Today is St. Patty’s Day and it is also the last full day of my stay in Canada. I had an insane time here. It’s funny, I thought I would be lonely or bored staying in a strange town all by myself. I had a hotel room all to my lonesome and really had not contact with anyone unless I could log online to check twitter. I can use my phone but only for calls and texts, I turned off the data receiving for various reasons. One reason being that it drains the shit out of my battery and I didn’t want the phone dying on me while I was in town. I wanted to be sure to have a full battery should anything happen to me while I was out and about doing touristy stuff. Enough about my lame phone; I went to Niagra Falls today. It’s a little under a 2 hour drive from my hotel. Mr. Bob ( the friend I was visiting out here) was kind enough to arrange a private driver to take me to and from the falls. Mr Bob has been extremely kind to me for this trip BTW…Not sure if you will ever read this Mr. Bob..but thank you 🙂
In my opinion, Niagra Falls is one of the wonders of the world. The falls have not always been located at Table Rock Point; where they are located now. The Falls have been on a slow journey North moving about 7 miles from its original position at the niagra Escarpment near the present day Village of Queenston. Niagra carries 20% of the world’s fresh water, flowing from four of the Great Lakes. Traveling at 40 miles her hour, the water’s speed and huge volume had immense erosive power. The brink of the Falls moved up to 10 feet every year until twentieth century engineering intervened to slow the rate down to only 1 foot every 10 years. Water flowing from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario descends 326 feet ( more than half the drop is at the falls.This part of the Falls is known as the Horseshoe Falls. The Horseshoe falls have a pool depth of 185 ft and a fall depth of 176-188ft. The Variation of dept of the pool and the height of the fall depends on where the measurement is taken, the season of the year, the weather conditions and the amount of water being diverted for industry and hydro-electric power generation.
The Niagra Icebridge is made up of ice floes that have floated down the Niagra River from Lake Erie and then frozen together at the base of the falls. From 1880 until and accident in 1912, huts serving alchol and food were set up in a hut at the convinience of the thousands of visitors. The icebridge took out the footings of the Honeymoon Bridge in January of 1938 and the bridge collaps into the gorge. The pressent Rainbow bridge took it’s place.
After seeing the Falls, I had dinner at a tacky place called Casa D’Oro that was in the town. I have no idea what drew me to this place but I’m glad I went. The decore or ugly as sin. It reminded me so much of the resturant at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo which is AWESOME. I love gotty, tacky decore. I got some Salmon and then met my driver and we got back on the road. We drove through the town and I noticed an obsession with halloween themed places. They had Frankenstien on their Burger King Buildings; Dracula and Haunted Houses were everwhere…I totally have to bring my son here.
Now you all know a little about these awesome pillars of water:) . I think today was the most perfect day to end my stay in Toronto. Tomorrow will be a travel day, which is no fun. I will hit the gym in the AM ( if I don’t have too good of a time tonight for st. patty’s day…that green beer tempts me) I have a little work to get done before I head off the the airport for my 6 hour flight…ba humbug..flying is for the birds!!!
I hope you enjoy the pictures and my silly captions 🙂