Niagara Falls - Journey Behind the Falls

One of our first Niagara activities was to do the "Journey Behind the Falls." We took an elevator down 150 feet and then walked through tunnels to the two viewing portals behind the falls. Then we were able to go to two viewing platforms near the base of the falls. It was pretty amazing to be that close!

Top of Horseshoe Falls

Behind the Falls

Tigers vs. Blue Jays

On Thursday night, we went to the Tigers vs Blue Jays game. We had great seats - first row in the upper deck behind home plate. The weather was great so the roof was open. Alex actually stayed awake for the entire game and both boys sat through the entire game.  We had very friendly "neighbors" on either side of us and the boys kept them entertained.  5 Stadiums down... 25 to go!

View of the CN Tower from our seats

Great spot to watch a game

Hockey Hall of Fame - Official Videos

Here are the links to the HHoF recordings of the shoot out and shut out games. It is kind of fun to see what the boys were seeing in the goalie game! 

 Alex's Shut Out Video

Will's Shoot Out

Alex's Shoot Out

Hockey Hall of Fame

On Thursday morning, we walked over to the Hockey Hall of Fame. We were all very impressed. We went up to the Stanley Cup right away and the boys were able to get their pictures taken with it. Then we looked at all the other trophies and had fun looking for all the Red Wings' players. Then we moved down to the international area that showed hockey gear from teams around the world. The boys' favorite part was the interactive games. They were able to grab a stick and try to score on a full sized EA Sports goalie. They also put on goalie pads and tried to stop the puck in a shoot out. We took a quick break for lunch, but probably spent 3.5 hours exploring. Then we had to visit the gift shop for the boys to pick out their souvenirs: A Red Wings Puck and HHoF sweatshirt for Alex and a Red Wings Puck and Red Wings Clock for Will.

Outside the Hockey Hall of Fame

The Cup!

Hall of Champions

Toronto Fun

On Tuesday, we started our Canadian adventure by driving to Detroit for the night. On Wednesday morning, we were on the road by 7am and arrived in Toronto by 11:30 or so. We were staying at the Renaissance hotel attached to the Rogers Center. It was such a fun hotel to stay at! We didn't spring for a room overlooking the field but did watch batting practice from the bar in the lobby. Our room overlooked a set of 9+ train tracks which kept the boys entertained whenever we were in the room. On our first day, we explored a little and had lunch. The boys went swimming in the hotel pool and we discovered "Roundhouse Park" which had an old roundhouse, turntable, miniature train track and a lot of engines and cabooses the kids could climb on. The boys were very happy! On Wednesday night, we went to dinner at Medieval Times. The boys didn't appreciate the food, however, they did get into the show.

Happy 4th of July!

We had a very fun long Fourth of July weekend. On the 2nd, we were invited to our friends' house for a cookout: smoked ribs, brisket, turkey, and pork... yum! The kids had fun playing in the bounce house, on the zip line, and had a heated soccer game. After dark, they lit off fireworks in the cup-de-sac. On the 3rd, we went to South Haven to spend the day at the beach. The boys had a lot of fun even though the water was still pretty chilly. When we got home, our neighbors invited us for s'mores and more fireworks on our street. On the 4th, we wished Phil a very happy birthday. Then we drove up to East Grand Rapids for the parade, festivities at the lake, and fireworks.

Will's Favorite Tree on Pinecrest

Botanical Gardens

The botanical gardens are always so beautiful and so much fun!

Top of the Japanese Garden

"Mad Mom"