Me vs. The Environmentally Friendly Gas Can

EPA Approved!

Last week while in Pennsylvania we found a nice riding lawn mower for Ben at an estate sale.  His new house is on about an acre of land, so a riding mower was more of a necessity than a luxury.  The mower needed a new battery, but once that was replaced it fired up and worked well.  One other thing we needed was a gas can.  No problem there, a trip to Wal-Mart was on the agenda.  I'd pick one up and he would be good to go.

A portion of Ben's extra large backyard

I hadn't shopped for a gas can in years so this is where the real adventure began.  From what I could recollect from my days back when Beth and I owned a home, a good size gas can cost around five dollars.  Since I hadn't bought one in a very long time, with inflation maybe seven dollars at today's prices.  As with many things, the world of gas cans and their prices has changed a bit more than I realized.
As I approached the gas can area in the store, I should have been suspicious of the "Financing Available" sign posted nearby.  Secondly, while it still sorta looked like a gas can, it didn't have a simple nozzle to move the gas from the can to the lawn mower.  There was now some kind of contraption with a green tab to push down with your thumb and something else lighter green in color to push down with the palm of the same hand.  Thankfully, attached to the can was a five step detailed instruction guide on how to properly use this mechanical marvel.  It's been a while since it was conferred on me, but I have a masters degree, I figured I could handle it.
I purchased the can without having to finance it.  If I had paid with twenty dollars cash instead of on a credit card I would have been left with just about enough change to buy one item off the McDonalds Dollar Menu.  I was now the proud owner of a super deluxe, environmentally friendly, EPA approved gas can!
I figured out by trial and error how to remove the fancy contraption so I could put gas into our new purchase.  Once back at Ben's house the fun really began.  Being a red blooded male, I saw no need to read the five step instruction guide.  After three or four failed attempts to dispense gas into the mower, I figured reading the five step instructions might not be a bad idea.  I read them diligently and I tried to comply.  The result, not a drop of gas in the mower.  I re-read them and tried again with the same results.  I did it again and again with no luck whatsoever.  I guess not just any old masters degree will do to operate an environmentally friendly, EPA approved gas can.  Maybe a mechanical engineering degree is required.  I had now spent the better part of fifteen minutes wrestling with this piece of plastic and I was losing badly.  I began to rationalize that it wasn't my lack of intelligence or mechanical ability that was the issue, surely the can was defective.
At that point I did what I should have done in the beginning.  I took the fancy nozzle off and poured the gas directly from the can into the lawn mower.  Most of it successfully landed in the mowers gas tank but there was a small puddle of gas that collected on the driveway under the mower.
The end result of this little adventure.  I had paid twice as much for a gas can as I should have paid because it had to meet the EPA standards set forth by a bunch of yahoos up in Washington.  Due to either user ignorance or a mechanical defect (I'm going with mechanical defect), I had spilled twice as much gas as I would have if the can had just had a simple nozzle like the cans of the "good old days".
Don't get me wrong, I'm all about protecting the environment.  Although I've never  handcuffed myself to a tree, we have owned a hybrid car since 2005, which was way before owning a hybrid was cool.  I've also been known to regularly go through the household trash to make sure that nothing that should be recycled was about to go out with the regular trash.  But I couldn't help but smile at that little puddle of gas laying on the drive way and feeling somewhat vindicated by the frustration caused by an overpriced, environmentally friendly, EPA approved gas can.
Ben is well versed in how to remove the fancy nozzle so he can pour the gas directly into his mower.  I hope he doesn't spill too much gas and wreck the environment!  If he does, I'm sure Washington will design a "new and improved", even more environmentally friendly EPA approved gas can......for a small fee!

Pennsylvania.........mostly work, but a little play.

Play Day at the Little League World Series!

We were very excited to see Ben's new home.  We enjoyed staying with him for the past week.  Since he had just recently moved his things from Texas, there was still plenty of unpacking and settling in to turn it from a house into a home.
Thanks to an estate sale, a couple of thrift stores and of course Wal-Mart we left very satisfied with what we had accomplished.  We both also learned quickly that we hadn't used our "domestic muscles" in a few years.  While Ben was working we were up and down a step ladder a couple of  billion times. Using a manual screwdriver over and over led us both to finding some muscles we hadn't used in a while.  It made us appreciate being intentionally homeless even more!

Ben's Place!

Taking a break from the step ladder and the screwdriver

Ben's dog, Allie never lifted a paw to help but she did keep us company!

Of course with Ben around it's never going to be "all work and no play".  His current off days are Tuesday and Wednesday.  On those days we did some fun and exciting things.  We enjoyed going down to the really cool city of Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon.  He bought a book called "101 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die".  There's plenty of things left, but we managed to check a few of them off the list.

Chowing down at Gaucho's......the food was amazing...……….

Shopping in the strip district (most stores close early, go before 6 PM)…...….

Seeing the Mr. Rogers statue (he was a Pittsburgh native)…………...

taking in a Pirates game (right now they're a bad team with a really great stadium).  Four of the 101 Things To Do In Pittsburgh Before You Die

We took all of Wednesday off and drove over to Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series.  I had watched this annual event on TV many times and often thought that it would be fun to see it in person.  Although the particular game we saw isn't going to go down as a classic, taking in the sights and sounds were great.  If you go, be sure to set aside a little time to take in the World of Little League Museum.  It does a great job chronicling the evolution of the little league baseball organization from it's beginning in Williamsport in 1939 to it's present status.  Currently Little League is played in over 80 countries and has expanded to include a softball and "challenger" division for children with special needs.  Don't miss seeing the cardboard baseball glove that a boy from Uganda made out of cardboard.  The craftsmanship was amazing and appreciating his desire to have a glove so he could play baseball brought a tear to my eye.  Hopefully they gave him a real leather glove before taking the one he made to display in the museum!

Williamsport from the Bald Eagle Overlook just outside of town

It's a very "fan friendly" event and it's free!

It would have been fun to sit on the outfield hill, but it was a little sunny and hot!

Japan vs S. Korea two of the international powerhouses

The glove is made completely of cardboard!

It was a great day and the drive across the beautiful, green rolling hills of western Pennsylvania left us looking forward to exploring the state more on future visits.  Most of the work of helping Ben get settled in is behind us, so the next adventures will be mostly play and a little work!

Kicking back for a few minutes at Kozy Rest

A tale of two Niagara's..................

Two Americans standing in Canada with the American Falls in the background

It's a few days late getting this posted.  We've been helping Ben get settled into his new house in Slippery Rock, PA.  It's coming together very nicely and he seems very proud of it.  The house is only 10 minutes from where he works so it's also very convenient.  If you're ever in the Western Pennsylvania area and are looking for a place to stay check out Kozy Rest.  It is owned by a super friendly family and has the best Activities Director in the business.
Jellystone Park at Kozy Rest
Our last day in Canada was last Friday.  We picked up a rental car at the Toronto Airport and pointed it south toward the US.  We had a couple of final stops in Canada before crossing the border.
First up was Niagara on the Lake.  This is a small community where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario.  The historic downtown is filled with impeccably maintained colonial style buildings and homes.  Although it was filled with visitors, it was calm, peaceful and serene, like something right out of a Norman Rockwell picture.  We enjoyed spending a few hours exploring before heading to our final stop, Niagara Falls.

Prince of Wales Hotel

The golf course in Niagara on the Lake was pretty nice even if you couldn't smoke pot.  It's now legal throughout Canada.

Where the Niagara River and Lake Ontario meet.  That's Fort Niagara State Park (NY) in the background

This Gretzky guy was a pretty good hockey player.  It's almost unfair to the many other nice wineries in the area for him to have one there.  No Canadian is going to pass by this one without stopping.

Don't get me wrong, the actual falls are amazing.  We had visited them years back and enjoyed seeing them again.  It's the area around the falls, especially the Clifton Hills area that was jaw dropping for both of us.  We remembered it was somewhat of a "tacky tourist area" years ago.  What it's turned into is somewhat mind numming.  If you've been to Galtlinburg, Tenn. or on International Drive in the Orlando area, you've experienced"tacky".  Clifton Hills is tacky stacked on top of tacky.
They have literally stacked wax museums. haunted houses, zombie apocalypse rooms, upside down houses, mirror maze escape rooms and more on top of one another.

Welcome to "tacky tourist town"!

After parking we set out to find the falls, which seemed like a simple task.  We suddenly found ourselves trying to navigate the maze of buildings, while not bumping into the thousands of people wandering aimlessly down the sidewalks munching on hot dogs, turkey legs and cotton candy.  As crazy as it may seem, Beth stopped someone on the sidewalk and asked, which way are the falls?
He seemed a little puzzled at first, but I think he caught on quickly to the fact we were serious.  He smiled and pointed in a direction somewhat opposite of where we were headed.
By all means, see the falls!  They're spectacular, especially from the Canadian side, which gives you better views of both the Horseshoe and the American Falls.  Unless you're really into tacky, try to avoid the Clifton Hills area!

The "real" Niagara Falls.  All the pictures are from the Canadian side.  This is the American Falls

Horseshoe Falls

Boats run from both sides and give you an up close and very wet look of the falls.

Sadly they've built this zipline running parallel to the falls.  Nice for the zipliners but not very scenic for everyone else.

There are opportunities to walk close to the falls on both sides.  You will get wet.

For as beautiful as Niagara on the Lake and the actual falls are, we spent the majority of the two hours waiting to cross the border talking about the tackiest place we've ever seen...…….and we've seen some tacky ones.

It took us two hours to cross the border.........it's almost like there is a wall there!

Toronto Day 3-Toronto Island Park

It's just a short 8-10 minute ferry ride from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal across the inner harbor to Toronto Island Park.  The park actually consists of 15 islands of various sizes, that combined are approximately 800 acres, which is roughly the equivalent of New York's Central Park.  Many of the islands are connected by bridges while a few of them are only reachable by private boat.

City skyline from Toronto Island Park Ferry

  The islands are a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city and is enjoyed by both locals and visitors year round, especially in the summer.
Here's a few tidbits of information on the islands:
They were not always "islands".  Originally they were a series of sandbars.
Several of the islands are named after early settlers to the island.  Ward's Island is named after David Ward, a fisherman who settled there in the 1830's.
The first year-round inhabitants to the island settled there in 1862.
Many residences and business left the island in the early 1900's but there are still private homes and around 750 year round residents.
At one time there was a large baseball stadium on the island.  Babe Ruth hit his first professional homerun there on Sept. 5, 1914.
Today there are beaches, including one section that is clothing optional, cafes, gift shops, an amusement park, hiking and biking trails and gardens galore.
Here's a few pictures from a fun filled day of hiking and biking around Toronto Island.  If you're going to be in Toronto for any length of time be sure to check it out.

There are miles and miles of biking trails

Wooden Bridge connecting two islands

"Clothing Mandatory" Beach.  We didn't venture down to the "Clothing Optional" section.

Part of the old fashioned amusement park

Toronto Island Pier

Toronto-Day 2......Looping around downtown

Graffiti Alley

When we checked into the hotel we got a few recommendations on some points of interest we might want to check out.  On a previous visit years ago we went up the CN Tower and to the Hockey Hall of Fame, which are two of Toronto's most famous attractions.  They were both excellent, but not something that we were interested in repeating.  So we made a plan that would take us to a couple of other Toronto attractions.  They were on opposite ends of the "downtown" area, which would give us the opportunity to take in plenty of the city.  Our game plan was to go south to the lake, turn right heading west along the waterfront for a while, before heading north to Graffiti Alley, then east to the historic Distillery District and finally south back to waterfront and hotel.  We had all day so there was no rush, giving us plenty of time for breakfast, lunch, people watching and an occasional detour if we saw something interesting.
The waterfront was already busy with runners, walkers and bikers.  The very colorful, flower filled Toronto Music Garden was a perfect place to "sit and stare" for a while.  We enjoyed watching boaters prepping and heading out on their sailboats for a day out on Lake Ontario  Throughout the summer there is live music several nights a week in the appropriately named Music Garden.  There is a concert on Thursday, so there's a good chance we'll be back to enjoy the garden and boats while taking in a little classical music.

Toronto Music Gardens

From the Music Garden we headed inland toward Graffiti Alley.  As the name implies, Graffiti Alley is a 5-6 block long alley between King and Queen Streets where graffiti artists have turned the backs of the buildings into art.  It was quite popular with people of all ages strolling the length of the alleys stopping to admire and sometimes trying to interpret the artwork.  It's worth a visit, but keep in mind that it is a real alley, so you'll be sharing your walk with an occasional car as well as a bunch of garbage cans.  Unfortunately, in a few places some less talented artists had come along and painted over the work of the talented artists.

King and Queen Streets are two parallel main streets running east/west through downtown.  We walked along the very busy Queen Street which is full of shops and cafes before giving way to the business district and municipal buildings.  We made a detour up Yonge Street, which until 1999 was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest street in the world.  It was listed as 1,178 miles long because it connected with a highway.  I guess they ruled that didn't count, which sounds like the correct ruling to me.

Queen Street

Yonge Street

The Distillery District is a pedestrian only area where there are wonderful old buildings from the 1800's.  They originally housed the Gooderham & Worts Distillery and have now been repurposed into shops, restaurants and a place where you can still sample some of the locally produced whiskies.
Not being big fans of whiskey, especially at 2:00 in the afternoon we opted for something more palatable to our taste, ice cream.

Distillery District

The heart and letters are made out of locks

We made our way back toward our starting point along The Esplanade which took us by the St. Lawrence Market.  This city market was established in 1803 and was full of farm fresh produce and small food kiosks.  National Geographic once proclaimed it as the best food market in the world.

After resting for a while back at the hotel, we finished off the day with a casual sunset stroll along the waterfront.  A nice way to wrap up a day of looping around downtown Toronto.