Palm Tree Dreams

After a short few nights in Toronto, we booked the Greyhound Bus to New York City. It cost us about $50 each. Not bad for the 10 hour journey!
No one looks forward to a 10 hour journey, but after traveling South-East Asia last year, we know that a 10 hour journey is definitely possible.
It's like, when your back in England and you think about having to travel 4 hours from London to somewhere like Manchester or something, you literally can't bare the thought. As if 4 hours is so excruciatingly long that you might die if you don't stop off at McDonald's every hour - but then here you are, on the other side of the world and 10/12 hour bus rides are a doddle!

So we set off and I put my chair back to try and snooze for a bit as we head to immigration boarder in Buffalo. The middle-aged lady behind me has done nothing but talk negative things about New York to the poor guy next to her and she has dug her knees into my back for the duration so far. "Your squashing the shit out of me" She taps me on the shoulder, demanding that I move my chair forward. I'm tired and ratty because I can't sleep and I'm thinking in my head, "For fuck sake." But I keep my thoughts to myself to be polite and I put it up a little bit anyway.
We get through US immigration with the usual questions 'How long are you going to be here?' 'Have you entered the US before' 'Are you traveling together?' 'Where are you heading after this?' blah blah blah We are just a normal couple traveling to New York and hitting up the Disney characters in Florida. Enough of the third-degree!

We trample back onto the bus and the immigration guard confirms with the driver 'Bus with 51 passengers?' the driver replies 'Nope now 49'

Not sure who got left behind but we overheard an immigration guard telling some lady that 'he had heard all the stories before' and she followed him into a room....Her husband trailing behind her.
The lady got back on behind me. She wasn't quick enough to sit down before me though. I quickly got on before her and lowered my chair all the way down before she got on. It propably encouraged more negativity to come out of her mouth but I thought I would take advantage of the situation, thinking Muahahaha! that's what you get for digging your knees in bitch!

The sun shone through the windows of the bus. It was about 5am and I hadn't slept at all. Maybe for about 45 minutes? Somehow, the witch behind me had slept most of the way. How she had managed it - I don't know. But I was jealous.

At 6am, we hopped off the bus. Lugging our backpacks with us. We headed to Gran Central station to get the tube to Northern Blvd. It was a little bit out of way from Manhattan. But Manhattan was a bit too pricey for us. And the YMCA Flushing NY down Northern Blvd seemed ideal for us. It was $35 a night. The cheapest we could find.
We got off a Northern Blvd. Wondering up the steps, we looked around and couldn't see much. The road stretched for ages. Little shops on each side of the road. I asked a guy selling hotdogs where we needed to go...He looked confused.
Well that can't be a good sign if he doesn't even know where it is!
He pointed to the bus stop and kind-of suggested that we get on that. I felt uneasy. I didn't know these surroundings and we stuck out like a sore thumb.

For $0.60 each we got on the bus. Dazzed by the heat and I was panicking. "I don't like this area already.'
"Chill" said Dan "It's fine"
Dan is always the relaxed person between our duo. He never worries about anything. But I worry about everything. That's one thing he would change about me. He wishes I would stop worrying.

So we sit on the bus for what seemed like an eternity until we hopped off in Korea town. It was nice. Different. Lots of animated characters everywhere and a variety of food stores and restaurants. We walked passed a police station and asked for directions "Just up there" the officer replied.
Phewww I thought.

We bumped into two girls from Switzerland who were also looking for the YMCA. It always makes me feel better when we find other travelers who are confused too. Its like we are no longer alone. No longer alone to pass the butt on who's fault it was for booking somewhere in the middle of nowhere, or who to blame for who's idea it was to get off at the wrong stop.

We checked in. The room was fine. Double bed, cable TV, shared bathroom and fridge. It smelt a bit musky and weird but it was fine for us. We were only staying for two nights so even though we were so tired and I was ratty and desperately needed sleep, we decided it was appropriate to fill up on some food and make our way around New York and see as much as we could as possible whilst staying in our budget. We got to Manhattan and made our way to the Staten Island ferry so we could go across to see the Statue of Liberty. It was free and even though we didn't go up the statue of Liberty - it was enough for us. We still got to see it. And even though it was much smaller than I imagined, it was worth a photo for Facebook.

We then rushed over to Time's square. People bustling around everywhere and beautiful girls in feather costumes were handing out flyers for various Broadway shows. Unfortunately we couldn't afford a show. But we could afford some food.
We were starving and truly tired from the traveling and sight seeing, so we headed back to the YMCA. We had a shower and headed out on a mission for food.
How hard could it be to find good food in Korea town?
We spotted a small cafe selling pizza and fried chicken. Not very oriental. But it was cheap. Cheap junk food to make us feel better and give us some energy.
The pizza was massive. The size of my head. And even though it was so big, I took it upon myself to munch down two slices which went down a treat!

For a day trip from Toronto, we took the almighty Greyhound bus to Niagara Falls. The journey was average, getting dropped off at the station and having to wonder around aimlessly trying to work out which way we had to go - the usual. The falls were brilliant. And for anyone who has seen them, they will agree.

Standing along the edge and watching the water tumble over the rocks and crash at the bottom was awesome. So much water endlessly flowing over. Never ending.

My Dad gave me his usual, helpful advise... 'Make sure you don't fall over the edge.' Because that was exactly what I had planned to do in the first place? To fall and die on my first few days of traveling?
I have already said to my parents "If I happen to die while I am traveling, you will know that I was having the best time of my life beforehand."

My Dad is a worrier. He is so sweet, caring and awful at making up jokes but I couldn't ask for a better Dad. He is always worrying about me traveling. Telling me not to go here and not to go there and don't do this and make sure I take care of that. But I believe you can travel any country for nothing to happen to you and for only good things to be enjoyed. But then, things can still happen and you only have to be in the wrong place and the wrong time. Obviously we are going to be careful. But I could walk around London and still be mugged, so whats the difference?

You know, the first man to go over the falls actually survived, only to die 15 years later after slipping on an orange peel.

For someone who hasn't yet been to Niagara Falls - you should make a trip one day. Yes, it is touristy and full of expensive souvenirs and pointless boat trips - but surely you wouldn't expect to see it any other way. Something so humungous and extraordinary isn't going to be surrounded by dust balls and empty streets, is it?

The falls are wonderful! and we had a great day!

As we pulled up outside Sherbourne House, Pam looked increasingly concerned about the area. Men walking around the streets nearby in tight shorts, dog collars and skin fitted vest tops. Not what I expected to see for my first time in Toronto, but it was the hostel we had booked. We entered the pin into the security pad on the door and called for the owner to come. Pam waited anxiously outside for us. The Chinese owner appeared and in broken English, he lead us to the room. Nice, clean and big with tv and air-con and shared bathroom. Just what we would expect for $35 a night.
We gave Pam the nod and said farewell and gave our last thanks to her as she drove off.
It was just us now. Our adventure had begun!
After hauling our heavy backpacks up three flights of stairs, we dumped our bags and headed out into the unknown. With no map or guidebook, we looked up to the buildings trying to figure out which way the CN tower was.
Bingo! There is was.... A good few kilometers away. So we began walking. We passed a variety of sex shops and gay bars on the way. Making it extremely obvious for the reason the men decided to dress the way they did. No bother to us, we continued to plod along. We found ourselves in the heart of the city and amongst shopping centres and skyscrapers. Hundreds of different people from a variety of ethnicity going about there normal everyday life. It's not called the multicultural capital for no reason.
Dan had told me about the glass floor at the top of the CN tower. Knowing how much he hated heights, I insisted that I would step on the glass and that I wasn't scared at all and I would be the hero conquering the tallest free-standing skyscraper, and he would be the loser in the corner.
We had dinner booked at the top of the CN tower inside Restaurant 360. It rotates around as you eat, giving a full view of the city. The dinner was a gift from Dan's Nan & Grandad for our engagement. And we enjoyed every second of it. The food was delicious! Dan's mum and Nan had called the restaurant to try and organize a surprise of some sort for us for our engagement and as we saw the dessert coming over to our table, a candle was placed in the middle of the ice-cream with chocolate sauce surrounding the edge, saying 'congratulations'
Very nice indeed! We savored the taste of each bite, knowing that this would most likely be the best meal we will ever have during our time traveling.

We made our way to the almighty glass floor. There is was. All clear and see-through. 'it's not that high' I thought.
Casually wondering over nearer, peering over the glass I suddenly realized I was wrong. 130 stories high was out of my comfort zone. Dan hovered in the corner away from the glass.
I decided to brave it. After about 15 minutes of hesitation, I shuffled one foot onto the glass and keeping the other on the carpet, I tried convincing myself I wasn't going to crash through it and land on the pavement at the bottom. Even if it is built to hold 14 heavy hippos, how does that make you feel better? How could they even prove that? It's not like they went and got 14 hippos into the lift and took them up there to test it! What if it did crack while I was on it?
It was fun watching families push each other on and running off screaming. Trusting this chunk of glass with their life - literally. Dan spectating in the corner still.
I did eventually manage to scooch on enough to get a photo. Quickly sitting down, dragging myself along the glass but still staying close enough to the edge, just in case.
"Just hurry up and take the photo so I can get off" I moaned to Dan. I eagerly got off once a few photos had been snapped.

In all my glory I was the hero. It may have taken a while but I did it! So there I was, all mighty and proud of myself for carrying out such an easy task. I decided to try and persuade Dan to do it. He had been to the CN tower once before. He told me that his Dad had pushed him onto the glass when he was younger, making him cry! But now it was down to me to convince him that it can indeed hold him. If it can hold ten other people scrambling around on it, it could definitely hold him.
With one foot just about on the glass, he peered over the edge looking down at the plummeting drop. He was sweating and a little bit clammy. In the corner I am watching him, trying not to laugh. I hoped he would do it so he didn't regret it. He lowered himself down onto one knee and figured it wouldn't seem as high. But no luck.

After staring down at the small ant like people, we had both had enough. Ready to get onto normal ground. Down to safety.
The ground gradually got closer and closer as we watched through the glass elevator making its way back down to normality.
A sigh of relief as we stepped out of the lift...

Pam and Jason have a lovely cottage on Kahshe lake and it can only be accessed by boat. The sun was shining and the little boat bobbed along with our backpacks and food supply for the week. It was so kind of Jason and Pam to let us stay with them. Jason immigrated to Canada from England when he was younger, so they enjoy having family visit them every once in a while.

The water rippled as we jumped out the boat and the dock rocked as we unloaded our backpacks and made our way to a choice of rooms we could stay in. All with their own character with various stickers and poster of different bird species on the wall and a poster on how to recognize different kinds of animal footprints like racoons and squirrels.
Kaylee and Nikki, Dan's cousins joined us for a few days and we spent our time catching up with each other and Dan and Jason really clicked - as usual. Everyone says they are so similar.
We spent the time at the cottage eating good food, chatting and even tried our first smore! - Roasting the marshmallow and sticking it between two cracker biscuits with a chunk of chocolate. YUM! but one smoore was enough for me! And after a bit of rustling in the recycling we spotted a racoon! he was a fat one and looked nice and cuddley! But of course, we didn't get too close to it as we didn't want to get our eyes scratched out from his long claws!
Speaking of animals, we spotted a few during our time at the cottage. The flutter of the hummingbird drinking from its drinking fountain was great. The first time I had ever seen one! No suprise, it didn't stick around long enough for us to scramble around for our camera though. Pam and Jason also had frequent visits from the chipmunks - again, the first time I had seen one of these too! They have a box of sesame seeds ready for the chipmunks. No wonder they keep coming back! After finally luring the chipmunk in with a seame seed trail, I had him eating out the palm of my hand. Only for the little bugger to bite me! Charming! It wasn't hard but it definately reminded me that we hadn't had our rabies vacinations as we refused to pay the $100 cost.

So there I was, panicking and bugging Dan, "I just got bitten by the chipmunk...oh no! what if I get rabies? "
Of course he did his normal response to my ridiculous nonsense by responding with a casual mumble, "No, you'll be fine"
"What if it had rabies?" is my response.
"You would know if it had rabies" Dan replied.
"But what if it did but we couldn't tell?"
"Shall we ask Pam and Jason what they think?" Dan smirked.
"No, No, No don't ask them" I jibbered.
So I sat worrying thinking I was going to die for about 5 minutes and then realized I was being ridiculous. Obviously the chipmunk was fine...wasn't it?

We spent 5 days relaxing and enjoying the sun. Listening to boats whizzing past the cottage and watching the leaves on the trees gradually getting red edges and changing colour for the Autumn. If only we had come a few weeks later, the leaves would be gloriously Red and Orange. A sight worth seeing.
None-the-less, this weather was perfect for kayaking. And we set off out in the wobbly kayaks around the lake. Dan winging in my ear that I'm not using the ore properly. So he decided it was easier if he sweated and huffed and puffed in the back of the kayak, doing it by himself. Obviously this suited me very much. Nice time to catch a tan.

We found ourselves getting an unusual rocking feeling whilst in the cottage. Standing on the dock so much had given us the sensation that we were still moving - when we clearly weren't. An odd and unenjoyable feeling we couldnt wait to get rid off. And of course, Jason and Pam made us feel much better with their kindness and hospitality. Pam's Cranberry salad was delicious! They even treated us to lunch for an engagement present around Muskoka Lake, which was so good!

We headed back to mainland for our final night in Gravenhurst, before heading back to Toronto. We dropped into the train station to see how much it would be for the 2 hour journey. It looked deserted, and after seeing the price, it was obvious why. $80 for a one way ticket! What a joke! Why was it so expensive? We'll never know. But we are traveling and therefore on a budget. We had to pay it regardless.

But wait!.... Pam comes to the rescue with her kindness and offers to take us to Toronto! What a doll! A true star to our piggy banks! and we can't thank them both for their hospitality!

Finally the day had come! The 8th of September 2011. After months of boring everyone to death from counting down the days, it had finally arrived! After having our bags packed for about a week prior to departure from excitement, we double checked we had everything and were ready to fly from Gatwick Airport, London to Toronto, Canada.
We said farewell to our parents and after wiping a few tears we passed through the doors and listened to the wheels of suitcases rolling along the floor. For some people, the noise of the wheels along the floor instantly makes you feel in holiday mode, and it was exactly the same or us! Except our trip would be for a little longer than the normal holiday.
The flight was with Thomas Cook Airlines and after hearing good things about Thomas Cook, with good meals and televisions onboard and good for legroom - we were disappointed to see that it was infact, no bigger than a shoe box. For me, I can make it work and the 8 hour flight is a doddle! But for Dan, he wasn't exactly jumping for joy whilst having his knees digging into the chair infront.
We hurried through to baggage collection and instantly were reminded of the heaviness that a backpack can have on your shoulders from lugging it around. We traveled South-East Asia last year for 5 months and putting the backpack on brought on good memories. Dan had a different backpack to last time. This time he had an advantage. Wheels. Which made me incredibly jealous. I wanted to be able to wheel my overpacked, heavy backpack through the terminal but I plodded along, excited to see Pam and Jason - Dan's Auntie and Uncle.
There she was - short and pretty, waiting for us in the arrival terminal. I had only met Pam once, but I instantly remembered her face. They live two hours away from Toronto, in a place called Gravenhurst, so we set off on the highway for the start of our journey...