Niagara Falls: From Shrimp to Lorikeets
22 April
We didn't arrive at the bed & breakfast until about half past seven. After getting our room key and bringing up our bags, we went out for dinner at Falls Sushi, a Japanese-Korean restaurant. John ordered a sashimi dinner; I had eel maki and a spicy soup with squid and shrimp...whole shrimp...with beady black eyes...and antennae that poked up out of the broth. (And I ate it anyway.)
After dinner, we walked down to the falls. So our first view of them was by night. It was raining, with fog so thick that our shadows fell onto its opacity. Much of the falls themselves were obscured by mist, but they were still stunning to see. By the time we'd gone by both the American and the Horseshoe Falls, however, I was cold and wet and ready to return to our room. (It didn't help that my suede boots were soaked through.)
For the trek back to the B&B, I comforted myself with thoughts of the bubble bath that awaited me there. Every step brought me that much closer to hot water and soapy foam. And a bath was the perfect way to end the first night in Niagara Falls.
I'm such a tub-slut.
23 April
This was our only full day in Canada. We began with a breakfast served by the hosts' daughter, who mistook us for a couple. That's not surprising really: we were sharing a bed, after all. (We didn't embarrass her by setting her straight.) After our meal, we set out into the drizzly morning. (It rained pretty much the whole time we were there, but at least it wasn't too heavy.)
There were two things I definitely wanted to do: visit the Niagara Falls Aviary and take the Journey Behind the Falls tour. Anything beyond that would be a bonus.
Since John likes watching (and photographing) birds, I didn't have to twist his arm too much to get him into the Aviary. That was our first stop. We walked through the small aviary, which has several kinds of small birds caged together. We were given a pamphlet with labeled pictures, so we could identify the birds we were seeing. From there we went through a series of darkened rooms, where there are a variety of caged creatures: snake, tarantula, insects, lizards, and fruit bats. (The fruit bats were so cute, climbing over one another to stuff their cheeks, squirrel-like, with chunks of apple.)
At last we made our way to the large aviary, which holds the main exhibit: Birds of the Lost Kingdom. This rocked. Birds were everywhere, flying from plant to tree. The room has ramps taking visitors through its multiple levels: you start at the top (where I bonded with a caged lory and John used my dad's binoculars to spy on a hornbill tryst) and worked our way down. There's a waterfall (where one bird was bathing, quite adorably); a few structures (arches, a small building within the room, etc.) representing the "lost kingdom"; and countless trees and plants. Highlights include the bobbing of the cockatiel, the striking vocalizations of the Australian singing crow, the bright plumage of the scarlet ibis...and, of course, the Lorikeet Haven.
There's a large cage on the bottom level of the large aviary. It houses maybe two dozen brightly-colored Australasian lorikeets, as well as a couple of aviary employees. The man working there seemed really into his job, and he told us a bit about the birds.Apparently, lorikeets are a nuisance in their native lands (yay, namesakes!): they have an all-nectar diet, so they sharpen their beaks by chewing on...well...everything else. The guy pointed out a few birds by name and told us a little bit about their personalities: his "pet" bird has a 20-30 word vocabulary and she'll perch on men, but not women.
The woman working among the lorikeets sold us small plastic cups of nectar to feed them. She instructed us to straighten our arms and hold the cups between our hands. (We were supposed to be trees.) Then she filled our cups with nectar and the lorikeets swarmed down. John and I had 5 or 6 apiece, perched on our hands to drink from the cups, and they stayed until they'd drained all the nectar.
They weren't all about the nectar, though: they also wanted to chew on our clothing. One bird landed on John's head and proceeded to peck at his hair elastic. Later, I used the button on my cuff to coax another bird onto my forearm. This one eventually relocated to my shoulder -- to nip at my collar, the straps of my overalls, more buttons....It tickled.
So yeah, the Niagara Falls Aviary was an absolute blast. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes birds. And they have a cool gift shop, where I bought postcards, a new patch for the travel-jacket, and a large Victorian-style pendant...which features a scorpion encased in glass. (Because I'm gross that way.)
And Rachel just got home, so I am going to watch a movie with her and her friend Steve. So, once again, this is:
To Be Continued...
We didn't arrive at the bed & breakfast until about half past seven. After getting our room key and bringing up our bags, we went out for dinner at Falls Sushi, a Japanese-Korean restaurant. John ordered a sashimi dinner; I had eel maki and a spicy soup with squid and shrimp...whole shrimp...with beady black eyes...and antennae that poked up out of the broth. (And I ate it anyway.)
After dinner, we walked down to the falls. So our first view of them was by night. It was raining, with fog so thick that our shadows fell onto its opacity. Much of the falls themselves were obscured by mist, but they were still stunning to see. By the time we'd gone by both the American and the Horseshoe Falls, however, I was cold and wet and ready to return to our room. (It didn't help that my suede boots were soaked through.)
For the trek back to the B&B, I comforted myself with thoughts of the bubble bath that awaited me there. Every step brought me that much closer to hot water and soapy foam. And a bath was the perfect way to end the first night in Niagara Falls.
I'm such a tub-slut.
23 April
This was our only full day in Canada. We began with a breakfast served by the hosts' daughter, who mistook us for a couple. That's not surprising really: we were sharing a bed, after all. (We didn't embarrass her by setting her straight.) After our meal, we set out into the drizzly morning. (It rained pretty much the whole time we were there, but at least it wasn't too heavy.)
There were two things I definitely wanted to do: visit the Niagara Falls Aviary and take the Journey Behind the Falls tour. Anything beyond that would be a bonus.
Since John likes watching (and photographing) birds, I didn't have to twist his arm too much to get him into the Aviary. That was our first stop. We walked through the small aviary, which has several kinds of small birds caged together. We were given a pamphlet with labeled pictures, so we could identify the birds we were seeing. From there we went through a series of darkened rooms, where there are a variety of caged creatures: snake, tarantula, insects, lizards, and fruit bats. (The fruit bats were so cute, climbing over one another to stuff their cheeks, squirrel-like, with chunks of apple.)
At last we made our way to the large aviary, which holds the main exhibit: Birds of the Lost Kingdom. This rocked. Birds were everywhere, flying from plant to tree. The room has ramps taking visitors through its multiple levels: you start at the top (where I bonded with a caged lory and John used my dad's binoculars to spy on a hornbill tryst) and worked our way down. There's a waterfall (where one bird was bathing, quite adorably); a few structures (arches, a small building within the room, etc.) representing the "lost kingdom"; and countless trees and plants. Highlights include the bobbing of the cockatiel, the striking vocalizations of the Australian singing crow, the bright plumage of the scarlet ibis...and, of course, the Lorikeet Haven.
There's a large cage on the bottom level of the large aviary. It houses maybe two dozen brightly-colored Australasian lorikeets, as well as a couple of aviary employees. The man working there seemed really into his job, and he told us a bit about the birds.Apparently, lorikeets are a nuisance in their native lands (yay, namesakes!): they have an all-nectar diet, so they sharpen their beaks by chewing on...well...everything else. The guy pointed out a few birds by name and told us a little bit about their personalities: his "pet" bird has a 20-30 word vocabulary and she'll perch on men, but not women.
The woman working among the lorikeets sold us small plastic cups of nectar to feed them. She instructed us to straighten our arms and hold the cups between our hands. (We were supposed to be trees.) Then she filled our cups with nectar and the lorikeets swarmed down. John and I had 5 or 6 apiece, perched on our hands to drink from the cups, and they stayed until they'd drained all the nectar.
They weren't all about the nectar, though: they also wanted to chew on our clothing. One bird landed on John's head and proceeded to peck at his hair elastic. Later, I used the button on my cuff to coax another bird onto my forearm. This one eventually relocated to my shoulder -- to nip at my collar, the straps of my overalls, more buttons....It tickled.
So yeah, the Niagara Falls Aviary was an absolute blast. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes birds. And they have a cool gift shop, where I bought postcards, a new patch for the travel-jacket, and a large Victorian-style pendant...which features a scorpion encased in glass. (Because I'm gross that way.)
And Rachel just got home, so I am going to watch a movie with her and her friend Steve. So, once again, this is:
To Be Continued...