Canada Trip, Day 5
August 6, 2008

Well, the trip is in the books and we are back at home. Time for the final day blog which is mostly traveling. We did take the opportunity to stop first at the Ontario Museum of Science, and we spent about 3 hours here. We only got about one-third the way through, as there is just way to much to see.

Think of this place as "COSI, Canadian Style". Three stories, below ground, we started on the bottom deck. We visited the communication hall, the human body, mission to mars, the scientists arcade, and on and on and on. Here are some photo highlights of the day:

Zac made a tornado, and then reached out and changed its direction dynamically. They all three were doing it, but you know how well siblings work together!

In honor of the Olympics starting, they had many different sport type displays (Kayla jumping from the balance beam in the first photo). Here, Kierstyn is wheel chair racing her sister (and lost), and they were trying to figure out if the arms where as fast as the legs!

Kayla stops for a pose in the rain forest. We learned how important these forests are to our planet, and what will happen if we don't try and save them now!

Grandpa Jim should be familiar with this wheel... So will those that have taken his physics class! Rather then sitting in the swivel chair, Zac is standing on a swivel base. No mouse trap cars were found...

One of the scientists in the 14+ lab (shhh, don't tell them the kids were too young) stopped by and made Zac an honorary scientist. He felt Zac was out numbered by his female siblings, and needed the power of the lab coat, badge and keys. Kayla didn't like the power struggle that was about to begin, so she quickly found the nearest female security guard to help. Turns out the guards have more keys than the scientists!!

Kierstyn tried to power a radio with pedal power!

Actually, they all three tried it. Two radios, and one set of light bulbs. No one got the light bulbs to light, but I think they were just burnt out, and nobody knew that. They did pedal awful hard to try and get it going!

Best was the video screen that was powered by the legs. If they got going fast enough, the TV screen would come on and the camera would show themselves. This would be a perfect way to stay in shape with as much TV that they watch!

These last two pictures are just great! I missed the opportunity to takes Zac's result, but here is the story... The scientists have developed software to help them see what people will look like when the age. They took the kids' pictures, and then entered various variables about their gender, race and current age. They mapped them to a similar face with aging characteristics, and we could then watch them age from 9 to 72! When they were in their mid thirties, they strangely looked like their Aunt Jamie!

After they reached aged 72, they showed what they would look like if they smoked their whole life, and if they went into the sun without protection. I don't think these girls will be smoking anytime soon!!

Well, that's about it for the trip! We left the science museum around 3PM, and drove on the parking lot (QEW 401) for way too long. We finally got back to the USA at 9:01 PM, only to find a detour through Detroit. I think I found my pillow sometime after 1AM. Oh well, back to the real world now!

Thanks for sharing in our vacation!

LPDE Roller Hockey


Just before we left for vacation, I submitted some information to the editor of the Wapakoneta Daily News about the Lima Police Departments Exchange Club's Roller Hockey Championship games last weekend (Aug 2-3). While we were gone, this picture and caption appeared in the print edition of the WDN.


Thanks WDN for giving our kids a spot! And above the fold on page one of the sports section too!


I gave them some copy for the Division A/B (Bailey) and Division C (Zac and Austin) championship games, and I will re-post those below:

The white team, is division C (The Sharks), and has kids from ages 11-13. The Sharks were seeded third out of the four teams, and beat the number two seeded Penguins for a shot against the undefeated Predators today. They nearly pulled off the upset, by keeping the game scoreless after two very competitive periods. Finally, the heat and exhaustion lead to a defensive breakdown in which the Sharks gave up 2 consecutive goals. Thanks to a late period penalty, the Sharks received a penalty shot, and Byron Gay (pictured) scored on a quick wrist shot against the Predators net minder. With only seconds to go, with the Sharks goalie pulled from the rink for the extra attacker, the Sharks were unable to tie it up, and take them to shoot out overtime. Final score, 2-1 Predators. While an upsetting loss, the underdog Sharks were pleased with their season finish at second place.

Pictured from Wapak, front row left is Zac Neumeier (Forward). Front row center is Austin Scott (Goalie).

The red team is Division B (The Wings), and has kids ages 7-10. The wings were ranked first going into this weekend’s tournament, and easily handled the Blue Jackets, defeating them 10-2, with Bailey Holtz of Wapak getting his first hat trick of the season. Today’s game, against the Bruins, was a much tougher match up, and went nearly scoreless until the Wings struck first late in the second period. They traded goals a couple of times, but got the final comfortable two goal lead when the Bruins pulled their goalie and the Wings had an empty netter. Final score, 4-2 Wings and Champions of division B.

Day 4 Continued

Back at the pool this morning, looks like it might have rained overnight. It's brisk out, but the kids don't care. As for myself, mornings don't get much better than this... Lake Ontario to my left,the CN Tower to the right (did I mention the pool is located on the roof?), coffee in hand... Too bad it's the last day, not really looking forward to the six hour drive home!

We plan on visiting the Ontario Science Center today. This will be the fourth and final trip destination out of the City Pass attractions. Well worth the money. We ended up going back to the CN Tower to ride the motion simulator last night. It was included in the Pass but we didn't have time for it after the observation visit.

Anyways, back to the Zoo trip!

10:00 AM

We took our time getting ready and getting out of the city in the morning. The zoo opened at 10M, but hey, we are on vacation! The Garmin needs some new maps, as they have they changed the highway exits a little around downtown. We figured that out when got here, and stumbled a little more on this as we left for the zoo. The zoo was estimated to be about a 30 minute ride outside of town, but I am starting to understand why the famed 401 is famed. It's basically a 16 lane parking lot (that's 8 lanes each direction). Even out of the city, this road gives no pause for setting the cruise and relaxing. We made it to the zoo in about an hour. Did I mention I wasn't looking forward to he drive home??

11:00 AM

We quickly moved through the lines and were entered into the grand zoo. The kids swore they had been here before, but I just think all zoo's must use the same designer for their entrances.

We generally look for a way to escape the crowd when we visit zoo's, so we looked at the map, and found the best attractions at the back of the park. We all decided on the African Safari in the northwest corner. It was a trail map that looked to be a couple of kilometers in length, and stopped by many exhibition sites.

The first exhibit was some smaller monkeys, a rhino and the butterfly haven. Never being much impressed by butterflies, this was done quite nice! Hope you enjoyed the butterfly picture on last nights post, there are many more where that came from!

After that, we faced the tigers. I don't like shooting pictures through glass, and cages sometime give me fits. This one came out OK. It was photographed through its cage.



We paused again for a "fish face" pose (I don't think I blogged bout the others. Hmmm, I'll blog those all together later). Anyway, this tank was entitled Darwin's Dreampond. It was an astounding display of The Cichlids of Lake Malawi.






The gorillas were next. All outside and being lazy as usual. The Sliverback kept his grand back to us, and the females sprawled out an just stared.

The only thing Kierstyn really wanted to see today was the hippos. After doing an animal report on them this past school year, she is just enamoured by them. We small the Pygmy Hippos indoors earlier, but they were sleeping, and you couldn't see them very well. We picked a good time to stop by this exhibit, however,! The hippo was in its water hole, and then decided to get up for a rare walk on its small legs. Next time you see Kierstyn, ask her what the hippo did for us!



12:45 PM

Hungry again, imagine that! We stopped midway through the African Safari for lunch. Typical zoo food, cash only, and outdoors. Weather wise, this was the perfect day for visiting a zoo. We have been to many zoo's and its always smoldering hot, and after a couple of hours, we're sweating, cranky and ready to leave. At least for lunch, you want to go sit in air conditioning. Not today. Absolutely perfect!!

1:30 PM

We are back on the trail and we see Zebra's, Lions, Leopards, Giraffes, Oh My! Elisha got this great shot of the Lion walking.

This is truly a great zoo! I could post lots of pictures here, but will save the bulk of them for the Smug Mug site on our return.

We continued on the rest of the zoo, visiting the amphibians indoors, walking through the kangaroo habitat, and much, much more.

2:30 PM

We stopped to watch an animal show that featured goats, some type of sensitive hearing cat, a falcon, an alpaca (I got pictures for you Aaron) and best of all... a skunk. Kayla says this picture is for you Grandpa Larry!

Well, running out of time for this morning. We want to get packed up and head to the Science Center this morning. So, see you all soon, and thanks for sharing our vacation with us!

Canada Trip, Day 4
August 6, 2008

Well, it was the penultimate day here in Canada, but a great one at that. The weather was perfect for a zoo visit, not hot, breezy, no rain. We spent most of the day there, so this blog is about that.

However, I'll continue it in the morning, because it's late, I'm tired, and can you believe it? I'm out of words for the day! Good night.

Canada Trip, Day 3
August 6, 2008

It's Wednesday, and we are ready to tackle the Hockey Hall of Fame. This, of course, has Zac busting at the seams to get there. Five people to get ready, and we are on the move by 10 AM. Should be about a 20 minute walk, so off we head!




First thing we notice as we leave the hotel is the string of "trailers" lined up down the road. As we walk past them, we hear some people talking about the "producers arriving on set", etc. Sure enough, there was a movie about to be filmed here! These trailers are "Star" trailers, but only first names. Liam stuck out, as I only know of one Liam actor. The movie name, or perhaps code-name, looks to be called "The Bridge".

Walking on, we run into some construction, but that allows us to walk through Air Canada center, where the Maple Leafs play. Kinda cool!

11:00 AM

City Pass is purchases at the front desk of the HHOF. The City Pass allows you to visit 6 attractions in 9 days. Pretty cool deal, as they are all half off. Quick calculations shows you need to hit 3 to get your money back, and we have plans for 4.

The HHOF is open until 6PM, and we have re-entry capability. Its located at the corner of street, and is attached to one of the city's underground malls. We took pictures outside first, and found the main entrance, which is no longer opened, as everyone is forced to go in trough the mall.

What a place! This is the kind of place you can enjoy even if your are not a hockey junky. Lots to see and do here. Exhibits, history, games, trivia, you name it!


Our first order of business was to go see the Stanley cup. The room itself is quite elaborate and we have to wait in line a bit. Today was white gloves day at the HHOF, so we stood in line with our white gloves on ready to touch and be photographed with the Cup.

11:30 AM

They came in an indicated the cup was going to be moved to the Molson Room for a a little history, so we got our pictures just in time. We headed down to the Molson room...


One of the cup carriers was in the house, and he spent 30 minutes talking and showing pictures of the cup and where it had been. It has certainly been in some strange places! About that time, the carrier introduced the HHOF special guest Ron Ellis. Mr. Ellis played for Toronto the last time they won the cup, 1967!!





12:30 PM

The kids wanted to check out some of the games available for hockey lovers. Zac and Kayla grabbed a stick and tried there sharp shooting at a virtual target practice and virtual goalie. We sat in the stands and watched Zac face live pucks as some of the stars of hockey (virtually, of course) fired away!




1:00 PM

Everyone is hungry, so we trekked out to find lunch. On Younge St, it appeared as if we were right downtown in the hustle and bustle of it all. There was a supposed to be another Hard Rock Cafe downtown, and since the first one had a limited menu, it was decided to see the full HRC of Toronto, so we wandered down the street.

2:30 PM

Lunch is over, much better selection and service downtown, so we started our walk back down the street. We decided to make this walk inside, and wandered into the Sears across the street, that connected several blocks underground, 3 stories underground, of yet another mall.

We worked our way back towards the HHOF,as there was still some exhibits we wanted to see.

4:00 PM


Back in the Hall, we entered the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) display area, where we saw all the great old and new sweaters of the stars. Including the goalie gear and uniforms of some of those from the Miracle on Ice in 1980! This area was probably one of the best exhibits.

Back into Sir Stanley's room, we entered the vault (yes, an actual bank vault) to visit the original top part of the cup, that was replaced several years back as it was showing great wear.

After this is when I took the chance for the R Bar photo. I wore the "R Bar Wings Suck Less" shirt under my Blue Jackets shirt, so I tucked it in the bag, and Elisha took the picture.



5:30 PM

We left the HHOF and trekked back to the hotel. We wanted to be up the CN tower during sunset, so a quick nap was in order, as the CN Tower was practically across the street.

(Pause on the blog as we move to the pool, the kids can burn some energy as I finish this up)

(Brrrr, chili outside here! But they say the water is warm, so swim away!)

7:00 PM

The City Pass says the best time to visit the CN Tower is after 7PM, the crowds will be less. So, at 7, we head out. It's located right next to Rogers Center (Skydome) and the Blue Jay are playing again tonight. This time with the top open. We are expecting a great view from the top!

We wait in line about a total of 30 minutes, and then we are on the elevator. 58 seconds later, we are over 1800 feet above the earth! What another spectacular view! It is a bit overcast tonight (no rain today), but we can still see pretty good. We have a clear vision of the game, well, the players, but can't seem to see the ball!

We move downstairs one level to the "glass floor" level. Now this is interesting.... Right on top of the ball bark, and all but Kiestyn and Elisha braved out onto the glass (they did peer down, however).
We walked outside for a view, and there was a quite a blast of fresh air up here. This was short lived, and we quickly moved back inside.

We spent about an hour wandering around, and when we saw no line for the elevator down, we took the opportunity to go.

9:00 PM

Everyone is hungry once again, and since it is late, we wander back to the hotel and look for something close by. Shoeless Joe's is attached to the hotel, so this is where we end our day.

10:00 PM

Everyone is tired (that nap thing never really happened), so into PJ's, and drift off with a little soothing TV in the back ground.

Good night, tomorrow, we check out the Toronto Zoo.

For My R Bar Friends

You know who you are... This one's for you!

For those that don't, the R Bar is a a great little hockey bar across the street from Nationwide Arena. As for the shirt... You had to be there!

Day 3 post coming later. Just finished dinner, and got to get things settled down. It was a great day at the Hockey Hall of Fame and the CN Tower.

Aaron, you have addresses for Shelf and Darr?

More later...

Canada Trip, Day 2
August 5, 2008

8:30 AM

The natives are restless, and a new day has dawned. First order of business, we need to check out the pool. After a couple quick pop-tarts, the kids are suited up and ready for a dip. Indoor pool here at the Doubletree, but the kids give it a thumbs up.

10:00 AM

Blogging, packing, calling for a late check out (would you expect anything else with this clan of Neumeier's?), and loading the van. One more stop at the concierge and it is by unanimous decision that we must visit the back side of the falls. Yes, there is such a tour in Niagara, and it is aptly called, Journey Behind the Falls.

Noon

To the van to put on tennis shoes (lesson learned from yesterdays walk), and we were off for the 20 minute or so walk back down to the Horseshoe Falls. We can feel the mist today before we can even see the falls! We find the location, back in area referred to as Table Rock, we get in line for tickets. We are told the next tour is 2PM, which is perfect, as we are ready for lunch!

12:30 PM

A nice lunch spot called Elements overlooks the Horseshoe Falls, and we promptly got seated for a meal. The kids menu boasted a free sundae for each kid that completed the search word puzzle. That kept them occupied while we waited on desert.

Less pricey, great view and better food than the revolving dining room from last night, so note that on your next trip to the falls.

1:45 PM

Off to the line for the 2 PM tour, only to find out that they are a little behind. The line goes quite a bit back, but we can see the door. What we didn't know then, is there was plenty more waiting inside the doors! Not to worry, we moved through the lines on this very popular attraction, and soon had our (yellow) raincoats on and were sent down the elevator into the tunnels. It was here that we learned over 34 million gallons of water passed over the falls every minute. Wow.

3:00 PM


Only 25 feet (er, 9 meters?) from the base of the river below, it felt as if we were in a monsoon! Only 3 of us (Kayla, Zac and I) braved to make it to the railing. I didn't dare pull out the camera here! Quickly back into the tunnel, we wandered down to where the viewing portals were behind the falls.

The thunderous sounds in this portal were just plain incredible! The kids each threw coins and made a wish. There were two such portals, and while you couldn't really see anything but the water and the mist, you could certainly feel the power of this massive wonder!

4:00 PM

We make our way back to the van at the hotel, and plan the run to Toronto. The GPS says only 125 Km, so off we go!

Now, let me pause here and comment on the QEW. The posted limit is 80KPH. I had the cruise set at 100KPH and about got ran over. Never mind the signs that threatend severe penalties for going to fast, or that things were policed by planes... It was keep up or get ran over! So we cruised most of the way at 112KPH. We were making good time, and the Km's were flying by. And then we got the traffic. Bumper to bumper, nearly stopped, peaking at 25KPH, it was well past 6PM before we found our hotel.

6:30 PM

Check in at the Radisson went smooth. Underground parking, pool checked out on the roof of the 5th floor, sleep number beds newly installed.

6:45 PM

Sleep number bed is broken. Call to the desk and maintenance is here in an instant. 30 minutes later, maintenance main and member from housekeeping have the bed torn apart. We decide to go to dinner.

7:00 PM

Everyone agree the Hard Rock Cafe. And since it is raining, we also agreed to the newer HRC across the street at the skydome. There is a Blue Jays game going on, and apparently this HRC overlooks the dome.

7:30 PM

A short walk and we find it! Not crowded (nor is the game against Oakland), we quickly get a seat, and not so quickly got service. Eventually I was sipping Molson, which I finally learned to order correctly (ask for a Canadian).

Dinner wasn't bad, limited menu here, but we ate, took pictures and watched some of the game.

After dinner, we hustled back to the hotel, and decided to turn in early tonight.

9:00 PM

They are watching Big Brother on CBS, and I am blogging. We hope to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame first thing tomorrow. Hope the weather clears!

Good night.

Canada Trip, Day 1

August 4, 2008

Welcome to the Neumeier's Family Vacation Blog for 2008. First attempt at blogging, so bear with us here...

8:40 AM

Day 1 got off without too much tribulation. We decided to hit McDonald's drive through on the way out of town, but the call for sticky rolls and hot cakes required this to become our first stop of the day. So there we were at 8:45 AM on Bellefountaine St in Wapak, for a 20 minute breakfast start.

Once we were on our way, we settled in for the 406 mile drive to our hotel (the Doubletree by Hilton) in downtown Niagara, Ontario.

4:00 PM

Very nice, newer hotel with 13 stories, with the unfortunate side effects of

A) they only allow 4 guests, and

B) 1 of the 2 elevators was broken.

Of course, we were on the 6th floor, so this presented a bit of a logistical problem (a.k.a. herding cats with luggage).

Nice room, spacious. A bit warm, as the air conditioner just doesn't seem to keep up.

Kierstyn and I returned the luggage cart to the lobby (and found the super secret service elevator for another option) and checked in the with concierge on the evening activities.

First order of business, Maid of the Mist. Apparently the first Monday in August in Canada is a national holiday. Ask the locals, and they are not sure what it is, just that it is. It's a civic holiday, and the weekend here was busy. There was still a crowd around the falls for a Monday.

We also decided to book dinner reservations for 8PM at the Skylon tower, which has a revolving dining room some 500+ feet (what is that in meters??) above the falls.

4:30 PM

We headed out on the short walk to the Maid of the Mist, as there are no reservations, only waiting in line. The short walk, as I was told, was not as short for those that were wearing flip-flops. Sounded like a good idea since we were going to get wet, but not so good for the mile and a half walk (a kilometer or few?). Either way, it was all down hill, so I think some were fearing the walk back.

We ended up walking down a street filled with people and activity, museums, games, shows, etc. But we were on a mission... to the Maid of the Mist!!

5:30 PM

Well in line now, moving briskly. Not a bad wait at all. 55 bucks and a blue raincoat later, and we are ready to board. We stayed on bottom of the double decker, hoping to not get too wet. Covering camera gear, et al, we set sail.

First to the American Falls **GUSH*** everything wet. What fun!! Lots of pictures, frantic children, scurrying bodies, more pictures!

Now, to the Horseshoe Falls. How incredible! More pictures, more scurrying! Shot a movie with the little camera. Great skyline, great view! Well worth it.

It was a bit overcast, the sun would have been nice for the pictures, but still, a great time and view!

6:30 PM

Do we walk to the hotel? Uphill? Lets walk the stretch to the tower, just in case. We need to be there 15 minutes early.

Not a bad walk at all... Tower looks close to the hotel, so we walk on back, power nap for 15 minutes and dress for dinner. We are back at the base of the tower ready for our ride up at 7:50 PM.

8:00 PM

Reservation for 5? Right this way! Majestic view of the surroundings. The restaurant revolves once every hour. We got to see it all. The falls, the casino's, the city, the parks, the sunset. Sipping on a Molson, just relaxing, Elisha with her Daiquiri in a souvenir glass. Kids tired from the day, so even they are calm.

View was much better than the dinner. But they comp'd us deserts for the chewy meat incident, so that was nice!

10:00 PM

Up to the outside observation deck for the fireworks show over the falls. Too many people, too short a show. Still, great view! More pictures!

10:30 PM

Hike back to the room, and call it a day.

11:00 PM

Good night all.

See you tomorrow.