Dang. Just when I was set to spend a little quality time with my computer, giving the vacation report, complete with pictures, blog city has my photo album unavailable. Maybe later,eh?

We departed on our vacation in a rented car, a hyundai sonata, white in color, in case you are wondering, on Monday morning of the 4th of August. It took us about 10 hours to get there, complete with junk food stops on the way. Niagara falls was breathtakingly beautiful. The rush of the water was awe inspiring. We did the usual touristy type things, the Maid of the Mist, the Journey behind the Falls, all on the Canadian side of the falls. Our goal was to leave the US for this vacation. Never mind that we could see the Us the whole 3 days we were there. We won a little, lost a little more in the Casino Niagara. We did not abandon the kids outside the casino while we gambled, they did their own gambling....at the arcade. If you have never seen kids playing the game Dance dance Revolution, or (in teen speak) DDR, for the cool amongst us, you should make a point to watch. It is a mothers dream come true. A video game that gives the kids some exercise. They dance the foot motions on the pad of the game while the screen instructs them what to do. Now, just so you know, I have seen the screen and would not know where to put the feet. But maybe that's just me. When you get to watch somone who plays the game often, it is like poetry in motion. Very entertaining. Yes, so my kids did that. While hubby and I sat on our butts at the slot machines in the casino. I mean, you don't even have to pull the lever anymore, just push a button. Gambling has gotten lazy. Ouch. Hurts the wallet though.

We ate out every meal, and I was never so happy to come home to a home cooked meal. If I see one more french fry, I may scream! Give me veggies or give me death! Literally.

I personally liked the nature of Niagara Falls better than the circus-y type atmosphere surrounding the falls. But that was only me. The rest of the family got a lot more joy out of the boardwalk than I. It was loud, bright, and extremely touristy. Give me the falls anyday. The gardens around there are beautful. I was quite literally speechless when I first laid eyes on the falls. And then Bethany pipes up and says, " Eh, it's just water!". Oh, teenagers. You can't live with em and you can't strangle em!

It was a short ride to Toronto, which was my favorite part of the trip. The city is vibrant, clean and wonderful! We only had 2 days there, which was not enough. We took a tour of the Skydome, went to a Blue Jays baseball game, went up the CN tower, did the Hockey Hall of Fame, walked around like a tourist with my camera dangling around my neck, pointing and looking up at all the big, tall buildings. Kind of embarassing now that I think of it. One of the favorite places that we ate was the Movenpick. It was like what I would imagine a European cafe to be. Very enjoyable. And not a french fry in sight! Derek got to meet with a boy that he games with on line. He has talked with him for about 4 or 5 years and it was nice for them to meet and spend time together.

Pictures later.....

There's no place like home