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| Sources says that very soon, sometime before the 4th of July weekend, riding a Disney Transportation bus from Disney Springs to any Disney resort is going to require proof that you're staying in a Disney hotel. This is to prevent people from parking for free at Disney Springs and then going to a Disney resort hotel which is located near a desired theme park. Unknown if this will also be required for travel from Disney Springs to a Disney hotel via ferry boat transportation. |
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| We have one more article to publish about last week's trip to the upper peninsula of Michigan and our one night journey into Ontario, Canada. During our visit to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, we took a 2-hr boat tour of the Soo Locks that connect Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes. |
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| Lake Superior is the highest of the Great Lakes at 600ft above sea level. Both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are 577ft above sea level, a drop of 23ft. The St. Marys River connects Superior to Michigan/Huron and it's full of very visible rapids. To allow for ship movements, the Soo Locks were constructed. |
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| There is this single lock on the Canadian side and two locks on the American side with one more under construction. |
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| This Canadian lock is relatively small so the large lake freighters use the American locks in both directions. Our tour boat entered the lock on the lower Huron side of the lock. |
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| Once inside, the doors on both ends close and water is pumped into the lock to raise the boat. |
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| Once the level of Lake Superior is reached, the door opens and you can sail out. Our tour boat is the only one originating from the Canadian side. There are two Soo Locks tours originating from the American side and we encountered one coming in the opposite direction. |
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| We passed under the International Bridge which connects Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on the left with Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on the right. (Sault is pronounced Soo.) |
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| We then made a U-turn and headed towards the American locks, followed by lake freighter MV Indiana Harbor. At 1000ft in length, she's one of the largest boats on the Great Lakes and typically carries a cargo of taconite from Duluth to steel mills along the Great Lakes. |
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| Our tour ended shortly after we entered one of the American locks and were lowered back to Lake Huron level. Hundreds of miles away, the Welland Canal has 8 locks and lowers boats from Lake Erie down to the lowest lake, Lake Ontario. The locks lower ships gradually while the nearby Niagara River has a rather steep drop called Niagara Falls. |
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| DJ Mr. Nukem (UAE) and DJ Rossi (UAE/GB) played mostly Classic Trance last night at Iron Cow and the music was SO good. Saturday night pics can be found on sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE. |
Another action-packed weekend coming up!
THU 11JUN IRON COW DJ Juan Buitrago (USA)
FRI 12JUN McQUEENS Shade: DJ Carlos Mendoza (USA)
FRI 12JUN BROKEN STRINGS DJ Talent Showcase
SAT 13JUN IRON COW DJ Mr. Nukem (UAE)
SAT 13JUN BROKEN STRINGS All Female Lineup ft. DJ Gruv Girl (USA)
SAT 13JUN VANGUARD DJ duo Adventure Club (CDN)
SAT 13JUN PALM TREE CLUB DJ Chino (USA)
SAT 13JUN ALFIES HIFI DJ Mark Gorbulew (USA)
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| You know you're in Canada when you come to these booths operated by Canada Border Services and you have to show your passport to gain entry. (This is the land crossing from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.) |
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| You know you're in Canada when you see Shoppers Drug Mart stores on every other street corner. (They are as ubiquitous as Walgreens and CVS in the United States.) |
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| You know you're in Canada when you see Tim Horton's instead of Dunkin. |
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| You know you're in Canada when you see Petro-Canada and ESSO gas stations. |
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| You know you're in Canada when you see Canadian Tire stores. They really have no American counterpart, selling not only tires and auto parts but also outdoor equipment such as kayaks and tents and some even sell groceries. |
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| You know you're in Canada when you see Bell telephone stores and payphone booths. A remnant of the former American conglomerate Bell System. Florida used to have Southern Bell and later Bell South. |
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| You know you're in Canada when you see Canada Post/Postes Canada branches. |
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| You know you're in Canada when you see Roots stores full of outdoor leisure apparel, much of it with Canadiana logos. |
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| You know you're in Canada when sporting goods stores such as Sport Chek are jammed with hockey sticks! |
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| You know you're in Canada when you see Dollarama stores. |
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| Last but not least, you know you're in Canada when there are A&W restaurants everywhere and you can stop and get some poutine (pictured here without cheese curds...yuck!) Bonjour au Canada, everyone! |
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| We're on the road this week, initially checking out the Upper Peninsula (The U.P.) of Michigan beginning with Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. While not a full-fledged national park, it is a unit of the National Park Service. |
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| There are massive sand dunes along the Lake Superior shore and they are the main feature of the park. |
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| Once you get yourself to the bottom, you've got to get yourself back to the top. I only went down a few feet to get pictures of the guys climbing down but it was a struggle to climb back up. The dunes are over 300ft tall. |
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| There are numerous warning signs about going down and about them having to send rescue teams to get you back up. Rescues are not at all uncommon. |
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| Sandstone cliffs are the highlight at Miners Castle. |
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| Far view. |
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| Close-up. Lake Superior storm waves and winter lake effect snowfall that often tops 200" all sculpt the lakeshore. |
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| Miners Falls is also nearby. |
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| Only a .6mi walk from the nearest parking lot, it's definitely worth the mostly downward stroll. (Although the stroll is mostly upward heading back.) |
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| When you're in the U.P., be sure to nibble on some Pasties. They're everywhere. |
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| During June, 2010 which is 16 years ago, Save Pleasure Island Blog was investigating that bright white light pictured in the lower right corner of the photo above. It had always been a bright white light. |
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| Well in June of that year the light suddenly began emitting a cobalt blue color. SPI demanded answers but never got them and like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. |
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| It was all Prince (USA) all night last night at the "Prince Tribute" show ft. DJ BMF (USA). It was so much fun and you can find all the pictures on sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE. |
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| Our sister website Orlando Entertainment News visited 6 clubs last night and you can find all the photographs HERE. Included was DJ Derek Fereal (USA) playing Trance during our visit to Taco Kat. |
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| The Labor Day Bash on the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend has become an annual tradition the past few years and we were expecting another one this year. However, sources have told Save Pleasure Island Blog and Orlando Entertainment News that House of Blues has supposedly booked some other musical act this year for that date which means the Labor Day Bash can't happen at HOB. If it happens, it would take place at some other venue. We'll keep you updated. UPDATE: Event is back on! |
We begin June with a moderate amount of activity:
THU 04JUN PALM TREE CLUB DJ Jack Swoon (USA)
FRI 05JUN GOOD TIMES Abyss: DJ Lavidicus (USA)
FRI 05JUN CELINE DJ duo Bob Moses (CDN)
FRI 05JUN LUNA BAR DJ Mathew Scot (USA)
FRI 05JUN ALFIE'S HIFI DJ Romano Arcaini (D/USA)
FRI 05JUN MORSE CODE DJ Scot Marc (USA)
SAT 06JUN WILL'S PUB Prince Tribute: DJ BMF (USA)
SAT 06JUN ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER Retro Silent Disco
SAT 06JUN IRON COW DJ Mr. Nukem (UAE)
SAT 06JUN ALFIE'S HIFI DJ Sean Samaroo (USA)
SAT 06JUN ELIXIR BAR DJ duo VLTRA (I)
SUN 07JUN ELIXIR BAR DJ Thunderpony (USA)
SUN 06JUN ALFIE'S HIFI DJ Frankmatik (USA)
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| Crazyshake was a temporary pop-up store located in Disney Springs Town Center in the former Sprinkles location adjacent the No. 2 Bridge. That has now closed. Apparently, Ghirardelli Chocolates will be temporarily moving into this spot, per Orlando Business Journal. The main Ghirardelli location in Disney Springs Marketplace will be closing late this summer for extensive renovations before reopening in 2027. This temporary location will allow them to have a retail location during the construction. |
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| One of our favorite downtown clubs closed this weekend so today on Orlando Entertainment News we remember so many of our "Girls of Treehouse". LINK |
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| Famed duo Rabbit in the Moon (USA) played at The Vanguard last night and sister website Orlando Entertainment News was there to take pictures. You can see them HERE. |
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| DJ Antonia Rivano (RCH/USA) was the headliner last night at her monthly "Tun Tun" show at Iron Cow. It was SO fun. All our Friday night pics are on sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE. |
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| Four more nightclubs are permanently closing in downtown Orlando. The largest venue closing is Attic Nightclub on Pine Street. We've rarely visited the past few years as they lost their relevancy. |
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| They shared space with Treehouse that had this entrance on Magnolia Avenue. We used to love going here to have pictures taken sitting down on their grass floor. |
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| Technically uptown rather than downtown, Oliv Bar is also closing this month. We called this place "the little bar with the big bar inside". Lots of fun times in here and we're going to miss it. Not pictured, Motorworks Brewing formerly Orange County Brewers which is downtown on Orange Avenue is also closing. Downtown is becoming bleaker and bleaker as the City of Orlando runs off bars and clubs with nothing to replace them. |
