Final night of "trip"!

Day 26 -- Kingston, ON

Today we shopped for the last few things we will need to clean up our apartment tomorrow, including a vacuum cleaner on sale from Wal-Mart. We also found a nice wall clock for only $3! We priced out some more sofas and phone/internet/TV plans. In the end, we decided to not get a home phone and use our cell phones instead. It would be cheaper to add long distance minutes to our phone plans than to purchase a home phone plan with long distance, caller ID, etc. We figured out which internet/TV package we want but we won't worry about setting that up until we are more settled in.

We also looked at IKEA items online. We tried finding some furniture on craigslist but Kingston is pretty small, so there are only 1-2 listings per day (and 8 listings for all of July under "free"). Also, now that we don't have a car, it would be hard to go pick things up! From the online IKEA catalogue, we should be able to get our items quickly when we get to an IKEA store!

Tomorrow, my supervisor has generously agreed to help us move our things from our hotel to our apartment (only a few minutes away) so we won't have to worry about not having a car. Thanks Martin! We have a big day of cleaning and unpacking ahead of us! Also, we may be very sad to be without Internet (unless someone left their network open!).

This would officially be the last entry of this trip though!

The path that we took. Click for larger view!

Shopping + Car Repairs

Day 25 -- Kingston, ON


The traveling part of our trip is now over but I think I will keep updating this until we are at least settled in (or run out of internet service) to update our families back home. Our "trip" technically doesn't end until we move into our apartment on August 1 though!

Today, our goals were to find out what was wrong with the car, to get a rental car, and to at least place an order on a bed.

We found out news about the car around noon. Unfortunately, it's a pretty major problem. In short, the air compressor (for our air conditioning) seized up. It is part of the system that recharges the car battery though, so when it stopped working, our battery stopped charging. We need to basically replace our air conditioning system and the parts need to be shipped from Toronto. Since the long weekend is coming up, repairs won't start until middle of next week at the earliest! It is also a big repair bill but we decided that it's still worth it to keep our car. My parents will help us out with the bill -- thanks Mom and Dad!

Having these problems just before a long weekend makes things a bit worse. We had originally planned to use our car to drive around to price out mattresses and buy other essentials. We tried to get a rental car this morning but without a reservation and being a long weekend, everyone was out of cars! So we are still currently on a wait list for a car rental this weekend.

We survived today without a car though with some good old fashioned manual labour. Luckily the dealer where our car is being repaired is only about a kilometre or two from our hotel so we moved a couple of boxes from our car to the hotel manually. We also took the bus to several furniture/mattress stores that were close together and walked to other places. We can probably survive tomorrow without a vehicle either but it would be nice to have one for the move-in on Sunday. If we are lucky enough to get one tomorrow, we can use it to move in on Sunday. Otherwise we may have to use a taxi. We might try to rent one middle of next week to go to IKEA too.

After looking at several places, we narrowed it down to Sears and Mattress Mart. After considering deliveries fees, metal frame, etc. the Sears one was slightly lower in price than Mattress Mart. However, Mattress Mart was able to deliver on Sunday afternoon, right after we move in. The guy at Mattress Mart agreed to not charge us for the frame and to include a set of sheets, 2 pillowcases and 2 pillows so we sealed the deal! We also found a nice sofa at United Furniture Warehouse but we have not committed on anything yet.

We also had a shopping list of cleaning supplies that we would need for move-in day. Our hotel is near a shopping centre which includes Canadian Tire, and they had a sale on so we got almost everything on our list. We left some items to get at the dollar store that we will be going to tomorrow. Laura managed to somehow arrange everything in a cloth shopping bag and a bucket we had bought and we carried it back to our hotel.

At the end of the day, we were pretty tired from all the walking around in the hot weather and lifting. Laura got a bit red from the sun because she didn't use sunscreen, despite my warnings! We thought we deserved a break so we ordered pizza for dinner and saved the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

A not-so-grand finale

Day 24 -- Kingston, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 3540 km
Distance from Kingston: 0 km

Distance Driven Today: about 350 km
Total Distance Driven: about 6236 km

Today, after driving over 6000 km, our car decided to give up only 30 km outside of Kingston!! So frustrating to make it over 99.5% of the way only to be towed across the finish line! When our car is fixed, we will drive back out and finish the trip properly!

The battery light came on and then things like our radio and air conditioning started to fail so we turned them off. Right after, we had to go up a big hill and I noticed the gas pedal seemed to have no effect so I turned on the hazard lights and pulled over to the shoulder. Luckily, the car did have enough momentum to go up to the top of the hill safely. We turned off the car and checked under the hood -- there was a slight burning smell. After waiting a few minutes, I tried to start the car (didn't expect it to work) and nothing happened. So, I called CAA and asked for a tow. The tow truck took us into our hotel in Kingston, let us unload the stuff we needed, and then took our car to the dealership down the street. The car got there just before they closed so they will have to look at it tomorrow. Hopefully, it is just the battery and the alternator that needs to be replaced. These two components are also two of the oldest parts of the car and would probably need replacing in the near future anyways.

In hindsight, we should have pulled over when the battery light first came on, it probably would have saved the battery since now it seems to be completely drained. But full power lost happened really soon after the light came on so maybe it would not have made a difference. We are hoping that the car can be fixed before the long weekend (i.e. before the end of the day on Friday) so that we can use the car this weekend to shop for essentials such as a bed and for our move-in day on Sunday. If not, we would have to rent a car.

The car broke down about 30km west of Kingston and at around 4pm. When we drove past the sign saying 160km to Kingston, I joked that it would be okay for the car to break down now since CAA tows distances up to 160km!! We ended up at our hotel just before 6pm so we walked over to the bus loop, bought some prepaid bus fares and took the bus to the shopping centre to have dinner and to price out some mattresses. We found a good deal on a nice mattress that was half firm (for me) and half plush (for Laura) because it was the floor model that they were trying to get rid of. We put a hold on it but we will look around more tomorrow to make sure we aren't rushing a big purchase. Hopefully we can get the bed delivered by middle of next week so we only have to sleep on the floor for a couple of nights. Ordering a bed is our first priority tomorrow!

Also, please look at yesterday's entry (scroll down) to see the pictures we've now added for Niagara Falls!

The "Flying Saucer Restaurant" in Niagara Falls; we had to take a picture of it before we left.

I think the Queen's initials in the lamposts on the Queen Elizabeth Way are a nice touch!

Canada's largest city!

We think this is a good new law for Ontario.

An interesting design -- Pegasus-Deer?

Niagara Falls up close!

Day 23 -- Niagara Falls, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 3410 km
Distance from Kingston: 245 km

Today, we went to see the falls! We started with a bus ride from our hotel (we didn't stay on the waterfront) to the falls. We were lucky because there was a bus day pass left in our room by whomever stayed there last. After looking at the falls for a bit, we went on the Maid of the Mist for a close-up view of the falls. The American Falls were really nice and pretty but the Canadian Horseshoe Falls were really misty so it was hard to see them in detail. But as the boat got closer, we all got incredibly soaked! It was so much fun! It felt like we were under a giant shower.

In total the boat trip took half an hour and gave us a great experience of the falls. Afterwards, we walked towards the Canadian Falls to the "Journey Behind the Falls" tour which is an elevator ride down to almost the base of the Horseshoe Falls. At the bottom, there were tunnels that takes you behind the falls a little bit and you can look out tiny holes to see the falls. It wasn't spectacular, since it is just like looking out the window on a really rainy day. Except the water is coming from Niagara Falls! However, the really cool thing that was also at the bottom was the Observation Deck, a viewing area near the bottom of the falls. I really enjoyed standing there, closing my eyes, hearing the roar of the water and feeling the mist and wind blow against me. That was my favourite experience of the trip! Laura preferred the Maid of the Mist because the Journey Behind The Falls promotional photo looked like you could go to a cavern behind the falls, but that was not true. I thought that the Maid of the Mist was more fun overall than the Journey Behind The Falls but standing next to the falls was better than any single moment on the Maid of the Mist.

After being completely soaked twice (we dried off quickly in the hot weather, except for our socks and shoes), we had some frozen yogurt and walked back to the bus stop. The frozen yogurt was very very melted -- it was like drinking out of an ice cream cone. We bussed back to dry off and make dinner plans. We were early so we took another walk around the outlet mall across from our hotel but while we were inside, a huge thunderstorm started. It was really pouring, as if someone was dumping water from the roof. We decided to drive to dinner instead of taking the bus down to the falls (free parking with dinner).

Luckily, by the time we got to our dinner reservation at 8pm, the weather cleared up. We had dinner on top of the Hilton (33 stories up) so that we could see the falls being lit up (9pm) and fireworks (10pm). We had a nice and long dinner to enjoy our last night "on vacation". Tomorrow, we will be in Kingston and getting ready to move in!!

The American Falls from the Maid of the Mist

Canadian Falls from the Maid of the Mist

Laura after the Maid of the Mist soaking

I also got very wet!

"Journey Behind the Falls" Observation Platform

View from our restaurant

Falls get lit up at night

There are also fireworks!

Everyone loves Marineland!

Day 22 --Niagara Falls, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 3410 km
Distance from Kingston: 245 km

Today, we went to Marineland! We had the tune from all those commercials we heard in our childhood (e.g. http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=r1XOzE15iPk&feature=related) stuck in our head the whole day and even now. Finally we got to go to Marineland after years of the commericals!

We saw killer whales, belugas, dolphins, sea lions, and walruses! We also went to "Deer Park" which was a large fenced field where you can walk amongst the deer and buy deer feed. Our favourite non-aquatic animal was the bears! They were just sitting in the water while people threw marshmallows, corn pops and peanuts at them! They also had bison and deer. Marineland is kind of like bits of the Greater Vancouver Zoo, Playland, the Vancouver Aquarium put together with a little bit of a mini Universal Studios feel to it (especially the main show).

It was really really hot today too but we were careful with sunscreen so we didn't get burned! (except for the parting in Laura's hair) After Marineland, we swam in our pool to cool down then went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. We read online reviews and someone who used to live in Vancouver recommended it so we decided to try it. It was pretty good, though a bit more pricey than Vancouver sushi. Then, we went to the outlet mall that is across the street from our hotel. There was a "Stokes" (kitchen store) that had many items at clearance prices with an additional 20% off everything if we spend more than $50. We found a nice tableware set (plates, dish, bowl, cups for 4) and a spice rack (12 spices included) on sale as well as some small things like baking pans, jars, and oil bottles.

Tomorrow, we will finally go to see the falls up close!

Killer Whale Jumping/Splashing Show

Sea Lion at the main stadium show. We saw it twice (second time
without taking pictures or video so we could enjoy it more).

Bottlenose dolphins!

This looks like so much fun!

The walrus ends the show!

Deer Park

This bear never got off that rock. It would just stand on the edge and grab at food in the water.

Mommy (bottom) and Baby (top) Beluga

Niagara!

Day 21 -- Niagara Falls, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 3410 km
Distance from Kingston: 245 km

Today, we drove to Niagara Falls from Mississauga. We started with visits to four wineries and buying 5 bottles of wine. We now have a good collection for our apartment! One of the wineries made wine from fruits other than grapes. We really liked an apple wine that tasted like drinking an apple pie!

We also looked around the Niagara-on-the-Lake region because it's really beautiful there. The whole area seems to be small little towns and vineyards, just like the Okanagan. Afterwards, we played some mini golf and had dinner at Red Lobster. It was our first time at Red Lobster and it was really good.

After dinner, we drove down to see the downtown and falls area at night. It was really crowded and filled with bright lights. We could see part of the falls from the road but we will have a day dedicated to that later this week. We just wanted to see the area at night and the town and falls lit up. We were unable to go and look at the fall because it was too hard to park.

Niagara Falls!

We're not sure, but it was parked at a gas station. 

(Dukes of Hazards car?)

Niagara on The Lake

Even the Shoppers are built nicely!

Wine Country!

A car from the Yukon!

Toronto and chinese foods

Day 20 -- Mississauga, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 3350 km
Distance from Kingston: 263 km

Today, we were at Canadian Tire right when it opened to get an oil change for our car and to get a replacement windshield wiper blade. Yay!

Then we drove into Toronto's Chinatown to meet with Jen and Jeff from UBC (they are in Toronto for an NSERC USRA). We had a Dim Sum lunch at Bright Pearl. It was fun and delicious and it felt like home to be in a Chinese restaurant again where the waiters ignore you, and everyone is talking loudly.

Afterwards, they went to a bakery and a grocery store with us in Chinatown. We got some baked goodies and some essentials like fish sauce and wasabi peas!

Later, my cousin Yen picked us up and we went to Chinatown again for dinner at Sang Ho. I remember eating at this place in the past with my family when we visited Toronto. It was also really good. Afterwards, we walked around Chinatown some more then went to Panorama, a bar on the 51st floor of a building downtown for drinks and a great view of the city.

Replacement wiper blade

The Toronto skyline as we drove downtown on the Gardiner Expressway

View of Toronto from Panorama

Downtown Toronto from Panorama

Tasty, creamy, caramel-y, and with Skor pieces

My cousin and I

On our way out, we passed the Skydome (now Rogers Centre) and the CN Tower

RIP Windshield Wiper Blade (Passenger Side)

Day 19 -- Mississauga, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 3350 km
Distance from Kingston: 263 km

Distance Driven Today: 716 km
Total Distance Driven: 5581 km

Crash ... boom ... bang! Oh no, there goes our windshield wiper! That was our introduction to the 400 series freeways in southern Ontario! It was my first time driving on a confusing system of very large highways, it was raining hard, and to top it all off, the passenger-side wiper blade decided to disconnect from its socket, hit our windshield and fly over the back of our car. We suffered no damage and the car behind us was far enough away that the wiper blade hit the ground. We were also fortunate that it was the passenger side wiper blade so I could still see enough to drive the rest of the way to our hotel. We will be getting replacement blade(s) tomorrow!

Earlier today, we left Sault Ste Marie on Highway 17 and had a quick lunch in Sudbury. After that, we left Highway 17 after about 1500 km on it and took Highway 69 which turned into Highway 400, our first 400-series freeway. It started out as a 2 lane highway each way and then grew to 3 lanes and then six (including exit lanes). We had to get in the correct 2 out of 6 lanes to exit onto the 401, which we managed to do successfully! Yay! Then it started raining hard and we lost our wiper blade! After the 401, we got onto the 427 and then the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and finally found our hotel. It was my first time driving on a highway that large and that complicated! I guess I will get used to it eventually if I drive around this area long enough.

Watch out!

We didn't see any!

It's like Metrotown! (Parry Sound, ON)

The aftermath

It's not very effective!

Waterfalls

Day 18 -- Sault Ste Marie, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 2880 km
Distance from Kingston: 660 km

Today was another restful day. We slept in, did laundry, looked around Station Mall, the "largest mall in Northern Ontario". It's about the size of Lansdowne in Richmond. We then drove out to Kinsmen Park to see a small but pretty waterfall at Crystal Creek. There were a lot of pretty friendly Canadian Geese there too. Sault Ste. Marie is a pretty small town, population 75,000. We find it really pretty by the waterfront, but nothing special for the rest of the town. There are some nice parks such as the Crystal Creek Waterfall outside of town though!

Sault Ste. Marie is very humid, today's temperature was only 23 or 24 degrees but the humidity was at least 80%! Sault Ste. Marie is also the hometown of Roberta Bondar, the first female Canadian astronaut. The town across the water is Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Confusing names!

Tomorrow we will do our last long drive of the trip. When we arrive in Mississauga, we would have driven about 2000 km in Ontario, which is about the same distance as Vancouver to the Manitoba border!

The International Bridge from Sault Ste Marie, ON to Sault Ste Marie, MI

Friendly Canadian Geese

Squirtle is in his element

 Pirate ship on the waterfront

Bears fishing at Roberta Bondar Park

Lake Superior

Day 17 -- Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 2880 km
Distance from Kingston: 660 km

Distance Driven Today: 718 km
Total Distance Driven: 4832 km

Today, we continued driving along Lake Superior to Sault Ste. Marie, which is pretty much right between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. During the day, we passed the 1000 km mark of Highway 17 (that is, 1000 km since the Ontario border). Sault Ste Marie is somewhere around 1250 km from the border along Highway 17. With the HST affecting gas prices in Ontario, gas prices here have been pretty high, I saw some up at $1.18/L!

Along the way, we stopped at Wawa, ON for gas and to stretch our legs. Wawa, ON also boasts a very large goose because Wawa means "wild goose" in an aboriginal language. You can see the goose live on webcam at http://www.wawawebcam.ca/goose-cam.html. While we were in Wawa, we met a retired old couple from Victoria, BC. They were on their way back from a drive to Nova Scotia. This is actually their second trans-Canada drive; they liked their trip to Nova Scotia last year so much that they decided to do it again this year!

The first 100 kms of the highway out of Thunder Bay
is the "Terry Fox Courage Highway"

We haven't seen an OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) aircraft yet!

Lake Superior is pretty

The 1000 km mark on Highway 17

The Wawa Goose

We finally reached the end of our iPod's "shuffle" playlist.
It lasted from Canmore to just outside of Sault Ste Marie.

Arrived!