Unfortunately both of our United flights connecting us from Vegas to Buffalo to get to Niagara were delayed, so we were pretty shattered by the time we got to Buffalo at midday. So much for not wasting a day on travel – by the time we located a taxi and drove to our hotel in Niagara, we were ready to drop!
The weather didn’t help – sluggish rain, but we still managed to have a wander around the town and had lunch at TGIFs (yummy steak!) before utilizing the hotel amenities (I had a swim and a soak in the hot tub while K used the fitness room, and then ran a load of washing through the guest laundry – yay for clean jeans!) and crashing.
Luckily the weather was looking fantastic the next morning, and, fortified by a good night’s sleep, we got up early to go see these Falls. It’s most definitely Spring in this part of the US – daffodils and budding leaves everywhere! It was incredibly cool, crisp and clear, such a change from the dry heat of Vegas, and the humid heat we’d been going though at home!
Wow. This area is just gorgeous. We started off heading to Goat Island, which has some of the best viewpoints on the US side, which showed the vivid rainbows made from the spray/mist from the Horseshoe Falls.
Then we lined up to get a ticket to the viewing platform which also doubles as a boarding area for the Maid of the Mists boat. Unfortunately we were behind a couple of ladies who tried to tell us that we were in the group line (bull) so it was okay for them to be holding a spot for their group of 10! How annoying, especially as I’d been waiting in another line when the same thing happened 5 minutes earlier!
In any case, the view from the platform was amazing, and worth the angst! My fear of heights was kicking in nicely, but I managed to get quite close to the edge!
Next stop – walking across the Rainbow Bridge (the Rainbow Connection?) to Canada! It was quite bizarre crossing a land border like this, and such an easy crossing – no x-rays, security pat-downs or anything! Just a new stamp in the passport and on our way.
The view of the falls on this side of the river was even more amazing, as you could see them face-on, rather than from the side. Wow! We walked along the river all the way back to the Horseshoe Falls, and I grabbed a couple of postcards at one of the stands.
We saw lots of different wildlife – huge ducks, little finches, cardinals, rabbits and squirrels!
We decided to head back to the US side for lunch, as we hadn’t changed any cash, so back along the Bridge we walked. Strangely, going this way we needed to pay 50c to go through the turnstile into the US, whereas the crossing in the other direction was completely free!
The border was slightly more stringent going back into the US, with a few more questions about intent and length of stay etc, but not too bad. Looks like they check baggage etc more this side, but since we were walking though and didn’t have bags, they just sighted our bags and we went through.
Lunch was at the Hard Rock Cafe – it was close, and the NY side of the border really is more like a suburb than the Canadian side, which is a tourist town! The food and drinks were pretty good. I had a chop salad with chicken and bacon, which was tasty, and tried out a couple of cocktails with a souvenir glass!
We rolled our way back to the hotel and collapsed for a while before heading down to the pool/fitness area again. Had to make the most of it, as this is the last stop where we have that facility – the New York City place is more like a B&B.
Next stop: the Big Apple!
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Two Weeks Away 