Canada, eh?

There were lots of "ehhhhhs!" on this trip! So, here we go, eh?

We decided to leave late, late, late Wednesday evening in order to drive through the familiar places in the dark. I'm extremely glad we did, but it resulted in me not sleeping at all. The route to Canada took us North of Lake Erie, towards Detroit, MI and up into Canada. This route wasn't bad at all and I'm really glad we chose to take it. Wish I would have slept though. One of the pictures below is us pulling into Detroit, it was obvious it was Detroit by the big blow up tire!


We got across the Canadian Border around 1pm, and boy oh boy was it intense. The woman at Border Patrol took all of our passports and grilled us about why we were there, what we were going to do there and what we had with us.

At one point she asks if we have any weapons. We all shake our heads and say no, we don't have any weapons on us. Then she asks, "do you have any bats? As in baseball bats?" We looked at her like she's crazy and say no... no baseball bats. Then she explains that she understands that over there (as she points south) these things are in abundance and it's ok, but over here things are peaceful (oh, yes she did). I think we were all in a little shock and a little scared!

We thought we were cleared to drive on.

Then she asks if we have mace.

Oops.

Yes, one of us had mace.

Of course we tell her the truth, not planning on lying. We wanted to be respectful of the country we were entering. She tells us we need to put the weapon on the dashboard and pull over.

As I look back on it now, I laugh. I mean, we're all heading to see a huge waterfall. Not to disrupt the peace!

We did lots of the touristy stuff, but I will admit something. We all drank a little too much. One night my friend and I had a little too many beers (which have more alcohol content than in the States btw) and got a little out of control. We met some super friendly Canadians and were out until 5am... yeah, we act our age. It was fun though. As my friend put it the next day, she checked her body for tattoos that she may have gotten while under the influence. Luckily, no ink was tattooed on our bodies. I giggle at what we would have gotten though... a maple leaf?! heeheee....

One of the most touristy things we did do though, was ride the Skywheel. I knew as soon as I saw this enormous ferris wheel that I would have to ride it. I'm really glad we did! The view was spectactular!

We also did some gift shop shopping! I got some magnets and t-shirts for myself and parents and some... syrup?

I'm not going to lie... I didn't buy the syrup... merely took a picture of it, because I totally believed Kara when she told me I couldn't take it with me back to the States! After our interrogation getting over the border I would've believed anything.... lol

All that talk about syrup did stir up a craving for pancakes... We made it up in time for breakfast (ok, it was noon) and headed to Ihop. I was appalled at the prices. $15 for pancakes? You've got to be kidding me!


The day my friend and I were fighting off our wicked hangovers, my sister and her friend rode the Maid of the Mist. I am so mad at myself that I missed that, but something tells me I might get another chance... I guess my parents want to go and they want to take my Grandma and my mom... wants me to go too. (not going to lie, I kinda want to. I love my grandma, she's hilarious!)

While in Niagara Falls we stayed at the hotel closest to the Falls, The Oakes Hotel. It was nice, but our rooms were not convenient to the stairwells or elevator. Going in and out of our room was a pain. Plus, the hotel was being remodeled, so it was just weird. I would recommend a chain hotel if you're staying in Niagara Falls. The proximity to the falls was nice though, it was literally a two minute walk to one of the viewing areas. We didn't have a room with a view though. :(

After two days in Niagara Falls we were ready to move on. So, we drove an hour to Toronto. I was a hungover and it was a horrible drive, so I have decided to skip over that portion of the trip. You're welcome.

Oh, and it's not Tor- ont- o, apparently it's Tor-on-o. You don't pronounce the "t"? I compared it to Atlanta and the "t" is supposed to be pronounced like a "d."(Ehhh, it made sense to me! lol)

We loved the people in Toronto! Loved them! Everyone was so friendly, much friendlier than the touristy Niagara Falls. In Toronto we pretty much just walked around, did a little shopping and a little more eating and drinking. We had some delicious Thai food in downtown Toronto and some "gourmet" pizza sent to our room one night. Across the street from our hotel was the cutest pub, called the Spotted Dick (yeah, the name wasn't the cutest) and the bartender there was so sweet! She took so many pictures for us and was so excited to talk to us. She even gave us our mugs as souvenirs! It was the sweetest thing!


We had one night in Toronto where we hit the bars on College St. and we had such a good time! We made it to about three bars (one was not a bar, but more of a... lounge for getting high? We had no idea... really). I got to try poutine for the first time (delicious!) and we had plenty of laughs!



That was pretty much our trip! We had a great time in Canada, and the people definitely lived up to their reputation... FRIENDLY! I enjoyed spending my loonies and toonies and even brought some home to give my parents for when they make the trip up there. I can't wait to make it back some day. :)


What is a place on your bucket list of places that you have to see? Niagara Falls was on mine, and I'm glad I can check it off the list now!