Family Day

I'm still getting used to stat holidays in Ontario. It seems like everything closes. Not so in BC. I mean the government offices and the libraries close of course but all the stores are open and most other places. In Ontario though all the grocery stores are closed, all the malls, AND all the expected government places. It's weird. Almost eerie. Anyways, I'm off of school this week for Reading week and the school in all their wisdom made sure it corresponded with the staturtory Family Day (a holiday we don't even have in BC, although I hear there's talk of introducing it).


First off, let me tell you that celebrating "Family Day" when you're homesick, isn't really my idea of fun. That said, I made the most of it. My wonderful friend Jess and her family "adopted" me for the day and we went for a walk in the snow :) Going out wasn't exactly high on my list of things to do but I'm so glad I did. We met at the Spencer Gorge Conservation Area which is just outside of Hamilton (somewhat central for the three vehicles that were meeting up). It was cold and windy but a beautiful day for a walk.

Not far from the parking lot is Webster's Falls. It isn't all that tall but there's a senic bridge over them so it's very pretty. There's also a set of stairs that go down to the base of the falls but under the fresh snow was a layer of ice so we decided to leave the stairs for another day. I was speaking with a coworker later that day and he said that those stairs are tricky even when there isn't snow and ice on the ground. I'm glad we avoided them!

There are actually two falls in that same area. It's part of the Niagra Escarpment so the one is just a little shorter than the famous Niagra Falls. Of course there's not nearly as much water going over them, and definitely not as much in the middle of winter. This is Tews Falls, the one that is 41 metres high, only slightly shorter than Niagra. The ice formations formed by the falling water were beautiful. Lots of different kinds. It's hard to say exactly how far the water actually falls down. I'm looking forward to going back in the summer when everything is green and the water is flowing more fully but it was beautiful to see it in this state.



The Gorge is sort of Y shaped but it opens up to a view of Hamilton. Not the prettiest city to look on, especially at this time of year, but still kind of neat to see. A few of us even saw a hawk flying down in the gorge.

Even though it was Family Day, it was still Monday and I was scheduled to work. I made it back with plenty of time and put in a five hour shift. I was scheduled for six but this worked better because it meant I did't have to take a half hour unpaid meal break, and I got home and hour and a half earlier than I had expected. After all that fresh air and exercise in the morning, and lots of phyiscal tasks at night (sanitizing, washing floors, etc) I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home. I was in bed, asleep around 11pm and slept right through till almost 10am this morning. It felt good! Today (Tuesday) I have nothing specific planned other than working on the three papers I have to write. So, for now, I'm off to the library.