Thursday, October 19, 2017

Fall Trip 2017 - Burlington, ON


This year we sort of decided to go for a fall trip in a very sort notice. Initially our plan was to go to Midland, Ontario but a few days before the trip as we checked on the weather it appeared that Midland would get a lot of rain during the weekend when we were planning to visit. After a little research I found that in the Burlington area the weather would be slightly better with little to no rain. So, we decided to change the venue to Burlington. We were five families with ten kids of various ages. Change in venue had a slight discouraging effect but not enough to ruin our excitement.
Burlington was only an hour drive from our homes. Interestingly, even after living so close for over a decade most of us had never visited Burlington before. It is a beautiful small city by the lake Ontario and very rich in natural beauty with abundance of woods and hills. 
Our trip in pictures.

                           
Motel 6, Burlington
                           
In front of the motel
Spencer Smith Park, Burlington







colorful lighting starts at dusk





A snapshot of the downtown from the entrance of Spencer Smith park
City center
Mount Nemo Conservation area hiking trail map
Due to warmer fall, leaf color change has been slow. But in Mount Nemo we still saw some good color.  


Look out point, Mount Nemo (close to 1000 feet above sea level)







Deep cave with narrow mouth




The Quarry


 Smokey Hollow gorge, Hamilton



Four of our teenage boys ventured behind the waterfall
On our way to Niagara-on-the-Lake we had to stop for a while to allow a ship to pass
Niagara-on-the-Lake- one of many grapevines

Niagara-on-the-Lake Heritage District
It was a rainy evening and there was hardly anybody on the sidewalks
















Sunday, October 8, 2017

Mosai Canada 150, Gatineau

MosaïCanada 150/Gatineau 2017 is a spectacular horticultural celebration celebrating the art of mosaiculture (a process of creating designs out of flower beds) and a tribute to Canada's 150 years of history. It has been the signature event of the 150th anniversary celebration of the Confederation of Canada.
Canada's 10 provinces and 3 territories, as well as First Nations of Québec and Labrador, and also the Chinese cities Shanghai and Beijing united to present many masterful and delightful works over five historical sectors stretching over a kilometer.  
The free event taking place at Jacques Cartier Park, Gatineau, Québec from June 30 to October 15, 2017 – for 107 days and has been the biggest horticultural event in Canada.
Mosaiculture is a most spectacular horticultural technique that combines the following different art forms:

  • sculpture for the structure,
  • paint for the palette of colors, and
  • horticulture as the means of creating living and changing artworks with plants.