A little bit of Canadian History: Fort Henry

As we traveled the up east coast of the United States we learned quite a bit of American history.  It’s high time to learn some Canadian history as we head east from Toronto. 

Our first stop, Fort Henry (National Historic Site of Canada) in Kingston, Ontario.

The plaque in the picture reads:

“Fort Henry

An earlier fort was built here on Point Henry during the war of 1812 primarily to defend the nearby naval dockyard. When the Rideau Canal was built as part of a military route connecting Kingston with Montreal, the strategic importance of this site increased. The old fort was therefore replaced by the present structure of stronger and more advanced design which was completed in 1836 at a cost of over 70,000 (pounds). Garrisoned by units of the British and then the Canadian army until 1890, the fort never saw action, although it was used as a prison for rebels captured during the Rebellions of 1837-38.

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada”

And that is the history of the fort, in a nutshell. But it doesn't do the place justice. The fort is really interesting, as it is set up as a living history museum, with activities, demonstrations and guided tours going on throughout the day. (Living history museums are awesome because they are so interactive and engaging!)

As you approach the fort from the landward side, only the top of the wall is visible, and really not much to look at. That’s the defensive structure at work – it’s built to look that way! The slope up to the walls leads to a 30’ deep dry ditch that surrounds the fort. (all the better to give those attackers a nasty surprise)

We crossed the ditch via a swinging bridge, passed the gatehouse, through the thick outer wall, complete with heavy gates on either end, and rifle holes within (these guys weren't fooling around!) into the upper fort. This is mainly an open area with shops built into the walls, and cannons along the lower balustrade, and up on the grassy area near the entrance – all facing the water. Fancy restaurants, wine shops & gift stores inhabit the shops now.

A ramp down between the grassy sections leads to the lower fort, and all the really interesting stuff. We arrived just in time to watch the cannon firing. There’s a whole lot of production to prepping a cannon to fire, and then a great big KABOOM! The kids loved it. We then toured through the many, many rooms of the fort. These, for the most part, were well furnished with authentic looking equipment and furniture. Other rooms contained displays on the artillery (guns & cannons), costumes, and important figures and history of the area and fort.

North wall

When you enter the lower fort it feels like you've stepped back in time, to 1867(aside from the modern bleachers). Staff were dressed in period costume and really knew their stuff. They weren't just there for show, either. The baker explained to us that the Fort would soon be baking and selling its own bread, baked in the nearly 200 year old ovens (once it can satisfy 21^st century hygiene regulations). The leatherworker really is responsible for creating and repairing portions of the soldier’s uniforms. 

Preparing to be inspected

And the Fort Henry Guard were all very serious, and professional when performing their duties on the parade ground and during demonstrations. I was actually getting a bit confused as to whether all these people were staff (as in actors), or if they really did have jobs as the people they appeared to be, or what! (They were that convincing, and I’m still not entirely sure what exactly the Guard are.)

We took the kids for a lesson at the schoolhouse at 1 pm prompt. The schoolmistress was quite strict, but they seemed to get off easy. Their parents were the ones that got schooled! (Believe you me, I’m not going to forget what the lines on the Union Flag represent, now!)

   

The kids wanted to go to the garrisons, so after they chose their tiny cell, I closed the door behind them. They thought it was hilarious, until the door didn't open. Then they got pretty upset, pretty quick. I won’t lie, I contemplated leaving them there… just for a few minutes (hey! Who can blame a tired parent)… but they had been pretty good that day, so I let them out. “Whew!” they said, and then asked to go back in. Guess it wasn't that traumatic. (silly kids) 

After watching a second cannon demonstration, we finished our tour with a view of the Reverse Fire Chambers, which are rooms in the north wall, 20 feet underground, to enable (gun) crossfire in the dry ditch. Descending the stairs is like descending into an entirely different world. The rooms down here are damp, chill, and a bit surreal, with water dripping from the ceiling or running down the walls, and stalagmites forming in some places.

Returning to ground level, up the steep, slippery staircase, we began the walk back to the gate in the outer wall, Morgan expressing the desire to return to 2014 to everyone he passed along the way. He really did believe we’d stepped back in time. Now, how’s that for getting into a field trip?

We were too busy exploring to take many pictures – a fact I didn't realize until after we had got home.  Luckily, the Fort Henry website provides lots of excellent information, with pictures and/or descriptions of the fort’s rooms. We easily spent several hours here, and all of us quite enjoyed our visit. If you happen to be in the Kingston area, I highly recommend coming to see Fort Henry.

As a bonus, when you purchase tickets to the Fort, you can also get free tickets to Upper Canada Village, just an hour and a half up the road. Let’s go!

On the Road Again

Woohoo! After two and a half weeks in Toronto, our trailer now has two shiny new axles and we’re ready to hit the road again. First order of business – jackknife the darn thing backing out of the trailer shop’s yard onto the road, and test the torque on those new axles (stupid, stupid, stupid!!!).

Reminder: Do Not Operate Heavy Machinery when Tired

'nuff said

Old axles - you can see the bend in the front one 

We headed to Darlington PP, ten minutes down the road, for a very expensive overnight. Another note: camping in Ontario is not cheap. In my experience, national & provincial / state campgrounds are cheaper. Not so, here. The US/ Canada average for nightly camping is around $40. Ontario pushes this nearer $50, and discount camping is almost non-existent. Man, I miss our $3 a night camping! 

Our first full travel day in several weeks found us falling into old patterns. School work , fight, pack, and hitch up, followed by taking twice as long as usual to get anywhere! We also traveled the “Lily needs to pee!” route, which takes us off the highway more often than expected (like every half-hour, or so it felt). 

However, it also led us to some interesting places, like The Big Apple Pie Factory. It’s definitely a tourist destination, but so yummy. The place smelled fantastic and I was carried away in apply bliss the moment I stepped through the door. It probably helped that it was lunch time, and I was hungry!

We also took a detour over to old Highway #2 for another potty stop and found cheap propane ($24 to fill a 40 lb tank is by far the cheapest we've ever paid). Cheers for saving money J

Our original goal was Fort Henry, in Kingston, but the rain and our extended travel time had us rethinking that and we landed at Rideau Acres campground for the night, early enough that we could enjoy the evening, and watch the weekend campers roll in. The lake surrounding the campground looked inviting, and the kids & Bob took a walk down to the dock, but the thunderstorms around kept everyone out of the water. This area of the world seems to be really rainy, lately, but it has greened everything up nicely.

It feels good to be moving again. Eastward, we go!

Honorary Torontonians

Toronto is the largest city in Canada with over 2.5 million people in the city, and many more in the surrounding suburbs, which means there’s plenty to do in and around the area. 

A little bit of touristy fun, and plenty of plain old living fit the bill for our two and a half week stay here.

I’m sure no one wants to hear about libraries, school, laundry, and grocery trips, so here’s a rundown of some of the fun (and not so fun) things to do in the GTA.

1)  Canada’s Wonderland

This amusement park is roller coaster heavy, but there are plenty of rides for all ages. Lily spent most of her day in Kidsville and Planet Snoopy riding almost everything she could go on. These rides are just right for me – tame! Bob and Morgan spent most of their time on the faster rides, although Morgan did also spend time with his sister on the slower rides. For some reason the super simple helicopter ride both thoroughly entertained them. Lily did entice me onto one faster ride, Klockwerks, since Bob & Morgan were riding another roller coaster and she really wanted to go. Never again!!! For some reason, rides like this cause me an instant massive headache and dizziness, and one round was more than enough for me. 

Luckily Bob & Morgan finished their ride, joined Lily, and then the three of them proceeded to ride twice more. My kids definitely do not get their thrill seeking genes from me! (or maybe their inner ear equilibrium is just better)The park had just opened for the season the previous weekend, so not all the attractions and none of the shows were running yet. There was still plenty to do, but it would have been nice to be able to have the full experience available. (It’s fully open now).

2) The Ontario Science Center

This place was so fun for the kids that we actually came twice. The second time around we got a membership. Did you know that science centers and museums (and some zoos) around the country offer reciprocal memberships? Your membership at one provides you entry into a number of others, free of extra charge. Now, I knew about this for in the States, but I figured that it was country specific – so hadn't bothered looking into it while in the U.S. Turns out I was wrong. Our membership provides us entry into 300 centers world-wide. Cool!

We actually needed two days to see everything here, and even then, I didn't get to go into the special exhibit for as long as I would have liked. This was partly due to us watching an IMAX (actually OMNIMAX) movie during each of our visits. We saw “The Human Body”, and “Flight of the Butterflies” – this one tied in nicely with Morgan’s final science unit on bugs. 

The kids’ favorite area was the Kidspark, and they spent quite a bit of time there on day one. They both had great fun playing with a giant plastic pegboard, making faces, hand prints and butt marks. 

3) Take a walk in nature

There is plenty of green space in and around Toronto, what with Lake Ontario right there, and plenty of streams and little valleys to help maintain the natural feel of the area. I've noticed that many cities keep wild areas within their borders. It’s nice. People appreciate having it too, if the full parking lot is any indication.

Our chosen park was also basically our backyard for the past several weeks.  Rouge Park follows the Rouge River, which lets out into Lake Ontario. North from there, the park is fairly sizable and has a variety of hikes. The trails are basic – marked by painted lines on the trees – and in some spots are quite challenging (steep, slippery), which made for a fun walk. Morgan was convinced we were in the middle of nowhere – even when I showed him our location on my phone’s GPS, and pointed out that we could easily hear the traffic off the 401. But I could see his point too. It did feel very secluded. The trees showed quite a bit of damage from a January ice storm, and other than clearing away any dangerous branches, everything has been left natural. 

4) Get dirty!

This one’s for the kids. Did I mention we were camped right along the Rouge River? Yep, it took the kids nearly two weeks to notice there was a river right there, but when they did… oh boy!

Now, mud and kids go hand in hand, but I think my hooligans took it to the extreme. We took another short walk from the opposite end of the campground, down by the river. I was pointing out the animal tracks in the mud along the edge of the river, and then Morgan had the great idea to go make his own tracks in the mud.  And then he lost his shoes to the soft sucking mud. And then we had to rescue them, and all descended into muddy silliness from there. Oh, did I mention this stuff was the silty, swampy mud of a slow flowing, bendy river? Yuck! (but they sure had fun)

5) Go to the Toronto International Circus Festival 

During the Victoria Day long weekend, we took in a uniquely Toronto festival. At Harbourfront Center – a haven of art and culture right on Toronto’s Harbour (hence the name), a weekend long circus festival was in full swing. And it was all free. Sweet! Parking, of course, was not. As in Las Vegas, we tested out the height of our truck in the parkade, this time in meters! (2.0 m is okay, but really scary to watch out the sunroof!) Once back at ground level, we set off to tour the booths, sample some ethnic fare, and watch a variety of juggling, circus, comedic and acrobatic talent at work. There were also circus related crafts, and activities for the kids, and stations where they could try out a bit of their own acrobatics. Toronto is home to two circus schools (I think), so it makes sense that the festival would be here. Both schools had shows running on the big stage, and it was amazing to watch 2 – 14 year old kids up there showing off the skills they’d learned in school.

It was fun to go to something a bit different than our usual, but Morgan tired of all it pretty quick (he did have some fun at the start). He spent most of the rest of the day trying to get us to leave so he could go play his IPod, which made it challenging for the rest of us to enjoy the festival. I’m not even sure he even noticed all the cool things going on right in front of him! (Sigh. And GRRR! The parent part of me gets so frustrated with him sometimes) Lily, at least, enjoyed it all. 

Now many of these activities in Toronto require us to do one thing, that isn't always fun:

6) Drive the 401

Busy, busy highway. Main east/west route through the city (unless you want to take the expensive toll road). There are express lanes and commuter lanes, which connect at each interchange, but you have to know when you’re getting off, so that you don’t need to slide over 6 lanes of traffic to make your off-ramp. It’s not so bad during off-peak times, but during rush times… ugh. And, of course, we kept managing to hit it during busy times. Twice we went to visit family on the west side of Toronto – through rush hours, both directions. The second time, the express lanes were closed, and it took us an hour and a half to go 40 km. Good times!

Guess you're not a Torontonian until you get stuck in traffic on the 401. All in all, our time in the Toronto area has been fun, though.

Paused

Now, I don’t want to tell you “I told you so!”  but “I told you so! …Bob.”

On our way up the East coast I had noticed that our right front tire was wearing quite badly on the outside edge, while all the other tires appeared to be wearing normally (I predicted a bent axle, Bob said no). This got especially noticeable since New York, but we needed to get across the border, so we left it until we could actually be somewhere long enough to take care of it.  And then procrastination set in…

We didn't call anyone during our few days in Niagara Falls, and no calls were made during our week in Hamilton (Bob asked me why I didn't call anyone - I wasn't even there for half the week! I was in Alberta, for yet another orthodontic appointment – and to see my family – and get one more blast of winter (family good, snow bad!)).

Finally, as we were leaving Hamilton, I convinced Bob to pull into an RV dealership to have them look at our tires. The dealer indicated that it was likely (can you guess?) a bent axle!  But he wouldn't be able to get one in for at least three weeks, so we continued with our plan to move an hour and a bit up the road to Glen Rouge Campground on the east side of Toronto. We would (hopefully) have better luck near the large commercial and industrial center that is the GTA. (Plus more activities to keep us busy if we were to be stuck here for a while). Now is not an ideal time to be trying to get work done on the RV as spring has arrived and all the seasonal trailers are coming out of hibernation, needing the usual spring maintenance. But, after calling around, we did find a trailer (not RV) place that could take a look at our home.

And what they found was worse than we originally thought. Both axles are going, the suspension is getting loose, the right front shock is totally busted and it looks like at least one of the tires (new to us in July) is cracking. Yeesh!

Guess all those rough roads, potholes, the odd curb and miles and miles of travel have left their mark. And, so we've paused for a couple weeks to wait for axles to be built and the trailer to be fixed before we continue East toward the Maritimes. 

Being enforceably paused is making me twitchy (a week here and my itchy feet are starting) but I think it has more to do with adjusting to staying still than anything to do with here. There’s a certain rhythm you get when you’re constantly on the move which has quite a different feel to it than the rhythm of settling in and staying put. It’s been months since we have stopped somewhere for more than a week, and I’m not used to it.

a week later and it's greening up nicely

This is really an ideal location to be for a longer stop: Just off the 401, the campground is surprisingly quiet, open & park like with walking trails into Rouge Park right nearby. It’s very idyllic. But we’re also a stone’s throw from everything  – all the stores we could want within a 15 minute drive. The library (free fast WiFi) is just up the hill, Lake Ontario is just south of us (we really should go see it) and there are even kids in the campground for my two to play with (another full-time RVing family!). In short, it could feel like home – if only I could settle into it.  

Niagara Falls: the Butterfly Conservatory

Anyone who’s been reading the blog regularly has probably noticed I like butterflies. So, when the WonderPass included a trip to the Butterfly Conservatory, I was all for that! 

I've been to several butterfly houses before, but I don’t think I have been to one with as many flyers.  Butterflies were everywhere!

At first, it seemed like all the butterflies were on the wing, but then one landed, and as eyes refocused, I realized that the leaves & flowers were full of them as well.

Blue Morpho’s (my favorite) flocked together and chased each other looking like crazy blue streamers in the air. 

One battered looking fellow took a pause on Morgan’s bright red shirt. Morgan was enthralled.

Feeding stations were a great place to see many butterflies at once.

The many flowering plants did the same thing, naturally.

One landed in on the ground in front of the kids, and they spent several minutes both trying to convince it to climb on their hand – no go though.

This Banded Peacock shimmered in the sun. Shiny and yet camouflaged at the same time.

Another great camouflage example

So many pretty butterflies! These are only a few of the ones we saw.

(Tiger Longwing)

(don’t know!)

(Owl Butterfly)

(Swallowtail)

(Morpho)

Just a note: Once the Maid of The Mist gets in the water, the Butterfly Conservatory is dropped from the WonderPass. Regardless, of whether it’s part of a package deal or not, I think it is well worth the visit.  

Niagara Falls: the falls

The day after we arrived back in Canada, we went to see the massive landmark that is shared by two countries. I've heard it said by many sources, and I must agree - The Canadian side of the river definitely provides a better view of Niagara Falls, as it looks face on at both the American & Horseshoe Falls. If you want to get up close & personal to the Horseshoe Falls, the (Table Rock) Welcome Center is the place to be. For a more balanced view of both falls, a walk up the street from the Center is in order. And for a different perspective of the whole area, a trip up Skylon Tower is a must do. 

For our visit, we decided to purchase a Niagara Parks WonderPass, which at this time of year got us two days transit (right from our campground), a 4D ride, a journey behind Horseshoe Falls, and a trip out to the Butterfly Conservatory (all for $20 per adult).

The 4D ride was a bit silly, and made less enjoyable by the fact that Lily now freaks out every time she hears the words “4D ride” (thank you California Adventure for that), but the Journey behind the Falls was really neat. An elevator ride took us down to a tunnel carved through the rock near the falls. The tunnel splits a little ways from the elevator, with one direction leading to a viewing platform right near the edge of the falls, about halfway down the cliff. The mist sprays in your face, the water roars, and you look up to see the massive river spilling over the edge of the cliff. It is impressive.

Directly across is the other side of Horseshoe Falls and the middle is this swirl of spray that makes it impossible to tell how deep that horseshoe really is. If you turn to look downstream you can see the American Falls and farther along, the Rainbow Bridge. To my surprise, there was still a fair bit of ice and snow pack along the edges of both of the falls, and it looked like the pack would be there for a while yet. (Information panels inside the tunnels told us that before human intervention, the ice dam would build up as high as a ten story building!).

The brightness in front is all water

The other tunnel takes you past several interpretive panels (ice dams, daredevils, geology) and then to two viewing windows directly behind the waterfall, about a third of the way across. All you can see outside these tunnels is water pounding down. The force of the water can be felt all around – a constant vibration – and it’s easy to understand how all that water can erode away solid rock. 

The present location of the falls is actually several kilometers upstream from where they were when first discovered  in the 1600’s (9 km, I think), and the falls are still on the move. The rate is slower now, due to water controls upstream, but inevitably, the face of the falls as we know it will continue to change as the river flows.

The falls are amazing during the day, but at night they become beautiful artwork, as well.  After dark, both falls are lit up in a display of color. We chose to go up Skylon Tower the following evening to see this. We could have easily just watched from the sidewalk (in a variety of spots) but I’m glad we went up as we were treated to a spectacular sunset and excellent view of the surrounding city (cities, really, as we could see Buffalo, Toronto, Hamilton, and more) before twilight set in. 

Both falls started out lit up white, but once it was truly dark, they turned colorful. Yellow, green, blue, red, and more. For a while, the American Falls were lit red, white & blue, while the Canadian Falls were red & white (the colors of our respective flags). 

Then, both were rainbow. Very pretty, and just another great example of why this continent is such an awesome place to live and travel in.

The intrepid photographer pausing to get his own pic taken. He's part of the reason these blog posts take so long to do (sorting through pictures) and also the reason I actually have pictures to share!

Hello Canada!

We’re ba aaack! After driving through upstate New York (beautiful – I’d love to go back in the summer), and stopping on the US shores of Lake Ontario for one last visit and goodbye with our friends we crossed the Rainbow Bridge into Niagara Falls, Canada.

We had fretted about the border crossing (and potential inspection), eaten down our food stores, organized and calculated our receipts for purchases and made a thorough list of the food & alcohol we were carrying (in other words, we had prepared, unlike last time!). Crossing was almost a disappointment – no drama, no nothing. After a few cursory questions, we were free to complete our crossing into Canada (I know that’s a good thing, but I was expecting something to justify all the preparations! Of course, it was likely those preparations that facilitated our easy return.). 

I have been looking forward to getting back to my home country for quite a while, but in the end I felt like we rushed through so much during our travels up the East coast, in order to return within our allotted 6 months allowed in the US. The exact rules on crossing dates are little fuzzy (is it 6 months, or 180 days, 183 days, or what?), and, it’s not so much the coming back to Canada part that’s the issue, as much as it’s the “if we want to re-enter the US at some point” (and we do want to be able to!), that encouraged us to follow the guidelines. So, even though our friends were asking us to stay the weekend with them (and I would have loved to!), we decided to play it safe and cross 6 months, to the day.

It does feel good to be "home", but I was actually a bit surprised at how uncomfortable leaving the US felt. Perhaps that’s because it felt a bit like we were being kicked out of somewhere and told not to come back for a while (of course that was only in my head. There was no actually person saying “Get out!” I actually have no idea what the border guards would say if we attempted to go back to the US.)

It also takes a bit of time to readjust to the small differences that differentiate the two countries, especially when we've been immersed in one for 6 months. But we’re good at adapting quickly. Now we’re planning our Eastern Canada travels, getting excited as we learn of all the things to see and explore. But first, we need to wait for spring to arrive! Many campgrounds are still closed and we are limited in where we can stay for just a little bit longer (in part because very few people camp before May long weekend, and in part because it has been a long cold winter.)

A couple personal thoughts on Canadian things:

I've missed kilometers. They just make so much more sense to me.

Holy fuel costs, batman! Can we say sticker shock. It was $4.00 a gallon on the US side, and $139.9 per Litre on the Canadian side. Ouch. I really wish we would have fueled up before crossing (yes there are some right gas stations close, but none that were accessible with the trailer on).

Familiar groceries and grocery stores are so nice. Who knew I could get so excited over margarine and laundry detergent? The prices seem to be relatively similar for many items. Except milk. Why is it so expensive here?!

Canadian money is so much easier to work with than US cash. Other people may laugh at us for our colorful money, but it’s a snap to pull out the bills I want without fumbling through a wad of them!  And, yes, my purse may be loaded down with 40 pounds of coins now, but, hey, I also a have $40 in loonies and toonies in there!

Canadian TV is different from US TV. It just is. First program I watched that first evening back was the Rick Mercer Report, and the show was about escaping from your car if you've driven into a lake. It was funny, it was serious, it was informative. If you’re Canadian, you’ll get this. If not, that’s okay. Look him up.

And for some strange reason the chorus from the tune “Blame Canada” (from South Park) has been running through my head at irregular intervals since we left New York. No idea why. Out darned song, out!  

Through the eyes of my children

I've been thinking about my children a fair bit lately. It delights me to no end that, despite (or perhaps because of) what they have experienced in life so far, their ability to marvel at something, and just 

believe

is intact and well.

Take Easter for instance.

We moved campgrounds on Easter Sunday, and our first spot was not one that would encourage lingering.  And off we went. The kids didn't say too much about it being Easter, knowing it was a moving day, but Lily did wonder about the Easter bunny. We reassured her that he would find us, and she was okay with that.

Once we were settled in to our new campground in the Poconos, I sent Bob and the kids off to play at the playground, and while they were gone, worked some Easter magic.

When the kids returned I announced "Guess what? The Easter bunny came while you were at the playground!"

And their eyes lit up with excitement. The only questions were about what he did. I told them he went in the trailer and hopped around for a moment, and then hopped around outside muttering about "treats" and "hiding". Lily did state that no one sees the Easter bunny, but I told her that sometimes parents help, because he's a busy fellow. And that was enough for her.  

Both of them found their inside treats quickly, and then went all around the outside of our camp spot hunting for the treats the bunny had left behind. All the while were exclamations indicating they were both convinced that the Easter bunny had really been there. 

There was no "Oh, mom, you did this." or anything like that. They believed (and believe) that the Easter bunny is real. They believe that without question. We read a silly Easter story my mom had written and sent us that evening, and it just helped to add to the feeling that Easter was a magical time when ridiculously unplausable things could really happen.

They both talked about the visit from the Easter bunny for days. (Not so much about the treats specifically, although they did inhale those - but about the event itself)

I hope they never lose that ability to marvel at the world and believe in the magic of it. Watching through the eyes of my children helps me hold on to that sense of wonder of the world around us, and believe, perhaps just a little bit in the Easter bunny too. (Because the world really is a place to marvel at, and it seems that as adults we forget so fast!)