Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

It was a very last minute decision to spend the night in Pittsburgh on our way from Niagara to home. One of those 'hey, we haven't, why not' things. Now I know exactly why not. Because somewhere deep in my subconscious I knew that Pittsburgh had a road system designed and paved by the devil himself.

View from the top of the Monongahela Incline

With plans to eat dinner at the Hard Rock we figured we could squeeze in one sightseeing thing first. We settled on Point State Park and the tallest fountain in the nation that is housed there. Put Point State Park into the GPS (because all is well with GPS now that we're in the US...) and go. In 45 minutes we did not manage to actually make it to the Park. We drove around it a couple times. Almost even above it. We never were more than a mile and a half from it. But I just couldn't seem to actually get to it. Short of driving off the side of one of the asinine bridges. The GPS was NO help. It can't tell if I'm on the bridge, the road that runs below it, or the road that runs parallel to it. In fact, the woman at the hotel later told us not to bother with GPS in Pittsburgh. She suggested online directions. Which I'd proven in Canada I was inept at using. Pittsburgh also takes the cake in confusing, life-flashing-before-your-eyes, one-way streets. I don't find myself using the Lord's name in vain often, but four times in one night I yelled "Oh God!" whilst attempting to drive.

The Hard Rock proved easier to find. Located in Station Square it overlooked the railway and the Monongahela River. It also had some fountains outside that moved and changed colors along with music. So that was fun. After that we took another crazy road straight through a mountain and found our hotel.

The next morning we went up the Monongahela Incline. A little car that goes up a track up the side of a big hill. That sounds underwhelming. But, there's an amazing view from the top. A little further down the river is the Duquesne Incline. It's a cheap ride, and worth the price for the view. 

That was it. Bidding the roads and bridges good-bye, we left to finally go home. 

Toronto, Canada

So, northward to Toronto. It was an easy drive to Toronto, or at least it would have been had I been able to have my GPS. We got directions online and wrote them down so the GPS didn't have to run up an insane cell phone bill for me. But without that little blue triangle following the little yellow road on a screen right in front of my face, I somehow missed an exit or merge or something and we got lost. But I still manged to keep us on the right track and when we stopped for directions we were only about ten minutes from our hotel. (I won't go into detail about the 40 minute detour east that we took on the way home as it's a touchy subject for me). GPS has ruined me.

Street of Chinatown

Our hotel was in the center of Chinatown. Really. The building it was in was called Chinatown Center. The bottom three floors were all these Chinese stores and food places. Then the top floors were the hotel. It was pretty cool.  Five or six blocks in any direction was all Chinese stores and restaurants. Obviously we ate Chinese food our first night. It wasn't as easy to do as it seemed like it should have been. Because true Chinese food is...way different than Panda Express. Kensington Market is a well touted area of Chinatown to shop - although it includes food and items from cultures around the world. It's a little scary to walk to, and I'm not sure what time things are supposed to open. So it was a little underwhelming for us.

Hudson

We spent the first full day we were there at the Toronto Zoo. What a great (and large) zoo. It was basically like any other zoo, only all the animals were Canadian. The best thing about this zoo was the baby animals. A baby golden tamarin and a four month old polar bear named Hudson. My highlight was watching Hudson play with a large paper back, trying to kill it. You certainly need several hours to see the entire zoo.

Pachycephalosaurus fossil from ROM

On the next full day we visited the Royal Ontario Museum. It was also quite large...apparently there's a theme in Toronto. The dinosaur exhibit was fantastic. Fossils from dinosaurs I've never seen. Otherwise, an average, large, museum. Towards the end we were just walking through exhibits, or deciding what we really didn't care about seeing. Probably not the best place for younger kids.

We took the elevator up to the top of the CN Tower, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. We looked straight down to the ground from 1,122 feet in the air through the Glass Floor. Although we wanted to go up to the Sky Pod, the highest accessible point of the tower, it was closed due to winds. The Tower also hosts a rotating restaurant, a gift shop, 3D movie, and more.

View of Toronto from the top of the CN Tower

There's slightly more French in Toronto, but still nothing to worry about. Driving is still relatively easy, although you need to watch out of the street cars. You'd think they'd have their own lanes to drive in, but no.  You could pull out and hit one, or have to drive behind one. Also Toronto offered up a unique food choice that we did not delve into...poutine. It's french fries covered in gravy and cheese curds. They had me until the word curd. And the word poutine, because that just doesn't sound appetizing.  They might even ask you if you just want gravy on your fries. No thanks, just ketchup.

I think Toronto would have had a lot more to do during the summer. There is a theme park out on one of the islands, plus all the water sports to be enjoyed on the lake. It's a beautiful and very culturally diverse city, but isn't necessarily touristy. At least not in winter months. But...I still loved it and am glad we decided to include it in our Canadian vacation!

Niagara Falls, Canada

Horseshoe Falls

First. Of. All. Canada is suspicious. I don't know what they're suspicious about, but they are. Or maybe they're guarding something. Maple syrup? All I know is, they sure asked a lot of questions, and some weird questions, before they let us drive into their country. It started easily enough. "Where are you going? What's your business there? Where are you from?" Then it got a little deeper. "What hotels are you staying at? Have you ever been to Canada before, if so where?" And finally the proverbial interrogation spotlight in the eyes, "Are you meeting anyone in Canada? How do you two know each other? What's the square root of 169?!" Ok, they didn't ask math questions - but the answers, in case you were wondering, were "No, best friends for 25 years, and 13."

I was so nervous I was sure they wouldn't let us in the country. What hotel? Off the top of my head? I have no idea. I have the paper here in the glove box...what, no my hotel confirmation is in there...put my hands on my head? Step out of the car?! Alas, I'm exaggerating again. We got into Canada and to Niagara Falls without any trouble.

Table Rock Visitors Center

We arrived at Niagara Falls some 5 hours earlier than planned, since we left home a day earlier and stopped in West Virginia for the night. Although while sitting in traffic to enter Canada I swore I'd go to the hotel and take a nap, after dropping our luggage off in the room we immediately set out for the Falls. There's a wonderful little (and cheap) lift just a couple blocks from our hotel (and all the major hotels of the area) that takes you down the steep hill that separates the line of hotels from the lower street that runs along the Falls. The lift goes right to the Table Rock Visitors Center, and as soon as you sit on it you can see the beautiful Horseshoe Falls (the Falls on the Canadian side). The Visitors Center houses The Journey Behind the Falls tickets, Niagara's Fury 4D movie, a few shops, and places to eat.

The five additional hours wasn't only fantastic because it let us smush more activity into our trip, but that afternoon was the only time on the trip that a rainbow graced the Falls. And it was stunning. From the visitors center you can walk along the very long walkway that boarders the Falls and the river. Once you're down the hill you can also see the American Falls. And, ya know, America. Which was kind of weird.

Horseshoe Falls

Don't think you have to be on the Maid of the Mist to get wet. As the wind shifted, so did the spray from the waterfall. By that evening it was like standing in a rain storm. A constant drizzle. I thought we'd maybe have to move around, do a lot of walking, maybe even drive to a different location to take everything in, but that wasn't the case at all. Without moving more than fifty yards you can see both Falls in their entirety, stand beside the lip of Horseshoe Falls, and look out at the Old Scow (a boat that almost went over the Falls in 1918 until the bottom dumping doors were opened, catching the boat on a rocky ledge).

View Behind the Falls

We didn't get to ride on the Maid of the Mist because it began operating the day after we left. But we were able to experience Journey Behind the Falls. While this was cool (seriously, it was freezing behind all that water), I feel like I expected too much. You take an elevator down into the tunnel which leads you to three viewing areas. One area is just at the base of the falls, and the other two are actually behind it. But you just stand in a concrete tunnel and look at the sheet of deafening water crashing down.

If you want to walk a little further (or you can drive, but we walk everywhere because we never learn from prior mistakes and hurting feet), you'll find Clifton Hill. CH is literally the 'tourist area,' it says so on all the signs. It's packed with arcades, putt-putt, restaurants, haunted houses, and everything else touristy. Best of all is the Sky Wheel - a huge Ferris Wheel that provides a fantastic view of the Falls, as well as Clifton Hill and the surrounding area. The Fun Pass is certainly the way to go if you're going to partake in even two of the participating attractions.

So on our first night, after playing putt-putt with some dinosaurs, riding the Sky Wheel, playing around in an arcade, and hitting up the first Hard Rock (I say first because we ate at four different ones during this trip), we made our way back to the Falls to see them lit by lights. I highly suggest making sure you're around at night to see this. They change colors every 8 minutes or so by my estimation. However, getting back up to your hotel after 8 pm becomes significantly more difficult. Or maybe we're just stupid. I still can't say for sure. The incline back up the hill stops running at 8, so unless you've parked in the visitors lot (which is $15) you have to walk back up. But you can't just walk up the hill, you have to walk around it. The problem we were faced with was that we couldn't find the one street that leads up the hill back to the hotels. So we meandered for about two hours because walking back to Clifton Hill, the other street that goes up the hill, was too far. But not two hours too far, so, oops. We finally found the street. It was about a tenth of a mile from the visitors center. It was dark, and it curved back on itself so it was hard to notice. Just know your way around beforehand.

On our way out of Niagara Falls we stopped at the Whirlpool Aero Car. It's not far from the Falls, but you'd want to drive for sure. The cable car, which opened in 1916 gives you the best possible view of the Niagara whirlpools - the view from straight above. Not for those afraid of heights! The tour guide that goes along with you gives lots of interesting facts, my favorite being that during the initial and return trip on the car you cross between the US and Canada four times.

As far as tips go: Be prepared for weird questions when you cross the border. Although a passport is required, it does not get stamped. Driving there is simple enough, although you do switch to the metric system. Kilometers, celsius and liters. And at the moment anyway, gas is very expensive. Several people told us they cross to the US just to fill their tanks. I paid $5.50 a gallon. And lastly, money. They'll take US money. I'm slightly fuzzy on the exchange rate, plus it changes every day. Most places would have a Canadian money drawer and a US money drawer and the screen would say if your total was in US or Canadian. One place charged us more when we paid in US money (think we got ripped off there). So change your money, or not, it doesn't really matter. I would avoid using a debit card (or credit card). Not only will you be charged a small fee for each transaction, but you'll have a hard time balancing a check book. Your receipt will show your total in US money, but then your card is charged in Canadian money and what comes through on the statement is more than what was on your receipt.

So with that I'll wrap up my account of Niagara Falls and see you next time with my story of Toronto.

Oh, wait! We did view the Falls from the US side. If you can choose, go with the Canadian side. You can't see the base of either waterfall and you can only see the tiniest bit of Horseshoe Falls from the US. Although, there is a beautiful park on the US side. Best scenario, see them both!

Oh, wait some more! Niagara on the Lake. I imagine it is breathtaking during the spring and summer months when the flowers are in bloom along the sidewalks that walk you through an antique-like shopping town. But since we weren't up for shopping, we just drove straight through. Once we drove through we came to a beautiful walking trail with a view of Lake Ontario. And just before is Fort George, headquarter for the Centre Division of the British Army during the War of 1812. Be warned as an American though...you'll be standing a midst a bunch of Canadians learning about how the US destroyed and captured the fort in 1813. Awkward...