It’s been a while since I last posted about our epic American/Canadian trip, so I thought it made sense to make it a throwback… I mean, it was April!

Sorry for taking so long; there is so much more story to be told, and a lot of truly amazing (genuinely once in a lifetime) places to talk about. The only reason I’ve managed to contain myself is because my head has been so taken up by work, visiting other places and sleeping. All the fun things, minus one of my favourites; writing.

Anyway! To recap, at this point in the trip I was alone in Toronto. The journey started with Dan, Hamilton and I flying to Washington DC, where we were joined by Naomi for a week and a half on the road to Chicago (via Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains and Tennessee) until she had to fly back home again. Then, after journeying from Chicago to Toronto via Detroit, Dan and Hamilton also had to jump ship (get on a plane), and flew home together leaving me in this situation.

 

Aka from constant busyness, to complete silence. I did get asked to a party by some very ncie Blue Jays fans in my hotel, but I had all the fun of laundry and emails to catch up on. I mean, I know how to party.

Thankfully, it didn’t last long – my amazing Mum flew out on her lonely only, and our solo travels became a group once again as we picked up a car, and drove to Niagara Falls. If you’ve managed to follow any of what I’ve written so far, you’ll know that I actually already visited Niagara Falls once on this trip. BUT she hadn’t, and Niagara Falls couldn’t get boring no matter how many times you see it (this made for my 3rd time), so back I went.

She loves a good waterfall, so we made the most of it, and took a hornblower tour (the red/Canadian one) under the extremely cold falls. If you have time (even out of season the queues aren’t that fun), then definitely get yourself a ticket for a boat trip. It’s a completely different viewpoint from that at the top looking down, and you get to keep a fashionable poncho.

Nonetheless, it’s hard to see the falls wrong. If you don’t have time for a boat, then worry not – just make time to walk across the rainbow bridge (that goes in between America and Canada) not only do you get to stand on an International Boundary Line, but the view of the falls is spectacular. If you are on the opposite end of the scale and have A LOT of time, then do both.

 

After this we got back into our hire car (A Dodge Journey this time) and hit the highway. The Canadian road system was a completely new endeavour for my mum, so I sort of felt like I was experiencing it all for the first time too (even though I had driven almost this exact route less than two days ago!). If you want to see the same thing/place from a new perspective, go with a different person. It truly makes all the difference.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEjbfPeNbqi/?taken-by=abipageaustin

 

It was a 7 hour drive (including all the traffic we had to endure), so we had plenty of time to acquaint ourselves with the new car, and all the Canadian fast food. I can’t remember what we had in all honesty, all I know is that it was everything I had ever wanted. And the people that served it were very nice.

 

We got to our little B and B very late, so had no impression of Ottawa other than traffic, darkness and a room in an unknown house, so at this point had no idea what we were about to wake up to.

It was all very exciting.

So yes, this trip didn’t end in Toronto – far from it. If you follow us on instagram (@travelteatv) you’ll have an idea, otherwise I’ll leave you in suspense. All I can tell you is that this day was the halfway point time wise, but nowhere near in distance.

Happy Friday!

Abi

X

@travelteatv 

P.S. If you’re ever free on Wednesdays, come and join us on Twitter for a #travchat!