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Published: February 10th 2006
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Very early start
Going to Niagara Falls
That's lots of water!
Well, I managed to get up early, wash up, pack up and even had a sit down breakfast. Even taking my time I had plenty of time on my hands to browse the aisles at the grocery store and wait for my train. Being 7:30/7:45 in the morning at the grocery store who'd think that there'd be a line up to check out? lol
I guess I didn't have on my "angry, don't disturb me or sit beside me" face on this morning. First I was in the line up to get on the train and a guy asked me if I knew Mandarin. Nope, sorry. Well are you going to NYC? Nope, sorry. He was looking for someone to escort his mom to NYC since she doesn't speak English. The Indian woman in front of me was kind enough to take on the task. Second incident was on the train and someone sat down beside me. Doh! But luckily for me she had to get up to use the toilet and never came back. Perhaps she could detect my "don't talk to me" vibe and changed seats.
Or she really had to use the washroom and couldn't find her way back. haha
So having my own space on the train I quickly sprawled out and started to read. But before too long my mind was wandering and I couldn't concentrate on reading so I moved onto journal writing. Hmm, don't really feel like that either. Well, time for a nap then. lol It's only about two hours to Niagara Falls so with a short nap in the middle of the trip, it sure did make the journey pass by quickly.
Lucky for me the train station in Niagara Falls is really close to my hostel where I'll be staying. So I was checked in pretty quickly and given the low down on some happenings at the hostel. BBQ dinner tonight. Hallowe'en party tomorrow. Cool! Mind you, I don't have anything to dress up...perhaps I'll wear my Guides Canada vest and go as a Guider. haha
Once I made up my bed and dropped off my stuff, I made my way towards the infamous Horseshoe Falls. I saw the Rainbow Bridge connecting the US with Canada and then the American Falls...I believe they are called
Bridal Veil Falls (Now how original is that? haha) From that angle, the American Falls actually looked more impressive than the Canadian Horseshoe Falls in the distance that at this point were really far away still. But as I got closer and closer to the Horseshoe Falls, not only were they getting bigger and more impressive but the crowds were getting bigger too. I probably took way too many photos of the Falls but you just can't help it! Plus the sun wasn't in the ideal place and some shots were better than others depending upon whether the sun was behind cloud cover and how much cloud cover was out there.
It was really amazing looking at the Falls up close where the water is rushing down and at the point where the water falls. The mist from the force of the falling water on the rocks down below was incredible as well and was actually covering up some of what would have been spectacular views of the Falls. At this point I had a small flashback to the movie "Superman 2" that I saw a couple of weeks ago in Halifax. Lois Lane and Clark Kent were in Niagara Falls working on a story.
But I get off topic. After getting enough of the Falls, I decided to check out a couple of souvenir shops to pick up a couple of postcards, thimbles, t-shirts, caps, shot glasses, bags, spoon rest, magnets, key chains, mugs and souvenir wall plates to decorate my walls. Okay, so I'm joking about picking up all of that stuff other than the souvenir plates to decorate my walls. HAHA Okay, okay I just picked up a couple of postcards.
I then walked towards the Clifton Hill area. Now this is touristy area central. If you're looking to plunk down your hard earned cash on arcade games, museums, and houses of fun, food or more souvenirs, then this is the place for you to come! Super cheese central! I stopped by the Hershey's store and Lainie, I'm much better at reading the price tags this time round. LOL I didn't buy anything myself but it was interesting to see so many people buying chocolate bars at more than twice the price you'd pay at a grocery store. Oh well. I guess sometimes people get all sucked into the touristy traps without really realizing it. I guess being away about 10 months now I have long since stopped thinking along the lines of, "What the heck, I'm on vacation."
After grabbing a bite to eat since I couldn't hold out 'til I got back to the hostel to make myself something to eat I bundled back up to walk back to the hostel. On the way back to the hostel I stopped off at a couple more souvenir shops. I was starting to feel tired so I walked at a pretty slow pace back to the hostel. By the time I got back to the hostel I was ready for a nap...two hours later I was feeling all refreshed again. Excellent timing since it was less than an hour before the BBQ dinner was to start. Can't beat a $3 hamburger!
Then I met Shonae at the BBQ. I met Shonae back in Montreal at the hostel. What a small world. She made it to NYC for a bit since I last saw her and just loved it there. It was nice chatting with her again. Feeling all cold and a little tired again, I decided to not join those guys for a night out at the pub. Besides, I have to make sure I'm all good for tomorrow's all-u-can eat brunch for only $5. Should be good. I can't wait!
On that note, I'm gonna now wash up and do some reading before hitting the sack. Oh yeah, must change my watch back one hour before going to bed...daylight savings time ends.
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