Discount hotel niagara falls

PRESIDENT'S PAGE

There is a place where you can see one of the Seven Wonders of the World while running along a great path, and get a schvitz all at the same time. It's in Niagara-which is on the way to Toronto, the site of the next CLLA Annual Convention. Niagara started as a honeymoon retreat and has grown into one of the best family resorts in the U.S. The Falls, both U.S. and Canadian, are beautiful and powerful. When you run along side them, the vapor rises from the Canadian Falls and provides a misty, cooling breeze. Ahhh.

Toronto is within about 10 hours driving time of 60% of the population of the U.S. So, I recommend that you think about a Family Road Trip on your way to our annual convention in Toronto, because getting there really is half the fun. If you have to fly, you can still see Niagara Falls. Call Toronto Tours when you get to the convention hotel (the Four Seasons) and take their half day excursion which travels 90 miles south and includes the Maid of the Mist boat tour. The Maid of the Mist is the boat which travels along the river below the Falls and leaves you completely awestruck by the majesty and the sheer force of their pounding waters. You can't get enough of it, it is mesmerizing.

If you are fortunate enough to come by automobile, you can plan to spend a day or two in Niagara before or after the convention. Besides the Maid of the Mist or other boat tours of the Falls, there is the Shaw Festival, one of the best repertory theaters available anywhere. Even the New York City papers give it great reviews. Stanley and I saw three plays in three days and each one was a winner. You will be in wine country. So stop and try the "ice wines," stunning, chilled, sweet dessert wines particular to the region. The casinos there are famous and special fun in their own right. And Niagara is affordable.

Just when you think things can't get better, you're at the Four Seasons hotel in Toronto. Yes, it is luxurious, comfortable, and affordable. There are even a limited number of family packages where you can get two rooms at a further discount. The food is just great. The Four Seasons is close to all of the things which are available in a big city, a sophisticated city, an exciting, clean, safe city. It's here for you at the 2005 annual convention and you will not want to miss it.

Before I talk a little more about Toronto as a destination and what it offers, I would like to talk about the business of our business. We plan to have substantive, quality education courses. We are also working on upgrading the good business opportunities available. We know that is why you are coming to the convention, and we want to make better and more worthwhile business opportunities available. We all say that our best friends in the League have come from attending the Annual Convention-and this is a chance to make those lifetime connections.

You will be networking against a backdrop of sophisticated shopping, sumptuous restaurants, invigorating theater, Major League sports, world class museums, and energizing recreational activities. Just across the street from the Four Seasons (at the Hyatt Regency) is Stillwater, named the best spa in Canada. If Slillwater is of interest to you, please make reservations well beforehand. It is booked solid many weeks in advance.

When Stanley and I were in Toronto, we investigated things which would be of interest to families. We visited Centre Islands, a group of Islands slightly south of the city which are a short (15 minute) ferry ride from the wharf. (The wharf is a short subway or cab ride from the Four Seasons). It was a sparkling day, and the families were out in force. There were picnics, an amusement park, paddle boats, kayaks and canoes, beaches (one is "clothing optional" for those of us who haven't seen enough of our CLLA colleagues), bikes and a frisbee golf course. There was even a kid-bungee jump. Be sure to plan on spending a day on Centre Islands.

We also look sweeping tours of the museums. The Royal Ontario Museum, (ROM), was under construction, but is open. It features a sensational dinosaur exhibit, and the armor was also very good. I was most interested in the bat cave, a structure within the museum that is constructed, cooled and darkened to resemble a real cave and then real (although dead and stuffed) bats hang from the roof of the "cave." It is really quite creepy, and at the end, there is a strobe light so you have the sensation that the bats are actually flying overhead. It struck me as a place that a 12 year old boy might rent for an apartment if allowed to do so. The Art Museum has wonderful exhibits, and up the street from the Four Seasons is the Bata Shoe Museum. Its exhibits-shoes!-are fun and fascinating, and it is a pleasure to find a museum that doesn't take itself too seriously.

As plans now stand, your registration fee will include an opening night event, a Nominating Dinner and a brunch on Saturday. The Convention also features an optional wine tasting (an extra charge), which Joe Marino has graciously agreed to organize. There is no final night banquet, because we are dedicated to keeping the event affordable. Saturday night is theater night, with dinner and a play (or other amusement) on your own. Toronto is famous for its theater, and it ranges from big musical shows to small, local productions. Interestingly, so many films are made there, it is not unusual to see Hollywood's most famous stars in the trendy Avenue Bar at the Four Seasons and walking along in the fashionable shopping district. They are known to frequent a restaurant called Sassafras, which is walking distance from the Four Seasons.

The food at the Four Seasons is great, but you will want to venture out. Believe me, there is something for everyone in the way of restaurants. Toronto has the largest Asian population in North America, and its Chinatown is vibrant and the food is delicious. For gourmets, there are many choices, some within walking distance from the Four Seasons. Every imaginable type of food is available, and you will also be able to find excellent fare within your price range.

I know some of you are worried about crossing the border. Stanley and I have traveled across the U.S.-Canadian border several times since 9/11, both by plane and car. In each case, it was easy. Although we cannot make any promises about your crossing, our longest wait was 10 minutes. You will want passports. The border police are now routinely requesting them. While it is possible to get in and out with a birth certificate or photo ID, (which David Watson recently proved), you are politely but firmly advised by the border police that a passport is preferable.

Over the course of the year, you will be hearing more about the 2005 Annual Convention in Toronto. It runs July 13 to 17, 2005 and you should mark you calendars now. This is a great business opportunity, and a destination which will thrill you. I know I will see you there.

Mary Whitmer

CLLA President