The Falls - Day 2 of the Canada Trip

Ok...so I'm a bit behind on blogging my Canada trip. I'm home now...actually I'm at work right now. But I wanted to share highlights of the trip.

As you recall my last post consisted of our first day in Canada, which was Tuesday the 17th. We flew in from Dearborn Michigan, drove into Ontario and stayed at the Armory Suites. (I'll find a link to it, just won't be in this post)

The second day, Wednesday, March 18th, we headed off to Niagra Falls. I heard that the Canadaian side of Niagra Falls was prettier than the New York side soI was picturing a tasteful Information/Nature Center overlooking the Falls. Imagine my surprise when we drove into the equivalent of Wisconsin Dells. A big Casino building greets you right as you drive in and for several blocks there are tacky building fronts sporting haunted houses, mazes, hot dog stands, pizza joints, games and souvenir shops. Oh.My.Gawd. There were also advertisements offering tourist sightseeing packages and right there on the Waterfront is the "Maid of the Mist" boat tours. Sigh.

But the Falls were amazing. Two huge waterfalls roaring over large rocks covered with ice. One of the waterfalls billowed with mist, obscuring the falling water. The roar of the water was almost deafening. It was worth the trip.

We had lunch in a little restaurant next to the Falls and afterwards we went to a Butterfly Conservatory just down the road. The Conservatory was wonderful, but there were a few things about it that I did not like. (Being that I work in an insectatarium which supports a Butterfly conservatory, I'm a bit of a snob on these things) To begin with, too many of the butterflies came in close contact with the public. For example, not all butterflies eat nectar from flowers but rather they obtain their food from rotting fruit. There were several fruit trays scattered across the conservatory within arms reach. I can understand the Conservatory wanting to give the public the opportunity to see butterflies up close, but as you well know, people do not respect rules or boundaries. There were at least 3 people with butterflies on their hands, not to mention the countless morons I saw trying to "catch" the butterflies. It took everything in me not to point out to these inconsiderate people that not only were they disturbing these insects from eating, but they were risking injury to the butterflies in trying to "catch" them. LEAVE THEM ALONE. The emergence case (place where the butterflies are still in their chrysalids and emerge from them) had large holes in the glass, which I assume was to allow the butterflys to fly out of, but it also allowed people to poke their fingers into. On the upside though, the Conservatory was beautiful, the butterflies plentiful and their hands-on exhibits were awesome. The exhibits focused on native butterflies, anatomy of butterflies, butterfly gardening and there was even an exhibit with live caterpillars.

After the Falls we drove into Toronto and checked into another ritzy hotel that overlooked the lake. After all the walking and driving we were wiped so we didn't do much Tuesday night.

I'll post another entry about Toronto later!