Another great privilege was on our doorstep as we flew to the great continent of North America. Again, we felt humbled to have this opportunity for travel. It is only by the grace of God that it is possible.
Having successfully negotiated London traffic, we were very aware that in just a few hours we would be attempting to negotiate Toronto traffic, making our way north-east to the small town of Port Hope. Flying over the vast expanse of north eastern Canada was certainly an amazing sight to behold.
It was not without a little trepidation that we picked up a car in Toronto airport and tentatively began our ‘wrong side of the road’ experience. Again, we were thankful for our GPS, and for a flight that landed earlier than scheduled, which meant we could arrive at our destination before it got too dark. And a great expressway made the trip reasonably easy.
Our primary purpose for visiting Canada was to see family – my uncle, who has lived in Canada since 1956, my aunt, and three cousins. I’ve only met my uncle on two previous occasions, one as a child and another 23 years ago. Being my Dad’s only brother, taking this opportunity to see him again was a very important thing for me to do. As well we were able to meet my Canadian cousins, only one of whom, Kathryn, I have met previously.
Port Hope is a very pleasant town on the shores of Lake Ontario about 110 km NE of Toronto. The Christmas spirit was pervading the streets and shops, and the cold weather was settling in. Seeing snow again was such a treat, and feeling the severe chill on the cheeks certainly made us realise we were alive. We settled into our accommodation and tried to sleep off the effects of flying westward and consequently having a very long day.
Seeing my uncle the next morning was a very eerie experience. The old DNA and family resemblance thing certainly impacted me, as we met this man who could have been my Dad’s twin, instead of actually being 8 years younger. To see a similarity in facial features and hands is understandable, but to see the uncanny mannerisms as well, certainly showed me that design trumps environment. After all, they lived on separate continents for 58 years, but the similarities are so obvious.
To meet the youngest member of their family, my cousin David, was fantastic. I remember as a ten year old girl being very excited that I had a new baby cousin on the other side of the world. David drove several hundred kilometres to spend the day with us, and to hear about his French Canadian wife and their son was great. We had a wonderful day together.
The next day we drove the local area and went to Rice Lake, a beautiful but comparatively small lake that in just a few weeks time will be covered in snow mobiles and huts for ice fishing. The majority was already iced over and to see the ripples that had just been frozen in their tracks was a new experience for us. Driving a little further we came to a ‘first nation’ area with a reserve not far away, and it was great to see the only War Memorial in Canada dedicated to the native population’s contribution to the wars of the 20th century. We had lunch in a nearby cafe with a gift shop selling all manner of things Indian.
Our evening was spent sharing dinner with my eldest cousin, Abbie and her husband Mike, who live on a farm not far from Port Hope. Along with my uncle and aunt we had a great meal together and shared news of our families and life generally.
As we explored Port Hope, it was a special treat to find that it had been the home of Joseph Scrivens, a local 19th century Christian who wrote the words of the beautiful hymn, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’. This Irish immigrant had a profound impact on many people, as have his words, which have lasted all this time and are loved by many. What a great legacy Port Hope has in this man. A memorial to him has been placed in the central memorial park, and he is buried at Rice Lake.
We bade farewell to family in Port Hope, and drove to Toronto for another couple of days to explore there, and to meet up with my middle cousin, Kathryn and her husband. Again we had a wonderful meal together, sharing life, family and work.
We couldn’t visit Toronto without doing two things – a day tour to Niagara Falls, and going up the CN Tower. Our day at Niagara was quite stunning. The impact of winter at the Canadian Horseshoe Falls was fantastic. The mist from the falls extends such a huge area and consequently the trees and other vegetation, the railings, the grass and paths are totally covered in ice as the ambient temperature freezes the mist as it settles. We got drenched, as did the camera, and it was very difficult to take photos with the lens being continually wet. We also nearly went base over apex on a number of occasions as we gingerly walked the icy footpath.
At this time of the year however, there are very few tourists at Niagara, so there were absolutely no queues as we ventured down the lift to go through the tunnels behind the falls. The ferocious power of the incredible volume of water spilling over the falls was awe-inspiring. We also went up the Skylon Tower to get more of a birds’ eye view of both the Canadian and American Falls, and again, we were in awe of the beauty of the natural rift which is the falls, formed about 12,000 years ago. As we contemplated the end result of that momentous event, we couldn’t help but thank God for this amazing world we live in.
Our little day trip then continued to Clifton Hill, the very cheesy part of Niagara Falls directly looking down on the American Falls, with amusement places lining both sides of the street. But due to the season, it was oddly like a ghost town. We were disappointed that the timing of the day meant that we could only drive through the beautiful town of Niagara on the Lake, with no opportunity for a photostop being given, as we were on our way to a Niagara winery to sample some local ice wine.
It was fascinating to learn what constitutes ice wine, and were left understanding the need for its very high price. The grapes are left on the vine through the winter season, and only harvested when there have been several days of temperatures in the range of -10° to -14°. The harvesting also happens during the night when temperature is lowest. This means that the grapes are dehydrated and shrivelled, with the result that there is only 1 drop of juice able to be extracted from each grape. Eighty five times more grapes are needed to produce ice wine than a normal wine. We sampled both a red and a white ice wine, but neither were to our taste as it produces a very sweet dessert type wine. I could appreciate it for what it was, but could only drink small portions with the right kind of food.
The next day was an opportunity to go up the CN Tower, the tallest structure in the world from 1974 to 2005. It was a fairly dull day and visibility was limited, but we got a reasonably good idea of the expanse of Toronto and Lake Ontario.
Such a short time in this great country, has certainly given us a taste, and we would love to come back and see much more.
In the meantime, we wait hopefully for Canadian cousins to venture down under!!
Chris and Lynda Johnson 