Day 11: Driving to NYC

We were supposed to leave Niagara Sheraton on the Falls by 10am, but for one reason or another, we left almost 11am. When we crossed the Rainbow Bridge to the US border, we got detained for a couple of hours in immigration along with other nationals. I swear, immigration people are the most unfriendly people there are.

We left the center around 1pm and had lunch at a Denny's nearby. Ethan threw up at the restaurant while Nikki decided to bring Allison to a nearby hospital ER to treat her ear infection that has been bothering her for a few days.

We drove on ahead with dad, Cols and the kids in our Hertz Nissan Altima. I just followed the GPS from Buffalo all the way to NYC passing through the I-90, I-86 route. It was a long boring ride because there was nothing scenic at all. Just miles and miles of freeway.

We had a stopover break at Cortland to buy supplies. We arrived at Embassy Suites NYC 11pm. I tried to return the car to the nearest Hertz drop-off point, but it was already closed. So I had to pay an extra night of parking across the hotel

Day 10: Niagara Falls

We started the day with brunch at IHOP. Then dad joined us at Niagara Horseshoe Falls visitor center. We went through the "behind the falls" tour. After that, Les went to pickup the car to drive Dad home. Cols, Caitlin, Ethan and I had a long, slow walk back to the hotel.

From Niagara Falls

We watched a 4D Spongebob movie feature and had dinner at Planet Hollywood to cap the day.

Day 9: Niagara Falls

I got a very disturbing txt from Judith about an NBI raid in the middle of the night that bothered me, so I did not get much sleep I called up Elvie long distance to clarify it and put my mind at ease. I got to sleep a couple of hours then woke up around 6am to get ready for our 8:30am flight to Toronto.

The weather this morning is terribly freezing. Les' relatives drove us to the domestic airport. When I stepped out of car to get a pushcart, the wind hitting exposed skin hurt like hell. This is pretty intense compared to New England winter.

When we got to the Air Canada check-in counter, the plane was already boarding. The airline officer assisted us and rushed through security. We were able to cut several lines, but had to go through the security checks that could not be avoided. Since we were a big group, it really took time to inspect each person. So I ran ahead to the terminal gate to stall the door from closing while the rest of the party caught up. Phew! Luckily, the plane waited for us.

I slept through most of the 4 to 5 hour flight. We arrived Toronto around noon. Toronto Pearson Airport is huge. For an airport this large, its odd that push carts are not free, but you have to pay for it. Even good ol' NAIA has stopped this practice already. Its very tourist-unfriendly.

Toronto is not really part of our itinerary. Its just the closest airport to Niagara. From the airport, first stop was to look for a Chinese restaurant (groan). We used the cars' GPS and ended up at China Palace outside the airport. From there, I got to talk to my former neighbor, Alfred, who is now based in Toronto.

Les and I bought some supplies at a nearby Walmart. Then we drove through Toronto to catch a glimpse of CN Tower, then drove onwards to Niagara. We arrived at our hotel, Sheraton by the Falls, very tired and sleepy.

From Niagara Falls

Day 8: Boxing Day

Today is Boxing Day -- that's what North Americans call Dec 26, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day. Its a day for major sale in all shopping establishments here. I guess its time to mark down those items that were not sold in time for Christmas Day.

Temperature was frigid again today. After lunch at a Chinese restaurant, we drove to Polo Park. We split up to do some shopping. While Cols went with Caitlin to do their girl shopping, I was left with Ethan. We were doing fine sitting at the bench when he suddenly decided he needed to poop. And he needed to do it fast!

I begged him to hold it but he said he couldn't. So we ran off to the far-end of the mall where there was a food court. The restrooms were there. As we ran up the short flight of stairs, I tripped and pulled Ethan with me. But not time to get embarrassed as it would be more embarrassing if Ethan poops in his pants.

The mens room was closed for cleaning. Luckily they had a "family" restroom where several members of the family regardless of gender can go in together at the same time. I took Ethan there to relieve himself. Phew! Disaster averted.

We stayed at the mall until early closing time. Driving home was tough with the windshield's low visibility due to ice. Just relied on the GPS to get us back to the main road to Nikki's house. Bought KFC on the way home for dinner.

Day 7: Christmas Day

Everything's closed today. After a lazy morning opening more gifts, we decided to take the kids tobogganing (is that a correct verb?) in the afternoon. Leslie took us to Kilcona Dog Park, a popular place for this activity during winter. There were a couple of dozen other people with the same idea. The place was just white snow as far as the eyes can see. The weather was freezing but the kids were all bundled up.

Toboggan is pretty much like sledding on a small hill. As always, Ethan was fearless. He sled down the hill without concern for his safety. And as usual, Caitlin is afraid to try it out at first. But once she got the hang of it, she won't stop. The kids sled down and walked up about a dozen times. Les and I also sled with them. It was kinda fun. But having cold snow powder hit you in the face while sledding down was a bit painful.

Cols was too cold so she went back to the car to wait for us. We stayed there for about an hour until the freezing weather was getting to be unbearable. We called it a day at around 6pm and headed home.

From Toboggan

Day 6: Our First Family White Christmas Eve

Christmas party was hosted by the Ko's tonight. Nikki and Les' relatives and friends came over. As is usual in North America, it was a potluck dinner. The Nintendo Wii Just Dance was a hit with the younger crowd.

From Christmas Eve 2010

At the stroke of midnight, it was gift opening time!

From Christmas Eve 2010

Day 5: Slow Life in Winnipeg

We flew in last night from Winnipeg. Our flight was delayed by a couple of hrs. The plane arrived in Winnipeg almost 1am their time (2-hrs ahead of Vancouver). Nikki picked us up from the airport early morning. Weather here is colder than Whistler at -7C.

The Ko house is about 30 mins from the airport. By the time we settled down, it was about 3am and we all went to sleep.

Woke up near noontime. Just stayed home with Ethan and played with the snow in the front porch while Cols and Caitlin went to watch a play with Nikki and William. We lasted only about 15 mins outside and came back in. Ethan took a nap while I accompanied Leslie to pick up Claire from her day care.

It gets dark here very early in Canada during winter. It felt like nighttime by as early as 4pm. After dinner, went to a 24-hr Wal-Mart. The place was packed with Filipinos -- from customers to store attendant. I've never seen so many Pinoys gathered in one place in North America. You can hear Filipino spoken left and right.