Canada 2003 Trip Log

Final Day - The Way Back

Today we drove all the way from Quebec City back home. We left the hotel at at 9:15 in the morning and pulled into the driveway at 5:45 in the afternoon. Stopped only at the border and to get some water. We were really home sick. Fortunatly, my friends at work eased the transition back to reality by calling me every 50 miles or so. It's nice to feel needed :-)

A few statistics about the trip:

The trip lasted 12 days.
We spent in the car 41 hours and 10 minutes
We were moving 37 hours and 19 minutes (the rest of the time we stopped at a red light I guess)
We drove a total of 2031 miles at an average speed of 54.4 mph

Day Eleven-Quebec City (cont'd)

Hi (again...and then some),

This will be my last web log. (I can hear the cheers all the way in Canada) This was our last full day in Canada and it was a keeper. It finally was a beautiful day (all day...not just for five seconds to give us a glimmer of hope...) and we got to be out in the sun ALL DAY!! yay!! See, we had this theory that we were cursed because any time we went to a city, it always rained while we stayed there and then the day we left it would be the most gorgous day. (Imagine how annoying that was after awhile) It was always funny to watch the weather report from the city we had just left because we could just imagine what they would say... "there has been a dramatic change in the weather since the Forscher family has left the city (kinda like Elvis!) and now its all fun in the sun...

OK well I have to get to the actual events of the day because that's what I'm here for right? (I feel very used right now). Anyway, this I must say was probably the MOST beautiful and event filled day we had so far. It was sunny and warm which put everyone into good spirits considering we were almost blown away with the 100 mph wind up by the fjord. We set of for the Citadel which was a fortress built by the English after they invaded Quebec. Funny thing is that it was never used for any sort of fighting. The interesting thing though, was that it was used to plan out D-Day in the WWII and it was also where Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt (FDR) signed the order for D-Day (the attack on Normandy). (No, I didn't learn that all by myself.... :) ). We walked along the walls of the fortress which are now covered in green grass (hey, they always said the grass is greener on the other side...) and we had a beautiful view of the St. Lawrence River.

After that, we walked along this path that lead to the boardwalk along overlooking the river and the old city. We bought some bottles of water (it was really hot and I was wearing long pants....SO NOT MY FAULT...). We walked around the old city (for the millionth time but it's always so pretty there... like France... I wouldn't know...) and we tried to find a boat tour along the river. We found the Louis Jolliet but it was leaving at two and it was twelve. There was also a tour at four (I'm a poet and a I didn't even...eh well you know the rest) and we decided to take that one so we could go see a waterfall right outside of the city. Since we were kinda pooped (we're wimps, what can I say) we waited in a shady park while my dad went to get the car from the hotel. (Hey, we're not that wimpy, the walk back is hard...a good uphill climb of about a half hour). We waited for about 45 minutes for him (technical difficulties...someone was blocking his car in the that stupid parking garage that was too small for the hotel...another story for another time) and when he came we were off (to see the wizard the wonderful wizard of oz....) to the waterfall.

We took a cable car up to the top of the cliff (not really a mountain...more like a toddler mountain) and walked up to this suspension bridge (I learned that in sixth grade when I had to build one...ok well my dad had to build one...HEY I HELPED!!....again....another story... (say the rest yourself I lost my train of thought) ) while my dad taped and snapped pictures with my digital camera (don't ask me how he did it at the same time :) ) we walked to these stairs that go down the other side of the falls. (You could take a cable car back down but NO we have to take the stairs on the incredibly hot and sunny day when Adi decides stupidly to wear long pants wow that this is a really big run-on I hope my English teacher doesn't catch me....) No but it was a really nice descent and in the middle (or more towards the bottom) you could take two paths. One leads closer to the falls where the mist soaks you or one that leaves you dry as the desert in Arabian Nights. (don't ask me, ask my fingers they're doing the typing not me...I technically don't have to think right now it's summer remember?)

So anyway, my entire family ladens me with their electrical devices (cameras) and I have to lug them down the Arabian Desert side while they get to live it up on the wet side. (Ok, I admit that I asked for it I originally said that I didn't want to get wet but that was before I realized that I was going to be deserted. (Hey, I went to the Arabian DESERT side and I was DESERTED...ahahahaha...) (geez the crickets are chirping so loudly). After all of this we hopped back into the motorbuggy (a.k.a car) (I'll explain later) (my, my I use () a lot now don't I?) and drove back into the city.

We ate quickly at the golden arches (McDonald's....think about it, it will come to you) and rushed off to the Louis Jolliet. We took a two hour tour (which is where I got all the info on the Citadel) and got back to the hotel tired but satisfied. We just finished watching American Juniors (that show kinda scares me....because I like it) and Last Comic Standing (WOW that show was SO FUNNY!! It was great, the first two comedians were hyseterical!!! Ok, I'm a bit enthusiastic but that's always good right? (Uh-oh the makings of a peppy cheerleader...ahhh!) Ok well it's late, my dad is sleeping, my mom is falling asleep reading the paper, my sister has already stolen all the covers on the bed and my brother is playing gameboy (surprise, surprise, that thing has been glued to his hands the minute my dad stuck the key in the ignition he get us out of Fair Lawn) Ok enough making fun of my family....(I just can't resist sometimes!) I'm going to shower and sleep so adios until I get back to FL.

Thanks for reading,
Adi
PS ....I actually have nothing to say....that is really weird...cherish the moment it comes once in a blue moon...

Tenth Day - Saguenay

Hey Everyone!

We had a nice day today. We traveled back from our cute B&B in the mountains to Quebec City. On the way, we stopped at this part of the fjord with a path going up a mountain. My brother and my dad got half way up with path (90 stories up) (the total path was 3 km or about 2 miles) and my sister, my mother, and I decided to call it quits a few yards up.

When we got back down to the shore of the fjord and awaited the rest of our family's descent from the trail, we watched kyakers (both french and american) get ready to shove off on a camping trip. It was really interesting to watch them pack their food into their little storage holes in their kayaks. You would be surprised at how much space kayaks have. They are completely hollow and they have all these little sections.

Ok anyway, when they came back down and we all piled into the car again, we went to the nearest McDonalds (my, my they are everywhere aren't they?) and had a quick lunch.We then continued driving until we got to this other park but we didn't go onto the trails because the park was closing in about an hour. We then drove to a Canadian mall that GET THIS closes at 6!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHH! HOW DO THEY LIVE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Ok well now I'm cold and tired and I'm sleepy from this day, so nighty night.

Bye for now...
Adi
PS POST COMMENTS ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ninth Day - Saguenay

Going from Quebec City towards the Saguenay River. The idea is to do some whale watching but the weather is awfull and there are no whales. We proceeded to our hotel in L'Anse St-Jean and almost dorwned in a rain storm.

What a waste of a day.

Eighth Day - Quebec City

Today we woke up at 8:30. Then we ate our hotel, Loews. It was a buffet so we got to choose what we wanted to eat when we want! Even for the same price! Since we were sleeping there we got coupons that let us eat free! One problem though, there were only four. Since I'm ten it's only half price, luckily.

Then we went to the museum of civilization (I might spell a few things wrong). We saw why dogs are "man's best friend". We saw things about the weather like what will happen if global warming starts. We even saw about the color blue. Surprising enough it was cool. There was this light that when you go into it you turn blue. My sister took a picture of me when I was in it. I looked like I was half dark and half light. We might put it on the site. Then we went to the middle ages exhibition. That took about two hours. First I chased my sister around the place. Then she sat down for a while so I went to search for the rest of the family. I found Sharon and Dad first. Then they wouldn't come until they finished. That took a while. When they finished we went out. But we forgot mom! So I went to search for her. I found her reading something. Then we went back and then we listened to these singers that came.Then mom said that instead of a roof there were stairs! So we went there and we climbed up. We rested for a while then we went back down.

We went to the Cochon Dingue. I ordered hot chocolate and my dad said "why are you the luckiest?" It had froth chocolate and the liquid chocolate. Then I got my appetizer mini hotdogs in bacon. Then my dad said I'm lucky again. Then I got chicken fingers. Finally dessert. I got a brownie with fudge topping. Once again my dad said I'm lucky. Then we went to the unknown. It was raining so we retraced our steps which took half an hour. Now we come to the end...for today.

Seventh Day - Quebec City

Sixth Day - Montreal

Hi again-

We woke up this morning at around 9:30 AM. We ate a big breakfast at the hotel restaurant and walked to the Old City in Montreal which was pretty nice and then we took the subway to the Botanical Gardens of Montreal. We walked around for a bit, walking through a Chinese style garden which was very beautiful. (I have to mention that there was a baby duck flapping around the water there that was SOOOOO CUTE!!) After a little while, it began to rain so we went into this building that told about the history of tea and the tea ceremony. It was really interesting, but since the rain got really bad, we were stuck there for about two hours. We got sick of waiting for the rain to stop so we went to this insect museum which made me sick because I hate bugs, but my dad, brother, sister, and mom liked it. We were dying of hunger but never the less, we went to the greenhouses which housed plants from all over the world. It was really nice in there. We then went to the Peace Garden and the Exhibition Gardens which were all beautiful.

We went back to the hotel area and started looking for a restaurant that was recommended to us by somebody in the hotel. We walked for half an hour, startving and looking for the restaurant which we couldn't find. We then ate dinner at this cute little restaurant that we found and then walked around Montreal, seeing a concert and a few perfomers on the street. We came back to the hotel and my brother and I went swimming. And now, here I am, writing this web log. Hope everyone is well in Fair Lawn, I miss you guys!

Fifth Day - Going to Montreal

Hey again-

At last, it was a clear day in Toronto. It was supposed to be a very long day so we woke up early, packed everything and checked out of the hotel. We went out for breakfast and then went to the CN tower. We took a speedy (hehe, speedy, like speedy gonzales...remember that lil mouse??) elevator up to the observation deck on which we took many pictures. They said that on a really clear day, you could see to Niagara Falls or even to Rochester, New York! We couln't unfortunatly, but we still had a nice day to look out over the city of Toronto and Lake Ontario. We then went into the SkyPod which took us to the highest deck in the tower, and also the highest in the world. It was an amazing view too! We then took th elevator back down again to the Obvsertvation deck and to the glass floor, where you can see all the way to the bottom. It was so scary to step on that thing because you feel like you're going to fall down down down to the ground. (hey, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it but my feet sure show it...) I walked across it a few times, and so did my sister and brother, but my parents were too chicken. (lol) Then, as we were taking the elevator back down to ground level, the lady in the elevator told us that the carpeted part in between the two sections of the glass floor was also a glass floor, just carpeted, so you can say that you walked on the glass floor in the CN tower and seem brave, lol. It was an amazing experiance. :)

We drove 6 hours yesterday from Toronto to Montreal, stopping at Thousand Islands and taking a look around. Another observation tower.

When we got to Montreal, we checked into the hotel and decided to head down to the pool. I went with my brother and my parents (they had to do laundry and the room was right by the pool). In the middle of my boring swim (my brother is so annoying), this guy that I had bumped into a few times while swimming started throwing this blow-up ball around. We had a few throw before he told me his name was David, he was fifteen, and he lived in Connecticut. We played monkey in the middle with my brother who is completly pathetic and had a few laughs. The pool soon closed and I made sure he would be there tomorrow. We went to sleep last night at about 12:00.

whoopee.

Fourth Day - Toronto

The Toronto Science Center

Third Day-Toronto

Third Day-Toronto

Hi again-

I was wrong yesterday when I said that we were only a few minutes away from Toronto. More like an hour away. So when we woke up this morning we packed up, and went to this bad pancake house called Pancake Plus (don't go there, overpriced and really bad food). We then set out for our drive to Toronto. It took a little while for us to get started because they had closed off a lot of the ramps leading into the highway, but we finally got on track thanks to our GPS. Once again, can't tell you what happened on the ride there because I was sleeping with my music on. When I woke up, we had arrived at Toronto and were just passing the SkyDome where the Blue Jays play.

We drove to a castle in the city (yes, a castle IN the city, don't ask me...) called Casa Loma. It was built in 1911 by this guy called Pallett, but he went bankrupt before it was finished. We took a self-guided tour with those audio things. It was pretty in there, until we went to the basement. It was supposed to be all cool because there was an underground tunnel but all it was was a cold, dark, wet cement cave. A really really long cement cave. So we walk to the end of it and you can see the stables which were alright, they had some of the nameplates of the horses in the stalls. I took pictures of two of them, Prince and Widow. Who would name their horse widow? Isn't that condemning them to a sad, depressing life? But that's just me. Anyway, we then went to see the pool. Or should I say "pool" because all it was was a cement pit with cement stairs going into it. In the words of another guy with us there, "we walked this far to see this? Beautiful." They had pictures up of what it used to be, but they could have just saved us the long trek there and just put it upstairs in the Great Hell. I mean Hall. :)

After touring the house, we went around the famous gardens. They were alright, but I have seen prettier. They weren't even that big, but what they did have they kept in very good shape. They had a fountain and stone benches along the side. They also had a gazebo except it didn't have a roof like a normal one, just the beams that would have supported it. It was made out of metal and I guess it was supposed to be that way. (The whole skeleton design and stuff). There was also this statue with a legend that I didn't read about a dragon and it had bells on it that I guess you were supposed to ring after you read it or something because everyone who read it rang the bells.

We left the Casa Lome grounds in search of a place to eat. The GPS lists most of the restaraunts in the area so you just pick one and it talks you through the directions. It was funny because when we were looking throught the GPS, McDonalds came up at least 8 times in 5 minutes. So, we made the decision that it would be easiest to just go to a McDonalds in the area. So we went and had our lunch.

Afterwards, we went to the Shoe Musuem. (not as stupid as it sounds, it was really fun actually). It's really cute, the building is shaped like a giant shoe box half open. They had all types of shoes, ancient ones to modern ones. My favorite exhibit was the superstar one. You walked in (they were split by floor) and they had these sheer screens with pictures of Paparazzi taking pictures and behind the screen they had these flash things that made a sound like a flashing camera so it made you feel like a star. (cheesy, but cute you have to admit). They had an amazing collection. They had shoes from Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy), Shaq (You don't know how big this guy's foot it until you see his shoe! size: 22!!) Eminem (He autographed it so I took a pic), Liz Taylor, Serena Williams (who also autographed them so I took a pic, besides the fact that I'm a fan...of her sister's), Mickey Mantle Cleets (also autographed, I took a pic for my sister, the baseball maniac), Mohammed Ali (does this need an explanation??), John Lennon (Beatle boots!! I took the pic because I love the Beatles, and my dad is obsessed with them), and many more.

After we left the musuem we checked into our new hotel, which is amazing. It's HUGE with nice rooms and a pool on the 17th floor that's heated. What was funny was that when my brother, my dad, and I went swimming on the balcony, it was REALLY foggy so it was like swimming in a cloud. After we went swimming, got back, and showered, we went to the Wayne Gretzkey restaurant. REALLY good food, but really expensive. Cute restaurant with a cute theme.

And now we're back in the hotel room, getting ready for bed. We're going to be in Toronto tomorrow too. Until tomorrow...

Adi
PS POST RESPONSES

Second Day - Niagara Falls

Day Two-Niagara Falls

Hey again!

I'm now writing from Canada, a few minutes away from Toronoto!

We had quite a day today! It started at around 8'clock this morning when we woke up. (We were supposed to wake up at around 6:30-7 but we had a hard time adjusting to all sleeping in the same room.) So we caught up on some extra sleep, but were ready to go at about 8. We checked out of the hotel and decided to go to the Friendly's in nearby Corning for breakfast. (Our hotel was in Painted Post, which is about a five minute drive from Corning). We had a very filling breakfast at Friendly's and set off for the road. We drove for two hours, and again I can't really tell you what happened because I was sleeping with my headphones on. I woke up when we were just entering the city of Niagara Falls on the American side.

We quickly found parking on on the Niagara Falls Park grounds and set out to the observatory overlooking the falls. Once there, we took some pictures of the falls and noticed that it was raining. (Yes, raining ontop of all of the spray and mist from the falls, we had rain.) It was only a drizzle, so we continued to our destination, the dock of the ship The Maid of the Mists. This ship takes you right next to the falls, both the American side and the Canadian. (They are split by an island called Goat Island which ironically has no goats on it, just seagulls) After we paid for our tickets we went to the dock and got our ponchos. We obviously needed them because we were going so close that we would be soaked by the mists of the pounding falls without them. We quickly put on our blue ponchos with the Maid of the Mists logo on the front and set out for the boat, which was ready to leave. We climbed to the top deck (the deck where you get soaked the most by the water) and waited for the boat to leave.

Once it left, they began to explain about the falls and about some of the daredevils that have thrown themselves over the falls in rubber balls and barrels. They also told us a story that took place in 1981 I think they said the year was. A seven year old boy was on deck over the falls when he tumbled over the railing. Wearing only a bathing suit and a lifejacket, this boy survived the fall. He was picked up the Maid of the Mists ship and carried to safety. Isn't that amazing? Anyway, so on the boat ride, we had so much fun going up close to both sides of the falls and gettin soaked by the mists. (Hence the name of the boat) I must admit that I was a little afraid when we went to the Canadian side because their side are the falls shaped like a horseshoe which produce the most mist. The mist covered the rocks that were directly below the falls and that the boat could easily have crashed into. Besides the fact that the weather wasn't helping with all that rain and cloud cover you could barely see anything! (I didn't want this boat to turn into another Titanic, except under 130 foot falls with millions of gallons of water barrelling down on any survivors. Ok, so I have an active imagination... :)

After that, we got to shore and climbed up these stairs that were cut into the rock right along side the American falls. We got drenched even worse than on the Maid of the Mists trip but it was worth it to see the falls so close up. Afterwards, we felt a little hungry so we went into the Tourist Center and got some hotdogs and hamburgers to eat. After that, we wanted to go take the Cave of Winds tour in which they take you up stairs on Goat Island and into a giant cave. We walked to the site (it was a good fifteen minute walk) and we found that we had already done it the last time we were here, 12 years ago. (We came back because I was only two and obviously don't remember any of it and my brother wasn't even born yet) So we trudged back and decided to cross over to the Canadian side to see what they had to do there.

We passed through the border patrol and got to the Niagara Falls Park on the Canadian side. Since our parking was so far away from the falls (all the close parking lots were full), they had a special bus (or people mover as they call it here) to take us there. Now this wasn't any ORDINARY people mover, this was a bus, and then another bus attached to it, kind of like an RV is attached to a pick-up truck or the fron or a truck is attached to the long back part. You get my meaning, so anyway we were dropped off at the Rock Table Complex overlooking the Canadian falls (which were much more impressing in my opinion I must say) We took some pictures, well more like I took some pictures with my digital camera and you will see some of them on the website and my dad just shot some videotape for the home movies collection we have of all our vacations.

We finally agreed to go inside the complex and take the Behind the Falls tour. We had to wait until 5:20 (it was 4:40) for the tour to begin. We were taken into a room with a long queue line string things are (you know, like when you wait in line for a really new roller coaster at Six Flags and they have those line dividers that snake along back and forth?) So we got our ponchos which were yellow this time with the Niagara Falls logo on the back, and we headed into the line for the elevator. (I was smart and I put this yellow poncho over my blue one and my sister said I looked like one of the fairies from Sleeping Beauty) The elevator took us underground into these tunnels that lead to a deck right next to the falls, and they also had two portals which were literally behind the falls. So we get onto the deck (there were two levels) and we stay on the upper deck and look at the falls literally from twenty maybe thirty feet away. It was absolutely amazing! You could see where the water fell over the cliff and you could even see under that part...kinda hard to explain what I saw but you will see it in the pictures. On the upper deck we got sprayed a lot, probably as much as when we climbed the stairs right next to the American side of the falls. (Even though they weren't NEARLY as close to the falls as this was) Then we decided to go to the lower deck, which jutted out even more to take you close to the falls themselves. We went down there and I must tell you, it was like walking into a hurricane. The wind was blowing, the mist was more like thunderous rain and we were drenched!! (Even with the ponchos on) It was so much fun! We went to the part of the lower deck that was the closest to the falls and you could just feel the rumbling and you could definetly feel that water. We basically took a shower at Niagara Falls :).

So after we finally fought our way through the wind back to the upper deck, my brother dragged us to the portholes behind the falls. One of them was amazing, almost mesmerizing to look at, you just looked at the power and force of the falls and you could feel it because you were right there, less than two feet away from those thunderous falls. (The only thing seperating you and the falls was a metal fence). Then we went to the next porthole which was even deeper in, so much so that the water poured into the porthole but not enough to affect us behind the fence. After a long day of being very cold and wet, but having a very good time, we finally decided to go to our hotel and check in.

We got there (after getting lost a little bit despite the fact that we had a GPS with us) We checked into our room and were famished so we walked to the McDonalds which was across the parking lot from our hotel (ironically so was Pizza Hut, which we ate at last night in Coring and speaking of which I highly DON'T reccommend ANYONE to the Pizza Hut in Corning, the service there is lousy) Anyway, the children of the family got McDonalds and brought it back to the room while the adults went out to eat at a restaurant on their own.

While my sister and I munched, we flipped through the limited channels on the TV and found the WB (which says that it's the WB49 but it was on channel 22) and we found none other than our favorite show, Gilmore Girls! It was a rerun of course, and because it's Sunday it was Gilmore Girls beginnings which means that it was from last season. The episode we watched was the one right after Richard retired and Rory had an Economics project having to do with busniess that she asked him to supervise, and Michel's mother came to visit him and finds out that he's dieting, AND (this is so not grammatically correct but I know that no one will go and tell Ms. Josep on me right?) Dean is stressing that Rory isn't as intersted as she used to be and by the end of the episode he realizes that Rory likes Jess.

After that I had the choice whether to go downstairs to the indoor pool or write this extremely long web log and I chose to type. Be happy. Smile. Laugh. SOMETHING! BE THANKFUL! lol, just kidding. Ok well, I'm going to go, my parents are back from the pool now, yes it took me that long to type this thing...hehe. Ok until tomorrow (if I feel like typing after this extremely long web log...don't worry I will)
Bye,
Adi
PS PoSt ReSoNsEs!!

First Day- Corning, New York

Hey Everybody-

We have just about completed day one of our vacation! The day started out at 6 o'clock in the morning, waking up and getting the some last minute packing done. After preparing the lunches for the long car ride and loading all the luggage in the car, we set out for Corning, New York.

The five hour drive went pretty quickly, I basically listened to the radio until we were out of the area of which my favorite radio stations reach, so I started listening to my MP3 player. We stopped by a pretty river with rest stops right next to it, so we stopped and ate some lunch. When we finally got back into the car, I was fast asleep. I slept for the rest of the ride there, so I can't tell you about any of that excitement. (I'm not a morning person so sleeping in a car was a big relief)

When we reached Corning, we went to the Corning Glass Musuem. Now, it may not sounds very interesting but it was really pretty there! They had so many pieces of glass art from today and from hundreds of years ago. We also went to a special glass-blowing show where they showed us step-by-step how they made glass vases. (They had the glass ovens and everything)

After that we were really tired and hungry so we went to the hotel (the Holiday Inn) and we checked in and unpacked a little bit. We saw that the hotel had a pool so we changed and went down there for a swim. (my sister, my brother, and I) When we went down, there were some other hotel stayers that were really nice and funny. I met this guy, a junior in high school in Pennysylvania. He was really funny and nice and he swam around the pool A LOT. (lol, he LOVES his swimming).

After swimming around with him for about two hours I got really really hungry (I had not eaten since 9 AM, my bagel breakfast that I took in the car, I hadn't eaten my lunch bagel because I had fallen asleep in the car and only woken up when we had gotten to the musuem...) So when after my brother, my sister, and then finally I had showered we decided to go out to eat at Pizza Hut. What was really funny was that our waitress, after she had taken our orders just blurted out "What kinda of accent do you have?" and we were like, "uhh, American? Well, actually we were born in Israel...". Yeah, we thought it was
funny. I guess you had to be there.

Well now that we're home again, we're watching this special Larry King Live with John Walsh from America's Most Wanted. The stories he tells
are amazing. He said that as of last week, they caught 740 fugitives in 31 countries around the world!! Ok, I'm going to go get ready for bed. Until tomorrow...

Boat build for the Paris World Fair