1999 Niagara Trip

Our Niagara Falls Trip

June 1999

June 11, 1999 What We've Done So Far: (June 10th) We met at the bus terminal around 9:30-ish and bought our tickets. These two weird women who were going to Kitchener told us a bunch of dirty jokes. They gave us the creeps. Thank God they left soon. We soon got on the bus and we were on our way quickly. The journey went fast as we chatted and enjoyed the scenery. We arrived around noon at the downtown Niagara terminal and after some confusion caught the shuttle bus which was very crowded. “I hope you don't mind that it's only standing room left.” the driver said to her remaining passengers. In Toronto, standing room is a way of life! “If you're standing, please hold onto something.” said the driver, “I'm not a maniac but you never can tell!” Fortunately, we were seated quite comfortably. A pretty little girl with blond braids sat across from us. She reminded me of Cindy from the Brady Bunch. Behind us sat a “bearded” lady. Well, she had long, gray whiskers hanging from her chin! Poor woman! She must have given up trying to get rid of them.! And I thought I had facial hair problems! When the bus stopped near the Skylon, after a moment of quick thinking, we decided to get off the bus there. That's about as close as we can get to our hotel, and bustling along with all our injittiments in tow we took a delightful indoor shortcut through the air-conditioned arcade and mall, pausing for a moment to look at the carousel. We soon arrived at the motel and the first thing I did was get under a cool shower and change into shorts and my tube top! At least nobody laughed at me when I was ot. We'd both been wearing matching skirts and eyelet blouses before we changed and Janette was now wearing her pink flowered shorts and top. When I was in the shower I heard her laughing. I thought it was at my singing. Well, yeah, that and the fact that we were at Niagara, near the BIGGEST SHOWER OF ALL!! We then set off buzzing through various gift shops already. We weren't in Niagara long when we already saw cute happy face stuffed toys which we bought for KIDEO and I bought a much for Charles with his name on it. We then went for lunch because I was sooooo hungry! Janette already ate on the bus but I had already decided that since I was on holiday no more having to make my own lunch for the next five days!!!So we went to that nice little family restaurant on Clifton Hill and I ordered a Canadian burger and Janette had fries and gravy. At first I didn't know what it was because it looked like a chicken burger but actually, the piece of Canadian bacon was like a slice of breaded ham. We enjoyed a good, hearty salubrious meal and then we went to the Fudge Factory. Janette was looking for more “KIDEO” bugs as we called them to put in the “Shoe Box” ministry. There were none left like the kind we got last year, so Janette settled for two medium-sized green ones, about the same size as Flugffy. One was for the Shoe Box and the other was for Marley, her co-worker's little girl. The rest of the afternoon was basically a blur. I believe we went through the park, down to the Falls. It was great to get up close and feel the mist. When we'd experienced our fill of the Falls, Janette wanted to go to the gift shop and get some pamphlets. I saw a shirt with a picture of a train and I felt tempted to get it for Charles but didn't because it was quite

expensive and I'd already bought him that mug earlier. The gift shop was packed so we gradually made our way back along the Falls and went to Oakes Garden Theatre. We were pretty hot by then so we sat down at the edge of this fountain and I unwrapped Charles' cup, filled it with water and poured it all over myself repeatedly until I was quite thoroughly soaked! We then gradually made our way back to the motel, browsing in several shops along the way. When we got back to the motel, I enjoyed a nice, long soak in the bathtub with my “Tropical Paradise” bubble bath. It felt so good I almost felt like I could stay there forever. When I got out of the tub, I wrote postcards to KIDEO and Charles. Then I got dressed in my KISS jeans and butterfly shirt. I wouldn't want to be wearing my tube top in case things got rowdy at the Karaoke bar. The last thing I needed was some horny drunk trying to pull it down on me.We'd noticed a group of Mennonites out earlier that day and one of the young lads, about fourteen years old, was staring at me. Anyway, we set out again soon and had our supper at the Lotus Garden We both ordered the same thing; iced tea, fried rice, shrimp, vegetable beef and egg rolls and we were served soup. It was a good salubrious feast. After we ate, we went to the Legends of Rock gift shop where as usual I gave into temptation and blew nearly $50 on KISS stuff; a gorgeous poster, a fridge magnet with their picture in their logo and a T-shirt. At first I was going to buy one with a picture of them standing on stage and all this fire in front of them with the words “THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD!” but behind it was one even better; a 96-97 Tour shirt commemorating 4 shows at Madison Square Gardens, one of them being on July 28th! (my birthday!) At first I didn't think the KISS shirts would be so irresistible because there are so many at the Dufferin Mall back in Toronto, but of course Niagara Falls always has stuff I never see anywhere else! When I'd finished purchasing my injittiments, we went to the Karaoke place. I had a beer and Janette had a fuzzy navel. Our host, “The Wrench” remembered us from previous years. “Those Two Crazy KISS Chicks from Toronto” he called us, and later in the evening started referring to us as “Bubbles and Bang-Bang.” We sang at least three songs together; “Ballroom Blitz”, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Saturday Night”, but after awhile we couldn't settle much longer. We find The Wrench's sense of humour can get kind of crude to say the least and he makes up his own sleazy lyrics to certain songs, like “You're 16, You're Pregnant, but It's Not Mine..” We left, visited the ladies' room and then went for another look at the stuffed animals at the Fantasy Fudge Factory. Then we went to the arcade where I TOALLY MASSACRED Janette at Air Hockey, seven to one!! Wayne Gretzky, eat your heart out! We walked along Clifton Hill and came to this bar where this really good-sounding band was playing. We came in to listen for awhile. They were called “Confusion of the Senses” and when they invited people to get up and dance, sadly I was the only one, but that didn't stop me. How could I sit still when the music was so good?! The band appreciated my enthusiasm and gave me a free CD!! It was well after midnight when they took their break. We didn't want to leave but we weren't

sure how long their break would last and we were both getting kind of hungry so we went to the 7-11 to get a bag of Oreos and I got myself a frozen cappuccino and then we went back to our motel. I was feeling pretty tired by then and figured I'd fall asleep quickly but I didn't. The first night in a strange bed is always difficult. Day 2, June 11th We woke up bright and early at around 7 a.m, put on our “Popsicle” dresses and went for breakfast. We found ourselves a nice little hotel family restaurant where Janette had bacon and eggs with home fries and I had chocolate chip pancakes. After breakfast we made our way to the Maid of the Mist area, letting ourselves be sprayed by various sprinklers along the way. I sat at a table outside the gift shop and wrote in my journal for awhile as we waited for Maid of the Mist to open. I had to go to the gift shop because I was worried about my camera. It didn't seem to be working right. Hopefully, the film was just full but the counter didn't count accurately. The lady working in the store had to take it back to her office to rewind and dislodge it for me and we reloaded the camera so we could use it. Meanwhile, a huge crowd had gathered upstairs and yet another bus load of tourists cut in front of us as we approached. We were kind of worried about the crowds and disappointed about not being first in line but the lines moved quickly and we were on our way! There was a family with two small children under three years old. “I thought babies weren't allowed on this thing>” said Janette. I agreed. They don;t know what's going on and the experience could be scary for them. We let them go ahead and the youngest one was crying already. We agreed to let them go ahead and even wait for the next boat. However, we ended up going on that first boat anyway, but it was okay. We were far enough away from the sound of anymore whining. In fact, we were right near the very tip. I was roasting in my disposable plastic raincoat so I doffed it and just let myself get wet! Time stood still as our boat glided effortlessly toward the Falls and my vision became all but totally obscured from the mist. Whit outstretched arms I indulged in the invigorating spray, feeling like Leelawala being embraced by Hinum. Embraced but not totally captured! NO wonder honeymooners get so excited! After our departure from the boat headed for the “Poople Mever” stop. It would be awhile until the next one came along and I felt kind of hungry so I enjoyed a luxurious ice cream cone; “Turtles” and “MacIntosh toffee”! I can honestly say that at that moment it tasted like the best ice cream I'd ever had in my life! Talk about orgasm of the taste buds! We then boarded the “Poople Mever” to the Spanish Aerocar, where I went for my ride. While waiting for the aerocar to take off I had the giggles because I noticed several sparrows among the rocks who were obviously in the honeymoon spirit! Whoever imagined I'd board this thing to end up watching a bunch of horny birds! As the aerocar crossed the gorge, I took several pictures of the magnificent view and swirling waters. Janette and I had taken pictures of each other, her up in the observation deck and me down in the aerocar before lift-off. It was a peaceful, invigorating experience. Some folks get really scared of the idea of traveling like that. Only six wires away from certain meatwaffledom in the gorge below, but they were sturdy wires and I felt safe.

When I got back, we took the Poople Mever back to Victoria Park and walked a long way to Lundy's Lane and had lunch at P. J's deli where I had pirogies and Janette had turkey and rice. You could say we dined in Some Fine Style!! After we ate we looked around in a couple stores and then we went to the Lundy's Lane museum. It was quite interesting. Lots of pioneer and Indian stuff as well as beautiful antique Niagara souvenirs. Lynda was right. The Falls HAVE gotten smaller! They used to be quite immense in the old paintings. Ager we'd seen everything in the Lundy's Lane museum we thought we'd go to the Dufferin Islands, but we decided to pop in at a few shops in the Skylon first. The less said about this part of the journey the better! We were getting pretty tired and fractious so once we got to the parking lot we decided to let off some steam. This is the time kides get cranky so if they can scream and holler, why can't we? We pretended to caterwaul like babies and had a good laugh roaring and making silly noises. The motel was just across the street so we decided to go back and rest after purchasing some ginger ale to take back to our room. We each took turns having a good salubrious soak in the tub and resting and mellowing out while I wrote in my journal about our trip in progress. Then we got ready to go back out again. I put on my pink shorts and my “KISS Underground” comic book T-shirt that was given to me the day I met Paul Stanley. I felt like being a kid, so I put my hair in pigtails with my Barney and Baby Bop hair elastics. Janette wore her pink flowered shorts and top again. It was hard to find a place to eat. We seemed to be searching forever before we just called it a George and resorted to our old standby, the family restaurant on Clifton Hill. I had the steak and shrimp special I'd seen advertised and Janette had fish and chips. We thought that after we ate we might take the Poople Mever to Duffein Park but they didn't appear to be running at that hour so we just walked up to the flower gardens at Victoria Park after dinner. Then we still had a couple more hours until the fireworks show so we went back to our motel room to rest again for the time being. I actually fell asleep clutching my Ace doll. At around 8:30 I woke up and wrote several postcards. Soon we set out. There was quite a crowd heading for the fireworks so we figured we'd just watch them from the steps of the Imax theatre. Unfortunately, when they started all we could see was a flash of light with a big bang as the fireworks were disappointingly close to the ground, therefore hidden by the trees and buildings. So we ran as fast as we could up the stairs across the bridge to the Skylon tower and found a place where we could see at least some of them. The show lasted maybe about 10 or 15 minutes and ended with such a big bang that several car alarms went off in the parking lot! We then made our way to the 7-11. Janette bought Flakies and I bought a frozen cappuccino. I couldn't help noticing the headlines on the cover of the June Cosmopolitan: “What He Thinks When He Sees You Naked for the First Time—What Makes Him Hot About What You Hate and Hide!” However, a few blurbs down was a headline entitled “Cellulite Busters” or something like that. These stupid magazines sure think they know how to play on a woman's insecurities. Besides you-know-who says he likes my cuddly shape!

We didn't feel like staying out much later so we headed back for the motel where I got ready for bed, sat back and did some more writing. Day 3, June 12th Woke up at 6:00 a.m, actually earlier, couldn't go back to sleep so I got up, put on my purple tube top and airplane skirt and Janette put on her red skirt and turquoise blouse. We soon were on our way and went to the $4.99 breakfast buffet place where we loaded u our plates in some fine style. I loaded mine with pancakes, French toast, sausage, scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries with fried onions. The only reason I went back a second time was to finish my meal with a little fruit salad. We were both kind of tired and getting n a silly mood and the little boy at the next table was looking at us when I tried to make Janette laugh by going “GULP” every time she was about to sip her coffee. All in all it was another good salubrious feast and we were full campers when it was time to go. We made our way along Oakes Garden Theatre, pausing to make use of the facilities before making the trek across the Rainbow Bridge. The view was beautiful and we paused several times to admire it. “Good morning!” I exclaimed cheerfully to the customs official. “Well, look who's pumped! You've had your coffee this morning!” he said. I showed him my passport with the usual joke about how I looked like I've been wrestling alligators in this picture but at least I won. We made our way through the parks on the U.S side, slowly wandering along the shoreline,pausing many times to admire the swirling waters. “Is this the most beautiful place in the world or what?” I remarked. Everything is so peaceful and beautiful here. The rapids thundered like herds of white-maned horses. We admired the beauty of nature all around us, wishing it could last forever. Unfortunately, I'm sure we know where the term “answering nature's call” must have originated. Fortunately, it didn't take long to locate facilities. After we made use of them, we looked around in the gift shop. Janette found herself an interesting book about Niagara Daredevils and an adorable ladybird similar to Fluffy who will likely be traveling overseas with the Shoe Box ministry even though I was teasing her about how Dotty needs a boyfriend. (Little did we know that later that summer Dotty would end up with Buddy) I got myself a CD of Niagara music. After we got ourselves something to rink, we wandered onward to Terrapin Point. The view of the Horseshoe Falls was beautiful and the rainbows were so vivid. I took a couple pictures including one of the Maid of the Mist going under the rainbow. We then spent the next couple hours just walking around some more and stopping in various peaceful places. We noticed several Japanese tourists and many Indian and Pakistani people, the women dressed in beautiful silk saris and some in slacks with long tunics like the kind my co-worker Roohy sometimes wears. I wondered if I might see her on this day because she said her mother-in-law might be taking them to Niagara on Saturday. We noticed some other tourists who had taken their shoes off and were standing in the water. Now those folks had the right idea! Up until now, Janette and I seemed to be the only ones

who did this sort of thing. We took off our shoes and did likewise. The water was cool and invigorating but we had to watch our steps because there were a lot of “thinking-what-I'mdoings” (potholes!) on the riverbed. After a few minutes we continued along our way and came to a trail where there was a sign instructing us to stay on the paved areas otherwise risk injury or prosecution. However, most people ignored the sign and crawled downward from rocks ad roots to get their feet wet anyway, taking pictures of each other standing in the water or sitting on a large rock. Janette obediently stayed on the pavement and prayed for my protection as I carefully stepped down and got a man to take a picture of me sitting on the big rock. It was tricky getting up there, but I couldn't resist the challenge. Getting down was even harder and I sort of half slid down, somewhat painfully bumping the lesser-padded side of my butt! OWIE! X-# We then made our way further along the shoreline. I took a picture of Janette and the new beetle-bug with a lot of fluff that was covering the ground. We were getting hungry so after we circled the shoreline we made our way to the restaurant that was near the Cave of the Winds exhibit. It was pretty full so I saved two seats while Janette got our food ad I was chatting with two girls from Ohio. This was the furthest North they had ever been and they were going to Toronto next. They asked me what there was to see in Toronto. My mind was a blur but I managed to mention the C.N Tower, the Sky Dome, Metro Zoo, Centre Island and various other places. I tried to think back to the times when Janette and I weren't living in Toronto and used to go there as tourists. We also talked about flags. I noticed a sky blue ensign flag with a crest that had palm trees and bananas beneath a lion. I'll have to ask Charles which one that is. Hamburgers were too expensive so Janette and I had pizza slices instead. Just as well. With the heat being so intense we probably would have felt sick eating those big burgers. We then made our way to the other falls before heading to the observation tower to get down to the lower level, hoping we could get close to the bottom of the falls and feel the mist. By then I realized how sun burnt I had gotten and we were starting to feel irritable in the long lineup. Everyone else was there to go on the maid of the Mist and when we reached the bottom, there was renovations going on so we couldn't get as close to the Falls as we wanted to! It felt like an annoying waste of time and we were becoming more irritable. My sunburn was getting even more painful. This was our cue to call it a George and mosey on back to the ranch. It seemed to take forever to get across the Rainbow Bridge and we ducked into a gift shop near Oakes Garden Theatre to seek somewhere air-conditioned. The air-conditioning could not seem to compete against my burning skin. “Stuff me in there!” I joked to Janette, pointing to the ice cream freezer. I went to the fridge to get a bottle of juice but even standing before the open refrigerator didn't cool me down like I wanted it to! We hurried through the garden, sat in our favorite shady spot for a minute and then continued along our way. Then we made our way through several shops that were connected to each other via various stairwells and passages. I wished we could continue all the way up Clifton

Hill like that! In fact I wished there was an indoor passage to our motel! Anything to get out of the heat! On the impulse, I went to the Cinema 360 or whatever it was called. A film had just started. before I got there so I had to wait at least 10 minutes for the next one. When they talked about standing behind the red railing I thought “Oh no! Don't tell me there's no seats in this place.” Fortunately, there were benches in there so I could sit after all. The film was okay, kind of mediocre. The roller-coaster scene was too short, but the best part was being in that plane going through the Grand Canyon. The movie ended abruptly with being in a race car and crashing into a bunch of rocks. We were relieved when we got back to our own room. The first thing I did was painfully peel off my hot, sweaty clothes and soak in a refreshing bath. Then I carefully lay down beneath the sheets in to much pain to move and fell asleep for at least an hour or two before we figured it was time to get dressed and go out for supper. Janette wore her pink flowered outfit again and I put on my white eyelet blouse and carousel skirt. I pinned back my hair with my white rosette clip and did my makeup. We thought we were going to Ponderosa but quickly vetoed that idea when we the first thing we heard when we opened the door was a baby screaming! I'd rather go to a male strip joint than be serenaded by such dinner music! We were getting quite cranky and irritated as the next place we wanted to go turned out to be closed, open only for breakfast! Finally, we found a nice little place called Pardon my Garden. We were going to sit in a corner by the window, but it was too hot so we changed tables to sit beneath the fan. Janette ordered steak and I had seafood. I decided to be a bad smurf and have a beer. Janette had a coffee! Oy vey! I couldn't stand a coffee on such a hot day like this! The seafood was succulent and tender and the sweet crab meat just melted in my mouth. The vegetables were a real treat too and I mooched a couple extra pieces of cauliflower from Janette. “Oh my God! I can't believe it!” I said, “There's four guys out there in KISS makeup!” Janette turned her head to look and I stole one of her fries! After we ate we walked down the street a bit and I went to have my portrait drawn. A family had to have their picture done with their baby, who as usual, started crying. I found humming my favorite choruses seemed to help a bit. My portrait was finished in about 20 minutes and I was really amazed with the results We then went to a place called the Fun Factory where we looked around. An electronic bluebird was twittering various tunes. I listened to a demo of the Sphere Clown Band and did the Macarena to a clapper-activated singing toy gorilla. We wandered along and found a peaceful new route home through a large field, singing praise choruses as we made our way. Then we stopped at the 7-11. Janette bought Swiss Rolls and I bought another Cappuccino and a Disney magazine about Tarzan. As we made our way back to the motel, I made up a song about how “tomorrow night's my last cappuccino, I'm not interested in going to the casino...” I'll work on the rest later. We got back to our motel room and got the giggles over some absurd inside joke about

“Weegiggish Pagoshkagin.” I guess you had to be there. I then plunged into another bath and read my Tarzan magazine in the tub. Then Janette had her bath while I updated my journal. Day 4, June 13th, My sunburn kept me awake that night. At around quarter to three I got up and took yet another bath! I did not turn the lights on as the lights from another nearby motel shone brightly through the bathroom window. The thought of possibly falling asleep in the bathtub for the rest of the night appealed to me. Suddenly, the lights outside went out. It startled me at first, made me wonder if there was a power failure, but then I realized they must shut their lights out at 3 a.m. In a little while I went back to bed but I was feeling shivery so I turned off the air-conditioner. It was hard to sleep because of the way my skin was burning. I even fancied asking Janette for the key so I could get dressed and sneak out to the 7-11 once again. I wished we had more Flakies, and to be honest I was still curious about that cheesy magazine article. We woke up again at 5 a.m. “What is this? Endless night?!” Janette commented. I don't know if it was before or after but I had this weird dream that both her and Mark were taking guitar lessons and everywhere we went, these vandals in long, green coats were throwing light bulbs at us! Turned out most of them were just kids. A little girl with long, blond hair was going to throw one at me and I was getting annoyed and said to her “In the name of Jesus, I forbid you to throw that at me!” She stopped and looked sheepish. It was then I noticed that she and her colleagues had pointy ears like elves. Actually they were almost more like horse's ears as they could turn them like the Gelflings in “The Dark Crystal.” We woke up bright and early at 7:00 and I put on my dress with the pink and orange roses on it. Janette put on a skirt with pink roses and a white blouse. I decided to just let my hair hang loose this morning. I haven't washed it all vacation yet, but I'm sure the Niagara water and lack of pollution here has caused my hair to remain clean, thick and shiny. We were going to have breakfast at the same place we ate the day before yesterday where I'd had the chocolate chip pancakes, but decided to go to another buffet that was closer because we couldn't wait any longer. We loaded up our plates in some fine style as we were hungry campers, and no sooner were we polishing up our first helpings then a bus load of Spanish tourists came in and lined up for their meal. They all looked like they were having a wonderful time as they sat down to breakfast, talking and laughing amongst themselves. We noticed that someone at one of the tables built a tower by stacking at least eight creamers. We lined up for second helpings and when we finished eating, I started sneezing uncontrollably! A chorus of “bless-you's” echoed from the next table. If mom were here, she'd be thoroughly embarrassed! I guess you could say I've never been so blessed in my life! When we left the restaurant we headed up to the Christian Life Centre on our way to Mount Carmel, enjoying the view as we strolled along. We admired the roses outside the building and found some comfortable chairs beneath some nice, big shady trees where we could make ourselves at home and enjoy the cool, pleasant breeze. I wrote in my journal for awhile,

feeling like I wished I could have stayed there forever! Soon we got up. We wanted to go to a church service on Sunday morning. We were thinking of Mount Carmel, but I didn't really want to go to a Catholic church. I wanted to go to something more contemporary like our own church. I remembered a Presbyterian church near the Lundy's Lane museum, but it would have been a farther walk. Fortunately, we didn't have far to walk until we found Main Street Baptist Church. We were early so we joined the adult Sunday school class. The people were really nice and they made us feel welcome and we had an interesting discussion on spiritual gifts and who would go to heaven or hell. When Sunday school class was over, we went upstairs for the service. I felt sleepy and found it hard to concentrate on the sermon, however, we sang many familiar choruses. As we walked out of church, we decided we'd go back to our motel room to change. At first I figured I was comfortable in my dress but then I decided I'd change after all when I remembered that we both had our purple shorts and Binghamton T-shirts. After we changed we went to the good ol- 7-11 to get a nice picnic lunch to take to the park; chicken salad sandwiches on pita bread, fruit, desserts and a nice refreshing bottle of chocolate milk. We maneuvered our way through the crowds down Clifton Hill and sat in a shady spot beneath a tree in Victoria Park. We then made our way after we finished eating, bought our “Poople-Mever” tickets and hopped on board, enjoying a comfortable, air-conditioned ride to the Dufferin Islands. I needed a sun hat so when we got off I went to the gift shop and picked out a wide-brimmed navy blue one similar to a Tilley. I wanted something shady to keep me cool. We then found our way along the trail almost thinking there wouldn't be much there at first but soon came to several small islands connected by various bridges and waterfalls. We found a delightful place where people could swim. If only I'd known, I would have brought my bathing suit. Still, that didn't stop me. I just took off my jewelry, etc. and plunged in fully clothed! I must have splashed around and enjoyed the water for at least the next half hour. Unfortunately I'd forgotten to remove my locket and I'm afraid the pictures inside are ruined! I enjoyed swimming until the second waterfall nearly drowned me! That's when I decided I'd had enough water for one day. Talk about the epitome of irony if I had drowned! To be within the vicinity of one of the largest, strongest and most powerful famous waterfalls, yet to be done in by this weeny little cataract! Janette and I then got up to discover the various winding nature trails that led from one to another. It's very beautiful around here. I thought Maid of the Mist was my favorite attraction until I saw the parks on the U.S side, but I think the Dufferin Islands park is my favorite place, especially when I got wet. We sat by the bridge and mellowed out for awhile while I updated my journal once again. We then decided to make our way back, crossed a few more bridges along the trail, went up the stairs and went back to the area where the gift shop and washrooms were. Then we caught the “Poople Mever” back and got out at the Greenhouse. It was almost 3:30 or so when we got down to the Greenhouse and we enjoyed wandering

through the rose gardens on our way there. There were so many different kinds of roses with different names. My favorite was a variegated hot-pink and yellow variety called “Kiss of fire.” We spent the next half hour or so browsing around inside the Greenhouse, enchanted by the various birds who flew freely within its confines. One of these birds had a tail that was at least a foot long! When we'd seen enough of the greenhouse, we got back on the Poople Mever and got out near the incline railway. We purchased our tickets and found ourselves seats in the second row, enjoying the view as we ascended. You could say it was an uplifting experience. We were quite tired when we got back to our room and feeling rather grubby. I was glad of a soothing bath and siesta before dinner. We had supper at Rooster's. I had a craving for barbecued chicken so I enjoyed a chicken and ribs combo with fries and salad. Janette had fish and chips with salad. We both ordered coffee which was served in funny little urns we could pour into the cups ourselves. It got cold fast with the air-conditioning. After I finished eating, I had to go to the bathroom really, really badly. Sadly, one of my favorite songs, “She's So High” was playing on the radio and I didn't want to leave, but unfortunately Nature's Call was screaming at me even more loudly and after I left the cubicle to wash my hands I had to turn around and go again. The whole time I was in there and during my meal before, I'd been thinking about the idea of buying a new sketchbook. I hope I can find one downtown. I've been thinking about trying to draw cartoons of myself and my friends the way Walt Disney might, especially since I think there's a definite resemblance between Tarzan and Charles. I'd probably look like a cross between Bell from “Beauty & the Beast” and the fat muse from “Hercules.” I think the woman who drew my portrait did a wonderful job and made me look like a princess! Her work is a real inspiration to me. Mom says I should do this sort of thing, but I don't know if I'd have the patience. It's a challenge to create an accurate likeness that's so stunningly flattering! Could this be the way God sees me? I was humming His praises while I posed for that picture last night. After dinner we made our way down to the park in hopes of catching the Poople Mever so we could just cruise around and enjoy the sights. By then it was already 8:30 and we got tired of waiting so we walked down to the gift shop at the Niagara museum so I could have a closer look at the window display which consisted of a colourful carousel horse silhouette. We went in and Janette bought the Niagara book she wanted. She figured she'd be kicking herself if she didn't. I debated buying pencils for my drawings but hesitated. There might be an art supply shop downtown tomorrow. We then made our way along through Oakes Garden Theatre, pausing for a moment to sit on our favorite rock beneath the shady weeping trees above the pond. A little boy rescued that peony bloom we'd seen floating in the water. After showing it to his family, they decided to throw it back in again. We then made our way up Clifton Hill, getting our fill of the place, knowing it might very well

be our last time for a long time. It was a strange, electric but melancholy feeling and we decided, with much enthusiasm, on one last game of air hockey. I won again, this time the score 7 to 3. We popped into the drugstore to buy our surprise packages. We'll open them at breakfast tomorrow. As usual, our last stop was the 7-11. I bought a box of Joe Louis cakes (there were no more Flakies left) and my last frozen cappuccino and that cheesy “Glamour” magazine that had been haunting me all week. I figured if I didn't give in, I'd be burning with curiousity. Besides, some of this nonsense would be good for a laugh. Back at the motel I settled into the tub with my cappuccino and my magazine. I'm still not finished reading it. Day Five—HEADIN' HOME-June 14th Last night before bed we had trouble sleeping. It was hard to settle down and some of the steamy content of that magazine put me in one of “those” moods. We started getting silly and I made screechy cat noises. Unfortunately, the neighbours banged on the wall in complaint. It was then we remembered that we had the windows open. I'd switched off the air conditioner because it was making my nose stuffy. I turned my back for a second and gave a startled shriek when I noticed the curtain opened slightly. I thought someone was peeking in at us until I realized Janette was just closing the window. I started giggling hysterically and again the neighbours gave an angry bang against the wall, putting a damper on our fun. We weren't trying to be rude or inconsiderate. I guess it was for our protection we were too tired to be in a silly mood like this on previous nights. Obviously, if the walls are this thin I would not want to spend my honeymoon here. If getting the giggles talking about sex makes enough noise to incite complaints from next door, I shudder to think how much noise the neighbours would have to frown about if I were really doing it! We tried to pray and felt restless. We even thought about going for a walk but decided we were safer staying indoors. Finally, we eventually did drift off to sleep and before I woke the next morning I had a rather interesting dream that Shawna, Myla and I had our own band together and we were opening for “Destroyer”. Charles was our manager and Cliff was filming everything with a camcorder. Everyone we knew was there. It was quite exciting. We woke up at around 7:30 a.m, buzzing around like bees, getting as much as we could packed up. I was so hungry that while Janette was in the bathroom I was a pig and ate TO Joe Louis cakes! Surprisingly I still had a hearty appetite for blueberry pancakes when Janette and I went for breakfast at the Traveler's Delight restaurant, where I'd had the chocolate chip ones a few days ago. Once again, I helped polish off Janette's home fries. When we finished breakfast, we went back to our room and unwrapped our surprise packages. I got a cheesy little pink and orange water pistol and Janette got THREE things; a pencil sharpener, a pretty pair of earrings and a “Quebec” sticker. She gave me the sticker to put on the cover of my journal with my Poople Mever passes. Somehow we managed to make all our injittiments fit together in our bags which were quite heavy. I dreaded the idea of carrying all that stuff to the Poople Mever so we agreed to take a taxi to the bus terminal.

When we put all our stuff in the locker, we had a good laugh because it looked like Janette's bugs were struggling to get out of the bags, like they didn't want to be cooped up inside the lockers. All our stuff fit inside one locker and then we made our way to the Great Gorge Trip. At the gift shop I paid for both our tickets and we took the elevator down. We walked along a long, aluminum tunnel and had fun with the acoustics, making silly noises along the way. As we neared our way out to the boardwalk, we looked at various pictures of assorted Niagara Daredevil stunts. At one point Blondin even balanced a cook stove on the tightrope above the Falls and cooked a 2-egg omelette! (And that's no yolk!) For the next quarter of a mile we strolled along the boardwalk watching the powerful rapids as they swirled and foamed impressively. I was glad I'd taken that Jet Boat trip last year! We paused in several places to admire the spectacle. For some reason I had KISS' song “Within” going through my mind. We took each other's pictures at the end and reached down to feel the spray, wishing more of it would splash higher. After awhile we made our way back. On our way back to the bus terminal I found some torn pieces of a Japanese dictionary and had fun reading them aloud. It would be fun to learn to speak Japanese, I thought. The rain was starting to come down. We thought we might look at the antique store before getting on our bus, but it was closed. We couldn't really settle anyway so we purchased our egg salad sandwiches and took our stuff out of our locker and enjoyed the time quietly reading while we waited. It was starting to rain harder. Good thing we were leaving today, I thought. In my magazine I came across a picture of the new queen of Jordan, Queen Rania alAbdullah, and couldn't help thinking that her picture bore a remarkable resemblance to my portrait. Janette thought so too. I showed her both pictures side by side. Wait until Lynda sees this, I thought, remembering her resemblance to Ann Boleyn. Soon we caught the bus and were on our way.