Today started with the girls up early and the boys sleeping in. When Daddy and I finally rolled out of bed, the girls had just gone down to the breakfast room and brought up a buffet for everyone to chow down on! We needed our energy, too, because right after breakfast we headed straight to the swimming pool. We opened the place up and had it to ourselves the whole time we were down there. We played for about 2 hours…jumping in, standing on Daddy’s hands way up in the air, riding on Daddy’s back, switching between the hot pool and the cold pool, and generally getting all sorts of splashy wet.

When we were all done at the pool, we came up and took a quick shower then snacked on everything in site (I think Una ate the arm of a chair at one point) while we waited for the adults to get ready. Once they looked all put together, we packed back up in the car and headed northwest to wine country. Yup, we were going to get our drink on! We had a few false starts and we figured out the road system and direction signs, but once we got the hang of it we were on a roll. The first stop was Flat Rock Cellars, and it was pretty awesome. We walked in and made a beeline straight to the back of the store where we found the sliding glass doors that lead out to a balcony overlooking the huge estate of vineyards. There were grapes as far as I could see. We came back in and headed over to the barn where all of the action takes place. The lady at the winery walked us through all of the equipment and processes involved in making wine…the conveyor belt that shakes out the bad stuff (including ladybugs!), the part that picks the grapes off the vine, the fermentation tanks, the extractors, and all of the other shiny stuff that makes grape juice. After that educational experience, we hit a vineyard owned by some hockey guy named Wayne JetSki or something like that.

Next, we made our way over to the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, and this place is lousy with grapes! Seriously…all over the place and everywhere you turn, there is another vineyard and winery. We hit another 3 or 4 before Daddy thought it would be a good idea to get some food in his belly to dilute all of the free tastings. We went in to the very cool, old, and pretty downtown area full of little shops, restaurants, and a theater and ended up at Fourno’s Restaurant. I got chicken nuggets (show of hands…who is surprised?)…but did you know that they server those things with Plum Sauce up here!?! They gave me this stuff at Rainforest Cafe on our first night and I thought it was a fluke, but when I got it at this place, too, I figured out that it must be a goofy Canuck thing.

Anyway, after dinner we wandered around the town on foot and ran in to a really super cool park just across from the fancy hotel. It had swings, slides, and lots of fun stuff to climb on. The Plum Sauce was a no-go, but our northern friends do know how to put together a nice playground!

We capped off the excursion by making our way through the countryside to the QEW and back in to Niagara Falls. Momma routed us back over to the souvenir shop for a few more things to smuggle across the border, then we watched the Rossi glass blowing for a while and were captivated by the heating, tapping, pulling, and bending as we watched the artist make a bowl with a flower stand and a swan.

Once we were back in the hotel, changed in to our jammies, and settled in for the night, Daddy busted out his secret plan…a night trip to the falls! We drove around forever to find a parking spot, but it was worth it. At night, they shine big humongous lights at the water and they light up like fireworks. To make it even cooler, the colors of the lights change every few minutes to give the whole thing a different effect. What an awesome way to cap off our Canadian Vacation!

Canada – Day 4

Bonjour! So Momma and Daddy decided to hop in the car, after our free breakfast at the hotel, and set off exploring….again! We weren’t in car long before we actually found the destination we were looking for…souvenirs, chocolate, and Rossi glass blowing! Extra bonus was the larger than life moose, hockey puck, wooden Canadian Mounties, tee-pee, a statue of Inukshuk, and silver spoons that Una and I posed all over! Make sure to check out the artsy-fartsy picture of the moose that Momma took. 8X 10 glossys are heading everyone’s way! After checking out all the cool stuff in the store (no glass blowing while we were there), and making sure that I got a little Canadian school bus, we made a quick round at the chocolate store then headed back into town.

We drove straight to Flat Rock and got to pay $20.00 for parking! Lucky us! We hustled toward the ticket counter to go…”Behind the Falls!” Super cool thing was, not only did we get a ticket for the adventure, we also got a super cheesy picture taken of us standing in front of the falls (no purchase made) AND…awesome yellow trash bags to wear! These things were so stylin’ Momma threw them away at the end. We didn’t want our new fashionista-like style to be copied, so you’ll just have pictures of us to admire in our shiny banana-yellow slickers. It’s okay to jealous! We wandered around behind the falls running in and out of portholes and an observation deck. The portholes were cool because we were really BEHIND the falls. The observation deck was neat too, but VERY misty and wet. Daddy really went to town taking all kinds and pictures so be sure to check those out, too!

Soon after, we smashed a few pennies for our collection books and then got some lunch. At Daddy’s lunch choice, when you ordered a sandwich (sub, wrap, etc.) you got a donut with it! How awesome!?! A sandwich AND a donut! A little advice to Gibby’s…think roast beef!

With bellies full it was time to head back to the hotel and…SWIM! Our hotel has a super pool for swimming and an adjoining hot tub! We played and splashed for a while before deciding to hit the town again on foot. Our adventures started at the Hershey’s store where all things Hershey exist. Momma even found a ONE POUND REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUP! Can anyone say, “Sugar Coma!” We settled on a chocolate shake and a very large chocolate chip cookie to share. Yummmmmmy!

More walking and sightseeing lead us to the Sky Wheel ride. It’s a HUGE ferris wheel that gives fantastic views of the falls. Guess who DIDN’T go on this ride? You guessed it…Momma and me. We waved to car #2 every time it came around with Una and Daddy in it, but we were very content to be on the ground!
Last stop for the evening was Wild Mushroom for dinner. It is a “hole in the wall” kind of joint that is also a bar, but they let kids in. Like Una said earlier, much more laid back up here! We had poutine (french fries, cheese, and gravy) for an appetizer. Momma’s first thought was, “How dare they ruin a perfectly awesome plate of fries with gravy?!?! BUT, she was pleasantly surprised…it was very yummy, and I think I overheard her actually say, “The Daddy, you were right. This is good!”

We’re now back at the hotel and trying to get ready for bed. I’m not sure they understand, but I am most definitely NOT ready to settle down for the night. We’ll see who wins this battle! More from Canada tomorrow! Love to all back home in America!

Momma Note: Thought it was pretty awesome when Parks busted out God Bless America in a Canadian souvenir shop today!

Canada – Day 2

Whoa, big water!