Day 5 - Niagara Falls

After our brief stop in Toronto we continued on to Welland where the kids were excited to meet GG's sister.  It had been a long time since I had seen Auntie Anne and Uncle Percy as well.

We were able to visit for a short while and go out for supper before we had to continue on.  We hope that we can come back and spend more time soon.  The end of day 4 found us at a hotel in Niagara Falls. 

Here was our first glimpse of the falls. 

It is much more exciting and amazing than when I was 15.  Gave me the idea that we should get in as many vacations as possible before they are teenagers.  Nothing beats this reaction!  Check out Ben's face in the photo, then watch the video.  LOVE it!

Yes, it is real and it is spectacular.

and it wouldn't be truly our chaotic vacation if there wasn't something to laugh about...

Day 6 - Animal Park

We have finally crossed the border.  Home is getting closer and we are all tired of being in the van.

While driving through Pennsylvania I see a huge billboard advertising an animal park that is only a few miles off the interstate.  Time for another detour.  It was worth it!  If you are anywhere close to Pittsburgh, PA I highly recommend visiting the Living Treasures Animal Park.

This particular animal park is a petting zoo that also sells food that you can feed to the animals.  How fun is that!

But there was so much more than just animals that you can feed and pet...

 

Lions tigers & bears...oh my! 

But that is just a small sample, it was such a fun place and I wished that we had more time.  

I am sure we will go back.

It was a fun way to end our trip.  We arrived home safely the following afternoon.

Day 4 - Toronto

The morning of day 4 of our trip we arrived in Toronto, which I was calling "The Biggest City in Canada" and we had plans to go see the "biggest tower in Canada". 

Too bad the weather was not cooperating.  This is all we saw of the CN tower.

Oh well, we chased pigeons instead of paying the $70+ it would have cost to go up to the top of the tower.

Day 3 - Lake Superior...still

Day 3 and we are still travelling along Lake Superior.  The amazing thing about this drive is that around every curve is the potential for an amazing view. 

After driving for a couple hours it was time to look for a place to stop for a few minutes.  We found a great place called Katherine's Cove.  Here are several short videos for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

When we got back to the van I asked everyone "Does everyone have their shoes?"  and everyone said "Yes Mama".

Too bad I didn't check closer.  A pair of brand new shoes got left by the picnic bench...sigh

But this face sums up how much fun they had in that short stop so it was at least worth a lost pair of shoes.

Wouldn't it be cool to see a Moose?

Day 3 of our trip and we are STILL driving through western Ontario.  The drive is absolutely beautiful, but it is not an easy drive because it is two way traffic on a winding, hilly trail cut out through rocks and bordering lakes both very small and very large.

I grew up on the prairies so I am used to seeing deer signs along the road.


But as we drove further away from the prairies we started to see these beware of moose signs. 




Of course if you happen to be travelling with three young and very observant children you will have to answer about a million questions about moose.  What is a moose, how big are mooses, what do mooses eat? Which will then lead to a grammar lesson explaining that sometimes plural things do not end with 's and my standard answer for when I don't know why...."Well you should ask Daddy because he knows all about that kind of stuff".  Anyway, the million questions continued and I am quite amazed at how many questions can be thought up regarding a moose.

Not long into our 3rd day of the trip I saw yet another of one of these moose signs and I said, "Wouldn't it be cool to actually see a moose?"  Less than 10 minutes after I said it, this is what we saw!!!

 The car ahead of us braked and pulled over because the moose was on the side of the road.  So we stopped too and I happened to have the camera beside me and quickly snapped the moose running into the bush.  I thought that was the end of it and the moose would disappear into the bush.

 However, I suppose the moose was curious too so he turned and stuck his tongue out at us. 

Yes, it was really cool to actually see a moose! 

But...it started a whole new series of a million questions.  How come a moose is so big, why doesn't the moose have antlers, why is he so brown? and so on and so on.  Until finally they started a whole new series...Wouldn't it be cool to see a raccoon?  Wouldn't it be cool to see a bear? Wouldn't it be cool to see a mountain lion?  Of course all of these animals had their own series of questions.  About the middle of day 3 I was regretting my decision to not have a DVD player in the van...sigh

Day 2 - Lake Superior

Close to the end of day 2 of our trip we finally got to Lake Superior.  I found a place to pull over and we got out with the plan of sticking our toes in "The Biggest Lake".

At least that was the plan...The plan changed very quickly when they realized how cold the water was.  Middle of May in Ontario is only early spring.  We even saw ice on the lake in a few areas later on.

It was much more fun to throw rocks in the water...

Here is a short video of the rock throwing fun.  Note the quick progression of tossing to heaving rocks.  I soon became very nervous (thus the short video).

Day 2 - Amethyst mine

Day 2 of our trip home I saw a billboard advertising North America's Largest Amethyst Mine.  Of course we had to stop! My birthday is in February for crying out loud!!!

One of life's small blessings is that we arrived two days after they opened for the season!  I would have been so disappointed if they had been closed.

We were so excited to find amethysts just laying on the ground right in the parking lot!

 In my opinion, it is the prettiest of all the birthstones.  I would rather have amethysts than diamonds...(hint hint hubby...10th anniversary not too far away)

 

Away we went on an amethyst digging adventure.  It was so much fun hunting for treasure...until I sliced my hand open.  Raw amethysts are very very sharp!  Anyway, wasn't too serious and we ended up with some really nice pieces.