On the Road…again
Our annual trip to Canada for school break was in August this year. We started to look at fares too late, and with 3 airplane tickets and the need for a rental car when we got there, we decided 17 hours in our car made more sense. You laugh, but it was not that bad.
On the way up, we stopped in Columbus at a nice hotel. Over breakfast the next morning, I started chatting with 2 nice couples, on a little mini-holiday, with family and friends watching their little ones during their short get-away. We had such a nice time chatting and are even now FB friends who we hope to keep in touch with. See, never would have happened on a flight!
I had painstakingly tried to find some “direct” route up this time on Google maps, mapquest, and Garmin. Problem being, there is a huge body of water called Lake Erie in the way. I even tried to see ferry possibilities, but generally that added time to our trip, not take it off.
As we arrived in Buffalo, I looked at my do-all-the-driving hubby and said, “We are right here…We might as well” and he agreed to a detour to Niagara…again! The kids had not seen it in the summer, only in the November Rain this last year, so it would look different after all. Thane was very excited to see “Loud Water” as we call it.
We crossed the border and as is par for the course, Jay got stopped at the border. He has gotten stopped 4 out of the last 5 times up. The almost hour long wait was worth it though. The woman who scanned his passport and called us up nicely asked us…”Did the guard ask you to come in or did you guys just want to?” I laughed and said, “Oh, yeah, we chose this as part of the tour!” She could not find an issue with his account but after some deep digging, found out his “Junior” and birth date have him matched/mixed up with someone who does have issues. Couple of recommendations were given to us so we can hopefully bypass the nice welcoming committee next time we arrive.
Thane and Mara loved Niagara. We had a gorgeous late afternoon there and walked all around the Canadian side, followed by a window seat to the falls dinner.
Our detour brought us in to Canada much sooner than expected but added several hours (2 driving, 3 for the stop itself) to our trip. It also took us out of cell and iPad 3G range much quicker and completely than we expected, and with my new iPad on-demand expectations, that was painful. We took the 407ETR (Express Toll Route) to maybe shorten the drive and not go through Toronto or its traffic. It was weekend, so who knows if we missed anything but I was pretty impressed with the no toll booths method of taking tolls–Photos only then they bill you. I have been on their site, but can’t figure out how to pay WITHOUT a bill, so hopefully it gets to me and we don’t become Canadian fugitives.
We arrived in the wee hours of the morning. We were exhausted but GiaGia had some Kousa waiting for us and we ate and then put the kids and us to bed. The next day, Jay and his grandfather-in-law/soon to be godfather (is that allowed?) decided to dress alike…aren’t they cute?
The weather was rainy our first day so we decided to take Thane to the huge hockey store, Hockey Life, for some treats. He got some new hockey pants, a new stick, and lots of Sens gear. Mara got a Sens jersey too. The staff thought he was a hoot too and were impressed with his gusto (and hey, they are Canadians) for such a little man. They even let him try out his new stick in the shooting area.
Movie–> Canada8
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Sounds like a great trip!