Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Tag: road trips

36-ish Hours in Toronto

(Note: I’m interrupting my Ireland/Scotland coverage for a moment to post about our weekend in Toronto. I’ll return with another Ireland post shortly, and then I’ll finally move onto the Scotland photos and stories!)

Sometime a while ago, I decided perhaps a bit arbitrarily that an eight-hour car ride is my one-day road-tripping threshold. Four hours before lunch, four hours after, and that still leaves an evening in the destination city. So when Chris and I were deciding on where to road trip on a long weekend (Columbus Day), I looked at the map and figured out where we could drive within eight hours. Chris had been wanting to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and I pretty much just wanted to go anywhere, so lo and behold we headed to Toronto!

We actually ended up leaving after work on a Friday evening so that we could get a few hours behind us and have a good bit of Saturday in Canada. After an overnight stop in Du Bois, Pennsylvania (pronounced “doo-BOYS” and not “doo-BWAH” as one might think if one studied French for five years), we followed the changing foliage up through the rest of PA and New York.

Since Niagara Falls was on the way and neither of us had ever been there, we planned to stop by for a bit to take photos pending good weather. As luck would have it, the weather cooperated and we were even treated to a rainbow!

We stopped at Horseshoe Falls on the Canada side after parking near the Table Rock welcome center. I couldn’t believe how crowded the whole park was, although it was Saturday on a holiday weekend so maybe that’s a big “duh” on my part. We hadn’t planned to stay long and didn’t have a strong desire to do any of the falls-related activities. That said, Niagara Falls is a spot where you can spend as little or as much time as you want. It looks like a lot of people make a day or several days out of it, but we were happy to take pictures, look through the gift shop, and be on our merry way. I would have loved to see the falls from a helicopter, but the view from the ground is pretty spectacular, too.

After leaving Niagara, we ended up getting to our Airbnb condo in Toronto around 5:30pm, leaving us enough time to settle in, explore a little bit, and to grab dinner/drinks in the city. Let our almost-a-day-and-a-half in Toronto begin!

The weekend was evenly divided between Chris’s picks and my picks for things to see, do, and eat. To go along with Chris’s Hockey Hall of Fame theme, we ate at Wayne Gretsky’s on Saturday night and perused some hockey memorabilia.

We considered going up to the top of the CN Tower to check out the views, but we opted to give it a miss this trip since we were limited on time and didn’t want to spend it in a queue. As one of Toronto’s top attractions, I read that the tower often requires quite a long wait in line to ascend and to descend, especially on holidays and weekends. Next time!

On Sunday morning, we walked over to the Hockey Hall of Fame when it opened (10:30am on Sundays). We spent a little under two hours touring the museum plus the gift shop, and found that it was starting to get busy as we were leaving, so getting there at opening hour was a good call.

Of course, we looked for Washington Capitals artifacts wherever we could find them. Go Caps!

The museum features plenty of interactive opportunities for kids and kids at heart. You can try your hand at shooting the puck in a life-size computerized game, play a round of bubble hockey, or compete against another player in NHL ’15 for PlayStation. We also watched a hockey-related 3D movie that I thought was a smidge on the cheesy side, but still good fun.

Perhaps one of the biggest highlights of the museum is of course seeing the Stanley Cup. We didn’t hop up there with the trophy (I only snapped the photo below), but a photographer is on-hand to take a professional souvenir photo of each guest with the cup, and then the image is for sale in the gift shop.

Onto one of my picks, we headed over to the Dundas West neighborhood downtown to check out a new bar I heard about all the way down here in Virginia. The Lockhart, an otherwise unassuming and cozy little bar, is receiving quite a bit of press worldwide for being a “Harry Potter-themed bar.” I’m going to give The Lockhart its own post so stay tuned for that, but here are a few photos from our visit.

And as my other pick, I’m a total sucker for a good aquarium, so after a delicious dinner at Taverna we headed across the street to Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada for a sea creatures fix. I expected the aquarium to be more on the quiet side since we visited well past peak hours, but at 8pm it was still hopping. Monday was Thanksgiving in Canada, so I assume that might have attributed to what would have otherwise been a quiet Sunday evening. Nevertheless, we enjoyed exploring the various tanks and features, especially the Dangerous Lagoon with the longest moving sidewalk in North America.

To finish off our quick jaunt to Canada, we ended on a sweet note Monday morning with a cinnamon roll and an apple fritter at Tim Hortons. The sugar rush gave us a much needed energy boost for the 8.5-hour ride home.

So that was Toronto! It was a pretty easy drive from the Washington, D.C. area, so I’m keeping it on my list as somewhere we need to revisit in order to see a bit more of the city. Let me know if you have any favorite spots that we need to check out next time!

October 13, 2015
Ireland Road Trip Day 5: Northern Ireland

On our last full day of our week in Ireland, Chris and I drove from Donegal and crossed the border into Northern Ireland since I simply couldn’t leave the Emerald Isle without seeing Giant’s Causeway. But before we explored the basalt columns, guess where we went first?

The Old Bushmills Distillery! We didn’t take a tour, but we did pop in for a really nice personalized tasting and we browsed the gift shop, of course. The tasting experience included three whiskeys and a quick but detailed lesson and overview of the whiskeys while we sat in a comfy lounge area of the restaurant/bar.

We ate a light lunch at Bushmills (they have soup and sandwiches, etc.) and then headed over to Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that I’ve been wanting to visit ever since my parents went there a few years ago and said I simply have to see it for myself. We saw similar volcanic rock formations in Iceland last year so I was excited to see how this site compared.

At £9 each for admission, the first difference was certainly the price since visiting Reynisfjara beach in Iceland is free, but we really enjoyed the Giant’s Causeway so for us it was worth it. There is a substantial parking lot and a nice visitors center with facilities and a great gift shop offering local art selections. The hexagonal columns fit together like puzzle pieces just like the columns on Reynisfjara, but the gradual slope of the Giant’s Causeway is easier to climb on, like a big staircase. I also love the local legend behind this phenomenon, telling the tale of giants Finn McCool and Benandonner stomping and fighting along the Antrim coast.

The weather cooperated for us, although it was crazy windy and my hair was well-restyled after the walk to the columns (it’s about 1.6 miles round trip). We climbed around with quite a few other people, but it was pretty easy to find spots to ourselves for exploring or for taking photos, including one of my cute green shoes. Note that I brought the green shoes with me for the photo only; I don’t recommend climbing on the rocks in flats!

After exploring the Giant’s Causeway, we headed down the road about fifteen minutes away to the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge. I kept seeing this bridge in travel articles with titles like, “World’s Most Insane Bridges.” I love a little adrenaline rush and we were already going to be nearby, so I figured we needed to check this thing out.

The walk to the bridge from the ticket kiosk is a little under a mile, the admission fee is £5.90 each, and the stunning postcard-worthy views are priceless. The bridge opens weather permitting, but despite a high wind warning that day and a very brief rain shower, we were able go across and back. I kept wondering what would happen if the weather turned bad after we crossed one way.

The bridge itself wasn’t too terrifying and I don’t think I’d call it “insane” like the articles indicated, although I’m not terribly afraid of heights so maybe I’m not qualified to assign the fear factor here. It sways a little and it’s a bit springy, but no one chickened out or fell off if that helps you get a better picture. 🙂

Visiting both sites was a lot to do in one day, but it can be done! Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for sudden changes in the weather. I completely underestimated the amount of time we would take at each spot though, and we missed out on seeing the Dark Hedges as planned.

We also didn’t end up having any time to spend in Belfast – I tried to squeeze in a Black Taxi Tour, but it was apparently too late in the day. The guy I spoke to on the phone let me know that the tour goes to “some dodgy places” (his words), and he wouldn’t recommend going in the evening even if it was still a bit light out. Noted! So we ate dinner at a little pizza joint after finding the wait times too long at other restaurants, and we put the Dark Hedges and Belfast on our list for next time.

October 12, 2015
Photo Friday – Sunset on Galway

This image was taken from our room at The Herons Rest bed and breakfast in Galway. Chris and I stayed in the beautiful Galway Bay Panorama room and soaked in the incredible view of this sunset from our balcony window. I’ll post more about where we stayed throughout Ireland shortly, but in the meantime I can say that I wholeheartedly recommend The Herons Rest if not for this view alone, then definitely for the gourmet breakfast. Stay tuned for details!

October 9, 2015
Ireland Road Trip Day 4: From Galway to Donegal

As noted in a previous post, I ignored the advice of so many other travelers to base ourselves in one or two spots in Ireland, and instead I spread our route across the south, the west, and the far north. Our route from Galway to Donegal was designed simply to move us farther up the island because Giant’s Causeway and the Carrick-A-Rede Bridge were must-see items on my list. That said, I’m glad we got to see both Galway and Donegal albeit briefly.

I have to confess, I was a wee bit frustrated with Galway. I’m going to chalk it up to timing and lack of research. From the photos I had seen prior to the trip, I thought Galway would be more compact and easy to navigate like so many of the quaint little towns we explored earlier in the week. I now know that Galway is the forth largest city in Ireland! We arrived during heavy rush hour on a weekday (technically Day 3 of our road trip) and we were up against a deadline trying to arrive at our B&B for check-in, so some of the very busy one-way streets flustered us. If I had known it was so big, we would have timed our arrival differently to avoid the traffic. Once we were settled and walking around the city center though, I discovered the vibe that so many people love about Galway.

City size aside, we were especially excited about checking out the live music scene in Galway. After dinner and drinks, we headed straight for Tig Cóilí based on so many recommendations. The pub was filled to the point of standing room only, but we eventually made our way to the front for a prime spot. The band’s lively trad session kept Tig Cóilí packed and full of craic.

After sleeping in a wee bit the next morning, we took off on Day 4 for the three-hour drive to Donegal without much of a plan except getting to our destination. We had been having good luck with winging it and discovering points of interest, little villages, and great pubs in which to grab lunch, so I didn’t research the route ahead. We didn’t end up stumbling onto any food around lunchtime, and after several rounds of, “maybe the next town?” we gave up and ate fast food. At least it was something new to us – Ireland’s answer to the drive-thru, Supermac’s.

When we arrived in Donegal, we found the town center to be a little sleepy, but interesting nonetheless. Fifteenth-century Donegal Castle sits right in the middle of town, though it was just about to close by the time we wandered over to it.

We saw our third traditional Irish session of the week at The Reel Inn where the owner played accordion accompanied by a friend on the guitar. Their hilarious stories and commentary entertained a huge crowd and I could have listened to those two guys all night (except we were exhausted and only lasted until about 10:30pm).

It would have been nice to have more time in County Donegal, nicknamed the “wild child” of Ireland. We enjoyed staying in the Arches Country House and visiting the town, but we only experienced a sliver of the area and I would have loved to see the Slieve League Cliffs. We gave the cliffs a miss in order to get on the road towards Northern Ireland (especially since we had already visited the Kerry Cliffs and the Cliffs of Moher), and I’m glad we did – more on that in the next post!

October 7, 2015
Ireland Road Trip Day 3: Adare and The Cliffs of Moher

Out of all the must-see sights in Ireland recommended by blogs, guidebooks, and friends/family who have been to Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher ranked high on everyone’s list, and now Chris and I know why! After staying in Killarney for two nights, we hit the road early and made our way up the west coast toward Galway with a plan to spend the afternoon at the cliffs.

But first, we stopped in the sweetest village, Adare, on the way. Famous for its thatched-roof cottages built in the 1820s, friendly little Adare charmed my socks right off. Chris and I wandered the village, ate a leisurely lunch, and enjoyed a take-away bakery dessert while sitting in a beautiful park nearby. Our road trip might sound like a crazy whirlwind with a lot of mileage, but we had plenty of serene moments where we soaked in our surroundings. This was one of them.

After our lovely time in Adare, we continued onto the Cliffs of Moher. I admit I didn’t know what to expect other than a long stretch of rocky walls along the ocean that I had seen in pictures. Photos simply do not do the dramatic coastline justice; it has to be experienced first-hand along with the crazy winds! I also didn’t realize you can walk the length of the cliffs on the Burren Way, and because we had such a beautiful day that’s exactly what we did.

For most of the trail along the cliffs towards Doolin there are two paths – one is right along the ridge, and one is down low alongside a short wall (see photo below). We chose the perilous option for the views, although on a rainy, slippery day I might have opted for the protection of the wall! A sign warns visitors that this part of the cliffs are on private farmland and while you are allowed to walk there, the farmers are not liable for your fate. (Gulp.)

It was so windy! This isn’t a good look for me.

The one thing I did plan very specifically was the timing of our visit. I aimed to photograph the cliffs in the afternoon when the sun (if not behind clouds) would be shining into the side of the cliffs. The lighting was incredibly gorgeous while we were there (around 4-5pm). We absolutely lucked out with the weather and enjoyed sunshine for nearly two hours; it only started sprinkling just as we were leaving.

I had also hoped to see The Burren on the same day as the Cliffs of Moher if the schedule allowed, and we did drive through the national park, but we were indeed short on time and didn’t get to see any of the attractions found deeper into the park. So The Burren goes onto the list for a future trip when we can give it a proper amount of time. The reasons to go back to Ireland are adding up!

October 5, 2015