it.

  

It even started to form a double rainbow.

And it extended clear over the motorhome.

No gold at the end of the rainbow but Texas beat Rice that night in the football game.

Cedar Beach Park, Stouffville, and Scarborough

Trouble is the hit of the park. If there are children around they are usually in the pen with him.  He really loves children.

Sunday afternoon I drove over to a weekend country market in Stouffville.  There were many shops inside this big barn and many more stalls in the area to the right of it.  It looked like a giant garage sale outside.  Karla should have been here.

I also took a picture of this church which was the first Methodist church that I have seen on this trip.

On Monday we went into Scarborough to see Tom and Camila again.  This church is under construction and is off the road but it it huge.

Here is Wayne arriving at Tom and Camilla’s house. Here roses were beautiful.

And here are Camilla and Tom.  Tom just had a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted so he and Wayne have matching lumps on their chests.

Tom has a vegetable garden beside his shed.

 

They were nice enough to share their bounty with us.  We love tomatoes that taste like tomatoes.

This is their back yard.

 

Camila and I went out for lunch and a little shopping and the guys went to the Canadian Tire Store and lunch.  A fun day.

Tuesday evening Kelly and Elide came over to visit and see the motorhome.  This picture was taken of them when we met them in a restaurant in Rome in May.  Naturally I forgot to take a new picture.  After a nice visit we topped off the evening with some ice cream

Good news, the jack has arrived and we made an appointment to have it installed on Friday afternoon.  We will move closer to Peterborough tomorrow.