This is the seventh of a series of posts dealing with my third
trip to Eastern Canada. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports. Also,
I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of a year later or to add
further clarification. These are
indicated by “NOW”.
First off a little bit from last night: Evelyn is still not
sure of me but she let me take photos of her without running off. Later after
Dave and Jan got home we went out for drinks.
[NOW: The above are friends I was stayed with, Evelyn being
their cat.]
This morning I took the Bloor-Danforth train to Yonge and
the Yonge-University-Spadina to Dundas Station but this time a little west of
Yonge-Dundas Square.
[NOW: The Bloor-Danforth line is now also called the 2 Line.
The Yonge-University-Spadina Line is now also called the 1 Line.]
I grabbed breakfast from Daily Brew, by the Toronto Coach
Terminal. I got in line a little late
because the bus was at a different bay than usual. A guy claiming to not be a bus terminal bum
nevertheless talked someone into giving him money. The bus I got on this time
was Megabus, in Canada an affiliate of Coach Canada. The bus headed west,
getting caught in a traffic jam. Someone was texting or something similar and
creating lots of beeping noises. I looked back and asked in a low but loud
enough voice, "What's that noise?"
They took the hint. At one point I used my left hand to text and make
plans with Aidan while taking photos with my right.
[NOW: Daily Brew has closed.]
As the bus arrived at its destination, it make have run
over a squirrel, which caused a lot of dismayed gasps, including from me. It
was however in the middle of the road and thus not near the tires so there is a
chance it survived, I got off the bus at
Niagara Falls Bus Terminal and started jogging towards Clifton Hill, mostly
using the Olympic Torch Run Legacy Trail I walked to Nightmares Fear Factory
just outside of Clifton Hill but it was not yet open.
On the Hill I tried the House of Frankenstein haunted
house. My main concern was actually the dark (not so much the fear but if
tripping). You were supposed to follow the red lights but in a few places I had
trouble finding them in in fact early on someone had to send me in the right
direction. I next went on the SkyWheel, part of a Clifton Hill Fun Pass I'd
purchased. I traded in my piece of paper for the official card and rode this Ferris
Wheel. I then went on the Ghost Blasters 3D ride (part of the pass) inside the
Midway games place. It was one of though rides where you ride on a small train
and shoot at objects along the way. The third pass attraction I did was
Movieland Wax Museum. Some of the wax figures resembled celebrities better than
others but it was still fun and there were a few cute gags along the way (a
sign noting Invisible Predator wasn't by any wax figure). At the end there was actually a haunted house
component that was optional. I did it of course.
[NOW: The full name of the Midway place is Great Canadian
Midway Arcade. The full name of Movieland Wax Museum is Movieland Wax Museum of
the Stars. During a second visit it seemed that Invisible Predator was actually
a hologram that sometimes appeared.]
I then crossed the Rainbow Bridge (which is grey) from
Niagara Falls ON to Niagara Falls NY; there was a bit of a delay due to a
Quebec couple not understanding the Customs guy's English questions. I jogged
along Main and then Pine, visiting House of Fantasy (comics), Rite Aid, and
Family Video (got a DVD and a blu-ray). Crossing to the other side the heading
back I ate lunch at McDonald's (heavier than planned because at first I
couldn't find the grilled onion cheddar burger I wanted so I ordered that as
well). Continuing along Pine I visited 7-11, Walgreen's, and another Rite Aid,
then back to Main, then eventually making my way to a bridge that crossed over
from the mainland to Goat Island; smaller Islands plus part of the American and
Bridal Veil Falls were visible in the background.
[NOW: House of Fantasy and that Family Video have closed.]
I walked north on Goat Island and then turned east over a
small bridge to Luna Island, where I got great photos and videos of the Bridal
and American Falls, complete with rainbow.
Remembering something I'd overlooked I returned to Goat Island to get
some photos of the Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls on the US side, then picked off
where I left off on Luna Island. Unfortunately there's no pathway east on Luna
so I had to return to Goat Island, head south and only then take another bridge
to Green Island and then cross a bridge from Green Island to the mainland. Unfortunately on the mainland most of the
views were being blocked, but the island views, which I'd overlooked in
previous years were better anyhow.
[NOW: There blocking was due to construction which was
still in progress in 2014.]
The Observation Tower was open so I did take some photos of
that, took what few off deck photos I could, and the returned to the Canadian
side. There I worked my way east to the
Horseshoe Falls gradually before wandering back the other way.
Returning to Clifton Hill, I went to the XD Theatre, part
of the pass in the Midway complex. This proved to be the real surprise of the
Hill, a 3D motion simulator which creates the illusion of being in a roller
coaster in space. The less rational part
of my brain was convinced it was real. I'd been in Disneyland and Universal
motion simulators; this was topped them. I returned to Nightmares Fear Factory
not part of the pass but also prepaid; unlike the other houses I couldn't take
photos. They had a chicken board for people who give up and they give you a
card if they make it through. As before, tripping in the dark was my main
concern; the only point where I was tempted to give up was a point where you
are being squeezed by airbags. But I just told myself to wait a few seconds and
the bags did let me free. Amusingly, there's a point where people get their
photos taken, everyone else in scared positions; however, mine showed me
hyperfocussed with my hands out to feel my way. I then bought Jan and Dave some
cards for putting me up.
[NOW: XD Theatre’s 2014 theme was a safari, which didn’t
have as nice visuals.]
Back at Clifton Hill I got a brainstorm: there was a golf
option included with the pass. There was no time to play but I checked if it
was okay for me to take photos of the course of my choice. I went with
Dinosaurs Adventure Golf because it was outdoors. I might have the chronology a
little off here but I think next it was hot dog and large strawberry Julius at
the DQ, then Midway games (I played two two-token games, winning a skull key
chain on the first one and kept the fifth token as a souvenir. So the latter
two in that order or vice versa. The five tokens were also part of the Pass.
The Pass also allowed a second go with the SkyWheel so I did that, then walked
to the Horseshoe Falls again. It was getting late so I made faster time heading
back. I passed through the Hill, worked my way back to the Trail, did a quick
dip into the lovely downtown, and then made it back to the Bus Terminal.
The bus stopped in St Catharines as per the way over but no
one was going to Oakville so that second stop got cut out. The bus gradually
got so dark I only took photos I thought I would have a fighting chance of
identifying later. The bus did a courtesy stop before the bus terminal in
Toronto. I took a chance and it turned out to be by St Andrew Station, on the
Yonge-University-Spadina line. So I took a train to St George and another to
Lansdowne.
[NOW: The latter train was the Bloor-Danforth, now 2 line.]
