2008-06-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

.... NIAGARA FALLS May 2008 ....

...... Ken & Harriet Aitken's Trip to Canada .....
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Harriet and I have been doing some travelling around the world in recent years. See our travel blog on these places. Not only is it fun to travel but it means seeing new and often spectacular scenery and geography. It also means experiencing meeting people in new cultural settings and you realise there are millions of others around the world who live their lives in quite often new ways. They maybe largely ignorant of you and the way you live and where you even live. Some of the people we have met in unusual or casual circumstances.

Some of the people we met whilst:

· Staying in a 14^th century restored Manor House in England on our trip to England in 2003.

· Walking through the Dodges Palace = 13^th century on our Italy trip in 2005.

· Meeting someone for the first time in Singapore ….. Having this friend on e-mail but we had never met personally. It was a strange experience in actually seeing him in actuality versus only seeing him on a website photograph. He took us out to his district or community on Singapore’s very efficient train system. We went to a communal restaurant where he went around the various restaurant owners introducing us in a very personal way as his Australian friends. This was on our trip to France in 2007 and we had a stopover in Singapore

· Staying in Fiji on our trip in 2007

· Having coffee or having a meal on our trip around Canada in May this year

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A Tip on reading blogs: Generally go to the bottom of the blog and read from the bottom upwards. To view photographs with a larger screen size, just click on the particular photograph and will come up a larger screen size.

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.... Steps, Wall and Bedding Plants to the
entrance to Brock's Monument and public park .......

.... Brock's Monument ....
see the website that explains its significance .......

..... Entry path to Brock's Monument ....

.... with assorted flowering pots
and side monuments and gardens .....

.... The entry with steps, wall and bedding plants to the
Brock's Monument and public park .......

.... The Niagara River Recreation Trail
that goes around the park which was built to
commemorate Brock and his monument ...
... see the website for the trail which is 53 kms. in length ...

.... A white street lamp in contrast
to hedging conical pines behind the lamp .......
.... a tulip bed is around the base of the lamp ....

...... The Niagara River as starts to open down river .......

..... More Flowering Magnolias in Floral Clock

public garden along with beds of tulips ......

.... Flowering Magnolias in Floral Clock public garden ......

.... A tulip bed in Floral Clock public garden .......

.... Flowering Pots in Floral Clock public garden .......

........ Niagara's Floral Clock is another free
horticultural attraction just 2.5 kilometres
(1.5 miles) north of the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens. .......
.... See the website .......

.... Ken and Harriet at the Hydro Site .......

..... Hydro Power: Niagara's Greatest Resource .... .

...... The Niagara River is one of the world's
greatest sources of hydroelectric power.
The beauty of its wild descent from Lake Erie
to Lake Ontario attracts millions of visitors each year. .......

..... See the website here ......
.... also see its location map

..... The river begins to open up into
forested areas instead of cliffs and rocks .......

.... The rushing Niagara River just before
it goes into the whirlpool then it goes ninety
degrees to the general flow of the river .......

.... The White Water Walk lets you stroll right
next to the powerful, frothing rapids.
Located in the Niagara Gorge
3.2 kilometres (2 Miles) down river
from the Falls, the Rapids rage and
roar on their journey into the Niagara Whirlpool ....
.... see the website the White Water Walk .....

.... Whirlpool Cable Car where go right out over the
whirling Niagara River on cables as it twirls around
then goes ninety degrees to the general
flow of the river .......
.... see the location map at this website ...

.... The Niagara Falls tourism History and
early Canadian Life ..... see this website ......
.... see the website on Jet Boat tours into the Whirl Pool ....

.... Niagara City from the Public Park .......

.... The first set of Falls on the USA side as you
come up the river in the 'Maid of The Mist' boat ......

.... the Public Park overlooking the Falls .....
.... see the two boats going up to the Falls ......

.... Because there is so much rain Canada,
The City can hang flowering baskets off street lamps .......

.... Walking along the kilometre ++ footpath
in the Public Park overlooking the Falls .....

.... A sign for public parking adjacent to the Falls ......

.... A water feature in the a Public park .......

.... the Public park adjacent to the Falls .......

.... More Tulips are out ......

.... Sugar Maple Tree in a Public park from which
Canadians extract Maple Syrup .......

.... Daffodils are coming up
bulbs all through the City in Spring ......

.... More Tulips are out .......

.... Tulips are out everywhere as
Canada is coming into Spring ...
.... Tulips and daffodils are unheard
in subtropical Queensland where we come .....
.... they need much cold to grow and
flower from underground bulbs ....

.... The Skylon Tower is located
on Robinson St in the City of Niagara ......
..... see the website...........

.... From the 'Maid of the Mist' Entry balcony ....
... you begin to walk along the one kilometre ++
public park edge overlooking the Falls and river

.... the Maid of the Mist' Entry balcony
with shops and coffee places .....

.... From up on Maid of the Mist' Entry balcony ..
..... looking down the river and Falls .......

. .... Walking to the entry .......

.... Arriving back at the pier with next
lot of blue - cladded 'Maid of the Mist' travellers .......

....Looking back to the Falls .....
getting further behind .......

.... Going back to the 'Maid of the Mist' launch area ....
..... the Canadian Flag undulates in the breeze .......

.... Coming close to the Falls on the boat ....
we really needed the light plastic cover over our clothes .......

.... the Falls on the USA side ....
.... also seethe location map ........

.... Niagara City Outline from the boat .......

.... the Falls on the USA side ....
.... there are two Falls .... one on the Canadian side
and one on the USA side ....
..... they have built special pedestrian
ramps that extend right to the Falls .......
The American Falls ..... see this website

Also see the Cave of the Wind website.

.... Niagara City Outline from the boat .......

.... They started to build a bridge from the

USA side to the Canadian side in the 1930's but
it was halted when it was worked out that the rock
base was not stable enough for a bridge ..
... the bridge structure is now used as
a USA tourist Falls viewing area ......

.... Close to the Falls ..... a lot of spray and mist .....

..... Fellow travellers in blue all looking at the Falls .....

...... on the Niagara River closer to the Falls .....

..... the boat crew gave us light weight plastic covers
to prevent spray going on our clothes
when we were up near the Falls ...

..... Our friends let us off for several hours whilst

we went on the 'Maid of the Mist' .....
..... the boat trip that goes right to the Falls and back again ....

The Canadian Falls .... see this website ......
..... Also see the Photo Gallery of the
Horseshoe Falls, in Canada

.... Niagara Falls from the Canadian side ....

...... The opposite side of the Falls is the USA side .....

Niagara Falls May 2008 .....

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NiagaraFallsMay2008

.... NIAGARA FALLS May 2008 ....