LAST DAY IN CANADA!

Ok, so this is like totallllly embarassing that I still have not finished this vacation blog about Canada. However, the end is near. This is the last day. Shall we get it over with?


It's a running joke with my family and closest friends how I look/act when I first wake up or if I am made to wake up when I don't want to. And, it's even worse, if coffee is not within very quick reach of my hands. This is me before I got the coffee in. It gives you a little idea. I hope you can see my face, because my legs are so white they are putting off a glare.


Once the caffeine started to absorb, we boarded a bus to see the biggest bird aviary in the world! Yay! Y'all know I am the crazy bird lady! Here we are looking too cool for school.

If you look closely, you can see SOMEONE taking a picture of us in the driver's mirror. If you look extra close, you will notice that said driver is not amused.

They had an old typewriter in the aviary. Why? I have no clue. I guess people like to type things about birds from time to time. Like right now! Haha! Ok, that was not funny. Anyway, Will couldn't resist the urge to type out a quick Clemson story. Sigh.

Then, we saw this! Yes, THIS! I mean, SERIOUSLY?! This was supposed to be about birds! Do they feed these to the birds or something? UGH!!!

We got lost a little and ended up in the deepest part of the jungle. I wasn't even scared. Will was. See his face.

We spotted this bird taking a bird bath under a waterfall and I watched him for a long time. He was just about cute. He must have been very dirty, because he took a looooong bath!

Here I am trying to be artistic with photography. "Will, take my picture through this waterfall!"

Ok, so check out the bottom left corner. My friend is still taking a bath with me right there. He wasn't embarassed or anything!

He wanted to get reallllly clean. I mean, he wasn't even playing. This shower was serious business. I named him Sudsy.

Look closely, he's still there!

Next, we had a chance to feed some lorakeets. Will said, and I quote, "I am not getting bird crap in my hair!" Wimp. I was ALL over it. Yes, I want to feed the birds. Here's my quarter, give me a cup of that nectar! Then, um, waaaaaait. You didn't say they were ALL going to attack me! Why are they all on me? There are OTHER people in here!

Ok, breathing, breathing. Not liking the one on my head. He needs to leave. Excuse me, bird, when was your last BM? You need a diaper, a depends, a foley cath perhaps?

Ok, he left my head and left me a nice curl. I guess he's into styling hair. I wonder if he stole some to put in his nest and it's still there right now! Ok, what's up with this one trying to pull the gold things off my shirt, while both my hands are tied up? Helpless.

Ok, I'm down to one bird now. I'm going to try to train him a little. Here he is still trying to bite my ear. They do bite pretty hard, by the way.

Now, we are talking about trust. I am explaining that I can touch his head without hurting him and he is explaining that he will keep his beak on my wrist just in case I do something he doesn't like.

Now, we have really advanced. We are learning the most basic bird command, "Step up!" He learned it quick.

He's getting more comfortable, and I'm getting ready to perform the ultimate birdie comfort tester. If a bird will let you flip him on his back, he trusts you completely. It looks easy in these pictures, but I actually worked with him a while.

And, here we go! Flip! He's calm. I'm letting him know he's ok.

And look at him now! Awwww! Sweetest thing ever! He had his little head tucked in my arm, which means he thinks I am gonna stand there and hold him like that while he sleeps. I didn't want to leave him, but they wouldn't let me take him. Who do they think they are anyway? That's MY bird. Ugh.

After my teary good bye with MY bird, we headed to a place that made me smile! The Hershey store!

Wow, those Kisses sure are heavy! I didn't care. It would be my carry on for the plane! Haha!

If you hug this Kiss, and realize how big his belly is, it makes you want to eat less Kisses!

Decisions, decisions. Which one do you think he chose?

Next, we decided to try on hats and make fools of ourselves. Will went all out with his hat and decided to perform some MJ moves right there in the store.

I really liked this hat. I wonder why I didn't buy it? Now I want it! Checking flights...

Our final dinner was at a restaurant that revolved slowly. Very slowly. But, I still took Dramamine just in case. It allowed for 360 degree panoramic views and it was very nice.

After dinner with the gorgeous views, we headed to watch the fireworks fall side. They were beautiful. I wasn't able to capture a picture to do them justice.

We rested up for our travel home. It was sad to take final pictures in front of the falls.

This is our ride to the airport. Same as when we came in, they cost the same as a cab. This was my first ride in a limo, but I was so exhausted, I'm not sure I fully enjoyed it.

Here's Will messing with stuff. Such a man.

He looks like he is really enjoying the ride here. LOL! If you're wondering what's in the red box, it's those wax hands. We had to bring them as a carry on and Will said not so nice to words to them...a lot.

I fell asleep...on my stomach! I mean, I am seriously glad that I was on my back when he decided to take this. I slept most of the ride actually. Of course, I had my flip flops on. Very classy limo attire.

Will pushing stuff he shouldn't have been pushing. Again, such a man!

And, here we are...at the border. A little nervous as we were asked the same questions as when we entered. But, the funny thing is when the officer asked Will what we bought, Will said some food. We did NOT buy any food. Then I started laughing really hard and it was just a scene. We also had to explain the wax hands. They must be used to seeing them though, because he didn't act as if they were a big deal.

And, finally, back in the good 'ol USA! The End! Phew!

UM....DAY.....UM...NO IDEA!

Ok, so reading this blog will take some imagination on your part. Not only did I forget which day this took place...it wasn't day 5....I also posted the pictures from the day in reverse order. You'll have to put your mind in a backwards state and I guess I will have to see if I'm smart enough to write it backwards. :-)

This was our final picture of whatever night this was...lol. We were in a beautiful building on a very high floor that overlooked the falls. There were lots of places to sit and hang out. The picture below was in a little side room that had its own little fireplace, couches, and curtains. I guess it was supposed to be all lovey-dovey like and stuff. :-)



This was outside on the balcony. It was such a beautiful night. We enjoyed the view immensely.

This is Will looking very guilty. Right?

The picture below is after a meal we had in a little village type place called Niagara on the Lake--NOTL. It was a beautiful little town. We had to take a cab to get there. We also walked to the restaurant below from the lake and it was at least two miles. When we finally arrived, I demanded a pitcher of water and drank it like I hadn't seen water in months!

We sat by a group of about 10 that were celebrating a birthday. They were a RIOT! They included us in much of their conversation and insisted on taking pictures of us, because "we were just the cutest little things with our southern accents."

They wanted to take this one too after they saw our coffee and cookies.

I was worried about what I would eat after I saw the menu. Cause I'm a little picky like that. But, they had half sizes on their menu AND steak. My kind of deal. Isn't my meal beautiful. I didn't leave a bite.

Will wasn't worried about what to pick and probably just selected the first thing he saw so he wouldn't have to read the menu. He got lamb, if my memory is correct.

Do I look worried? This menu was so weird. It even had cotton candy as a choice. I kid you not. I seriously considered getting that.

What is this foreign object?

This picture makes me laugh until I hurt. I mean, really laugh. Do I or do I not look like a crazy naked lady in the park??? Bahahahaha! I promise I am wearing clothes. Promise. And, I was very seriously trying to explain to Will that these berries can't be eaten and I hope little kids don't try to eat them.
This is Will being a tree hugger. :-)

I'm quite proud of the locust shell I found on the tree above. As a kid, I used to get very excited over them. Grandaddy, if you are reading this...Remember how many we used to find on the tree in your front yard? There were always a lot!

"Will, take my picture as if I suddenly popped out from behind this tree and you caught it on camera!"

This is Will's supermodel pose by the lake. It was a beautiful place. Very peaceful.

Two sweaty people...it was a lovely place, but very hot. I considered jumping in the lake.

My supermodel pose! Haha!

We asked two ladies to take a picture of us in the gazebo. They took it waaaay too seriously. They took a million pictures! They wanted it perfect and I wanted to...well...hurt them a little

This is in the heart of the village. Lots of shopping. Did you notice my belt changed? I bought the green scarf at one of the little shops.

Getting ready to go out, but not wanting to leave the view...

Day 5....the last day....to follow soon.

VACA--DAY FOUR

Ok, so three months later…day 4. :-)

We got up and dressed pretty quickly, ready to conquer the day.

We walked around a bit, and I met the tall fella in the picture below. He called me short. I called him freaky. Then we made up and he invited me to sit in his chair a while.

We had an early lunch at Rainforest Café. Will had never been to one. It’s one of those theme type places that grossly overcharges for the food, but I think they are cute. You eat in a jungle like setting, complete with random thunderstorms. There are mechanical jungle animals, waterfalls, overhead vines, etc. The food is pretty good as well. I got some type of pasta and Will had ribs.

Next, we headed to a place called White Water Walk that allows you to walk along side some rapids. Some very intense rapids. The ride to the location, as well as the wait in line, was torturous. It was SO hot.

The long line led to a tiny elevator. I mean, tiny. They crammed us in there like sardines. Will and I were both pretty grouchy at this point. But, we later discovered the aggravation was worth it.

Here I am, walking through some tunnel we had to go through to get to the water. Adventure time!

The water, the cliffs, the intensity of the rapids…all worth it. It was very peaceful to walk along the trail and just stare into the water. One gross thing…at the end of the walkway was a gum wall. People just put their gum there and it’s gross. My cousins and I had a gum tree when we were little. I wonder if it’s still there. Kristy?

We were supposed to go horseback riding next, but we received a call that it was too hot to take the horses out that day. We were disappointed, but of course wouldn’t want the horses to suffer either.We killed some time just walking around and seeing the sights until it was time to get ready for dinner.

This is a little incline railway that we had to ride to get to higher ground.

We ate at a place called Sandstone Grille. For some reason, the owner took a liking to us. He chatted with us for a long time and made sure we were well taken care of. The food was very good.

On the way back home, we ventured into a wax museum. Picture it…Will…Cindy…wax museum. Yeah, it was a little crazy in there. We had a good time.

We even had a wax figure made of our hands. People, it HURT. I mean, I was dancing and my pain tolerance is very high. They first dip your hands in warm wax. No problem. Felt good. But then…they PLUNGE your hands into freezing, freezing, freezing water and force you to hold them there. It felt like what getting stung by 1,000 jellyfish might feel like. I was jumping around trying to hold my hand still and this lady was just not letting go of my arm. It was a sight. I wanted to hit her. Here's the end result...sweet, right?

One final stop by the falls and then we called it a day.

CALLED OUT BY MY SISTER

So, my slackness regarding this blog has been pubicly called out...by my own sister. I, Cindy, promise to try much harder to update this blog more often. And, as an apology to Kelli, I will post one of her Mr. Clean pictures.