Niece Madalyn Again...

This is my booth. These are the 4 pictures I was selling at the craft fair.

We decided to come to Canada for our first anniversary. In addition, we're also calling it our honeymoon, and it's my birthday. I found out Brandon has wanted to come to Canada since high school... Quebec in particular. I enjoyed my first experience at Niagara Falls (5 years ago) and was eager to see Toronto and the "français curieusement" cities... despite my poor, poor memory of the French language.

We left late Friday night, July 30. We made it just past Dayton, Ohio before we stopped to sleep. We got 4 hours rest, and were back on the road around 6am (July 31). When we arrived in Niagara Falls, our first experience was a yellow ticket at the border patrol, meaning we had to pull over and answer questions and agree to a search. They said it was random. We were sent on our way, and our next order of business was tto find a restroom. We stopped at a huge Niagara Falls info store, where we were thankful to change clothes.

From there, we were off to enjoy a late lunch. We parked at the casino garage, and went around the corner to Clifton Hill. It's a tourist trap, kind of a cross between Broad Ripple and Kings Island, on a steep hill. We passed a couple neat outdoor cafés, and ate at Ruby Tuesday. Very yummy $50 lunch.

I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that the exchange rate sucks. The dollar has decreased in value lately worldwide, and I sort of knew that. When I was here in 1999, the exchange rate was around $1.60 Canadian on the US dollar. We found the best rate in Toronto at $1.30. Niagara was only $1.09!

After lunch, we got the camera, and I spent one whole roll of film on the falls. The falls were, of course, gorgeous. We even got to see the whirlpool before it was completely dark (though I have no pictures of that).

We headed to Toronto to find a hotel room for the night. The third one we found is where we stayed, and it still cost too much. I was thrilled to have a real bed for one more night! We cooked Ramen noodles and tofu for dinner; it was perfect.

August 1 - We got going on Sunday and hit downtown, which has this great cement boardwalk along Lake Ontario. We passed all the free parking, and paid $13 CAN for a garage. We went to the CN Tower first. It looks kinda like the Space Needle in Seattle. The CN Tower is the "tallest building and free-standing structure" in North America. (Over the years, people have set some strange records there.) There's an observation deck that has a glass floor. It brought out my fear of something (heights? falling?)! B took a picture of me sitting on it, which I could only do if I didn't look down. It was neat to look straight down from the solid edge, but I could NOT stand on it and look down! While we were on the outside observation area, we heard an electronic alert system of some sort, and a recording came over the speakers saying "the sound you are hearing is being investigated" over and over. Brandon made a joke, but I immediately was thinking of the 9/11 attacks, and all those people in the WTC towers; that feeling of knowing there wasn't any way out. I won't soon forget that.

The riverwalk area was great! We went to a mall to find bathrooms, and I also got a mocha. Lunch at this mall was a nightmare! It was vegan, but we had decided on a sandwich place with a worker who knew nothing, or understood nothing. Plus, our grilled veggie sandwiches consisted of alread-grilled (cold) veggies. In the end, the substandard meal cost us around $19 CAN. I wonder what the US equivalent (restaurant and price) would be.

There was some sort of international fair or celebration going on. There was a stage show with dancers. Very awesome! There were vendors too. Cool stuff! Ontario was having Civic Holiday the next day, which is kinda neat. It's a 3-day weekend situated between Canada Day (July 1) and Labor Day (September, same as us). A 3-day weekend monthly, nationwide, would be nice.

Sunday night we camped in a park IN Toronto. I thought that was cool.

August 2 - We arrived in Montreal at rush hour adding an hour onto our travel time. One segment of highway was said to take 4 minutes (according to AAA) and it took us 20-30 minutes. We set up camp, and stayed for the evening, making plans for Tuesday.

August 3 - Tuesday we hit Vieux Montréal, or Old Montreal. We rode the Bateaux Mouche, and explored many, many tourist stores for goodies. Being us, we ate dinner at a Thai/Vietnamese place. It was great to me, but Brandon was reminded of the time as a child when he unknowingly ate pigs brains. Eww. We camped at the same place that night.

August 4 - Wednesday we packed up camp and went to the Botanical Gardens in Montreal. Shortly before we left, we discovered the film in the camera had been improperly loaded. The camera registered 38+ pictures but the roll only had 24 exposures on it. I wanted to cry! I was shooting some cool stuff!! Le Jardin de Chine, le Jardin de Japonais. I would have had some awesome pics of koi and ducks fighting over food. Cute!

We decided on the KOA Quebec City for Wednesday night and Thursday night. We tent-camped between a cabin family and a couple in an RV. They were out of primitive sites, so we had to "settle" for a site with H2O and electricity. In French they call that "le bummeur."

August 5 - Thursday we spent all day in and around Vieux Quebec. Quebec City was the most like France in our opinion. More people spoke French, the atmosphere was more laid back, and we sat and ate a baguette. Absolute heaven! There was also a restaurant that served only veggie food! We stuffed ourselves! It was buffet style and they weigh your plate. They had hot food, a salad bar, and a dessert bar. Quebec City is for us!

There was a festival going on called teh "Festival of New France." It was very cool. Kind of like a French Conner Prairie, or any pioneer village you've been to. They had old-time games and activities for the kids, and the stores were even selling the old clothes (at ridiculously high prices).

When we got back to camp, we called home to see how things were. Then we walked to a bar up the street from the campground. We had a couple beers and talked with the waitresses about living in Quebec. It would be nice to live there for a year.

August 6, 7 & 8 - We packed up camp and drove back to the campground in Toronto, which took all Friday. Saturday we drove across Ontario to the Windsor/Detroit border crossing, and then through Michigan. We stopped in Buchanan to visit my great aunt Mary. She's so cool! I showed Brandon bits of the town where I first experienced Michigan as a kid. Then we headed off to Michigan City, Indiana to meet his mom and step-dad for dinner. Sunday we finally arrived back in Indy, to happy kitties and unappreciative bosses. *sigh* Au revoir...

Our Niece!

The Wedding

Our wedding took place on my grandparents back porch. The pictures were taken in the yard, except the cake cutting one. That was in the dining room. My Mom made the cake. Isn't it beautiful?

3/12/03 - Felt even better today! We weren't very busy though. We got a late start, and headed west to Lookout Mountain. It was pretty neat. I stood on some rocks near a really sheer drop-off in some harsh wind. That was a thrill.

Got my first taste of mountain driving, including the 6% sloped highway and sharp curves. That was an even bigger thrill!!! Brandon drove this section when we came out here Saturday. Didn't think it would be something I could get used to easily. I mean, they actually have a runaway vehicle lane! Yikes!!

After that, we went back to 16th Street Mall. Pretty cool. Brandon and I signed the whole time so no one would bother us. Finished up the post card and souvenir buying.

We were supposed to hang out with my friend Mark, but he got held up at work (not literally) so we couldn't get together. Oh well. Had dinner with Rink at a local Chinese/Vietnamese place. Pretty good!

I'm waiting for some laundry to dry so I can finish packing. We're leaving first thing in the morning, so we can make it to Kansas City, MO at a decent time. There we will visit with our friends Mark and Julie, and spend the night. We'll make it home in the afternoon on Friday, in time to return the rental car.

This is the final vacation entry. It's been fun! I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed posting it! :) Take luck!

Just what every mother wants to see... her only son hanging over a cliff.

3/11/03 - Wow. I felt much better today. Less grumpy and sleepy. Must be acclimated! :)

Today we began with a behind-the-scenes tour of Lakeside Amusement Park, where our host/cousin Rink works. His boss owns about 8 square blocks of land, including the park, a lake named after her, and about 8 small houses. Rink's house is one of them. We got to see some cool stuff! I took lots of pictures, and Rink kinda told us some history of the park.

After that, we went to Red Rocks Park, southwest of Denver. So amazing! Again, more pictures. They have an amphitheater where some of the greatest musicians have played: Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Elton John, Steve Miller Band, Boston, Doobie Brothers, Dave Matthews Band, John Mellencamp, and REM. I was surprised that Toad the Wet Sprocket hadn't played there, nor any of the acts that sprung from them.

After that, we buzzed up to Boulder to see the Naropa Institute. Very interesting place, to say the least. Lots of tree-hugging, modern hippie-types. The college has some interesting majors. Expensive school and town though.

After hiking up the amphitheater earlier in the day, I was pooped. (Not to mention being extremely irritable from being in the car for the last 5 days.) I opted to stay at Rink's this evening, while Brandon goes back to Boulder to hang out with our friends from school: homework on spring break. I filled out everyone's post cards, did laundry, and reviewed the video B has taken so far. Pretty cool!

Tomorrow we're hanging out with a friend of mine, and who knows what else. Stay tuned!

3/10/03 - Rocky Mountain National Park was awesome! I didn't get out of the car much; felt so tired. Brandon hiked for about an hour. I took lots of pics though! One whole disposable camera is RMNP! Mountains really are big. (How was I supposed to know?) That took up most of the day.

There are some amazing rock faces to climb!! I'm also interested in the geology of the area. I've been told that the Rockies are predominantly metamorphic and igneous rocks. (Those crumble into tons of sediment too.) I'm amazed at how much pink there is in these rocks!! Anyway, we did a little scrambling on some of the pull-offs (roadsides).

We also ate at a VEGAN-FRIENDLY restaurant! Wow!! It's called Poppy's, and it's in Estes Park, right by RMNP. They had tons of regular stuff too.

After that, we checked back in at Rink's B&B, and then headed out to meet our friends who flew in from Indy (and boy were their arms tired!) We had dinner with them at an expensive pizza carry-out place in Boulder, and hung out for awhile and talked about how cool Colorado is. Also talked to my friend Mark, and hope to get together with him Wednesday evening.

Tomorrow we're going to Red Rocks Park, and we'll find some other stuff to do.

3/9/03 - Brandon and I are enjoying Denver very much. The drive was a bit crazy. We were almost in an accident as we were leaving St.Louis, MO. It was dark, and a guy swerved to avoid hitting a couch that was in the fast lane. He lost control of his car, and if I hadn't slammed on my brakes when I did, we'd have been involved! Yikes! Then there was a run-in with a tumbleweed. haha

We're going up to Rocky Mountain National Park tomorrow. Also, Rink is cool. Great host! :)

My first mountain! Ok... so you can't see it. Really it's there though!