Road Trip, Day 10

We left Toronto today rather late because I couldn't get up early enough to miss Toronto rush-hour traffic. We toured west and then south to Bronte and then Lakeshore Road. We stopped for a bit at Burloak Waterfront Park to appreciate the weather and Lake Ontario. I have to constantly remind myself that this is a huge freshwater lake, not the ocean. While we were there we saw (and heard) geese and ducks all along the shore. It would have been a birders paradise if I were a bird photographer. Instead, I stick to dogs and cats. At least I can get close enough to make good use of my lenses.

The weather was crisp and cool today and yesterday. I found the first few fall leaves on this maple in the park.

After the park we returned to driving on the QEW, exiting again for Niagara-on-the-Lake and an excellent Greek lunch at Fournos Restaurant in the middle of the village. I can't give you the exact Greek names for our dishes, but one was a chicken soup with a hint of lemon, the other was a real Greek salad without the lettuce, but with plenty of tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, peppers, and feta cheese that was the best I've ever tasted. The meal was superb as was the service.

The War of 1812, the war Canada thinks it won

I suppose as a tourist I should have taken lots of pretty pictures of the tourist traps attractions that now encrust the mail streets of Niagara-by-the-Lake, but I didn't. If I need to see that type of thing I could have stayed down in Florida and driven to, say, Mt. Dora. Besides tourist kitsch, the area is covered with grape vineyards. I stopped at one rest area and grabbed a memento photo.

When we finally reached the Canadian side of the falls, we stopped and then spent too much time just walking slowly along the edge while I practiced trying to photograph a lot of running water. Many were taken, but few were accepted at the end of the day.

One of the worst examples of crass commercialism on the Canadian side are all these casinos and hotels that line the edge closest to the falls. According to Matthew their height and closeness to the edge have changed the atmospheric dynamics, causing the mists to hang longer and changing the micro-climate within the falls. This is not necessarily a Good Thing. That, and the fact they look like garbage. I find it interesting all of this, and the International Drive-like businesses that have sprung up around the area (a water park, a Ripley's Believe It Or Not, an honest-to-goodness Evel Knievel museum, etc, etc, etc) just want to make me stand and scream. Especially after exposure to the sophisticated excellence of Toronto. I don't find it strange that all of this is right next to the American side of the border.

Thinking about his next pizza masterpiece at Johnny Rocco's

At the end of the day we ate another excellent meal at Johnny Rocco's, just down the street from where we're staying for the night. I had an excellent Italian personal pizza, and my wife had baked eggplant. Tomorrow is another day, and we're either going to go on the Maid of the Mist, or head down to Emporium. Maybe both.