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18 abril Old Alma CollegeOLD ALMA COLLEGE
*******
On April 9th, April and I, and two other family members of ours drove up to St. Thomas Ontario to visit more family.
We had made this same trip before back in May 2005, and had made a interesting stop-over while in the small city of St. Thomas to an old abandoned school called
Alma College.
The old school was opened in 1877 and was a world-famous boarding school for Girls for over 100 years. To this day, it still remains sitting, empty, with its beautiful architectural shell awaiting either a demolition crew or enhancement crew to make it into a Retirement home.
Either way it will go, our second visit to this amazing old structure was..well..amazing...to say the least :)
We walked around the perimeter for what seemed like an hour, stopping of course to check out the damaged old stain-glassed windows of the next door chapel.
The place is huge and looks like a castle with high turrets and tons of windows for the many of pupils that it housed for so many years.
What a visit this was to the magnificent old school.
I do hope that we can have a return visit, and maybe even a guest tour of the inside!
I look forward to that day should it ever arrive.
For now, enjoy these wonderful views of our stop at Alma College.
And as well..here is a great site showing pictures of the old-eras of the school:
Also..thanks to Jeff Toogood, resident photographer of St. Thomas who has helped me out a bit with Alma. Thanks Jeff for the advice and thanks for your awesome pics. Here is his site..lucky guy got in ;)
~Tom
 (pics to come soon from this trip)
Louth Conservation AreaLOUTH CONSERVATION AREA
*******
On April 8, I made my way over to Louth Conservation Area, just north of St. Catharines.
I was bound and determined to find "Louth Falls", which I had thought I had located back on November 16 (check the Blog History here to see that shoot).
The water runoff falls in late November 2005 only proved to be the source for the 25 foot waterfall just a short hike down the escarpment southward.
This time, I drove past the spot I had stopped before and happened upon a small parking area on the left of Staff Rd.
For those actually reading this and wondering where I am talking about..follow QEW to Highway 406 to 4th Avenue, Go right and follow to 17th Street, go left, and follow this, past Pelham Rd, and to Staff Rd, turn right, follow the bend, look for the parking area on the left.
If these directions were incorrect, I'm sorry, ask a local, they may be able to help :)
I drive there by instinct ;)
Before I did make it to the falls however, I stopped a few times to take some scenic pictures of the farmlands and some of the horses occupying them for their spring feeds.
And so, upon arriving, I was greeted by a friendly neighbouring golden retriever who seemed to love to pose for the camera.
After petting the friendly guy for a bit, I headed down the Bruce Trail through the woods until I happened upon yet another waterfalls along the Niagara Escarpment that I had yet to go to...at last..Louth Falls!!
I sat up top of the falls marvelling at its beauty for about a half hour, when the cold crisp air of early spring started to really nip at my nose. I came a bit unprepared for cold weather and had forgotten my hat, gloves and hiking boots at home, so I retired early from the falls.
A definite return visit is now in the itinerary for this summer day trip adventures.
Enjoy the shots from my adventure to Louth Falls!
by the way...a good site to read up more about the falls is at:
~Tom
03 abril Remember Prudhommes?PRUDHOMMES LANDING
"Wet N' Wild"
*******
Now I remember way back from when I was a kid growing up in the Niagara Area, that there were two waterparks that used to take up a lot of my time during the summer months.
Friends of mine such as Jon Goss, Brian Robertson, Greg Baskerville, & Travis Ebert..and I would venture over to "White Water", which was located on Lundy's Lane in Niagara Falls, where the Factory Outlet Mall is now situated.
We would also venture down the Highway towards Toronto to "Wet n' Wild". We would have to get a parent or someone to drive us there, as the drive would be too far for our legs or bikes to get to..but the chore of having to ask a parent to drive us to the spot was well worth it.
Prudhommes Landing Wet n' Wild was located just off of the QEW at the town of Jordan Ontario.
I still have yet to find a start date for the park, but it had closed in 2002 due to bankruptcy. I suppose people got tired of going to the same park, and wanted rollercoasters involved with their swimming day. Canada's Wonderland in Toronto is great for that excitement.
Wet n' Wild had a "Tilter Whirl", "Bumper Boats", a Go-Kart Track, "Bumper Cars", a Roller Rink, a lazy river, a huge Wave pool, and a 3-run waterslide, complete with a tube slide.
The park also housed a Haunted House, which I remember as quite a scare. The floorboards in the house were rickety, real people would jump out of the darkness and scare the heck out of you, or lock you in a closet for a bit to scare your wits out of you. People who screamed out "Chicken", would be thrust out the chicken exit.
The old haunted mansion eventually burned down in the later years of the park.
April and I made our way back to the park on Sunday April 2nd, to get a look at the old place we used to hang out at during our summers in the 1980s.
Our first stop was at the old go-Kart track, where two guys were riding "Pocket Bikes" around the old track. Some neat photos we grabbed of these guys as they rode their miniature motorbikes.
We then continued on through the park. The place was pretty much in shambles. Remnants of times past still were somewhat assembled. The bumper car track was still standing, but barely, with it's electrical ceiling fencing falling down and onto the old track.
The Tilter Whirl was also still standing, and rusting quite well at that. The carts even moved still on their respected tracks..with a little help from our synergy of course.
The Roller Rink was still there, however you wouldn't know it was a roller rink unless you had the memory of it.
The Bumper Boats were all filled in, with the boats being presumably sold from the place. Someone had thrown a bunch of old junk in the filled in hole for the boats.
We then explored the old main office of the park, which is directly in front of the old main gate. A bumper car was sticking out of the back door, which was open just enough for us to get into the old place. The ceilings were caving in, junk was strewn everywhere. Old plastic numbers and letters for their old signs were lying everywhere. Old tickets for the "RollerWorld" Roller Rink were strewn everywhere across old tables and the floor. Old benches and chairs from the restaurants were stored in here, along with a few other bumper cars. The main office was littered with their old paperwork from when the park was business. The paperwork was everywhere in the destroyed office. Looters presumably had ransacked the place. I do know of one website, which I will not mention on here, that shows the paperwork from when the park had gone bankrupt and how much they had owed to taxes.
April and I even came across the old paper bracelets that one would have to wear upon entering the park, in case of having to leave they could come back with the bracelet on.
We found an old box of different coloured bracelets which said "Wet n' Wild" all over them. Out of tradition, I even put one on myself. I was at WET n WILD!! :)
And so, after deciding that the old musty smell of the office was getting a bit old, we exited the place, and did a perimeter of the building, stopping quickly off at the basement. We couldn't go in too far, as the basement was flooded, and quite full of junk from yesteryear.
We continued on to the wave pool and lazy river, which were quite filled in with dirt and god knows what else. Weeds were growing quite well over the old pool. We both remembered having lots of fun in this pool. With our visit this time, we made our own waves as we ran through the "old pool" :)
Our last stop at the park this day was the waterslide. April took the old stairs, while I climbed the waterslide itself. The old slide was riddled in graffiti, some of quite an obscene nature of course. The slide I chose to climb took me through a 30 foot long tunnel. I remember that tunnel being the coolest thing when I was a kid, as I slid down the slide on the mat given to me to slide down on.
As I explored the old tunnel, I was quite cautious as I didn't know if was going to hold or not. It didn't cave in, I'm here typing this now for you :)
April and I reached the summit of the waterslide, to be presented with a lovely view of the beach of Lake Ontario, and of the distant city of Toronto on the horizon.
We sat up on the top of the slides for about an hour, soaking in the early-spring sunshine. Later that day when relaxing at home, we found that our faces and necks were quite sunburned for just that hour that we spent on top of the old slides.
The day at Prudhommes was perfect. The slides would have been fun to go down again, with water of course, but as we climbed back down the slides, we said our goodbyes to it, and decided to leave the park. On our way out, we stopped at the old control house for the wave pool. We walked into the old musty place to capture some shots of the old technology behind creating the huge waves that used to plunge down on us in the old pool.
The memories of Prudhommes Landing will always be with us, as well as the photographs that we captured during our visit.
The place is scheduled to be demolished completely this year...we are both very glad that we were able to make it there before the construction started.
I have yet to find a good website that details more on the park and shows pictures from when the park was running. I have found one website though that describes the park a bit more.it is located here:
Enjoy the photos..and if you have your own adventures that you would like to share from your past at Prudhommes or even if you have any pictures of the place that you would like to share..please do so by responding to this blog :)
Take care all!
~Tom
27 marzo Upper Balls Falls HikeUPPER BALLS FALLS
*****
On Saturday March 25th, I headed up to Balls Falls Conservation Area.
I had been to the park many a time before, but not up to the "Upper Falls".
There are three cataracts in the park, with the middle falls being the most recognizable due to the historical reference of the Grist Mill, built in 1809.
Along with the Mill, a small historical village has been built to tell the time of the pioneering era.
I ventured away from this touristy spot, and although it was 8am by the time I was out on the trail, as it was a Saturday, I knew it wouldn't be long before other outdoor enthusiasts would be joining me.
I crossed the newly-built walking bridge over the Twenty-Mile Creek, and followed the western side of the river until I could see the upper falls.
The main trail was above me, as I trailblazed my way across the rocks and crannies below the escarpment, to find my way to the remnants of the old Woolen Mill that was built by George Ball in 1824. The old stone archway and foundation of the mill still exists today. Quite a neat find for travellers to the Upper Falls.
Four great sites detailing this park are:
I continued climbing along the side of the escarpment, until I reached the bottom of the falls. There I sat on a rock out in the water, awaiting the sun to come out from behind the clouds to give me a great shot of the falls. The sun never arrived, as the clouds started to really roll in on me. I must have sat out there for at least an hour waiting for a great shot of the falls. Instead, I got a cold bum, and a nippy nose. I decided after giving in to the weather, that I would try to get some closer shots of the falls. The cataract was amazing. A 60-foot plunge waterfall this is, and a brilliant one at that. Carving its way in an almost horsehoe form through the limestone shale of the Niagara Escarpment, this cataract is surely a wonder to the eye. Especially up close! Despite the threat of falling rock and ice, I hiked to the actual base of the falls to get some closeups of the water running down the cliff. After a few great shots, a huge block of ice had fallen..luckily right beside me and onto my feet. A few pieces hit my side. I escaped unhurt, and a little wet, but definitely a bit shaken. That ice would have most certainly hurt if it bonked me in the head!
After the ice incident, I decided it best to make my way up to the crest of the falls to get some downward shots of the gorge. I climbed up the side of the cliff, which was a great workout for a Saturday morning. After reaching the top, I followed the main trail over to the observation platform, which was only a 3 foot high wall. I hopped over the wall to get some closer vantage points of the falls. I sat right on the ledge of the escarpment cliff to get some great shots looking down at gorge below.
The wind was a bit cooler up here, and I was starting to get a bit chilly.
A man and his son were nearby and wanting to get a better look at the falls, so I decided to head back along the main trail to head back to the car.
I took many shots this day, but as I had been out early at 8am, and it was at least noon, I was growing a bit tired and decided to head home.
And so I did for a nice relaxing nap after a great morning's hike!
Enjoy the shots from my hike at Upper Balls Falls.
~Tom
22 marzo ~2005 Highlights~FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST TUNING IN :)
I am proud to share with you all
the highlights of the year 2005
from my world,
last year,
with photography.
Includes photos from:
Cape Croker Indian Park, Port Stanley, Finger 11 Concert-Port Dahlousie, Ribfest, Bruces Caves, Niagara Glen, Missisauga Beach. Laura Secord Homestead. Wiarton, Greigs Caves, Woodend Conservation Area, Manitoulin Island, Sudbury, Algonquin Park, Muskoka, Short Hills Provincial Park, Beamers Falls. Beamer Memorial Conservation Area, Dundas Valley Conservation Area, Queenston, Paul Anka Concert, Sloan Concert-Friendship Festival, Old Welland Canal & Pondage, Toronto Zoo, Dufferin Islands, Welland River, Martindale Pond. St. Davids Fair, St. John's Conservation Area, Drummond Road Cemetary, Butler's Barracks, Rockpoint Provincial Park, Espanola, French River, Spanish River, Port Dahlousie, Mel Swart Conservation Area, Decew Falls, Fort Missisauga,
and other various nooks and crannies...
21 marzo The Odd Ones OutEver take a really crappy photograph?
Or at least in your mind, you just
didn't think it was good enough?
I've done plenty..here check it out!
 ~Tom
 P.S the point in this whole different style of blog comprises of two reasons:
1) To follow the old saying "you never know what you're going to get"..added in with a bit of "take a moment or two with you, at least behind the lens" (one of my own personal favourites)
2) To appreciate the times in between the moments of glory.
~
(more out-takes in future posts) 19 marzo Mountsberg!MOUNTSBERG CONSERVATION AREA
***********
On March 18th, April and I drove up to Mountsberg Conservation Area.
Our plan was to visit the Sugar Bush and the Birds of Prey exhibit.
A good old old-fashioned Canadian outing!
Despite the very cold weather, the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and this was my first time to a "sugar bush" since I was in Cub Scouts as a kid.
The Conservation Area is located just off of Highway 6, north of Dundas.
A great site to read up on the spot, and for directions is at:
We spent 3 hours at the park, strolling along the wetland boardwalk, then walking along through the sugar maples, reading up on the interpretive displays set up along the trail to inform tourists on how one would go about making maple sugar and maple syrup. Various trees along the path had large tin pails attached to them, with a nozzle coming out of the tree to seep out the "sugar water". I was almost expecting the maple syrup to be more thick as it ran out of the tree, however it looked just like water, with a hint of a sugary taste.
We then happened upon "the operation", where in various different old-style log cabins, the equipment such as the boilers and cutters were set up inside to show tourists how the sugar and syrup are made.
After watching a couple of presentations, we headed over to the pancake house, where we waited in line for an hour for some yummy pancakes and sausages. A welcomed treat after standing in the cold wind, and waiting with other anxious tourists (along with their already without-sugar rambunctious kids).
The families enjoyed the pancakes more than us I'm sure, as their children were able to burn off what they just ate on the piles of hay set up just adjacent to the outdoor eating area.
After enjoying our pancakes, apple cider, and fresh maple syrup, we headed over to the Raptor Birds of Prey Display. Along the way, we came across a horse drawn wagon, with two beautiful valiant horses to lead it's way through the park. The horses were wonderful with the camera, however we opted not to hop on, as the bird display was just near.
Snow owls, barn owls, hawks, bald eagles, and other birds of prey were sitting proud (and some tall), in their own respected cages.
The bald eagles were our favourites, as they were near the cage fences, and were perfectly roosted against the sun. I'm quite happy with the results of the pictures from our stop at Mountsberg. A longer stay with even more photographs would have been wonderful, as there are livestock pens for Elk and Bison, which we missed out on due to the cold temperatures getting to our aching-for-spring bodies.
But before leaving..we made a quick stop over to the "Barn", where farmstock were in their "barn cells" for display to the guests. Sheep, goats, a horse named "April" :) and a good old barn cat made the mixture well.
Mountsberg is definitely worth another visit in the spring and summer months, as the bird demonstrations are lively at that time of the year, and I am sure the 16km of hiking trails would be part of the itinerary as well.
A prime place to bring your families..however..please leave your pets at home, as they will disturb the wildlife and are not even allowed near the wildlife pens.
Now it's time for some left-over maple sugar that we just had to buy to bring home! :)
~Tom
10 marzo Fort Erie VisitFort Erie Visit
***
On Wednesday March 8, a friend of mine and I drove up to Fort Erie to stop at some neat old places to grab some shots.
This was the first time in a while I had been out with my friend, and he wanted to learn more about photography, which of course I was happy to show him some of my techniques...some of them ;)
We first stopped off at the old Erie Beach Park, which was the site of a famous Amusement Park (1885-1930)
Some of the remnants of the old park still stand today. The old pathways, now covered with fallen branches provide an excellent and pleasant walk along the old shoreline, littered with pieces of the historical park, and old trees weathered by the winds off of Lake Erie.
Thousands of people would flock here in the early 1900's to enjoy the casino, the dance hall with it's dance floor on the water, a 3500-seat stadium, a zoo, and many turn of the 19th century amusement rides. Some of the original structures of the rides still stand today.
A great site to read up on the history of the old park is at:
We explored the old ruins of the park, and then took in some great view of the outlining city of Buffalo NY on the horizon. It was a bit hazy, yet pleasantly warm, so the pictures were perfect in black and white and sepia--sepia of course being the best due to the history of the area.
After a couple of hours of exploring the old Erie Beach, we headed over to Historic Old Fort Erie. Unfortunately, the fort was still closed, but we hopped over a small wall to get inside of the first walls..we had to explore something there! :)
The old fort was a hot spot during the War of 1812..although 73 years after, Americans and Canadians were celebrating together just down the road at Erie Beach!
And so we explored the first layer of the fort until we decided that it would be best to leave before being charged with trespassing...we shall return when the fort is open in the summer. A night visit would be interesting as well, as the Fort is said to be haunted by many apparitions, including a "headless horseman".
A neat site to read up on the supposed hauntings of Fort Erie is at:
Three great sites that show the history of and the present activities at Old Fort Erie are:
After a short visit at the old fort, we continued on down the Niagara Parkway until we got to the Mahoney Dollhouse Gallery Museum, originally called "Bertie Hall", and was built in 1835. The site is well known for it's activity during the 1800's when it housed escaped slaves for the Underground Railroad. According to history, there are tunnels leading from the basement of the Museum down to the Niagara River, a short distance away, which apparently played a huge part in the moving of slaves. The tunnels have since been sealed, and apparently no one knows where the entrance is.
The museum now holds 140 of miniature dollhouses on display. The dollhouses are as old as 1780, and are brilliant masterpieces of art. Intricate and quite detailed, the dollhouses are definitely an eye-catcher.
The museum is also a favourite "haunt" amongst the paranormal groups, as it is also said to be haunted. A woman holding flowers has been seen, and the scent of flowers in certain rooms has also been experienced. Story goes that a pink dollhouse on the second floor moved a couple of feet by itself once, and then it was discovered that a small replica ouija board was on one of the tables inside of the miniature house.
The museum was closed when we went to visit, but we grabbed some excellent architectural pictures from outside. I'd love to get inside sometime, just to experience the dollhouses themselves..should be an interesting visit!
Here is a site that tells a bit about the Museum and it's history:
And so, after an excellent shoot, we both were getting a bit tired from the hike and the weather and decided to call it a day. A return visit to all three of these places we visited would definitely be in our favour during the warmer months. A bit more of Niagara history in the books for 2006 :)
Enjoy the photos!
~Tom
02 marzo Snow Day!Gotta Love Winter!
***
Well unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't on our side today for photographs. There was absolutely no way I was going to go out today and brave the roads for some pics.
My friend and I were planning on going on a shoot together today, however we both decided to can it for the day.
As you can see from the photos shown below, the snow has hit the Niagara area yet again, preventing some great photo ops.
I'm sure that there are still plenty, however I'm not the one to usually risk it.
I'm really looking forward to spring now..the winter has spoiled my photo-plans quite a few times already!
Guess it's the old housework day for me! :)
Take care everyone
~Tom 01 marzo Niagara River DriveNiagara River Drive
******
Welcome to March! About time that this month came along!
April and I went out today for a little drive up along the Niagara Parkway.
The parkway follows the Niagara River from the mouth of the river itself at Lake Ontario, in the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, to the head of the river at the city of Fort Erie. The head of the river starts at one of Ontario's Great Lakes, Lake Erie.
The beautiful drive attracts millions of visitors each year. Guests can enjoy a relaxing drive along the parkway, marvelling at the expensive homes; or they can get their exercise by biking or hiking the walking trail which follows this parkway the entire length.
The Niagara Parkway has also been dubbed the "Niagara Heritage Trail", as there are many historic spots located right along the parkway.
A great website to view these historical spots, is at:
Before venturing on the parkway, we made a short stop at an old house that was in my family when I was a child, and a quick visit at the breakwaters of the Niagara River and Chippawa Creek in the town of Chippawa. This also was an old romp of April and I's, when as kids we would jump off the breakwall and let the strong current of Chippewa Creek carry us swiftly down the river. Dangerous fun we had when we were kids, but the swim was well worth it.
Today however, no swimming was carried out, as the air was windy and cold. A great day for colour photographs as the sky was a deep blue and there was plenty of sun with a great mix of clouds. The ducks and geese were basking on their ice floats in the sun. Such a relaxing life they have!
After viewing the waterfowl for a while, we continued on down the parkway and made a stop at Chippawa Battlefield Park. A historical site of one of the bloodiest battles of the War of 1812.
An excellent site that describes the history and outlines the park is at:
After a freezing short walk around the battlefield, and stopping a few times at the interpretive displays, we decided to call it a day. The wind was far too cold to be out as long as we had been, so we retired back to the car and returned home.
An excellent day for pictures, however the cold was slightly distracting. Spring will be here soon, and a definite return visit is in the plan..however..
Enjoy the photos from today, another adventure on the way tomorrow! :)
~Tom Fort George Pics are Up!Hey Everyone!
Now that March has finally arrived..I have now been able to upload photos again to the site.
My flickr account has been doing wonderful over the last week, but those of you who have missed my updates..welcome back! :)
Fort George photos are up on the site here..so enjoy!
~Tom 25 febrero Announcement!Ok Everyone...heads up! :)
MSN only allows an upload of 500 photos per month total.
So..obviously I have been very busy with my uploading, as I have reached my MAX!
There are only 4 more days left for February..so you're all going to have to wait until March for my Fort George/Photo of the Day updates.
Yes it sucks, that I do have to agree with..however until my new site:
becomes nice and ready to go..you'll all just have to go to
for any new updates to my photos.
Thank you all for stopping in..hope to see you all back soon!
~Tom Historical Fort George VisitHistorical Fort George Visit
**********
On Thursday Feb 23, April and I visited the old Fort George
in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
It had been years since we were both at the fort, and since it was such a lovely day for a drive, we found ourselves at the fort just after a short stop at the park at the historic McFarland House along the Niagara Parkway.
The old Fort saw many of important events in Canadian history such as during the War of 1812, when it was occupied by both the British and American forces. The fort was later used as a military base, and was finally used by the Canadian army up until 1965.
The buildings that visitors can see today were reconstructed in the 1930s to give back to the public a historical landmark.
Visitors today, during the warmer months can view re-enactments of the War of 1812, complete with in-costume settlers and soldiers. Guests can also go on a guided tour through the buildings.
The fort is also a "hot-spot" for ghost-hunters and paranormal-enthusiasts, as it is said to be one of the most haunted places in the region. Every year there are Ghost-Tours, where people are entertained by ghost stories from their guide, and led around the fort at night.
April and I missed the tours this day, but had a wonderful tour of our own exploring the history of the site and the lovely day to go with it.
It was a perfect day for pictures, the clouds wispy, the air a bit chilly, and the sun brightly shining on the old buildings within the high wooden stake fort walls.
A great visit it was, and we're definitely planning a couple of return visits this year, including the "Ghost Tour", which should be creepy and awesome at the same time.
For two great sites to learn more about the history fort, to catch up on 2006 activities, and to learn more about the tours held, go to:
and
Interested in touring Fort George at night with their infamous ghosts?
Enjoy!
~Tom
(PHOTOS TO COME SOON...REVAMPING THE SITE to FIT NEW SHOTS IN)
22 febrero St. Johns in Black&WhiteSt. Johns in Black&White
*********
Today, I had visited St. Johns Conservations Area, located near Fonthill Ontario.
The park is chock full of nature paths leading up into the Niagara Escarpment uplands, which make up the southern foothills of the Twelve Mile Creek.
The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority had built a large trout pond on the creek, which allows visitors to view tadpoles, frogs, and various species of turtle.
An informative website on St. Johns can be located at:
At this time time of year, the pond was still fairly frozen over, which provided me with some wonderful black & white settings.
The day today was amazing to say the least. The weather was perfect. The air a bit cool, the sun shining bright with lovely endless blue sky.
My choice-style for photographs today was black and white, and what a perfect choice. The reflections across the somewhat-thawed pond were excellent. The sun provided a light-orange hue to the trees, which created an excellent shade for the black and white depth needed.
I had circled around the pond, and found a path leading off into the woods. Of course, I had to explore it. The path led me through a winding walk up through the escarpment hills, across boardwalks, and through a good share of mud.
Late-winter/Early-spring hikes are best for mud-covered boots.
Time to invest in new ones I suppose. :)
I had noticed some small birds including some chickadees feeding off of some nuts and other chewy substances that someone presumably had left behind for them to munch on.
I took some time to set up my tri-pod to grab some shots of the birds while they were feeding. The light from the sun dipped behind the trees a bit, so my shots were definitely not plentiful, however it was fun attempting to capture the cute little things as they attempted to eat in peace.
A wonderful day it was though, despite the amounts of people. I had run into at least 6 or 7 different parties of people out to enjoy the wonderful day.
No other photographers though.. :) I'm glad I was there to capture the magical moments that St. Johns has to offer for every visit.
For a map and details regarding the park, you can also visit this site:
This site shows the "Sassafrass Tour", which shows the main trail that I had followed on today's hike.
To get to St. Johns Conservation Area, follow QEW south to Highway 427 to Welland..follow this until it becomes Regional Road 20, turn left on North Pelham Road and follow that to Hollow Road. Turn right, follow until the parking area for the conservation area.
Enjoy!
~Tom
5000 Visitors!!I just had to place a quick entry
to announce
that Weller Photography #3
has reached
it's 5000th Visitor!!
WOW!!!!
Thank you everyone for visiting my site and enjoying my work.
It has been a pleasure to have created a great MSN space and only hope that you all continue to enjoy it.
My new domain:
is currently under construction and will be most likely my best masterpiece yet...I look forward to having that up and going and
online soon.
Take care all, and thanks very much for the 5000th mark!
~Tom
P.S (i've now been informed that the 5000th visitor was my MOM! lol! Thanks Mom--love you!!) :) 19 febrero Collingwood RoadTrip-Day 3 COLLINGWOOD ROADTRIP-DAY 3
No Timesharing Please
*****
And so..on our third and final day in Collingwood..we had to set the alarm very early for 8am and be down at the lobby by 9am for our "timesharing" presentation.
We were all led in seperately and were assigned our own agents, who put somewhat-high pressure sales on us in order for us to buy into some crazy idea of timesharing.
Here was the thing...remember the hotel rooms that were extravagent and were being advertised on the "resort" website? In order to take part in this thing, you had to buy one..somewhere around $20,000 to $40,000.
You can pay monthly payments towards the price, but at 21.9% interest!!
You never really own it, as you cannot decorate the place to look like your own.
But you would have discounted weekly visits to another exquisite timesharing condo in some exotic country. The price of that would be about $200 per week, but that doesn't include food or drinks. Nice thing about the $200 is that you can bring as many people as the condo fits, but you still only pay the $200.
More costs were involved though. Food and drinks would be extra. Airfare would be extra of course. And then there was this $450 per year "maintenance fee".
My questions are these:
1/ Why would I buy this condo, when I really dont "own" it?
2/ When would I have time to go to the one I "own", when I am trying to save money AND time to go to some other one in an exotic place?
3/ If I were into visiting another country--why wouldn't I just pay that extra little cost for an all-inclusive resort?
I certainly wouldn't have to worry about having to pay for a condo which I would hardly ever go to. Chances are, when I would want to go to "my condo", someone else would already be staying there.
No thanks.
The saleswoman took a lot of time to get to know us, when one of her first pre-qualifying questions was: "Do you like to go to resorts when you go away?"
Our answer was NO...we much prefer camping.
Right then, she should have known to not even bother with us.
Why would we completely change our vacation lifestyle, just to get in debt for the rest of our lives, and to pay for some condo attached to some crappy old hotel up north, and not be able to ever get rid of it should we want to.
If you really want to check out this weird setup..go to:
However..if you want some interesting reading regarding timesharing and how it can be scam-be careful of these things--seriously..go here:
~
And so, after spending a bit of a grueling-but somewhat interesting 2 hours with the RCI group, we gave them a ridiculously-low figure that we could put down on a deposit. They of course denied our request and swiftly signed us out. I guess this was the best way to quickly say no.
We headed back to our room, and watched the weather channel inform us that there were many schools closed as well as other businesses in this area and throughout central ontario. Freezing rain and winter storm warning abundant, we packed up the room quickly, and checked out of our "resort".
All in all, it was a great trip. Despite the room appearance, and the crappy presentation on our last day there, we had a terrific time. Lots of great photos and lots of amazing experiences. We would definitely do this again, should it be offered to us. However, if RCI sees this site, I doubt there will be a re-invite. :)
On our way home, we stopped a couple of times to grab some neat shots of the snow-covered fields with their solitary lone trees in the middle.
Photography on the last day of our trip was not so great, due to the hazy weather and the impeding snow and rain.
The weather actually worked out well for us, and we were home within 3.5 hours. We only hit a bit of freezing drizzle as we were heading down Highway 400 through Toronto. Lucky for us to avoid the bad weather. I'm always somewhat apprehensive about going up to that area of Ontario during the winter. I lived in Owen Sound for three years, and that is just up the road from Collingwood. My experience had told us to leave after the presentation was over, and I'm glad we did. We did want to check out Collingwood's "Village", which is modelled off of Whistler B.C's "Village", but we decided that it would be best to save that for another year.
And now back to the city we are, with many memories from our Winter Getaway
to share.
Hope you have all enjoyed our trip pictures. We only look forward to more trips this upcoming spring/summer/fall months.
Our next big trip is planned for August, when we are planning a 2-week road trip to Thunder Bay and across Northern Ontario. Should be fabulous.
Sans the luxury condos of course ;)
~Tom 17 febrero Collingwood RoadTrip-Day 2COLLINGWOOD ROADTRIP-DAY 2
THE ICE HUT
*****
Remember the $10 breakfast coupon? Well it certainly came in handy on our first morning at the "Resort". The service was absolutely dreadful, and we made another waitress feel bad when we had to tip her rather than our own waitress who never really showed when she should have.
Despite the lack of quality service for "such an upscale wonderful resort", the breakfast food itself was quite tasty and actually surprisingly sat well in the tummy.
You never know, they could have made a mistake with the eggs and bacon right? :)
After our enjoyable half-price morning meal, we decided to take a look at Blue Mountain from the top of the actual mountain...
...more to come!
^
That there was a bit of writer's cramp, now where was I...
Yes..we were driving up Blue Mountain..
The road was curvy and a bit slushy on the way up the mountain. There were 5 snowmobiles parked at the side of the road, one of the machines was stuck in a big snow pile. How encouraging. We continued on, slowing down a few times to look back upon the town of Collingwood and miles of surrounding area. We were so high up, our ears were popping, as we continued to climb.
And so, after reaching the top and coming to an unanimous decision to not stop at the famous Scenic Caves, as it would most likely be a better stop to make in the spring...we decided to make our stop to Blue Mountain at the source of it all..the top of the ski lifts.
We walked around the skiers and snowboarders as they wisked by us in anticipation of their next run. We carefully avoided where we thought they might be making their tracks, however there were a few points where we thought they just might run into us. We were on their turf at that point!
We stopped and marvelled as the winter buffs cascaded around us and down the mountain top runs.
Blue Mountain is a world-famous area for skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts, as well as many other outdoor-during-winter ( out of their minds) snow bums.
A great website to go to, to read up on Blue Mountain Activities for all times of the year...not to be confused for the other famous site "bluemountain.com"..which actually offers greeting cards for all times of the year..thus.
for Blue Mountain itself:
Isn't marketing fun?
~
We hung out at the ski lifts for about an hour. And after taking in a bit of history with the first Ski Lift in Ontario as well as enjoying the company of hundreds of ski bums around us, we decided to pack it in and head down to check out the town of Collingwood.
Now see..there are plenty of sites in Collingwood to check out.
There are about 3 huge building murals, that are quite colourful on a bright blue sunny day. There is an old warplane and tank sitting on a side street off Highway 26, that would look lovely without a two feet of snow covering them. There was a boardwalk and arboretum located at Sunset Point Beach I believe it was called, that would be a lovely spot without having to trek through the countless feet of snow. As well as I'm sure many other nooks and crannies filled with the soot and sand and other squabblings from winter.
What else would one do then in a North-Central town in the middle of February, that maybe involved some warmth?
Standing up on the mountain chilled us down a bit, somewhere warm would have been nice..however..We headed over to the lakefront area, which probably wouldn't have been the best choice for warmer spots. There is a small park on the harbourfront lane, which heads out to the grain elevators, adjacent to Georgian Bay. In the small park are dedication plaques, given to the names of those people who have helped out the town. As well, there are small landmarks, old rustic pieces of machinery that were used in the original factories which first defined the small town. Complete with a lighthouse. this is quite a nice spot for a walk...even in two feet of snow. However...fate came back our way again, when after viewing a very darkened sky over the lake behind the well-framed grain elevators..who would come along, but a kind looking old fisherman and his dog. April had befriended the dog and had asked the man if the ice was really ok to go down onto. He had then confirmed that it was and invited us down to his hut to see
his ice hut. How could we not?
We then joined "Malcolm" with his dog, and his lessons on ice-fishing, in his warm and cozy ice-hut out on the harbour of Collingwood, on the shores of Georgian Bay. The ice-hut was warm, and the host even warmer. He was a kind man, who gave us a traditional beer, and let us smoke our tobacco inside the 4' x 6' hut. Malcolm told us his stories of when he was a police officer in Toronto in the 1970s, and how he now teaches sailing and canoeing in the summer, and helps to regulate the Bruce Trail during the summer months as well.
A perfect and wonderful afternoon full of laughs, and great memories.
We didn't catch anything that afternoon, but April and I both had a refresher course on how to tie a lewer, and bait its hook with a minnow.
Traditional Canadiana Winter Day we had "eh"?
Traditional cold feet though, despite the Coleman stove in the hut.
After three hours of a wonderful visit with our new friend Malcolm, we headed back to our hotel room, where we literally relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, and into the night, laying in bed and pigging out to the munchies..all night...
R & R at it's best.
~Tom
..to Day 3 "No Timesharing Please" Collingwood RoadTrip-Day 1COLLINGWOOD ROADTRIP-DAY 1
VALENTINE's DAY
********
Our day started out early, with a 9am rise, and a nourishing
"on-the-road" breakie from Timmy's.
The highways in Toronto were of course a little plugged up, and we were at first thinking of heading up through Orangeville, to stop at Earl
Rowe Provincial Park just outside of Barrie. Problem was, I was driving
in the fast lane and in a deep thoughtful convo, and had missed the
proper exit to Orangeville. Not knowing all of the exits in the GTA, we
decided to continue on and drive up to Barrie, as I had some neat
places in my mind to stop at before continuing on to Collingwood.
I had lived in Barrie from 1994-2001, and had not really enjoyed my duration there, however there were two places that I did want to stop
at again to get some shots.
The city had grown since I was last there, which wasn't much surprise, as Barrie has always been one of the fastest growing cities in Canada.
We drove through the town and down to the harbourfront where we stopped so I could get some neat shots of the "Spiritcatcher" statue.
The statue was used in the Vancouver Expo in 1986 and was moved to the city of Barrie in 1987. More information on this statue can be found
at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_Catcher After a short visit to the statue, we continue on through the city and stopped at a very old favourite spot of mine:
Springwater Provincial Park. http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/spri.html The park is chock full of walking trails during the summer months, which provide for excellent cross-country skiing during the winter
season. A great place to picnic, or for any family outing. The park
even has it's own wildlife compound with wolves, coyote, peacocks, and
various birds of prey.
On our visit, we just had to contend with the cold and the enormous amounts of snow, which sat beautifully in clumps on the northern pines.
There wasn't anyone taking in the winter beauty of the park, which made for the coyotes and wolves to be surprised by our presence. The wolves
didn't want to have anything to do with the camera and stayed back far
enough..as well as they kept running around in circles--which made the
snapshots difficult.
The coyote wasn't as camera shy, but also wouldn't sit or stand still enough for some great shots. However I was pleased with the one good
shot of the wildlife that I did manage to get. You will see this
picture below.
And so, after a pretty (but cold) walk through the park, we decided to head back to the car, in order to get ourselves up to Collingwood in
order to check in on time for our hotel.
With two hours to kill, despite our stop to the park, we decided to drive in to Wasaga Beach to see what we could see there.
There wasn't much to see at first, as the world-famous place that is normally hopping with thousands in the summer, was quite deserted
during this time of year.
We drove around the Main Beach, and had thought about stopping at one of the only-open boutiques, however the thought of shopping at a
snow-filled beach took over, so we headed over to the liquor store
instead to provision our Valentine's evening.
Next to the liquor store was an old firehall, which captured my camera's attention. I took a few pictures of the old hall, and suddenly
the door to the hall opened, and the Chief came out asking to come
inside to get some pictures of the fire engines. Of course we obliged.
What an experience that was! While April did her PR best with her
fireman favourite Glenn, I toured the fire hall and marvelled at my
close-up and personal pics of the fire engines. I lucked out with the
photographs, and April lucked out with the PR :)
And after about an hour, our time for checking into our hotel was running out, so we headed back over to the liquor store across the
street, to grab a bottle of champagne--which was quite yummy by the way
:)
We arrived in Collingwood, shortly before 3pm, and just in time to check in.
Our first look at Georgian Manor was not appeasing at all. We were expecting to stay at some ritzy upscale resort. Turns out, that the upscale part was attached to the "motel-like" resort that we had to
stay at.
There was not one elevator, so we had to lug our luggage (hence the name of it I guess) up the stairs and to our quaint and somewhat
non-inviting room.
The bed spreads were a cheap pink flowery design which matched the curtains. The view from our private smoking deck outside the room was
also not what expected. We had a lovely view of the frozen-over pool
area, and kids playground. Quite the family-type "resort", and
certainly not the place we would pay $225 a night for. But the trip was
free, other than paying for our gas, so there was nothing really to
complain about.
However, as much as we both really dont suggest staying at Georgian Manor resort, here is their website for your entertainment:
http://www.georgianmanorresort.com Be careful of this website though, as the site does not show a single
picture of the rooms we stayed in, and only shows the timesharing
exquisite rooms that we would have had to pay extra for. That fiasco I
will get into later...
~ Nice thing was, despite receiving a "freeloading" room, we also received a $30 voucher for dinner that evening, and a $10 voucher for
breakfast the next day.
And after enjoying an amazing Sirloin Tip meal, we drove over to Blue Mountain Resort and took in the nighttime ski life at the base of Blue
Mountain. The Mountain was beautiful all lit up at night, but the
weather was freezing. We stayed long enough to get cold fingers and
some great pictures, and decided to get back to our room to enjoy our
bottle of champagne and the rest of our Valentine's evening.
Let me tell you...Spumonte Bambino and chocolate-covered strawberries...magical is right :)
~Tom
STAY TUNED for Day 2!!!..."Fishin in the Hut" Valentine's Getaway :)VALENTINE's GETAWAY
******
So how was Valentine's Day for all of you? :)
~
April and I left this past "holiday" Tuesday to go up to Collingwood Ontario for a beautiful 2 night stay, that we had actually won by chance over the phone.
We were both skeptical when we first received a call from Georgian Manor Resort, stating that we had won a 2 night stay in Collingwood.
However, after speaking with a manager over the phone, and having a guarantee of our $70 deposit on the credit card being refunded after the trip...we thought that this trip would be a fun adventure, and would provide for a great winter getaway for us.
The only catch was that we would have to listen to some hour and a half presentation of timesharing, which we were already practicing our "no's" for prior to even leaving St.Catharines.
To sum the trip up..well..it was such an amazing fun-filled two days in the north..I really can't sum it up..other than the fact that the whole trip was simply amazing, and the photographs that we took were as well.
Over the next three Blog entries, enjoy our day-to-day experiences that we enjoyed together this past week up in Collingwood, the heart of snow and ski country.
~Tom
11 febrero Fireman's ParkFIREMAN's PARK
***********
On Thursday Feb 9, I visited an old childhood romp of mine-Fireman's Park.
Many of my winters during childhood were spent here, trailblazing the hills with my snowsled, and always looking to brave the most treacherous hill within my own young teenage confidence levels.
My family and friends would join me at this neat little park for afternoon getaways, and not just during the winter. The Bruce Trail runs right through the park and circles around the lake to venture off into the woods to the north again. The rolling hills with nestled clumps of trees below them provide for many excellent romantic picnic spots. I remember also fishing here when I was a kid. I dont remember catching much from the lake, but then again, fishing just isn't about catching fish as I remember. It was about relaxing in the outdoors.
I really dont miss fishing much, I prefer to leave them in the lake myself and let someone else do that part of it. I'll just do the cooking ;)
I was going to put on a referring website to Fireman's Park, which would help towards directions and history, however I'm not able to find it.
So...if you are planning on visiting Fireman's Park and you are from Niagara Falls..figure it out yourself..I'm from here and I know where it is! ;)
If you aren't from the area, and you are coming from north of Niagara Falls, follow the QEW to Mountain Rd Exit. Go left on Mountain Rd. Watch for Dorchester Rd. Turn Left on Dorchester, and the top part of the park with the children's playset and bandshelter is on your left. Keep following Dorchester Rd over the railroad tracks. Immediately to your left past the tracks is the second parking area (treacherous in winter). Keep following the road to the third parking area (this will have you parked just above the lake). Follow the white blaze markers of the Bruce Trail across a short field to the incline down to the park and enjoy! :)
Here are the pics from my visit to Fireman's Park:
~Tom |
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