Day 1
We flew into Buffalo on Southwest and then rented a car and drove through Niagara Falls, NY to Niagara Falls, Canada. Getting across the border proved to be amazingly easy and we were in Canada by around noon. As it was snowing and the visibility was probably down to under 100 feet while we were driving, I didn't see the Falls as we drove near and over them. So my first real memorable view was of Clifton Hill, the main tourist area in Niagara Falls, Canada.
Oh my God, I know why my parents never brought my to Niagara Falls. Seriously it is the world's biggest tourist trap preying on parents with their children. There's Frankenstein's House of Horrors, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Toussaud's Wax Museum, the Museum of Criminals, the Guiness Book of World Records museum, a WWE Smackdown ride, and dozens of other sites designed to fascinate and appall. Each one is loud, both in design and in taped message repeating over and over onto the sidewalks. We found it hilarious. How on earth they all managed to stay open blew our minds. A lot of people must have parents who were way bigger pushovers than mine. And it's not as if they're cheap. Jeff and I didn't indulge in any of them but had a good time laughing at them. If we'd been there in high tourist season with the masses crowding into them, we probably would have had a whole different attitude towards them, but as it was, we found them funny. I had heard that it was kind of kitschy, but this really took the cake.
After settling in to McGrail House, the bed & breakfast we were staying at, we ventured out into the cold, so I could get my first view of the Falls. Down the hill and right in front of me were the American falls.
They didn't look at all like what I'd imagined, with huge boulders at the bottom causing a violent spray of water. I then realized that I'd never really seen pictures of the American Falls before.
Walking a bit further, Horseshoe Falls began to materialize, and it looked exactly as I thought it would.
These were the falls I'd always seen pictures of. A huge plume of mist blocked the middle of the falls, so that I never saw them all weekend. The water gushed over with such amazing force. I'm not sure how anyone ever survived a trip over them, or even gave it a thought. The mist and light were just right for rainbows, and I, decked out like a cold terrorist, got to see quite a few of them.
After looking at them from above, we paid our $8 to go behind the falls. The better view was really from beside the falls, because from behind the falls, it just looks like a big white curtain. The rush of water is pretty impressive though.
At night, the falls get lit up, which is pretty kitschy if you think about it, but I'm going to admit right now that I liked it and even hung around in the super super freezing weather to wait for the falls to change colors a couple of times and to get excited about every change.
Day 2
Having seen the Falls, we set out on Day 2 to go to Niagara on the Lake, a small town about 30 km north of the Falls. It's a really quaint town with cute shops and restaurants. We browsed around and I bought a Christmas ornament to add to my international collection. It's a snowman dressed like a Mountie holding a Canadian flag in one hand and a Canada goose in the other (a goose! I had to buy it). Leaving the town, we went to two wineries in the area. The Ice Wine festival was going on, and we got to take part in two tastings. Ice Wine is a sweet wine made from frozen grapes. It's apparently pretty special, but I don't really like dessert wines, so I wasn't a huge fan. I did enjoy the tastings though because they came with food - the first place served three little appetizers with three different ice wines and the second place served a glass of ice wine with a plate of fruit and biscotti that could be dipped in a chocolate fountain! Mmmmm.
That night we went to one of the Casinos but didn't spend any money. It was a pretty boring place without any pizazz. Just meant for the gambling, not for the entertaining. We also spent hours trying to find somewhere to eat, because Niagara Falls, Canada has to have the worst restaurant selection around. There's a lot of generic steakhouses that are really icky and reminded me of Ponderosa, a handful of Italian places that had names like Spaghetti House, chains like Applebees and TGI Fridays where a normally $12 entree was $22, and that's about it. You apparently don't go to Niagara Falls for the food.
Day 3
We were heading home in the evening, so we decided to spend most of the day on the American side of the Falls. Before leaving, we went to see the Falls one last time from the Canadian side. It had been cold and windy the night before and the mist had blown all over the area and coated everything nearby with a thick layer of ice. It was like a winter wonderland. Really, really beautiful. We slipped and slid on the ice and took it all in, before crossing the bridge back to the U.S.
On the U.S. side, we went to Goat Island and stood right next to the American Falls. We also went out on Three Sisters Islands, where we could have stepped right into the water and gone over the falls if we had so desired. Seriously, there was nothing from keeping you from doing so. Kind of crazy.
Niagara Falls, NY isn't nearly as touristy as the Canadian side, and is in fact, kind of industrial and run down once you get away from the park areas. So after enjoying as much of the outdoors as we could in the cold weather, we headed down to Buffalo. We had a late lunch and contemplated how to spend the time until our plane left. At the Mexican place where we ate, the staff suggested the Zoo (seriously, it was 12 degrees, did they really suggest the Zoo?) and the Art Museum. We decided to go to the museum, but when we got there it was closed. So we ended up in this big cemetery with lots of crazy tombstones and statues. It was pretty neat. We then wasted our last bit of time wandering around the world's lamest mall before heading to the airport and flying back to D.C.
All in all, it was a great trip. The falls were really beautiful, the wineries were nice, and the town was hilarious. We had a great time just hanging out and relaxing.
And I can finally say that I've seen Niagara Falls.
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