A Myrtle Beach SC Memory

I took this picture a few years ago when we were in Myrtle Beach SC.Wish I could remember the year.Anyway,I thought that I had lost this picture but came across it today so I am very happy.

I have loved this picture since the day I took it.We didn't make it to the beach this year since we went to Canada.I have truly missed being at the ocean this year.

When we drove to Niagara Falls Canada part of the drive was on the NY Thruway which is next to Lake Erie so we got to see a few glimpses of Lake Erie.

One day while in Canada we took the drive from Niagara Falls to Toronto.The Queen Elizabeth Way is beside Lake Ontario part of the way so we got to see glimpses of it too.

Sure did miss Isle of Palms SC this year.That is where our favorite beach is located.It is a quiet family oriented beach.Maybe next summer?

Our Granddaughter's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was our granddaughter's first day of kindergarten.She rode the big yellow bus to school.She is tiny for her age.When the bus driver saw her she told Mariah to sit the seat right behind her with another little girl heading to her first day of kindergarten.

Her big brother is in the fourth grade in the intermediate school.They ride the same school bus but get dropped off at the two different schools.Our granddaughter is at the primary school which goes through 2nd grade.Her big brother is at the intermediate school which is grades 3-5.

We asked our granddaughter about her first day of kindergarten.She didn't have much to say.She went to pre-k for a couple of years so she should do OK.

Her big brother is all excited about 4th grade.His best friend is in his class:)

Lemonade Day

Today was a Lemonade Day in our small city.Our Chamber of Commerce has a special promotion that whenever the temperature reaches 90 or above free lemonade is served the next business day.This promotion has been going on since the 1930's.

We are in the mountains of southern West Virginia where we experience mild summers compared to other areas.We have had a rather warm summer as most of the country has also experienced.We have had many days near 90 but haven't had very many days at 90 or above.

Some of the days near 90 have felt warmer due to the high humidity.Last Friday it went up to 91.At a local bank I saw of reading of 108 on Friday.

Since the promotion began in the 1930's free lemonade has been given out 201 times.That's not too bad for 70 years!There have been some cooler summers where we haven't reached 90 or above so free lemonade wasn't served.

More Elephants in Natural Habitat

Here are a few more elephants in their natural habitat at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Elephant in Natural Habitat

I love this picture of an elephant in its natural habitat at the Pittsburgh Zoo.Looks like it is out in the wild.

Scenes from Pittsburgh Zoo

The top picture is a lion sleeping.The second picture is some flamingoes and the bottom picture is a tiger.

Pittsburgh Zoo

On the way back home from Canada we stopped over in Pittsburgh PA for 2 nights.We wanted to break up the long drive home.

While in the area we wanted to go to their zoo since our grandchildren were with us.Using the Navigator program on my Blackberry I asked for an easy route to the zoo.We wanted to avoid the traffic on the interstate roads.We were taken through downtown Pittsburgh which was so nice.

Downtown Pittsburgh has roads made of bricks.So very historic looking.We loved being in downtown Pittsburgh and since it was a Saturday the traffic wasn't too bad.Another area that we drove through looked to be their China Town area.It had such a nice appeal to it.

We found the zoo without any problems.Don't know what happened but the Navigator took us a different route back to our hotel.This time we were on their different interstates with a closed tunnel thrown into the mix.I have never been in such a traffic mess in all of my life.I have lived in major cities so that is saying a lot!

We wanted to do some other things in the Pittsburgh area but thanks to the tunnel being closed and the traffic mess, we decided to stay put at our hotel and leave directly from there.

I will post more zoo pictures in another post.

Another View

This is another view of the same buildings taken on the Glass Floor and Observation Level of the CN Tower.We were at 1,122 feet then.

Tall Buildings

We didn't even realize that Toronto Canada would have so many tall buildings.This is only one view of the buildings surrounding the CN Tower.

Don't even remember which level we were on when I took this picture.The brown building in the background on the right really intrigued me.

Enjoying The View of Toronto

This is our grandson Jeremy enjoying the view of Toronto.We were high up at 1,136 feet in the Horizon Cafe in the CN Tower.

Look Way Up!

This is the CN Tower in Toronto Canada.We toured it when we visited Toronto Canada on Thursday July 29th.

We bought the tour package and got to visit all of the public levels and ride the fast elevators.

The highest level is the Sky Pod.It is at 1,465 feet.What a view of Toronto from that high high up.

The Lookout level is at 1,136 feet and finally the Glass Floor and outdoor observation level is at 1,122 feet.

We ate in their Horizon Cafe which is on the Lookout Level.We had a nice view of Toronto from our window side table.

I will post a few pictures of the different views of Toronto from high up in the CN Tower.

For more information on the CN Tower go to:www.cntower.ca

A Closer View of The American Falls

This is a closer view of The American Falls that I took on one of our walks.

Enjoying Lunch at tHE Falls

Our Adventure Pass included lunch at one of their restaurants that had a nice view of The Horseshoe Falls.I took this picture from our table.Since we were a party of 5 we weren't able to get a table at the window since those tables were for parties of 4.

It was a nice lunch with a very nice view of the falls.

American Falls Buffalo NY

This is the American Falls in Buffalo NY.Didn't see any of the falls attractions on the American side.This picture was taken from the Canadian side.

Horseshoe Falls Niagara Falls Canada

This is The Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls Canada.Took this picture on one of our adventures at the falls.We did The Adventure Pass which included four different adventures:Journey Behind The Falls;The Fury;Maid of The Mist boat ride and White Water Walk.

We loved seeing the rainbow at the falls.The rainbows were always so awe inspiring.

We did Journey Behind The Falls and The Fury the first day and Maid of the Mist the second day.We had tickets to do the White Water Walk but by the time we finished with standing in line for the boat ride then standing on the boat we were all tired and hot.We decided to take the air conditioned bus ride and enjoy some of the other sites of Niagara Falls.Our granddaughter is tiny and had a hard time keeping up with all of the walking.We averaged walking 5-6 miles each day and it was quite warm.Needless to say, we didn't want to do any additional walking and stair climbing at the White Water Walk.Besides we have seen plenty of white water since we live here in West Virginia where white water rafting is very popular.

Niagara Falls Canada Fireworks

We took a vacation to Canada last week.Spent some time in both Niagara Falls and Toronto.Should have planned more time in Toronto and less in Niagara Falls.

This picture was taken of the fireworks the Sunday evening we arrived in Niagara Falls.I took the picture from our hotel balcony.

The tall structure is the Skylon Tower.