butterfly conservatory

today we had the opportunity to visit the

niagara butterfly conservatory on the

canadian side of the river.

what an experience, they also had posionious frogs

inclosed in their own space of course, they should have had

them out where the kids could touch them

we also went on the areo car the thing has been in operation since

august of 1918 they claim that there have

never had any operational problems

just video today

these are a few of the videos i took using a camera

inside of a baggie. they in no was show what a great time

we had, they took us through the rapids at least

5 times and then a trip up to the whirlpool area of the

lower niagara river.

today we also went on the maid of the mist and the

cave of the winds.

look who i found

look who i found (inside joke)

the american falls at night

(as if you couldn't tell it was dark)

the horseshoe falls with colors

today we took a drive up to toronto to get

some hard rock tees for rose marie's collection.

was a neat town to get stuck in traffic in, although

it may have been our fault for being there at 5pm with a

blue jay's game taking place at the same place that one

of the hard rock restaurants were

first views of niagra falls

the famed niagra river whirlpool

the areo-car that runs across the whirlpool the maid of the mist taken from the walking bridge across to canada the us falls from the canadian side we have booked a ride on the whirlpool jet boat for thursday we plan on going on the maid of the mist, cave of the winds and behind the falls

a mormon kind of day

the smith family (parents of joseph) log home with 8 children

the smith family (parents of joseph) frame home

the sacred grove at the smith farm in palmyra, ny from the top of hill cumorah

the moroni monument at the top of hill cumorah

some canadian wild life

today we went over to canada and down to kingston

to a home where the first prim mininister lived.

they had a beautiful flower garden as well

as black squirrels and spiders

tomorrow is moving day, down to niagra falls.

antique boat day

the lighthouse in cape vincent

the spider in the lighthouse, keeping the bugs down from the toy section of the clayton antique boat museum http://www.abm.org if anyone is looking for a birthday present for me these are miniature electric outboard boat motors

or if you have a whole lot of cash to waste these are beautiful full size versions of restored antiques

the photos below are from the bolt houseboat

yes this is the same bolt that built the castle and then abandoned it when his wife passed away

a piece of stained glass on the houseboat

notice the initial b inside the heart with

the stagg standing on top

a piece of the dinner ware from bolt's houseboat,

d o

today we went on a boat tour of the 1000 island area around

the alexandria bay area of the st. lawerance river

the window above is the stained glass sky light in the bolt castle

it is located on the 4th floor celing and can be seen from

the entrance hall if you look up, this one was taken

from the 3rd floor

this is a shot of the outside of the bolt castle

you can see the pile of granite in the foreground

is left from when mr bolt telegrahamed and had

the work haulted after the death of his wife.

he never allowed any person to including his children

to step foot on the island again

the home with it's 128 rooms sat abandoned and for 70 some years

until the bridge athority acquired it in the 70's and

started to restore the property.

this is a shot of the interior of the home,

the upper floors still look alot like this, seventy some years

of vandals and weather make a mess.

a shot from one of the 4th floor terraces, looking

towards the roof of the home

this is one of the 1800 plus islands with homes on them

to qualify as an island the peice of ground must remain above

the water 365 days of the year and have at least 1 tree and some other

kind of form of plant life.

a long day on the road

yesterday was a long haul, we didn't get an early start

and then we had to stop and check out maple grove farms

for those of you who are fans of maple you will reconise the lable

this is the front of the main building in st. johnsbury vermont

a little unassuming for the largest producer of maple syrup

and maple candy in the country

needs no explaination

or this one either and these are the folks that make it we are in clayton, ny now and are planning a trip to a couple of historic homes in the area and taking a boat tour around the 1000 islands area of the st. lawerance river (you have to take a boat to both of the houses)

well after a great stay in maine we are on the road again

as you can see, week seems to still be enjoying the trip,

or she is at least tolorating it

part of a hydro-electric plant in new hampshire and a parting shot of maine. we made it to st. johnsbury vermont yesterday and are camped on the banks of moose creek. the heat was intense yesterday, in the mid 90's so i thought i would go soak my feet in the creek but it was like luke-warm bath water so that didn't last long, as you can see from the post time it is a little early for me, week needed to go out and she has become fairly vocal about what she wants, (i guess you can tell who wears the pants in this family)