Fairly early this morning I left Pinery and headed east to see the Niagara Falls. The drive there was hot and humid, and the day was completely overcast. I first passed through Hamilton and thought it was a neat place. Lots of old brick buildings and many restaurant. I didn't stop though and soon I arrived at Niagara Falls. I was in a major tourist area and the streets were lined with restaurant, souvenir shops, crazy looking movie theatres, rides, a haunted house, and many other themed shops and buildings. It reminded me of a Disney Land type place.

    Eventually I made my way to the falls lookout points. The waterfalls were huge! Much like I expected but more spread out. Boats packed with tourists were all over in the water below. I only cared to see it though so I was there for no more than an hour.

    Next it was off to Mississauga to see my uncle Al and his wife Carol. They welcomed me in and we all sat down and enjoyed some beers. They've both been all over eastern Canada and shared a lot of place I might like. Some I'll definitely check out. We had a great meal of BBQ burgers and caesar salad. Burgers have never tasted so good!

    I'm a day ahead of schedule so I decided to stay here for an extra night than originally planned. Tomorrow Al's going to take me around the city of Toronto and possibly on a tour of the CBC building. He's retired from there.

    For now though it's nice to be in an actual bed and air conditioning. Tonight will be a good sleep.

    Last night's sleep was great and I was even able to sleep in! After breakfast, Al and I left for a tour of downtown Toronto. This city is amazing and sooo huge. Older buildings are always being re-done so the downtown core stays updated and new. We walked around and I saw where all the sports teams play, and then the waterfront along Lake Ontario.

    Then we headed into the CBC building for the grand tour. It was neat to see all the editing rooms, set design areas, studios, and just everything that's involved with what you see on TV. We even watched a live news report being done. The amount of people it takes to have an operation like that blew me away. The building was full with people and they told me not a lot was even going on at this point in time. Wow. Last thing we checked out in the building was the mobile division of the CBC. The amount of equipment they can put in a truck is pretty impressive to see. Everything they need to broadcast was in the trucks.

    Al and I were getting hungry so we went to an old place he used to go to a lot. It was called the Acme. I enjoyed a clubhouse and an "Upper Canada Lager", brewed not far away in Guelph.

    The ride back home was slow cause of heavy traffic. Al and Carol went all out for supper and we had rice, beans, and fresh salmon. I've never had much of a taste for fish but this salmon was great. Mom would be happy.     The Toronto area is lines with bike paths so after supper we all went for a ride. The temperature was perfect. We stuck mainly to the parks and walkways which proved to be a great, peaceful ride that took roughly an hour. Tomorrow will be my last day in Toronto so I'm excited to see what's in store. Something about a trail called "The Bent Rim Trail" and a nice cool waterfall. Sounds interesting.

    So my biggest goal while in the Toronto area was to get a new, much needed, hat. After searching about 3 different malls I found the perfect hat. Yay! Haha.

    Now in the early afternoon Al, Carol, and I headed to the Hilton Falls Conservation Area for a bit of biking. After hearing about the "Bent Rim" trail I was excited to do some trails like back home... at least that's what I thought. Was I ever wrong though. The trail was a double black diamond which I'm fine with, but soon I found out it was for the cross country extreme enthusiast. I didn't find a single stunt but instead an extremely rocky, up and down, grueling, mosquito heaven, trail. I walked probably 75% of the trail. Haha. After exiting the trail back to the regular easy trails I found my way to the falls. It was a really cool area with a small, 15 foot waterfall. A long time ago a water wheel/mill type building was under the waterfall but had since disappeared. Part of the rock work foundation could still be seen mixed in with a rocky cliff. The waterfall was accessible so we stood under it to cool off. It was sooo refreshing!

    After we finished biking for the day, the 3 of us went for some ice cream. Perfect for another over 30 degree C day.

    For supper tonight we had pasta with a home made sauce, Al and Carols own recipe they've been making for many years. It was amazing and easily the best past I have ever had. I wish I knew what was in it... lots of garlic, that's for sure.

    It'll be hard to leave all this great hospitality tomorrow for more tenting and canned food. But the adventure will continue. Still so many stops and countless sights lay ahead.

    Before I put the pen down for the night I do have to say how great is has been the last few days here staying with Al and Carol. They are 2 of the kindest people I've known, and until this trip I really hadn't talked to them a lot to even have an idea what they were like. I can now say that they are great people and I'm blessed to have family like them, so willing to do anything and everything they can to make me feel welcome in their home. Thank you! You always have a place to stay and a warm welcome wherever I end up in life.

    After having a big breakfast, Al and Carol left me with some leftover pasta as we said our good byes.

    They recommended I camp at Charleston Lake Provincial Park and it sounded like a great place. It's in the Canadian Shield so there are lots of rocks and pine trees. The campsites are nice and it was easy to get shade. I decided to set up the hammock to sleep in for the first time this trip since it was another warm, sunny day. Then it was down to the lake to swim in the warm and refreshing water. The lake is beautiful.

    At around supper time, thunder clouds suddenly came in and it poured down rain for a good hour or 2. The hammock was no longer the way to go so in a break between rain I set up the tent. The rain was nice though and I took the time then to walk around and explore.

    I went back to the beach were a lot of campers, age 15-28, were playing ultimate frisbee. They asked if I wanted to join and so I did. It was a blast! After, myself and some of them went back to a camp fire for some drinks and good times. The people there were: Julie, Robyn, and Melissa, all friends and regular campers. Jack (www.ledmore.net) and Frank, brothers from Connecticut. Frank is in the US military and knew a lot about Canada's government. Then there was Nancy and Bruce, parents of Jack and Frank. And finally Sue, another regular camper from Ottawa and friend of Nancy and Bruce. All of these people visit this campground every summer so that's how they know each other.

    In closing, Nancy AKA Mrs. P had a quote: "Motherly instinct prevails over everything." Drinks were involved :P.

    This morning was slow getting up. A little hung over from the night before. Haha. Non the less I packed up and said good byes to those I could find.

    Just before getting to Ottawa there were some signs that guided around the city for a more scenic approach. The trail wound around the outside of the city, then through a parkway beside a river, and finally bringing you to the Parliament buildings. I can honestly say that to this day Ottawa is the most beautiful city I have ever visited. The streets are so clean, the architecture is amazing, and the whole city is filled with nice parks and trees. It's a fitting capital for the country.

    As expected, parking cost me an arm and a leg. Haha. I explored on my bike and noticed the rain clouds from the night before were quickly disappearing. I first road along Bank St. It's filled with people, shops, and food, and eventually comes up to the massive, stone Parliament buildings. Tourists were everywhere. Close to the buildings were many galleries and museums, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Confederation building, and countless statues. There are many viewpoints within the surrounding parks. I continued riding through parks and walkways on the way back to the truck. Then I found closer parking to the Parliament buildings and walked from there for a better look.

    The day grew later and it was time to look for a campsite. About 20 minutes east of Ottawa I found Kittawa Campground. It's a seasonal site with about 300 permanent summer residencies. Most of the sites circle around a man-made lake with an island in the middle. There's also a public pool, hot tubs, a baseball diamond, and a small network of dirt trails and jumps that the local kids had made. I ran into the kids (all around age 13) and they showed me around. Hats off to them.

    Once I got back to my site, I met my neighbor Mark and a friend of his, Brian. They both work in the area on farms. I noticed that French is the first language at this place, everyone seems to be bi-lingual though. I ended up sharing a camp fire with Mark. We had some beer and chatted for most of the night. All the people here seem to be simple folk and are all extremely nice. I think the mosquitos here are just as bad as around Winnipeg.

    Not a lot has gone on today. I left Kittawa fairly early and went on my way to any campground close to Quebec City. I passed through Montreal but I'm saving stopping there till I'm heading back west. The highways through were packed with traffic.

    Eventually I found myself about 30 minutes from Quebec City at Domain de La Chute. This has been my first fully French experience. I didn't have any trouble as most of the people seem to be bi-lingual, but some aren't. I walked around the campsite first. There are a lot of permanent residence here like the last campsite, and there's a lot to do here as well. So far I've seen a pool, a man-made lake, basket ball courts, mini golf, a restaurant, and some sort of community area.

    Some sort of even was going on in the community area but I'm not to sure what. I don't understand. Like usual I went to say hello to my neighbors. 5 of them were there and only 2 spoke English. I don't think I've felt so alienated in my life because of the language barrier. I haven't heard another english person yet but it's all good. It's expected. I went for a swim and read a lot instead. I do wish I knew the language though cause French women around here are quite the sight.

    Now though a thunder storm has come in so I'm trapped in the tent waiting it out. It's only 6 so maybe something mentionable will still happen tonight. I think there might be a movie in the community area later.

    After note: So the rain stopped and a lot of people gathered around the community area to watch the French version of Finding Nemo. I'd seen it enough to know what was going on so it was still enjoyable. Because I didn't pay attention to the voices I really noticed the quality of the animation. Pixar is amazing.

    Direct sunlight at the tent woke me up early. I was packed and leaving by about 9:30 and was soon heading into Quebec City. My first stop was at the Plains of Abraham. It's a large park that was at one time a battle field long ago. It was a very scenic place with a lot of replica cannons. There were many good lookouts overlooking the St. Lawrence River showing many large cargo ships traveling. Also within the park was a huge fort carved into the mountain side with huge stone walls continuing away from the park and surrounding Old Quebec.

    Old Quebec was an amazing place. Rows and rows of narrow streets lined with restaurant and shops. All the buildings had an old style of architecture and there were countless statues and monuments everywhere. I walked along the busy streets and found my way to an open area where a street performer was doing his act. I stopped and watched him do his thing. It was a great show although I didn't understand his words. After watching this guy I noticed that street performers were everywhere.

    I was getting hungry so I was off in search of poutine to see if it was better than what I get back home. I was amazed to find a fast food place called "Chez AshTon" with a whole menu dedicated to the dish, with all kinds of variations. Mmm mmm! It was definitely better than back home.

    Satisfied I continued the journey of this beautiful city. Just outside of Old Quebec I came across a small cemetary where many hippie-like people and onlookers were gathered in a circle. Many people had all kinds of drums and were all playing together. No set rhythm or song, just going with the flow. In the middle of the circle people would go and dance however the music would take them. It was a great sight to see and hear.

    Then I went out to a different street that was filled with people. Not many shops were here but it was more of a flee market with booths lining the sidewalks. Here I bought a few gifts and watched some musicians. Quebec City seems like such a fun and cheerful place, and the majority of the people speak English and French so it's easy to get around.

    I made my way back to the truck but it was to early to leave, so instead I sat in the sun at the park and read for a bit. Of course, I also kept an eye out for the women. :P Wow!

    Then I left and found a small campsite just east of Quebec City called "Camping du fort de la Martiniere". There are only about 30 spots in total and it has a nice view of the river and hill sides.

    Soon after I set up an older French man named Daniel arrived and set up beside me. he had been biking across Canada and was on his way home to Moncton, NS. We started talking and the poor guy has had nothing but bad weather the majority of his trip. He said it was so bad that he had to take a bus a lot of the way and he never really had a chance to enjoy much of the west. He did though have good weather through Penticton. :D The rest of the night we talked about all kinds of things. One thing was how much different the culture is here in Quebec. It's hard to describe in writing but easily understood now that I'm here. One thing is that Quebec seems to be more of a social community than the other provinces I've been through.

    Also in closing for the night, if anyone who reads this ever gets into a position to do something about it, the highways need wider and cleaner shoulders for people biking. Daniel was saying how hard it is to ride in most provinces because of the bad conditions. So there, I've done my part the best I can for now.

    Bonjour, merci, salut!