Toronto

I had a walk in the woods near where I’ve been staying, and then went to visit Toronto. Unfortunately I was caught in a traffic jam but I took a  picture while we were stopped. We  visited the dog fountain.

The software on my tablet has been updated and the method of I used before doesn’t work at all. I spent some time trying to work out a different method, but putting pictures in is very difficult and takes  multiple goes before it works. I’m trying to catch up.

Niagara

I found a solution to places that are closed - go on a tour! The Niagara Falls are always open anyway. So I took a tour there. Firstly we went there by bus, seeing the canal on the way.

 It was great, as we went on the boat to see the Falls (although we were all issued with raincoats, we all got wet). The first Falls in each set are th American Falls (with the bridal veil Falls), while the other one is the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.

Then we walked along the esplanade to view them at ground level...

Ant then we went to lunch on the thirteenth floor and saw them from above.

We visited the hydro scheme (they take water out from above the falls between 8pm and 8am each day and it flows 7km down to where there is a much longer drop.      

And then we saw Niagara on the Lake.

Another Closed Museum

I wanted to be sure that where I went next would be open, so I checked.

However, the manse where LM Montgomery lived for many years and wrote most of her books was shut.

Opposite it was an enormous house, which I suspect was used in some of her stories.

Saint Marie amongst the Hurons

When the French controlled much of the interior of North America, there was a Jesuit mission at Georgian Bay (part of Lake Huron). It was the first European settlement in Ontario. Due to warfare and smallpox, the settlement was abandoned after about 10 years. It has been recreated based upon the archeology of the site. There is a church which is a monument to the eight priests who were killed (and canonised). Unfortunately the site was closed because it is no longer summer.

I then went to Discovery Bay, where the British built a major naval station just after the USA became independent. Here, again, the original site has been rebuilt to resemble what it would have been like. Again, it was shut, but it was worth going there and seeing this part of Lake Huron.

Muskoka

LM Montgomery is well known as the author of many books (including Anne of Green Gables) set in Prince Edward Island. However, after she married, she lived in Ontario for the rest of her life. At one stage, she had a holiday in Bala in the Muskoka area, where she finished one of her most popular books (Emily of New Moon) and set another (Blue Castle). Her descriptions of  the area prompted me to visit it. The area has a huge number of lakes, and is as pretty as she described. It was a pity that it rained all day. It was also a pity that the museum was closed. Bala was having its annual cranberry harvest festival, so people were parked everywhere, there were produce tents everywhere, and every tent was very soggy. You grow cranberries in a marsh, so the whole area is probably always a bit boggy. So, not only was the museum closed, but the road it was on was also closed and full of tents. Everyone was having a good time anyway.

I went around the area, and I decided that Lake Muskoka (and the entire area) is superior to Lake Superior.

The Lap of Luxury

This week I am staying in most Superior accomodation. So superior that I decided just to relax and enjoy. To start with, it's big, and it's divided into two suites - the smaller one is like a large motel room with ensuite and microwave/kitchen facilities. The larger has a bedroom, ENORMOUS spa bath and twin basins, and a bathroom with a quite big shower. Then it also has a full kitchen and lounge dining. The primary entrance has three doors - the two suites and a plant room that includes a washing machine/dryer. This is not the only combination machine in the unit. There is also a microwave/stove air extraction unit. I don't like the combination, as the microwave is marginally too high, and gets water vapour on the front whenever you are cooking. Besides which, leaning over a hot stove to use the microwave doesn't fit with my idea of safety. It does solve the vexing issue of ventilation for the microwave, which isn't addressed in most microwave installations.

As well, each suite has an outdoor covered porch complete with a couple of superior deck chairs.

The place is enormous. It has 160 suites, beautiful gardens and is next to a forest with lots of trails (I only need to go 20 metres from my door to the start of one of the trails), a number of barbecues, an indoor and an outdoor pool and two (out of action) hot tubs.

French River

Today I backtracked to where I'll be staying for the next week. Because of the accident I didn't get far enough to take the ferry across Lake Huron, but even from the major roads the leaves are awesome. It was overcast and did a fair bit of raining, so the leaves weren't translucent in the sunshine as they had been. I stopped at French River. Like most parks here, it was closed (the camping grounds, the visitors centre and the toilets) but you could still walk to the falls. However, it started to rain again so I didn't get far.

All the Canadians and Americans tell me that they won't come to Australia because of the snakes, and  here they are - in 100% of the Ontario parks I've been to - telling you to watch out for VENOMOUS snakes.