We stayed over night at Hampton Inn on Mirror Lake in the Lake Placid areas. It took about 6 hours to drive to Lake Placid. Very cool largish town. Lots of character and evidence of the two Winter Olympics which have been held here. We wandered around the streets looking for nick nacks and enjoyed the coolness of the mountain air. We had been quite hot at times at Niagara, but we have travelled north and the air is cooler. Nice though.
The pub next door with the Adirondak Chairs – deck chairs which were created here and are now known world wide.
The Adirondak Mountains incorporate 46 mountains and lakes and trees and farms and beautiful landscapes generally.Beautiful part of the world.
Niagara on the lake – beautiful and full of shops and restaurants, ripe for the tourist picking. Here are some snaps of this beautiful town.
The magnificent Niagara Falls. Just unbelieveable. This squirrel was near our walk to the falls, he was collecting nuts and buried one near the edge of the path. B says that’s why there are so many trees around cos the squirrels dont know where they buried them. The pink people – we saw blue people on Maid of the Mist, Pink people on the Hornblower and the Yellow people were in the tunnels. The yellow people.
We left Boscaygeon and headed south. We passed miles of barns and farms and corn and vineyards. We also went to a little community called Kleinburg. B used to live here.
Kleinburg Village – Cute little town
Kleinburg was a lovely little village and the streets were covered with flowery displays. This pram was beautiful full of petunias at a children’s clothes shop. The flowers were all over the town in hanging baskets and floral displays on the pavements and in barrels.
The trees are starting to colour, cant wait to see them in full flush. Some of them are already coloured but not enough for my liking.
The barns in the fields along the way are so wonderful to see.
They are just “like in the movies”.
We drove through miles and miles of places, farms and barns and fields of corn. A lot of corn.
We stopped and had our photos taken next to a genuine school bus. lol so much fun.
There were so many wonderful wooden barns, most were photographed at 100kms an hour through a window so not always my best work.
In my next entry I will show you south near Niagara on the Lake. Another very pretty well kept place. Caters to the tourist, but does it well.
We went out for dinner last night with family and had a great time. Today was easy and relaxed. Caught up on some much needed sleep and went out for dinner tonight at Water’s Edge Restaurant.. on the canal near the locks at Bobcaygeon.
We are off tomorrow in the direction of Niagara Falls. Two night there. All day to get there will afford time for lots of pics. Stay tuned.Proposed route..
Today was a little weird. It started around 3 am with me wide awake looking for something to do. So started the book I had brought with me; given to me by B before we left Perth. Infidel: my life by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Fantastic read, couldn’t put it down for 3 hours. So was ready for breakfast around 6 this morning. No biggy, stayed awake and functioning well, all signs of the cold are gone, so is the headache from hell, and I will give Tylenol extra strength a wide birth in the future. But whatever downside I experienced, the upside is, I am over it and it really only lasted two days. Phew. Tired today but over the cold.
After breakfast we went over to Bobcaygen’s main street and ventured into one of Canada’s largest shoe stores, Bigley’s which is in the main street of Bobcaygeon. The staff were fabulous and fun – as I mentioned in my review on Yelp! The range of shoes is in the vicinity of 40,000 and I saw some Bundstones from Tasmania, Australia. Very Cool.
Bisley’s shoes and clothing, Bobgaygeon, Ontario, Canada.
We walked up the road today along from the Southwinds and saw a blue spruce,
a squirrel and some water birds resting on rocks in the water near the lock.
We drove to Peterborough and had a light lunch at Tim Horton’s (Timmy’s)
Whetung – Objiwa
After lunch we went to an Indian Reservation – their land and to a beautiful collection of paintings, sculptures and artifacts, along with t-shirts and crafted objects. Beautifully soft leather goods and a stuffed black bear.
We drove through Peterbororough and saw all sorts of different houses and school buses and out into the country and saw barns like on TV lol.
We now have wheels. We went to Union Station to Hertz to hire our Dodge Grand Caravan.
It is a fantastic and roomy. Will get to drive it in due course. We have three cases now, but still have not found the fourth. Its somewhere in Toronto it appears. The phonecalls have been going back and forth between couriers, customs and American Airlines lost luggage people.
Toronto -> Boscaygeon
We have moved into a gorgeous guesthouse, with fully contained units – but no laundry faclities. Doh! but we have connections in this town
Southwinds Resort Marina and Spa
We are in the upstairs unit and A&B are downstairs. Now when I say upstairs – when I volunteered us to have the upper floor I had no idea we would be climbing a mountain.
The stairs to the second floor.
We drove from Toronto. Took about 2 hours and we drove on a 16 lane highway – 8 in each direction.
16 Lane Highway 401
The journey was easy and the greenery was reminiscent of England, We arrived early in the day and dragged our cases up the mountain. Went out for dinner at B’s sister’s house. Met a 20 year old teacher in training. She is interested in coming to Australia to teach in the future so I got some info from a friend of mine for her to investigate. Nice girl.
Have been out for the count the last twentyfour hours. Had a cold and felt like crap – bought some cold tablets – Tylenol and it bites, had the head-ache from hell. I have had jetlag because of the 8 hr time difference from Perth to Honolulu then 6 hours from Honolulu to Toronto. So with the cold and the pills which I think turned out to be way too strong or something I have been suffering big time. So D & I(who has had a cough for about 3 days) have not been sleeping or eating for a few days. Have been weak and disinterested in food. But, all is not lost – we are recovering and tomorrow is washing day – woo hoo. hahaha
Really enjoyed Toronto and would love to have stayed longer. Its got a really buzzy vibe. B tells me that the population is quite young with the financial business in the city.
We are off to Peterborough tomorrow about an hour from Bobcageon.
Some of the phenomenally different from each other buildings – and an illustration effect has been used on the second.A Henry Moore sculpture – which created a bit of a controversy when it was installed in 1958 in Nathan Phillips Square
After we crossed this square we headed for a large shopping centre – a great place to go on a cold -20 degree winter’s day.Our day however, is around 17 and has had a little rain. Not a problem really. It rained on us gently as we walked and stopped for touristy photographs. Like this one.
Hot Dog Stand
The sign TORONTO is illuminated next to a fountain which freezes in the winter and is used for an ice rink.
There are some really interesting and cleverly designed buildings. The curved one behind me in the picture was designed to cut down wind rushing through the gap between the towers.
Using another effect called retro.
We then wandered along James Street and into the Eaton Centre.
Entrance off James Street of the Eaton Centre
I then went in with A & B to have tea at the Fresh Market and I had a cha cha Burger – with jalapenos.
Combie is a food vendor.
Got back to our hotel and have had my suitcase delivered. So happy. 30 hours without it has been a little inconvenient. Went to the shops and bought some knickers, cos one pair is just never enough. 🙂
We are still waiting for the other cases to be delivered. Word has it that one is in Toronto, and two are in transit from Dallas. How this all works boggles one’s mind. Anyway – I hope it all comes together soon.
Our flight to Dallas was uneventful, except for two things. Andrew our Customer Service Officer was fantastic. He was smart attentive and knew his job. He was very helpful and was very easy to get along with. The second thing was the fresh berries we had for breakfast. Stunning! One raspberry, one strawberry, two blackberries and some other fruit pieces. They were so fresh and absolutely delicious. I continue to be impressed with all service personnel I have dealt with. Everywhere I go they are on the ball, happy to help, and generous with their time. Really great.
After all that excitement we arrive in Toronto. A lovely looking city if you can judge from a ride from the airport. Past Lake Ontario and into Downtown Toronto to stay at our lovely hotel, the Doubletree. We were asked at Customs where we were staying and we couldn’t remember the name so all we could summon up as two trees?? But after checking with our companions we established it was Doubletree. There was a broad smile on the face of the customs officer.
Next we went to our carousel to collect our bags. They did not show. looks like the tag was only through to Dallas, so we are waiting 24 hours or so without luggage for it to arrive. It is due in on the same flight as we arrived on so whould be at our hotel around noon.
Went out last night looking for food and electrical things. Went to a huge chain store called Canadian Tire. Combination between Kmart and Bunnings all rolled into one. Started as a Tire store and grew I hear. Also 90% of Canadians live within 15 mins of a Canadian Tire store. Asked three people for help in Canadian Tire and all were on the money for directions and help. After that we went to a market one block away. Fresh food and packaged delicacies. Even when I tried to outsmart the checkout chick and get into the wrong line, she corrected me politely. I ended up being served by a lovely young man who actually smiled and made eye contact as he handed me my receipt and change. Really refreshing. In Australia, I often feel like I am an inconvenience or invisible. Sigh!
I bought fruit and veg and some cheese and cold meat for tea. It was so fresh and yummy. Also bought some guacamole. Best I have ever tasted!
The market’s name was Longo’s Market and the guacamole was ‘zesty’. I was so enraptured with the flavour so I have photographed the list of ingredients. May try and replicate it when I get home. So nice.
Well the flight from Honolulu to Toronto was via Dalls/Fort Worth. Very interesting. We arrived at Dallas at around 6:00am and had to find our way to gate D21. We knew this because as we were coming in to land about 20 mins out, someone on the flight deck started reading out the names of American cities I have heard my whole life. Pensacola, Buffalo, and about 18 others and the gates the next connecting flights were flying out of. It was amazing and as they were read in alphabetical order, Toronto was well down the list.
So upon arrival we boarded the escalator to the skylink. This took us to the platform to catch the dart (www.dart.org)DART is your airport connection. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)
This is the inside and everytime it stopped we were told to hold on. So efficient. Very impressive. There is a map on the side of the carriage and each stop is illuminated so you know where you are up to. We stood for our 5 min ride and stopped at about 4 stations before ours.
Fort Worth , Texas – yes there was a real Fort Worth.
The history of Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States is closely intertwined with that of northern Texas and the Texan frontier. From its early history as an outpost and a barrier against Native American threats, to its later days as a booming cattle town, to modern times as a corporate center, the city has changed dramatically, although it still preserves much of its heritage in its modern culture. Wikipedia) Link above in green will take you to more details if you are interested.
So this shows how close the two cities are – hence the Dallas/Fort Worth naming (DFW)
Niagara Falls to Lake Placid
The pub next door with the Adirondak Chairs – deck chairs which were created here and are now known world wide.
Mirror Lake
Lake Placid High School
Travellers, Not Tourists - my time and travels around the world and in my own backyard! 