Canada

Future Trips

A possible visit to Nova Scotia, I would love to catch some salmon. I love smoked salmon! We also plan to visit Alaska and stop by British Columbia (Vancouver one day). We would love to visit Canada’s national parks as well.

Niagara Falls & Toronto (Summer 2019)

This visit was much clearer as it was within the past year and I prepared an itinerary. We only spent 3 nights there with family, then went off on our own to hike in NY and PA before heading home. Getting into Canada on a Wed was quick and didn’t even require a passport stamp. The first night we spent at Niagara Falls, we rented an Airbnb house within walking distances to that area. But the area around the falls was terribly commercialized and touristy. The street and shops reminded me of Ocean City and Vegas combined, I hated the lights, sounds, and sights. I couldn’t believe how much boat rides cost nowadays to see the waterfalls up and personal. They even have ziplining set up by the falls and offered combo packages to do all the activities together. The falls were a nice view on a sunset walk after dinner (decided on Great Canadian Burger fast food), they shone lights on the falls so it would change colors. They also had fireworks display every night, but it was getting late. I couldn’t wait to get out of the area!

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We made our way to Toronto the next day, but our car needed a new battery so we kept jumping it at every stop! Luckily, someone in our group carried a portable jump start generator. We had to eventually take the car to the dealership to get a new battery installed since Walmart didn’t sell the right one, nor did we have the tools/place to change it out! We also realized the difficulty of traveling internationally without having data or phone service, we had to borrow one of the parent’s phone to communicate with our group.

It was terrible timing for car trouble in another country, but we made it to our dinner reservation at the Fishman Lobster Clubhouse restaurant with our party. Their signature lobster dish, piled high, was featured on a few TV shows so it was everyone’s first time. You definitely would need a reservation, it was jam packed!  We ordered from a set menu that included giant lobsters and snow crabs! They allowed us to take pictures with the seafood before they cooked out up in several dishes.

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After dinner, we stopped by Walmart and I love checking out snacks in different regions as I would find different flavors we don’t see in our area. Lo and behold, I found Smartfood popcorn in french, GOUDA & CHIVE, that was definitely any interesting find. I didn’t open it till I got home because I was too full to snack in Canada! It was interesting flavor but still enjoy the original white cheddar.

We went out for dessert at Petite Potato and it was all ridiculously good. Their specialty was this French Honey Golden Toast (mango – takes about 30 mins to prep, and it was worth it). I about died as I couldn’t eat anymore but I couldn’t stop. I needed a break when we settled in for the night at a new Airbnb rental.

The next day we ate a luxurious dim sum (Dragon Boat Fusion Cuisine), too much too early in the morning. We had plenty of leftovers! We planned to go to Toronto Island but after seeing the long ticket and boarding line, we decided to hang out on the public andriorack chairs by the waters. Next we made our way to the train station to grab Uncle Tetsu’s Japanese Cheesecake (chocolate only on Wed and it was Thur), so I got cheesecake cookies instead.

We met up with our group at the St Lawrence Market, but only browsed as I was super full. There was a free food truck festival in Toronto that evening, so we enjoyed free alcohol samples and unique dishes (poutine, sandwiches, Asian cuisine). We turned in for the night and packed up to leave the next day.

We thought avoiding the borders at Niagara falls would be wise and went to the other border to cross into Buffalo, NY. It was a mistake, but on a Saturday morning, the wait was about 1.5-2 hrs. Finally we got service again, then lost it as we drove through the back roads to Letchworth state park! Follow the rest of our adventures in the NY and PA pages!

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Tips:

• Know your phone services in other countries and have backup on communication with your group (set a time or location)
• Let your credit card companies know where you will be traveling so transactions won’t be rejected
• Know the currency exchange and carry extra cash (typically for Asian restaurants, they only take cash)
• Do your research at nights when you get Wi-Fi and also download Google maps to use offline when you lose service out driving
• Check your car tires and battery before making long drives!
• Highly recommend purchasing a portable jump start generator for road trips (especially helpful if you get a flat or need to add some air in the tires, when you are in the back roads)

Niagara Falls (1990s-2000s)

I don’t recall the exact timing of the first time visiting Niagara Falls, but I know we drove up there with my family. I can’t find the passport but that would have told me the exact dates. Although, they did not even stamp our passports when we went to visit in 2019, so I may have to find the pictures when I go visit my parents. We did the whole getting wet on the boat, wearing plastic rain jackets they provided us. I vaguely remember taking a tour to see behind the “waterfalls” via tunnel/hole. I also remember eating “Smarties”, UK product of milk chocolate candy that is similar to M&M. That was about it from my childhood memories.