Ready, aim, fire!

Getting wet at Cave of the Winds.

But today we got up extra special early and have already walked 7 miles (11.3K) and we’re back at the hotel taking a nap before heading out for the evening. So I’ll see if I can give you the short version of what we’ve seen. (Click on any photo to see more detail.)

Riding Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls.

Do you remember the trip we made last October where we saw all sorts of lighthouses? Well this trip, once we got past Niagara Falls, where we played under the American Falls and took the boat ride into Canada’s Horseshoe Falls, seems to be all about forts built in the early 1800’s.

Learning about family life at Fort Henry; kids went to school until 14, then boys had to find a job in town or join the army. Girls had to get married.

And about the war of 1812 where, according to the Canadian guides we’ve heard, America invaded and wasn’t very nice to Canadian villages.

Fort Wellington never saw a battle, but sent troops out to fight in other local villages.

We’ve been driving up the St. Lawrence River through Ontario, headed to Montreal and Quebec. We saw a couple of freighters on the river, and, near Kingston, lots of houses out on quite small, rocky islands. Seems a romantic way to live until winter arrives.

Headed west on the river.

But right now we’re in Ottawa, Canada’s capital. We toured the Parliament building this morning.

Parliament Hill, with Peace Tower.

It’s beautiful inside, designed much like the National Cathedral in Washington DC.

Stone arches everywhere.

And it has a library that reminds me somewhat of the Library of Congress in Washington DC as well. Absolutely stunning.

It was very quiet in the library. We were in awe.

After the Parliament building we walked a couple of miles to the Laurier House, where two Prime Ministers of Canada lived, Wilfred Laurier and William King, 12 years apart. Lots of history here too.

Prime Minister King ran the country during WWII from his office on the third floor, preferring it to his office in the Parliament building!

And after that…we sat on the house veranda for a spell, letting it all sink in. Then we wandered back to the hotel, noticing the beautiful buildings of a beautiful city.

Built in different centuries.

Many different cultures and influences are evident in this city.

And a river runs through it. Actually a canal.

And now it’s time for a nap.

Resting our feet.

We started our trip near Niagara Falls, spending a lovely evening walking on the Canadian side of the river enjoying the falls, the lights, the beautiful night air.

Do you see the falls back there?

We even rode the giant ferris-wheel and got a fun view of the falls just as they were lit up for the evening.

Very large ride…and they sent us around 4 times!

We started today at a town called Niagara on the Lake. It’s unbelievably beautiful, especially this time of year. They have flowers everywhere! And the annuals are at peak right now. They have huge gardens in the medians, and along all the store fronts.

Let’s sit a spell.

I could spend this entire blog just showing you photos of flowers. But we must move on. On to Fort George, on the Canadian side of the Niagara River.

Our guide Courtney explains about life at the fort.

There we learned about life in the fort, especially during the time of the 1812 war. Life wasn’t easy. And though this fort and the fort across the river on the American side started out friendly things got rough when the British and the Americans decided they both wanted Fort Niagara for all sorts of political reasons.

Ft George was built of wood, never meant for defense. It was burned and the entire town also burned by the Americans.

It was interesting to hear the story told from the British point of view. On our way over to visit the American’s Fort Niagra we stopped at a monument for General Brock. It has 235 steps to the top; a narrow winding spiral staircase.

This is in a beautiful park.

You know we had to do that. It was a bit like running a marathon without training. Now I know for sure I’ll never sign up for the race they do up the stairs at the empire state building. As if there was any thought of doing that. Which there has not been.

After we found our way back down we headed over to Fort Niagara to hear the American’s version of the war.

Standing on Canadian soil looking across the river at Ft Niagara.

Our guide there talked about how the fort was designed. It was built of stone, by the French as a fur trading operation, then taken over by the British to control traffic on the river.

Notice our American guide is more casual than the guide in Canada.

Fort Niagara is beautiful, especially the officers’ quarters. There’s a room there, up on the second floor with a view of Lake Ontario that was begging for me to stay the night.

Guest room with my name on it.

We had a wonderful day. We more than met our 10,000 steps and 10 flights of stairs. I think tomorrow will be more of the same. My heart says go for it. My feet say take a break!

Stunning stone building protected by cannons.

I hope you will enjoy this trip with us. I wish I could show you all the wonderful things we saw. But I guess for you to truly understand you’ll have to head on up here for yourself!

Pretty in blue.