elevation changes between the Great Lakes
Only two full days in the Niagara area, and the best-weather day will be at the Falls. What to do on the other?
A question came up in the car on our drive from Toronto to St. Catharines, Ontario, where we are staying in the Niagara region: If the Great Lakes Waterway connects the five Great Lakes, allowing navigation from the westernmost lake, Superior, to the easternmost lake, Ontario, and on through the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Atlantic Ocean, how do ships bypass the falls on the Niagara River? The Niagara is the natural connection between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. [Is it just us, or do other people have conversations like this in the car? A friend just shakes her head when I tell her these things and admonishes, “This is what happens when engineers intermarry.”]
ship entering Lock 3
Marcus had read that there is a manmade canal across the Niagara isthmus that was built to handle maritime traffic. I checked the road map. Sure enough: The Welland Canal connects the two lakes.
Why had I never heard of this canal? With its eight locks, it descends the Niagara escarpment from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario—100 meters* overall. It is the greatest elevation change between any two adjacent Great Lakes. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a canal that drops 100 meters over 43 kilometers in length. How is that possible? Guess where we’re going on our extra day?
*Note: We’re in Canada now, so I’m using metric units. If Jimmy Carter had had his way, the US would be using the metric system today, just like our neighbors to the north and almost everyone else everywhere. As it is, we are one of only three countries in the world that insist on using “traditional” units, the other two being Burma and Liberia. Seriously? [Sorry. Rant over.]
front gate of the lock holding back water
back gate closing behind ship
It turns out that the Welland Canal is the town line between St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake, so we didn’t have to drive far. We arrived at Lock 3 just as a ship was pulling in from the Lake Erie side. And it just barely fit! We stayed to watch the whole process, until the ship was on its way at the lower level to Lock 2 an hour and a half later.
maneuvering out of the lock at the lower level
After checking out the Welland Canal Museum, which is very conveniently located at Lock 3 and very well curated, we drove up the Niagara escarpment to Locks 4, 5, and 6. This is the steepest part of the grade, and the three locks–one right after another–climb the escarpment like watery steps.
Locks 4, 5, and 6 (courtesy of Google Earth)
Kudos to the engineers who built all four of the Welland Canals, from the original canal with its 40 manual locks in 1829 to the current canal utilizing eight hydraulic locks in 1932.
After leaving Yonge-Dundas Square, we continued our meander toward the waterfront. We stopped in at the Craft Beer Market for a snack and came across this unusual appetizer: fast-food sushi. Cheeseburger and fries wrapped in bacon, topped with a pickle. Barbecue sauce for seasoning. We couldn’t resist the novelty of it.
Toronto has a love/hate relationship going on with raccoons. Apparently, they’re running rampant, getting into residents’ trash and generally wreaking havoc, as these crafty little bandits are wont to do. They have become a counterculture icon for Toronto: you’re either for them or against them. Personally, I love raccoons. What’s not to love about a bandit that brings its own mask to the party?
I’m also a sucker for funny signs. We had to try out the Bier Markt just because the sign above their door made us laugh. Nothing funny about their charcuterie, however. It was delicious! It’s amazing what you find just by wandering.
Goodbye, Toronto! We will miss you, but it’s time to move on to the impetus for this trip: Niagara!
Yonge-Dundas Square
On our last day in Toronto, we wanted to get out and walk this city we’ve grown to love. Normally when we stay in one location for a week, we take at least one day off from exploring to catch up on laundry, pay bills, and generally take a break from sightseeing. But something about Toronto draws us outdoors. Perhaps it’s the compact size. Toronto is a very walkable city, especially from the location of our apartment in Church-Wellesley—almost downtown, yet with the feel of a quiet suburb. We love discovering the personalities of each of Toronto’s neighborhoods from our hub. And after living in our quiet little hamlet of Stuart for most of the year, the city offers such variety. We feel like kids in a candy store! Or perhaps it’s the amazing weather we’ve had this week. Who could sit indoors when the sunshine beckons from our floor-to-ceiling windows?
We didn’t really have a destination, so we headed toward the Harbourfront, where we seem to end up in our wanderings every day anyway. It was an overcast Sunday—not much going on as we headed downtown, except for a queue snaking through Allan Gardens, people waiting to buy cacti and succulents at the greenhouse. Must have been some sale!
We chose Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto’s unofficial hub, as a waypoint. We were struck by the energy in the square when we visited a few days before and wondered what might be going on there this sleepy Sunday. Nothing sleepy about the square this morning! We arrived just in time for #turbanup.
Sikh for a day
The Sikh community was out en masse to educate the public about who they are, what they believe, and why they wear those colorful turbans, or Dastaar as they call it. Sikhi, the fifth largest religion in the world, originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of India. Guru Nanak Dev Ji taught that all people are from the same creator, regardless of social status, gender, or religion. Because there is no difference between royalty and anyone else, everyone should wear a crown, or Dastaar, as a constant reminder of a person’s value and importance, and also as a reminder of their personal, daily obligation to take care of other people.
Today everyone was invited to turban up. There were tables and tables of fabric in every color and shade imaginable, and experts to help you wrap it in whichever style you chose, be it farmer, warrior, or raj. They also provided lively music and a Sikh-style community banquet. Free food for all is an everyday practice at all Gurdwaras, Sikh temples.
community banquet
We had an enlightening discussion with a young, Sikh woman, and enjoyed watching everyone—Sikh and otherwise—participating in the festivities. Did I mention? I love this city!
Toronto Inukshuk Park
Activity for the day: a 30-kilometre (19-mile) bike ride along Lake Ontario. We rented bikes at the Harbourfront and started our tour on the west end of the lake trail at Toronto Inukshuk Park. I love these crazy man-shaped piles of rock created by the Inuits in northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland to look like hunters lined up on the hillsides of the tundra. Two converging lines of inukshuks were used to funnel caribou into herds for easier hunting. They’ve become a symbol of native Canadian culture. Pretty ingenious, I’d say. But then, as my living room will attest, I’ve always had a fondness for stacking stones.
seven ducklings!
Next stop: Amsterdam Brewhouse for lunch. No better day than a biking day to order poutine. We eat this traditional Montréal dish every time we come to Canada: French fries topped with cheese curd and brown gravy. Comfort food at its tastiest!
poutine!
After carbo-loading, we rode the remaining nine kilometres to our easternmost destination, Tommy Thompson Park in Leslieville. You would never guess that this bird sanctuary, on a lacy peninsula extending into Lake Ontario, is so close to the city unless you happened to glance up to catch the Toronto skyline on the horizon.
Canada geese have returned for the summer
Toronto skyline from Tommy Thompson Park
the Distillery District
Our post-bike reward was visiting the Distillery District just east of Downtown. A refurbished old brick distillery originally built in 1832, it is now home to several boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and the Mill Street Brewery—forty buildings in all. According to Wikipedia, it is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. (You know how I love my superlatives!)
No spirits for us today, but we did enjoy a cold brew to help us cool off on this exceptionally warm and humid spring day. Great ride, great day!
Distillery District
crazy Jenga towers
Great vantage point from the 27th floor. Dramatic clouds today….
Yonge-Dundas Square: There’s always something going on here.
Nathan Phillips Square and City Hall
cool nail mural in city hall
Check out the relief created by nails of different sizes.
Live and late-braking!
Had to stop in just because of the name.
Royal Ontario Museum
ROM: the Crystal Gallery
Toronto’s iconic CN Tower
humorous depiction of fans at the Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays
on the other side of the Rogers Centre
A cement mixer in support of breast cancer awareness. Now, that’s a statement!
A henge at Harbourfront Park. Those are the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario, just off shore.
in Yo Yo Ma’s Music Garden
view to the north from our apartment
We’ve arrived in Toronto and are loving city life! We’re in a fantastic Airbnb rental on the 27th floor of a tower in the Church-Wellesley area of downtown. This is one of our best rentals ever!
Our first day: walking tour of Old Town, the Entertainment District, the Financial District, and the Harbourfront.
first stop: St. Lawrence Market
We love these European-style markets, chock-full of fresh foods.
Couldn’t resist a peameal bacon sandwich, known to those of us from south of the border as Canadian bacon.
Toronto’s Flatiron Building
humorous trompe-l’oeil mural on the back of the Flatiron
stumbled across this delightful park—Berzcy Park—behind the Flatiron Building
adorable dog fountain!
the pinnacle–the almighty bone!
Five bonus points if you noticed the cat on the fountain!
This photo of Belleville is courtesy of TripAdvisor
With so many “rocks” sticking up out of the St. Lawrence River, which qualify as islands?
Interesting factoid: To be considered one of the 1000 Islands, an island must be above water for 365 days of the year and it must support at least one living tree. By these criteria, there are 1864 islands in the 1000 Islands. The smallest is Tom Thumb Island, on the Canadian side of the border. It has one tree and only a few square feet of land that stay above water all year long.
No island is bisected by the border between Canada and the United States, which is why the border through the 1000 Islands region is so jagged.
photo courtesy of Omegatron
Just Room Enough Island, aka Hub Island, is the smallest inhabited island. It’s in the US 1000 Islands. Funny, but the name of the family that owns it is Sizeland.
