Niagara Falls, 2016

Our last stop in Canada before heading home. #niagarafalls #1000miles #mohausroadtrip2016 #mohausfamilyvacation2016 #mohaus2016

A video posted by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Aug 13, 2016 at 7:00am PDT

Ok, so I lied yesterday. This post will officially be my last vacation post. Niagara Falls gets its own category since it was on our way home after vacation was over and, well, it's Niagara Falls!

I have been visiting Niagara Falls since I was a little girl. It is kind of like Mecca for us, a pilgrimage of sorts, I suppose. We visit grandparents. We drive the 20-minutes to the Falls.

The only thing I can think to compare it to would be driving up to Newfound Gap if you are visiting Gatlinburg. The view beckons you, even if you have seen it many times before, you feel compelled to visit.

This was Jack's second visit to the Falls – on our last visit, it was freezing and we literally parked, ran out to the view, snapped a couple of photos, and ran back to our car. Teeth chattering all the way.

This visit was the exact opposite. It was Isaac's first time here and it was super hot and muggy. Normally a cool mist rises from the Falls, creating it's own cloud. On the day we visited, it felt more like a humid rain forest in the tropics. I have never been there when steam seemed to rise from the water.

After snapping our family photos, we took refuge in the air conditioned Table Rock visitor center. We had been driving since 6am, so we took the opportunity to get breakfast at Tim Horton's located inside. With food in hand, we went up to an observation area and watched the falls from inside.

With a little one, it was nice to be able to let him wander a bit without worrying about losing him in a crowd. We were early enough that we missed most of the tourists. Even though it was super hot and muggy, the tourists were filling up the parking lot as we left.

We crossed into New York state on the Rainbow Bridge, which offers a great view of both the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. Some day we will come back and take our boys to ride Maid of the Mist* (a boat you can ride to the base of the falls), and take the tunnels behind the Canadian Falls and the walking tour on the American side. Oddly enough I have walked across the bridge to the American side and viewed from the Observation Tower but have never taken the stairs down to the American Falls.

Fifteen years ago, Daniel and I attended one of my cousin's weddings in Michigan and then visited my extended family in Ontario. As a part of that trip, I took Daniel to the Falls for the first time and we ate dinner at the Skylon Tower, overlooking the falls.

It was our most expensive date, possibly ever! We were not yet engaged, but it was such a fun experience. My sister was actually engaged at Niagara Falls the following summer. Suffice it to say, we have a lot of memories tied to Niagara Falls and I hope to have more in the years to come as we share new experiences with our boys.

*Maid of the Mist used to be a Canadian attraction, but I think now you have to do it from the States.

Visiting Niagara Falls as a young girl, fall circa 1990.

Taking Daniel to Niagara Falls for the first time, summer 2001.

Jack's first trip to Niagara Falls, winter 2012.

2016 Canadian Vacation: Good Eats

This will be my final vacation post. Besides spending our time biking, paddling and visiting with family, Jack spent a lot of time swimming (more specifically snorkeling) and of course no vacation would be complete without checking out the best local restaurants.

FRIEND's DINER

On every trip, my favorite thing to do is find the best breakfast joints. So on our first day in Orillia, that is what we did. First up was Friend's Diner (ranked #6 on TripAdvisor for restaurants in Orillia) and it was my favorite breakfast place on this trip. Located in an old shopping center, it isn't much to look at, but man was it good!

Coffee comes with your meal and the huge plates of food satisfied all of us – even our growing boys! We arrived in the nick of time, because shortly after we were seated, the place filled up and had a 30-minute wait. The food was delicious, and served quickly. Jack's favorite part was the phone booth outside... Evidently these are still a thing in Canada. He quizzed us, "Why is there a phone in a box, outside?"

HASTY TASTY

Our other diner to visit was Hasty Tasty (recommended by my aunt and rated #60 on TripAdvisor). I have to say I liked the food at Friend's better, but Hasty Tasty was unique in it's own way. Built in an old house and a true, old-time diner, harkening back to the 1950s, it's a special place. My aunt says a lot of old-timers eat here and it's a great place to people watch. You can squeeze into a booth or at the bar up front, or like us, you might end up at a table in the back.

Our experience would have been better if we had managed to get a booth up front – a regular came in and snagged the booth we were waiting for. I guess he didn't notice me sitting there with two kids (Daniel had run to a bank next door because the establishment only takes cash). The food was good and the name is fun to say!

The other days, we ate breakfast at our cottage and I always ran into town to grab a large triple-triple coffee at Tim Horton's – a mile from our house.

For our other meals, we tried to bike to dinner as often as we could. Of the four restaurants listed below, we biked to three of them. The fourth was a day that our kids were exhausted, so we chose to drive.

THEO's EATERY

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Our first bike-to-dinner option was Theo's Eatery (ranked #1 on TripAdvisor), located about 2 miles from our cottage. This was a nicer, sit-down type of restaurant, but still kid friendly.

The food was Mediterranean style and good, but a little pricey. This was not our favorite restaurant, but the food and service were both good. The boys split a huge plate of spaghetti, Daniel had lasagna and I tried a Shish Kabob.

Our experience at Theo's (and then most other restaurants) was that the kid's meal comes with dessert. Is this a Canadian thing? Jack LOVED getting a scoop of ice cream at the end of the meal, and it was a great way for us to bribe him to finish up his food.

BREWERY BAY FOOD Co.

The next day we biked to the Brewery Bay Food Co. in downtown Orillia (ranked #11 on TripAdvisor). Located 3 miles from our cottage, we were ready to eat when we arrived. We were able to get a table outside and had a friendly waiter.

The food was excellent, but we were all caught off guard when the power went out unexpectedly (I'm glad we were sitting outside instead of in). I don't know what was going on, but power on the whole street was out for about 20 minutes. We finished up our meal and the power came back on just in time for us to pay! Which was a good thing because I don't think we had been to a bank to get Canadian money yet and we were too far north to pay with American! Brewery Bay is definitely worth a visit – it has your typical Pub food. Jack had chicken fingers and a salad. I tried an amazing burger (that I shared with Isaac) and Daniel went light with a Greek salad.
 

MARIPOSA MARKET CAFE

During the middle of the week, we grabbed lunch at Mariposa's Market Cafe (ranked #1 on TripAdvisor). We almost didn't go here because I thought it was strictly a bakery.

We ran by to order cakes for my parents and aunt and uncle's anniversary celebration (the cakes were amazing and fairly inexpensive!), and then we realized they also served lunch. So we knew we needed to go back.

This place is really cool. I wish we had had more time to explore. Besides making amazing cakes and cupcakes, they serve sandwiches, and a variety of hot lunch pastries, AND ALSO lots of specialty items and souvenirs.

Daniel and Jack both tried a turkey sandwich while Isaac and I split a spinach quiche and a meat pastry. It was all delicious. Jack also tried his first sip of coke (from a bottle). He loved it. We told him it is only for special occasions!
 

TOR's FISH & CHIPS

Being in Canada, I knew we needed to grab fish and chips one night. This was our only dinner out that we didn't bike to. Our boys were wiped out from the busy week and both fell asleep on the 5-minute drive to Tor's Fish & Chips (ranked #29 on TripAdvisor).

We arrived 15 minutes before closing, and we asked the ladies if we were too late. They looked at our tired boys and told us to order and take a seat.

Jack was cracking them up because he literally laid across the chairs and slept until our food arrived. We decided to split the Haddock Fish and Halibut Fish. These plates were huge and between the four of us, we didn't come close to finishing the fries!

THE SHACK EATERY

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We finished out our week by trying something a little bit different for us. The Shack Eatery (ranked #13 on TripAdvisor) is fairly new to Orillia and serves slow-cooked Portuguese style food. And it was delicious. The flavors were a little spicy, but really great.

We picked out two plates and the generous portions were way more than the four of us could eat. They also brought out mashed potatoes (not part of our order) for our boys because they thought the food might be too spicy. They were so considerate!

We enjoyed sitting outside and eating their fantastic food. The boys had fun climbing in the old firetruck parked outside. I hope The Shack had continued success in Orillia!

2016 Canadian Vacation: Cliff Jumping at Muskoka

 

About 30 minutes north of where my aunt and uncle live is the town of Gravenhurst on Lake Muskoka. When my mom was younger she lived in Bracebridge, slightly north of this area, on the Muskoka River. 

 

 

I grew up hearing her stories of how she, and her brothers, would float down the river (below the waterfall in town) on warm days when they walked home from school. I remember visiting this area one summer, but I had never been to Muskoka Lake to jump off the cliffs.

When I was a teenager, we would regularly make the drive to Heber Springs to swim and jump off the cliffs. I guess that cliff jumping, and floating down rivers or in lakes, is a rite of passage no matter what country you live in!

 

 

One of my uncles suggested we spend one of the afternoon's of our family reunion jumping off the cliffs on Muskoka Lake. Two carloads of us decided to make the trip.

I wanted to go and since there were plenty of relatives to keep an eye on Isaac, we decided to take Jack with us. My uncle let us know that there were different heights of cliffs and at the very least Jack could float around some.

So we drove further north and weren't disappointed. It was a beautiful day and the water was refreshing. My Uncle Mike made the first jump, followed by two of my cousins. Next went Daniel, diving off the 3-foot section. Initially Jack just wanted to slide into the water on a slight slope of rock.

My brother and I jumped off the medium cliffs (maybe 10-feet), while my uncle and cousins did the higher cliffs. Eventually working up the courage to dive off.

With me in the water, we convinced Jack to make the 3-foot jump. In the photo it looks like Daniel is throwing him, but he was just making sure Jack cleared the rocks. Jack did the jump about 3 times. We are so proud of him!

 

 

2016 Canadian Vacation: Paddling Lake Simcoe

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I mentioned in yesterday's post about our desire to be near water for this vacation. Kids, water and sand are always a good combination. We also love to paddle, so we were leaning toward taking our kayak. The little cottage we rented turned out to be perfect in this regard.

In addition to being in close proximity to a rail trail that connected us to town, we were perched right on Shingle Bay at the top of Lake Simcoe. Lake Simcoe is the biggest lake in Ontario and it was absolutely beautiful. I still can't get over how clear the water was.

To the left of us was the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) training campus and the Oro-Medonte Rail Trail. So basically, just woods. To the right was one additional house (the people who owned our cottage), and to the right of them was a summer camp.

The campers spent a part of each morning and afternoon playing in the water (swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, etc.), but they weren't much of a bother. In fact, they were pretty entertaining. For the most part, we had Shingle Bay to ourselves.

We were actually pleasantly surprised at how little water traffic there was.

Our section of the bay had a perimeter of about two miles, so it was pretty ideal for kayaking. And since it was fairly shallow, we felt comfortable taking our kids out with us, even though it was a huge lake.

We were able to paddle individually and take Jack out for longer periods. And we even managed a couple of trips with all four of us. Thankfully Isaac is coming around to the idea of being on the water.

During the course of the week, my parents stayed with us for a couple of nights. We had them them watch our boys and we enjoyed a mini paddling date at 10pm one evening. It was so nice to enjoy the serene setting, just the two of us. Unfortunately it was cloudy, so there wasn't much in the way of stars, but the temperature was cool and it was so peaceful. A perfect late night date for us.

A while back, Daniel purchased a sail for our kayak for about $20. It arrived just in time for our trip. He has been talking about his desire to try to attach a sail to a kayak for years, so he was thrilled to finally try it out.

He went out a couple of times by himself, letting the wind blow him across the bay. And was even able to take Jack out with him. 

Jack wasn't so sure about sailing at first, but ended up having a really fun time with his dad. I have yet to try the kayak with the sail, but loved being able to go out on the water on a daily basis just the same.

On one excursion with Daniel, it was so peaceful that Jack actually fell asleep with his legs hanging off the side of the kayak. Right in the middle of the bay for about 20 minutes! 

Like biking, having plenty of opportunities to practice skills like paddling was an extra perk of this vacation. Jack is really getting more and more adept at handling his own paddle. 

I took him out at dusk on our last night at the cottage. It was a delightful way to end the week, just me and my big boy.

This trip had so many things we loved. It was really a great get away for our family and we have many memories. I can't wait until Isaac is a littler older and can enjoy more of the activities. For now he is content as long as food is involved!

Video showcases a bit of Jack's paddling abilities (remember he is only four), and a snippet of Daniel sailing.