Fitzy's Web Site: Travel

NIAGARA FALLS
Ontario, Canada

July 19th, 2000

Scroll down and click on any image to enlarge

Greetings & Salutations,

Hopefully this update finds you just "Phat & Happy".

Winter in America seems to be the time to snuggle up with a good book or something. Yeah, what ever!!! Two of my best mates over have had recent additions to their respective families.

On the 4th of July KW and his bride Lane brought a half a side of beef, by the name of Daniel, into world. No disrespect, but Daniel did tip the scales over 9 pounds which is a fair chunk of watermelon to be carrying around.

Dash and, his leader of the Opposition, Christine welcomed a little girl by the name of Alyssa to the Millennium at approximately 1:30pm this afternoon. Although a couple of weeks early and a little light at just over 6 pounds, Alyssa was anxious to get out and about earlier than expected.

Both mothers and their respective bundles of happiness are doing fine. The fathers are doing shots. ;-) In true blue Australian tradition, we are going to have to wet the babies heads in the very near future. As always, photos will follow.

This brings me to the sad part of this correspondence.

Someone who was very near and dear to me slipped peacefully into the night on July 4th. Nicole Habib (or Miss Cruise as I fondly called her from 10 years old) courageously battled cancer for several years before succumbing to the condition. If ever there was a role model for a young person in the world, Nicole was it. Nicole may not ever have a building or park named after her, but her achievements, drive and determination over her short life, will forever be monumental to all that have known and loved her as we all did.
It does me proud to always be her Uncle Fitzy.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Stay Happy ;-)

Fitzy

It can be a little slippery in the little town of Niagara when the thermometer plunges, and the spray off the falls freezes on the ground.	I found this "Tommy Tourist" floating around like some kind of Wally.

Don't worry, she wasn't the only one.
	Don't feel to bad as there were thousands of happy camera clickers.


	Niagara Falls consists of two major waterfalls, this is the Canadian fall as it is in Canada. They really out some thought into naming the waterfalls. :-)
The Canadian Falls are approximately 52 meters(170 ft) high.	The crestline is estimated at 675 meters (2200 ft) wide.
The river's depth is estimated at 56 meters (184 ft).	The flow of water over the falls is approximately 675,000 gallons (246,000 liters) per second.
What idiot would want to float over the falls to impress their friends?	Plenty have tried, but the balance sheet has been evened up by those who didn't.
	You can get boat rides to the bottom of the falls if you don't mind getting soaked.
The boats look to be converted ferries and are all named "Maids of the Mist".	On the other side of the border is the American Falls. Smart people, these guys who named the falls.
There's that bloke again, this time he's wandering around the Hard Rock Cafe.	This is the Skylon Tower that has a total height of 160 meters (520 ft) from its base to the top.
All of the overhead photos were taken from the observation deck of this tower.	From up here you can see the whole falls and the waterways that feed them.
On a clear day visitors can see close to 8,000 square miles of Canada and the United States.	Or you can just marvel at the beauty of one of the most famous waterfalls in the world.
On a good day, the view can include the skylines of Toronto, Canada and Buffalo, New York.	The American Falls at 56 meters (180 ft) is slightly higher than its Canadian counterpart. The crestline is 328 meters (1075 ft) wide
The volume of water flowing over the American falls is estimated at 75,000 gallons (283,000 liters) per second.