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Posts tagged ‘SAQA 2023’

May 11

Is the Canadian Side Prettier?

I’ll never know as I did not see the American side. I could see a large group of people standing on an overlook across the falls—but there were dozens along the Canadian side.

Wrought iron fencing atop sone fencing, large stone buildings reminiscent of WPA days in the US extended for at least a mile or more along the river and Falls.

Boats maneuvered up the river for a closer look at the Falls, there was a tunnel to look at the Falls from the base.

At the edge of those daffodils is a sheer dropoff—into the rushing water that is the Falls. Hundreds if not sevearl thousand are planted here–and I wondered at how that happened.

A rookery could be spotted with dozens of gulls. Reportedly there are over a hundred speicies of gulls and terns here. It is also the diverse population of fish with both commonly found southern and northern fish in the waters.

And there was a rainbow when the sun came out at the end of our time.

And just to prove that I was there. Here I am with chattering teeth.

May 10

Niagara Falls

When my parents married, Niagara Falls was a popular honeymoon trip.

They married in November, and decided to drive south from Wisconsin along the Mississippi River instead of driving over icy roads to Niagara Falls.

My husband had been to the Falls when he was about 7 but I had never been there—so the add-on trip was definitely on my bucket list–there are much fewer things in that bucket. I’ve accomplished some of them, others lost their appeal.

We loaded up on a very nice bus and drove through the countryside filled with vineyards. Those grape vines look very stark–as they are trimmed bacvk to just the trunk at the end of each growing season.

Our first stop was at Niagara on the Lake. This is a touristy town with lots of shops along the main street.

Of course, there were tulips.

This hotel occupied most of a block and had some lovely outdoor seating—too chilly for me to contemplate.

There were lots of places to have lunch–but I opted for a chimney cake—a thin roll of yeaast dough covered in cinnamon sugar–although I could have had jalapeno or pina colada.

there is a Shaw festival each year and in one storefront, several people were working on a costume for a gypsy…it was pink with lost of spangles.

Of interest was a milliner’s shop, with assorted sewing machines, advertising hat shaping.

I’m not sure how you organized a ride in this horse and carriage but it seemed to make the rounds on an hourly basis.

After loading back up on the bus, we headed for the Falls. It was a chilly rainy dreary day and I hoped it would not be a full downpour when we got there.