Days 8 through 12 Blythaven

One of the benefits of traveling at this time of year is seeing the leaves changing as we move from place to place.  It has been so beautiful to watch the oranges and reds appear, especially because we have missed the colours the past two years.

For five nights we had the joy staying with our friends, the crazy Simmonds, in Ontario.  We were able to travel into the city of Toronto and then escape to Blythaven in the evening.  We had such a wonderful time with them and created very special memories!

Here are Max and Simon with friends Sarah and April at an OHL hockey game. This night we went to Oshawa to watch the Oshawa Generals play.

The advantage of staying in one place for a few days meant that Max and Simon met new friends. Here is Max with Olivia, Emily, Katryna, and Zach after Kids Worship on Sunday morning.

And here they are with April, Todd, Travis, Lindsey, and Carly around the campfire.

One evening we had great fun at a Corn Boil!  Don and Tim lit the fire and Fay barbequed hamburgers and hotdogs.  We enjoyed the crisp night air and this was Lisa's favourite memory.

Fay is an extraordinary host and made us the most delicious meals!

Simon's favourite memory was fishing in the pond.  He caught many chubbs but did not get the elusive rainbow trout.  He gave it a good shot and went to the pond every chance he got.  Even with Don's help and lots of patience, the trout were not biting.  But the boys caught a fish 4 out of 5 casts.  Lots of fun!

Max's favourite memory was of beating Don in the championship Ping Pong game.  It was fun to watch them sweat!

 The boys spent quite a bit of time with April.  Here she is with her dog, Bronson, and riding her horse, Diana.

Day 10 CN Tower

Today we visited the world's tallest lightening rods!  The CN Tower in downtown Toronto is 1100 feet (at the Observation Deck) and one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.  It was built in 1973 as a communications tower for southern Ontario and has been a major tourist attraction ever since.

Once again, we were blessed to be traveling in the off-season.  No lineups!

The Observation Deck is the bubble of the tower and it has an outdoor terrace.  The day we were there the wind was ferocious at that height.  We could barely walk around the deck.  We did, however, make a memory by eating our brown bag lunch up there. 

The Tower also has a glass bottom floor!  We stood on the glass and looked  down to the ground.  More than a little bit freaky......

Day 9 Toronto Zoo

We had the most amazing time at the Zoo!!  We spent the day walking and talking with the animals. Simon has been looking forward to the Zoo for weeks because of a special display of Sting Rays.  We spent an hour petting and feeding the Cow-Nose Sting Rays and the Nurse Shark.  One of the advantages of traveling the off-season is being able to have a front row seat and spend as much time as we want.  Lisa was splashed by one Ray and bitten by another.  Even still, it was great!

The Polar Bear was so funny to watch.  He swam leisurely around his pool again and again.   Plop down in the water, float in the stream, push off the wall, kick over to the other side, swim back upstream.  We watched and laughed for a very long time....

We also saw this Komodo Dragon and the Red Panda.

 Our Kenyan memories are still fresh enough that we did not go through the African display.  No elephants, giraffe, or lions today! 

Day 8 Passing Through

On our way to Toronto, we made two stops to visit with friends. 

First, we spent some time in the city of Kingston.  Tim and Lisa lived in Kingston in the early 1990s and attended Queen's University.  As Dons in the McNeill House Residence we lived on campus and attended classes, while providing support to a house of 190 first year female students.  The look of the residence has changed and so have several other sights of Kingston.

During our time in Kingston, Tim worked in a Secondary School with an amazing teacher!  Over the years we have had email contact with Brian Nesbitt and were very happy to see him in person again this week!  We had a delicious lunch at a new restaurant called Atomica.  We highly recommend it!

We walked along Lake Ontario and were reminded of the beauty of this city!  Max and Simon had fun playing on the shores and exploring the landmarks.

Later on in the day we made a quick stop in Belleville to see Shauna Simmonds.  We saw Shauna in Kenya exactly one year ago and enjoyed getting caught up on the changes in her life!

Days 6 & 7 Camping in the Rain

We spent two nights camping in Gananoque on the 1000 Islands Parkway.  We had a fabulous stay there despite the rain.  It is a campground with lots of activities and during the off season we had most of the place to ourselves.

This was a relaxing couple of days for us and gave Max and Simon a chance to get caught up on some school assignments.

 

In between thunder showers we went on a 1000 Island Boat Tour.  We are sailing under the Bridge to the U.S.A. which connects Ontario to New York state.  We saw the Boldt Castle and many other mansions built on very small islands.  There are over 1800 islands on that part of the Saint Lawrence River.  In order to qualify as an island the land must be at least 1 square foot, have at least one tree, and be above water for 365 days a year.

Two nights in Jail

While in Ottawa we took the opportunity to spend a couple of nights in jail.... really!  The Ottawa Jail Hostel to be exact.

The "Carleton County Gaol" opened in 1862 as Ottawa's first jail.  It housed minimum, medium, and maximum security prisoners and a hospital.  For a time it also had female prisoners and their children.  The jail was closed in 1972 because of its inhumane conditions.  The building was turned into a Hostel in 1973 and offers overnight accommodations at a very reasonable rate.

Our room was on the 9th floor.  The 8th floor housed Death Row.  Only three prisoners were hanged at the gallows.  For a time, the hostel offered people free accommodations on the 8th floor..... but very few people could make it through the entire night!  Now the 8th floor is used for tours only.

Hostels offer kitchen services and we enjoyed working together to prepare our meals.  Max and Simon were especially helpful!  We would highly recommend this unique experience.  It is just two blocks from the Parliament Building at a fraction of the cost of a hotel in the area.

Days 4 & 5 Tourists in Ottawa

We spent the weekend visiting the sights of Ottawa.  What a beautiful city with many educational opportunities for the boys.  Dr. Chute was able to make this a two-day lesson in political science, with a bit of geography, history, and science thrown in! 

We had a tour of the Parliament buildings, of course, and a visit to the Library,  Peace Tower, and Memorial Chamber (commemorating all Canadians who have died in military service since WWI).  Max and Simon loved listening to the bells chime. 

We also visited the Royal Canadian Mint and lifted a gold bar valued at half a million dollars (weighing 13 kg).

Other stops included the National War Memorial, the Peacekeeping Monument, Reconciliation (recognizing Canada's role in international peacekeeping), Rideau Hall, and Laurier House (where we had never been before).

We attended the worship service at First Baptist Church on Sunday morning.

One highlight for the boys was walking along the canal and watching a boat go from the Ottawa River to the Rideau Canal via the Ottawa Locks system.  We were able to sit right next to the eight locks as the staff manually opened the gates to raise a boat 24 metres (80 feet) in elevation.

Day 3 A Night with the Knights!

On our way from Quebec City to Ottawa we stopped for a night with the Knights in Cornwall, Ontario.  We had a wonderful time of catching up with their family, whom we have not seen for 5 years.  A Friday evening BBQ and a game of Qwirkle made us feel right at home.

 We stayed up way too late talking and in the morning the boys enjoyed delivering papers with Melese.  It was a short visit but a great memory!  And that's what this Tour is all about!

Day 2 Old Quebec

We had an easy drive today and arrived in Old Quebec by noon.  After finally getting a place to park we spent the afternoon at the Plains of Abraham Museum.  Simon is studying early explorers in his Social Studies course, so this was the perfect "field trip" for him.

 Of course, the boys also played some soccer on the Plains of Abraham.

After a wonderful meal of crepes and tortiere and maple syrup pie, we strolled around Old Quebec.  It is cool here but OK for walking.

We are staying in a hostel and the boys enjoyed a game of pool before bed.