Rally ended

In the deep, dark woods the internet works but there is no satellite tv. We left Niagara Falls this morning around 10 am and took the milk run route to Port Burwell on Lake Erie. It took just over 2 1/2 hours to get checked into the park and find our site. Some expert backing got us squeezed into our site before you could bat an eye - no yelling!

The pets waited patiently (?) in the truck while we got things set up (record time I might add). The dogs were pretty excited when I finally let them out of the truck. New smells! The possibility of squirrels! Little did they know that there would also be swimming! We all relaxed for a while then piled back into the truck for a trip to the dog beach. It is way too far to walk to, but just over 5 minutes by truck.

Coming over the rise and seeing the strand of beach framed by the blue water of Lake Erie made the drive worthwhile. Hopefully tomorrow will be another nice day and I will remember to bring my camera...

Unruly does not even begin to describe their excitement. And when we got to the off leash part they went crazy. One week of being cooped up at Niagara Falls made for some pretty crazy dogs. They ran like maniacs in and out of the water and through the sand. Bella was like a puppy. We knew playtime was over though when they started finding things to roll in. NOT. Luckily there is a spigot at the entrance to the beach so I was able to rinse most of the sand off us all.

It was a short drive into the town of Port Burwell where we found a food truck with tacos and pogos on the menu - one of each please and yum. Maybe I'll get out of cooking supper for one of the nights we are here.

It is fun to be in a new place, but I'm already looking forward to next year's rally. We both had a really good time. Yesterday was the busiest of all the days. We started out by meeting a bunch of people at an Irish pub for an authentic Irish breakfast. From there Carm and I checked out the big souvenir shop which was actually rather a disappointment. We got back to camp in time to get our chairs and notepads for the trivia game (Carm won - big surprise!), sat around visiting until we both remembered we wanted to get a load of laundry in. After that some people dropped by to see our camper, and then we were off to visit with some other people before heading off for supper at Red Lobster. The bonfire was burning bright when we got back, but I'll have to admit, I didn't last very long before walking back to the camper to bed. I was knackered from all that fun and will probably need a few days to recover!

Whew! Time for a rest.

Canadian Eh!

Monday night I was in bed before the streetlights came on. I was exhausted and couldn't stay up for the campfire. I woke up Tuesday morning refreshed and ready for the next round of fun. Carm played golf with a bunch of rally folk which left me the day to do as I wished. Walking the dogs, reading, etc. kept me busy for much of the morning, and then as soon as the sun was over the yardarm I invited some people for refreshments.

It started with one guest and grew to 8 - I think Carm was pretty surprised when he returned triumphant from the golf course. Grace spent much time sitting on the arm of my chair taking it all in. The dogs relaxed on their mats. We didn't bring the fence with us and I miss it. I have tie-outs for them, but it is so much easier when we aren't unraveling dogs and tripping on leashes. They've been good though, and very patient with the hours that they've had to spend locked in the bedroom with the music playing. They may be getting sick of the 70s though!

The group broke up around 5pm as we had to get ready for the evening entertainment: Canadian, Eh dinner theater. I was pleasantly surprised by the show which featured a lot of Canadian music, from the early songs from 'Sgt. Preston of the Yukon' to modern music from Celine Dion and everything in between. There were surprises. Did you know that 'Born to be Wild' by Steppenwolf was written by a Canadian? I'll bet the Americans in the audience were surprised to hear that 'American Woman' was by a Canadian band!

This is Wonderful

Huffing and puffing from our run for the bus we settled into our seats to enjoy the trip to the Falls. When we checked into the campground we were handed two WEGO 48 hour bus passes. Letting someone do the driving and not having to park seemed like a good idea, at least for today.

Our first stop was Table rock, right at the top of the rush of water. The light rain merged with the mist to create a veil across the majestic view, obscuring most of the view. Still, there was something awe inspiring. We weren't the only ones taking in the view. People of all nationalities and religions crowded with smiling faces against the railings. I felt an upwelling of emotion as I took it all in. I'm not particularly nationalistic but I felt proud that we have such a great country, one that people from all over the world journey to visit.

I don't think I've been sleeping well, and am maybe tired as I felt emotionally fragile for much of the day.

After taking in the falls we walked down the road to catch the bus to our next destination. Anyone have a cigarette? The bus seemed to take forever to come. Once we got on the elusive bus we grabbed seats that would give us a bit of a view of the gorge. It was maybe a 15 minute bus ride to the Butterfly Conservatory. As we stepped into this enchanted world, Carm said it best: this is wonderful. It truly was magical - a flurry of butterflies flitted from one flower to the next. Some large ones were feeding on slices of orange, others seemed more interested in the nectar of a myriad of choices. Our blood pressure dropped several points in this peaceful setting.

Bus again. Get off at the Exotic Bird exhibit. As we walked in the door a huge wash of emotion had me in tears. There was a blue & gold macaw at the entrance and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get past the reminder of our pair. I knew I had to do it, so I swallowed my tears, thought of baseball scores and entered. It was an interesting exhibit, although a tad disappointing. There were some parrots, lots of small birds, some scarlet ibis, a huge cage of lorikeets, and a conservatory with many smaller and medium birds. There were two more pairs of blue & golds as well.

For me, the most interesting exhibit was the fruit bats. We could get up close to the glass, almost nose to nose, to get a good view of their dracula features. Hanging upside down, occasionally darting to the food tray, we got a really good look. It was fascinating.

We took a short walk to where we could catch the "red" line bus route and travelled back to the camper (hereafter referred to as home). The dogs, not too hot or too cold, were ecstatic at our return! Grace may have been happy to see us too, but she isn't quite as demonstrative.

No souvenirs were purchased. Yet!