Monday, March 16, 2009

Niagara Weekend in Pictures

First stop was the Jackson Triggs Winery for a tour and tasting.







$20 got us six sample-size glasses of wine each, a plate of cheese, a tour of the winery and $10 off any wine purchase. Not bad!

Of course, we left with some loot.



Next stop was Niagara-on-the-Lake for some lunch and a quick stop at the British import store. We can't leave NOTL without picking up some of our favourite goodies.



After wandering around NOTL a bit, we headed into Niagara Falls to check into our hotel. We booked the Deluxe King Fallsview Whirlpool Suite.



Our view from the room:



Once we had settled in, we headed down to the falls to see the usual sights.





Once our feet had had enough, we headed back to the room to chill out (and enjoy some of our recently purchased wine) before dinner.



We had a 7 o'clock reservation at the hotel restaurant, and this is when the excitement began. Just as our food arrived, the fire alarm went off! At first we were asked to remain calm and stay where we were, but within 5 minutes we were all instructed to evacuate. We trudged down 26 flights of stairs and were ushered out of the building. Fire trucks had arrived on the scene, although we never really found out what was going on. Hubby wasn't wearing a coat, so we couldn't hang around outside to find out. Instead, we headed to the nearest restaurant (Boston Pizza) for some grub. By the time we were finished, we were allowed back in to the hotel.

The rest of the evening was less eventful. We made a brief stop at the casino where we lasted about 10 minutes before we got bored (gamblers we are not) and then turned in early for an in-room movie.

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast in bed before it was time to check out and head home.



***

Thanks for all the excellent 5K advice. Hopefully I'll be able to put it into effect and come home from Boston with a new PR.

I ended up doing my "long" run (14K) before we left on Saturday. We got up at 6am and hubby joined me for the first half. Having only run up to 10K prior, I definitely felt it at the end, but I was able to finish it off and wrap up a 34K week. Had I not been injured I would be running almost that far for a long run right about now, but at least I feel like I'm making progress.

Here's the plan for this week, finally incorporating cross-training back into the schedule. Spin is no doubt going to kick my butt - I haven't been to a class since December!

Monday: 5K
Tuesday: HOT (high octane training) + elliptical
Wednesday: 10K
Thursday: off
Friday: 5K (Update) Hooray Spring 6-Miler
Saturday: Spin
Sunday: 17K

And now it's time to wrap up this long post and catch up on what you guys have been up to. I hope everyone's week gets off to a good start.

37 comments:

RunningLaur said...

Such a cool trip - that winery package is a deal!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

awesome pics Marlene! Glad you two had a good weekend together, and great job on the run!

ShutUpandRun said...

Sounds and looks like a great trip. Love the breakfast (and the wine).

tfh said...

Looks like a wonderful trip, even with fire alarm excitement! Yay for quality time with the hubs AND great job getting in your run, too. Have a great week!

Marcy said...

Ahhhh Niagara Falls. I haven't been back in years. You Canadians have the better side of the falls :P Looks like a great trip chica ;D

Toni said...

Looks like a great weekend!

Run Sarah said...

That looks like a great weekend with lots of well deserved relaxation!

X-Country2 said...

Sounds like a wonderful trip! Very cute pictures. You both look so happy. :o)

Unknown said...

Great photos - thanks for sharing them. You two look so happy. It must be nice to be together again after that long stint apart.

Which wine(s) did you like best?

J said...

Looks like a great trip - too bad about the fire alarm though!! Have fun at spin class! Don't you just love being sore the next day??!

Denise said...

Sounds like a fun, romantic weekend getaway. Too bad about the fire alarm, though. But pizza is good!

RunToTheFinish said...

ohh what a fantastic trip!!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a wonderful and relaxing trip. grat pictures.

Jess said...

Looks like a great weekend! Oh, how I miss booze!

Lily on the Road said...

You two deserved that great weekend!

Carly said...

Looks like a fabulous weekend! Loved your photos.

Jocelyn said...

I went to the falls a couple of times when I was in college in Rochester, NY. Good times! Looks like you had fun :)

Vickie said...

My kind of weekend there! Wine and Niagara Falls all rolled into one! I love the falls and its been about 3 years since being there but it is one of my favorite places. Too bad you had to miss out on the nice restaurant! And glad to see you're back to building your run mileage. I figured you would be no worse off for taking a little time off, just maybe a little behind on total mileage. Sometimes those "unplanned" layoffs do more good than harm.

joyRuN said...

$20 got us six sample-size glasses of wine each, a plate of cheese, a tour of the winery and $10 off any wine purchase.

That is a super-sweet deal!!

And anytime I hear "falls...suite", I can't help but think of Superman & Lois Lane's suite with the heart-shaped bed :)

Marci said...

Looks like you guys had a well-deserved great time. Thanks for signing up for Reese's run, I really appreciate the support!

Dori said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. It's always nice when somebody gets my humor. :-)

It sounds like you had a nice vacation. Your trip reminds me of the time my husband and I stayed in Toronto and visited my aunt in Buffalo. We stopped in NOTL on the way, which looked like a charming town but we didn't have much time to explore. Excellent picture of the Falls.

Felice Devine said...

Looks like so much fun! Well, save the evacuation, that is.

Now I am seriously craving a Flake bar. I haven't had one in ages. They are sooo good!

Laurel said...

Sounds like a great trip! That stinks about the fire alarm though.

Runner Leana said...

Sounds like a great weekend away, apart from the fire alarm! Hope you have a great week!!

Run Mommy said...

Great pictures! Looks like a lot of fun was had. Fire Alarm...unpleasant but not too horrible. I am also super craving a Flake bar. YUmmm.

Brian said...

Looks like an awesome weekend! Such a cool view from the hotel!!

JenZen said...

Wow - that all looks so good and like so much fun! Yum! Good week plan! (I always love mentally converting your k's into m's - makes my use some of that gray matter).

Unknown said...

What an excellent weekend. That view from your hotel is beautiful. Nice job on your running too!

Kristen said...

What a fun trip. We took my mom on a wine tasting for her birthday a few weeks ago....so much fun!

Your pictures are wonderful. I hope to go there one day.

I'm thinking of DC for the Marine marathon in Oct. I'm still deciding if that will be my one and only marathon... or just a half

Vava said...

Nice trip! Jackson Triggs is a fave at our house. Great shots of the Falls too - and no frost all over everything! Years back we spent a weekend at Niagara Falls in the middle of February when the mist from the Falls settled on everything in sight and froze. It was beautiful, and the prices at the nice hotels were negiotiable and, therefore, affordable. A recommended weekend for sure!

Breadcrumb Runner said...

Wow, that looks like quite the vacation! I hope to see Niagara Falls someday. It looks so amazing in your pictures!

Heather said...

Looks like a fun trip! Way to get those runs in.

Aron said...

looks like SUCH a great weekend!!!

I Run for Fun said...

Sounds like a great weekend. I've always wanted to go wine tasting.

littlesack said...

i was looking forward to the story about the fire alarm after your comment on not me monday. good thing you are both fit or 26 flights might have been trouble.

glad you and hubby got a weekend away to enjoy each other since hes been back.

Lindsay said...

definitely looks like an awesome weekend! :) nice job getting the run in before the trip so you weren't tempted to skip it!

Steve Stenzel said...

What a trip!! Great pics!!