Toronto Part 4!

It is taking longer to keep up on these posts than it did to actually have the vacation!

Of course, one cannot go to Ontario without checking out Niagara Falls.



(I need to add again that the pics on these Toronto posts are sourced from various websites. My own pictures are still sitting in my camera.)

We had intended to take the Greyhound bus, since we were not keen on driving in a strange province on busy highways, so we woke up at 4:00 AM so we could be ready and waiting at the bus depot by 6:00. As we were slogging through the morning mist, my husband slowed down and said, "So, I'm wondering if we should rent a car after all." "Sounds good," I said, "Let's go."

In hindsight, I'm glad we did. Not long after this trip there was a terrible murder on a Greyhound bus; click the link if you're curious and make sure you don't have a full stomach.

So, in keeping with our usual experience of Torontonians being helpful, we managed to rent a car, on a Friday, with no notice whatsoever. AND we got a carseat with it! Way to go, Hertz.

The drive was simpler than we had expected. It would be difficult to get lost, in fact.

Once we got into town and found an amazing parking spot, we got out to look at:

THE FALLS.

Wow!

There is nothing that I could say that would adequately describe the Falls themselves. The noise, the mist, the sheer immensity of it all is just mind-blowing.

We took a tour where we could walk in tunnels that are behind the Falls, and we got completely soaked.

After awhile we decided to see the rest of the town. The town itself is hilarious! It's like a big carnival with all sorts of cheesy attractions. On Clifton Hill, the main drag, you can find the Guinness World's Records Museum, a mini-Legoland, a number of fright features like "haunted" houses, the Motorbike Museum, The Criminals Hall of Fame -- where I bought some replica pistols for my son and daughter-in-law-elect, then wondered how the hell I was going to get them on the plane -- and finally, my must-see feature:

The Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum!



I read Ripley's books obsessively when I was young, so I HAD to see this feature. It was better than I thought it would be! Very fun, very interesting, full of cool stuff and funny interactive features.

My youngest son, who is 7, insists that he loves haunted houses and doesn't scare easily. We went into one, paid the fifteen bucks or so of admission, and lasted about 90 seconds in there before we had to take the chicken's exit. We were wandering the hallways, which were dim and full of creepy pictures and sculptures, when we came to a tunnel that was utterly pitch black. I leaned forward, put my hand through the mouth of the tunnel, and *SNAP*, something made a sharp noise. I jerked back, leaned forward again, and "Mmmuuuhhhwwwaaahahahahaha". Eee! I stepped back again, and all was silent, so I crept forward again, and a voice said, "Don't be afraid little one. Come to me." Uhhhhh... someone saw my young son. These are real people. Is this part of the feature????

We hightailed it out of there -- it turns out that yes, it was part of the feature. Thank God.

An uneventful drive back and we were back at our wonderful hotel for the evening.



Only a few days to go! I'll write more tomorrow.

Toodle!