March 8 - Day 1: Buffalo
So we set off really early in the morning at 5am. We figured that since Shane decided to feed at 4am, we should just pack and start driving before the sun rises. Having loaded the car the night before, it took us an hour to change, get the supplies ready for the road and set off.
Our first destination was approximately 6.5 hours away (driving time not considering taking detours and getting lost). So I figured that since baby had his meal at 4, he'd only be hungry at about 8ish in the morning. So I started the journey driving, while Z rested with him in the back seat (yes I know!! It'll be so nice to have him in the front seat. I had the baby bassinet in the front seat for company).
So we drove a whole 3+ hours (which is just about half the distance) before we ourselves got hungry, and before the baby started getting edgy in his car seat. I would say, setting off before the sun rises was a pretty good idea to get him to sleep in the car seat without fussing. First stop of every road trip… has to be a McDonalds!
The second part of the journey was not so fun. First, Shane started fussing (like really fussing) at the point where we were trying to figure google maps out. Then… of course we had to take the wrong exit. Sometimes, the maps tell you to turn way too late, and you're already in the wrong lane. We ended up taking the small roads instead of the highway, and that added another 1 hour to our journey. OK, we did something really dangerous for a short part of the distance - which is to take him out of the car seat while driving… Well. I had to nurse him like immediately and the next service station stop was miles away.
Anyhow, we got to our first destination - Buffalo - and stayed there for the night. As usual, my baby gets to try out the new hotel room at Comfort Suites. It was by far the most impressive hotel stay we had and at a very very decent price. The room size was just awesome.
Since we set off early, we got in early in the afternoon, with enough time to take a walk around the city of Buffalo. Of course, we had to hunt for those famous buffalo wings! Landed up at the Anchor Bar… (1047 Main Street, Buffalo).
We had way too many buffalo wings and potato skins… that dinner was pretty much just desserts at the Chocolate Bar. Oooo lala
Called it an early night… in preparation for our journey across the borders!
March 9-11 - Day 2 - 4 : Toronto
Toronto was an easy 2 hour drive from Buffalo. It was a lot quicker than usual. Short journey, so Shane was happily sitting in his car seat, kaypoh-ing (looking) at the surrounding buildings, trees, cars that went by. We did not set off at crazy wee hours… and did so only after breakfast at about 10am.
Once we had crossed the borders, we noticed that driving in Canada felt like driving in Dubai. ie. Tail gating at 140km/h, changing lanes between cars when there's not enough room (again at high speeds), cutting 4 lanes at the last minute and hoping to make the exit, etc. This just feels like what we're used to when doing the Dubai-Abu Dhabi drive on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Anyhow, we got into Toronto in one piece. Amazing how we managed to get to the DoubleTree in downtown Toronto without a map and without GPS. (Yes we were too cheap for data roaming). I love Toronto. It feels exactly like Melbourne. The highway leading into town felt as if i was driving on Kings Way from Melbourne CBD towards South Melbourne. The waterfront area felt just like Docklands in Melbourne. Such a deja vu feeling.
I managed to catch up with Zahra, as well as Rudee and his new baby girl!
Big thank you to Rudee for being our tour guide around Toronto. And yea, we wouldn't have had a great Mexican lunch if you hadn't taken us there! Seems like people visit Toronto just to go eat. Just like Melbourne (again).
10 March was our wedding anniversary, and we spent it at this awesome restaurant - THR & Co. It's really gourmet food at a pretty decent price. Never had such innovative food that tasted that good.
March 12 - Day 5 : Niagara Falls, Canada
Set off for Niagara Falls the next day. Again, it's another 2 hours drive back towards Buffalo. We stayed at the Canadian side (because everyone said it's a lot prettier on this side).
We got into the hotel at 12pm…and found out the check in time was 4pm. (Seriously, haven't heard of such a late check in time!!!). If you want to know which hotel this is - it's the Radissons. Just as we were about to do a turn around and load the bags back into the car… the manager popped out, saw Shane and got reception to give us a complimentary upgrade to a jacuzzi suite facing the falls as that was available for immediate check in. Score! It does pay to flash your baby around for free upgrades?
So the Radissons Hotel looked a little tired (just as most US hotels do anyway). But the room was awesome with the Jacuzzi over looking the Niagara Falls.
So well… Parking at Niagara Falls… It's soooo expensive!!! The parking at Radissons was CAD$20 per day. If we had driven down to the park over looking the falls, it'll cost an additional CAD$15. We initially took a drive down, and after realizing there's no free parking anywhere, we just turned back, parked at the hotel, and took a short 15 mins walk down to the park to see the falls.
That's the American Falls on the left and the Horseshoe Falls on the right. Beautiful day to see the falls. Nice, warm and sunny… just about 32 deg F (0 deg C).
Z & S at the Horseshoe Falls
We took a stroll down the town, and came across this part of town that is like whacky world teenage town. Loads of school teenagers filled the streets… and they've got paint ball, ghost houses, king kong on buildings, game outlets… etc
And of course the famous Beaver Tails!! - Even Obama had one when he was in Canada.
Later in the afternoon, we took a short drive out to the vineyards for some wine tasting. Stopped by Chateau de Charmes. Really lovely place where we met this lady who did not just sell us wines, but sold us an experience of wine tasting. Canadian ice wines… really nice and sweet. So we bought a bottle for my favorite (and only) brother for his wedding.
The next day, we were meant to drive to Ithaca to stay the night. BUT!!! Another snow storm had to come. So the next morning, we decided to take the brave drive back to Philadelphia. We departed at 8am in the morning (without breakfast) and drove straight back.
Yes it was this bad!!
So visibility was almost next to none, and roads were so icy slippery! We could only drive at about 30mph for about 5 hours… (so clearly we covered very little distance in the first 5 hours). Our thots at that time was… please don't let us get into any accident. Fortunately, Shane only started getting edgy just a few hours later, and we just pulled over into a rest area.
The second half of the journey was a lot better as we were further south. So it was just raining - not snowing… plus the roads weren't icy. Got back into Philadelphia at about 8pm… and on the way back, we ended our awesome first holiday with Baby Shane by stopping for some awesome Korean Chicken Wings at Soho
