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A few weekends back Kim and I went to NYC for the weekend.  It is the same trip we do every year, a FAM trip from my work to get to experience NYC.  This year there was a few extra required items to do than other years, but it was still a fun time.  The start of the trip was a site visit of the New York Helmsley Hotel.  It was a pretty nice hotel, and the fitness center was one of the best features - it had a great view and all kinds of great equipment.

After that was off to the company cocktail hour.  Where we met all of the other guests, who had a little adventure finding their hotel (we got out of this adventure by driving - though we didnt know what we were missing out on until we got to the cocktail hour).  We took a short trip over to Top of the Rock - which by that time Kim’s feet were killing her so we didnt spend a ton of time there - and sadly our photos we took up there didnt come out either.

The next day was another hotel inspection for me, and a couple hours at a massage - we both got facials and massages - a first for me to say the least.  After the spa we had some time to roam around and shop, the next thing we had officially planned wasn’t until dinner.

We had dinner at Cafe Nicole - and went to see Rent before it is taken off broadway for good.  It was a pretty interesting play, a bit crazy to start, but once you get a grasp on what all is going on and the backstory - it make s a bit more sense.

After the play we headed back to the room and got some rest - the next morning was a required Duck boat tour.  You know those crazy buses that drive through town and then into a body of water - it wasn’t horrible, but I was expecting it would cover some more sites - and the actual trip in the water seemed to serve no purpose except to prove the bus could drive in the water.

click the photos below to see all the pictures from the trip

http://photo.larrabeefamily.com/v/FamilyPhotos2008/nycfam2008/

For our final day (we came home a day early) we went to Eaton Center.  A shopping area that Kim had never been to in her previous adventures as a child in Toronto, but a place she always wanted to go.  So once again no pictures - pictures of us just shopping does not seem very interesting to me.  The mall is a few levels above and below ground, and there is a pretty good amount of stores there.  Besides a little bit of an issue with the parking payment machine eating our ticket - it was an nice day of shopping.  We passed another shopping center on the way there that we wanted to check out - and we headed there on the way back to the hotel.

The place was called Yorkdale - and for future reference it seemed to have almost all the same shopping we had at Eaton Center, and it was closer to the hotel - and easier to get to since it has its own parking lot and was right off the highway rather than right in the middle of downtown Toronto.  For dinner we went to Rainforest cafe - which I always enjoy, and thought the kids would too - but they were a bit scared with the mechanical monkies, and random weather noises (which I dont remember having those in previous visits to the chain in San Fran).  They loved the fish, and I personally enjoyed my meal - but maybe the kids would like it better if they were older.

At the end of this final long day we decided to head home in the morning (which was July 4th) so that we would be home a bit early to rest and celebrate the 4th at home.  So we were able to experience both the Canadian and American independence days in their respective countries.

As I type this, vacation is officially over, we are still unpacking and recovering - but tomorrow morning we return to work - and back to reality - it was fun while it lasted, and we all have stories from our adventure - just ask Oliver about the deer at the park.

As planned today was a road trip to Niagra Falls, but first a quick mention about an interesting thing that happened yesterday which I seem to have completely forgot to mention.  While Oliver was napping the fire alarm went off, so we all had to scurry out of the room down the stairs and wait for the fire company to come and clear the hotel as not having an actual fire.  Oliver slept through the whole thing except the moment before we went back upstairs and he got a quick glimpse of the firemen on their way out of the hotel.

Now for today’s adventure.  We actually set the alarm (first time this vacation) and were up early for breakfast - which made it possible to snag a few extra chocolate muffins for the kids.  Which happens to be the vacation favorite it seems.  Then it was off to Niagra in the car, a little under 90 miles if I remember correctly.  We first went to Marineland - which originally we were comparing to something like Sea World - which is true when you consider they have rides and sea animals - but not as true when you consider the low number of animals and actually not very many rides.  Overall we enjoyed the park, but the price of admission was a bit high for what was available at the park.  The rides had short lines so we were able to get on the rides quickly - which was a great benefit, and both kids loved feeding the fish in the feeding pond.

After we traveled all of Marineland and had some lunch we headed to the Canandian side of the falls.  We walked around down the road a bit and took some pictures of both the American and Canadian falls - the kids really seemed to enjoy looking at all the boats, the rainbows and the falls.  We also took the journey behind the falls tour.  After a battle with Oliver about wearing the poncho to stay dry, we just let him go without it.  After taking the tour, it was clear he had more fun without it on anyway - he was soaked but grinning from ear to ear - it was like the largest sprinkler he had ever played in.

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No pictures today!  Today was pretty much a down day.  We didn’t go on any real adventures.  We woke up whenever we felt like - except Oliver had a little help from his little sister because she wanted breakfast right then.  After breakfast we relaxed in the room for a bit, and went over to Dave and Buster’s for some lunch and to play some games.  We picked up a pretty good amount of tickets which the kids cashed in for various toys and candy.

After we got back from food and games, we took advantage of the empty pool and swam for a pretty good amount of time.  After that we took advantage of BBQ night at the hotel, which they provided burgers, hot dogs, etc for dinner.

One word of warning - EVERYTHING, I mean EVERYTHING closes for Canada Day.  There is a Wal-Mart right across the road, and we were going to stop over there to get some milk for the kids - and we found out even Wal-mart is closed for Canada Day, as well as the grocery stores.  Something that I was not really expecting since in the States everything is not only open but throwing big sales to try and get people to shop on almost every holiday - especially on July 4th, the comparable holiday to Canada Day.

We went out for a walk after dinner, which was cut a bit short with a fall on the pavement by Oliver.  Tomorrow is looking like a day trip to Niagara Falls, but you never know what might happen.