Leaving Owen Sound, I embarked on a journey toward Kitchener, Ontario. Although I had frequently traveled from Owen Sound to Guelph, this was my first time passing through Kitchener. Road construction led me on a more scenic route, which turned out to be a delightful detour. I found myself deep in Ontario’s dairy country, surrounded by expansive farms, red barns, lush grazing lands, and meticulously maintained fence rows. The landscape was so captivating that I couldn’t resist stopping to take a series of photos.
Upon reaching Kitchener, I visited one of Myles’s relatives who now resides in an assisted living facility. Before that, I enjoyed lunch near the famous Kitchener Market, though the market itself isn’t technically in Kitchener. I chose a restaurant with the memorable name The Crazy Canuck and indulged in poutine, a Canadian classic. The dish was both delicious and generous enough to serve as dinner as well, all at a very reasonable price.
After an overnight stay, I continued to Brampton, Ontario, a suburb close to Toronto, where I spent a couple of days with Myles’s brother, Dean. The resemblance between Dean and Myles was striking—not only in appearance and voice but also in personality. Since Myles was adopted, they weren’t raised together, making the similarities even more remarkable. It was a living example of nature versus nurture and the strength of genetics.
During my stay, I also did some Canadian food shopping. Those who know me well understand that I never leave Canada without replenishing certain foods, and this trip was no exception—I returned home with bags full.
The highlight of my visit was when Dean and Loretta took me into downtown Toronto. I wanted a good photo of the skyline, and Loretta seemed to have an instinct for the perfect spot. She navigated us to an industrial park, where we found ourselves alongside a tour bus whose passengers had stopped for the same reason. It was clearly a hidden gem for photographers. Despite the smoky skies from wildfires out west, I captured some great shots, which cleaned up beautifully with a bit of editing software.
Driving around Toronto reminded me of the intensity of Canadian highways. If you’ve ever seen Heavy Rescue 401, you’ll recognize its tagline: “On the busiest highways in North America.” Let me tell you—it’s absolutely true. Between the 401, the 405, and the 407, it felt more like Los Angeles than Canada. You don’t realize how concentrated the population is in the Toronto metro area until you’re in the middle of it.
My visit with Dean and Loretta was too short, but I needed to move on—I had a Labor Day party ahead and, of course, Niagara Falls. Crossing the border was mostly smooth. The Queenston–Lewiston Bridge was easy, while the Rainbow Bridge proved a bit trickier. I took Sunday off to catch up on online work, knowing Niagara Falls would be packed on Saturday. Sunday turned out gray and dreary, but I set out anyway.
Niagara Falls holds a lot of personal history for me and Myles. It was one of his favorite places, and during the years he lived in Hamilton and the family was in Ambridge, we often met in Niagara Falls while commuting back and forth. Visiting again brought back those memories. I even stopped at Falls View Elementary School, where Myles once taught for a year and a half. The building is now an assisted-living facility, but traces of the old school remain, and former students have kept its memory alive online.
I also hunted for my traditional souvenirs and stumbled upon a little gift shop on Lundy’s Lane. It had good parking—something hard to come by near the Falls—and a quirky mix of typical tourist fare. The owner struck up a conversation after first checking to see if I was using his lot to eat lunch from a local burger joint. Once I explained I’d be shopping, he was apologetic, and we ended up chatting about his ongoing parking struggles with a neighboring barbecue restaurant. I couldn’t blame him—free, accessible parking was part of his store’s appeal. Inside, the shop was filled with treasures, including t-shirts that made me laugh out loud.
We had some rain and a lot of clouds during my 5 days in the Falls area. But one day was a spectacular day and I got some great shots of the reason the falls are often called the Rainbow Falls. The mist was heavy enough, it might have been raining. I had done the Maid of the Mist and the Walk behind the Falls so I just wandered around the Canadian Falls and mingled with the mass number of visitors, most of them International Visitors as most US schools had already returned to classes.
I went up the Niagara Parkway with my first stop at the Floral Clock and then I proceeded to the Botanical Gardens of Falls. There was a Butterfly Conservatory there and so while I have just recently posted butterfly pictures, I thought there were a couple of better ones in this collection.
The Gardens were beautiful. It was the height of floral season and the flowers were in full bloom and the gardens were just stunning. The Gardens were separated into different sections including an Ornamental Shrub Garden, a Rose Garden, a vegetable garden, and a wildflower field. It was free and stunning. How much better does that get?
From there, I made my way to Niagara-on-the-Lake, about twenty miles north of the Falls. The town, home of the Shaw Festival founded by Adrian Pecknold, is where Myles first received his theatrical training. Niagara-on-the-Lake is one of the most beautiful towns on the continent, and I arrived at just the right time of year to see it at its best. The foliage was spectacular, the streetscapes charming, and I revisited old favorites like the Prince of Wales Hotel, where Myles and I used to sit on the sidewalk, order drinks, and share tapas—the first place I’d ever even heard of them.
As I was leaving Niagara-on-the-Lake, I wandered towards St. Catherines’ and Thorold and went right by the Welland Canal with a ship coming through. This Canal is essential to the travel on the Great Lakes Seaway as it has the largest vertical elevation change on the entire seaway from the Atlantic to Lake Superior.
Before I left the area, I rode the Niagara Parkway south where the river rapids flow and where water is diverted to generate power for both countries. There is a treaty that guarantees how much water will go over the falls at different times of the year and times of the day. There is a diverter in the middle of the river, which can be seen in the river up from the falls. There is a barge, called the Niagara Scow, which shipwrecked in the upper falls in 1918. I seem to always want to take a picture of it even though it is just a fixture of the scenery now.
There are power plants on both sides of the Falls. There was no place to take a picture of the US Side although I passed it several times. But the Canadian side was very visible and the power lines were everywhere!
After eleven days in Canada, my camera was full of photos, my car full of food and souvenirs, and my heart full of memories. Though I was tired of battling a 2GB data limit that kept me from easily editing or sharing photos in the moment, I knew I’d return home with plenty to relive and reflect on.