You may recall Dolores and I celebrated our 25th Anniversary on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls last August. One of my photos from that trip has been selected for the online version of the Schmap Guide. Cool!
Thank you!
You can find my photo in the guide. Look for one of Brock's Monument.
Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Niagara Falls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Niagara Falls. Show all posts
Monday, February 25, 2008
Thursday, August 30, 2007
American Falls: from the Skylon Tower
On the evening of our anniversary last week we had dinner at the rotating dining room on top of the Skylon Tower overlooking Niagara Falls.
Dinner was good, the weather cooperated and the view was spectacular.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Rapid Fire Learning: August
Dean Boyer raised the bar during August at the Joyful Jubilant Learning group blog. Merriam Webster says that August is "marked by majestic dignity or grandeur". It is quite fitting indeed for this month. All the more so when paired with time as the one variable to manage carefully. The least little slip, it is gone and no longer available.
1 - In consideration of how little time we have, I have re-ordered my writing. Coincidently following a fellow blogger, I consolidated my writing on "good experience" and "tertiary education" (life long learning) into this blog, letting the other two slip into archival mode. This elevates my poetry blog into a more prominent position. Eventually this will become a podcast to join my other two podcasting efforts; Passionate Runner and Jerry's Story.
2 - Celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary contributed to the "time factor" this month. Here I am, still believing in Peter Pan (I'll never grow up) and I have been married for how long? Fortunately, the time has past with a great partner; my lovely wife, Dolores. Oh, and our daughters; they are wonderful young ladies. Someday, I'll re-do a MasterCard commercial for them!
3 - We drove to Niagara Falls to celebrate our anniversary and spend some quality time together. The girls gave us a basket and a CD with "music for the road". The wine glasses were hand painted by a future famous artist. The drive itself along Interstate 90 in places parallels the Erie Canal. If we had attempted this trip back in those days, the journey from Albany to Buffalo would have taken us 7 days and not the several hours it did. The New York State Thruway Authority provided a "History Happened Here" kiosk at the Chittenago Travel Plaza where I learned that:
If you were a traveler on the Canal 150 years ago, your boat would pass Chittenago Landing, a major boat building and repair center, about three miles from here. As your boat was being pulled by a team of horses at four miles per hour, you would have time to notice the general store, blacksmith shop, sawmill and other buildings. It would take you seven days to travel from Albany to Buffalo. You and almost 100 other passengers would fill the 80-foot boat, and pay five cents a mile for your trip on America's first modern waterway.4 - The power of water is incredible. The majesty of Niagara Falls can not be understated. My first video blogging attempt tries to capture some of this immense majesty. The Niagara River approaches the Falls calmly and rolls over with a thunderous roar. The Maid of the Mist and a rainbow happened to cooperate and appear during the video. 35 million gallons of water per minute! Wowza.
5 - Continuing to look for ways to make connections, and to use Web 2.0, keeping it simple, I decided to build on something I had seen a couple of other bloggers do: Wordless Wednesday (here and here) and of course, add my two cents to it. While I have many connections around the world, I was looking to add to my "local" connections and created the "Where am I?" game for Franklin. Don't worry, the thinking cap is on for how to expand this concept to the wider world of my readership. If you have any ideas, please leave me a comment or send me an email (shersteve at gmail dot com).
How was your August?
Thursday, August 23, 2007
NiagaraFalls: Bike Shadow
Taken while on vacation at Niagara Falls, bike riding on a glorious day. My wife (Dolores) is the shadow in front of me. I (riding behind) managed to catch this photo of the shadow without editing it.
Cool!
Who's the sunflower in my life?
Easy answer for this one!
Dolores.
Note: from the student section of the Botanical Gardens on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.
NiagaraFalls: Peek-a-boo
Visting the Botanical Gardens in Niagara Falls last week, Dolores and I had some fun.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Video: Niagara Falls
A video sample from the American side of Horseshoe Falls at Niagara Falls (32 seconds)
Enjoy!
PS - yes, it was breezy. the video was captured by my camera. next time I'll smother the mic.
Enjoy!
PS - yes, it was breezy. the video was captured by my camera. next time I'll smother the mic.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Good Experience: So that's how the plants stay so fresh!
The gardening in and around Niagara Falls is really spectacular. As Dolores and I walked in the morning; the sprinklers were on, workers were about trimming the hedges and plants, cutting the grass, painting the fences, etc.
How did they keep the hanging plants watered? As we were at breakfast, I watched this trunk pull up, the long arm lean over and water one plant, then the truck pulled forward a bit and watered the other.
Not that is a good idea!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Fort George
Last stop on our "war and wine" tour Thursday was Fort George outside Niagara-on-the-Lake. Another key point from the War of 1812.
Inniskillen Winery
Second stop was the Inniskillen Winery for a tour and some samples. Tried Ice Wine for the first time. Wonderful taste.
New guard at Fort Erie
First stop Thursday was at Fort Erie, a decisive engagement during the War of 1812.
Friday, August 17, 2007
NiagaraFalls: Happy Anniversary to us!
Yes, we celebrated our 25th wdding anniversary this week.
These glasses Allison hand decorated for us.
25th Anniversary Gift Pack
Allison and Carolyn thoughtfully prepared this gift pack for our trip this week. The bottle of wine, two glasses (hand decorated with 25), a CD loaded with some music for the drive, snacks, a DVD if we had time here (we didn't)...
The glasses were used (see here).
The CD was used (sherku on this here and here).
NiagaraFalls: Maid in the Mist
As the day winds down on the Canadian side, rainbows begin to appear in the mist. Depending upon your location, relative to the mist and the sunlight, the rainbow is full band, full arch or partial.
Location, location, location.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
NiagaraFalls: up real close
What does 35 million gallons of water per minute look like?
This is a look from below and up into the Horseshoe Falls to see part of that amount of water dropping off the edge.
NiagaraFalls: And you were saying?
The butterflies were friendly. I had one on my shoulder for a bit.
This one was hard to get a picture of. They seemed to move constantly. When they did stop, the "eyes" are visible on the bottom of the wings. The top side (hidden inside the fold) is a gorgeous blue. You'll have to imagine that part. I could not get a picture of that try as I might.
They are so delicate and move so quickly!
NiagaraFalls: Butterfly Conservatory
Located next to the Botanical Gardens (free admission) there is a charge to see the Butterflies but it is worth it. Our admission was part of a package that included rides on the People Mover shuttle all day. We traveled north to see the butterflies first and then worked our way back down to the Falls.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)