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The fact of the matter is that you can just sit there for hours just staring at them; first the American Falls with the good sized boulders constantly bombarded with the cold water of the Niagara River, then just to the right, the Canadian Falls or “Horseshoe Falls” as they are known, which majestically tumble into the same river with the constant company of the Maid of the Mist tourist boats.
Sure, this is a well crafted tourist destination, with all the major hotel chains, the Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood, multiple casinos and even an indoor water park which we’re sure impresses the many kids who burn off energy going down the multiple slides into the heavily chlorinated water, not to mention the parents who have successfully found a way to tire out the little rug rats so they will sleep well at night. For those of you with children, we mean that in the nicest way.
But in the end, there they are……they are not the most majestic falls in the world, not the steepest and perhaps not even the most famous when you consider Iguaçu Falls, Victoria Falls or Yosemite. What remains is that they are
simply mesmerizing to look at. Literally one-fifth of all the fresh water in the world tumbles over these 180 ft. falls. And you can get very close to them and experience the fury of the water. We felt a conflict between the beauty of Mother Nature and all of the commercialism but again the falls are beautiful.
Back in January when it was cold and snowy in “The Burgh,” MJ asked what we would like to do on Memorial Day weekend. During this conversation we discovered that neither of us had been here for a very long time. Or as we sometimes say “in that other lifetime.”
We set out in the Toyota and put the top down on a sunny day and headed for the Canadian side of the Falls. We reserved a room at the Sheraton on the Falls. Upon arrival, we found ourselves on the 17th floor with a fabulous view of both falls. We were almost directly across from the American Falls. The full length glass walls included a small door which you can open and listen to the falls. This makes for great sleeping. Imagine if you will the sound of powerful cascading
Sheraton Falls View
A great place to stay-- we loved our roomwater……
The first night we dined at the top of the Skylon Tower, which opened in 1965 and has a revolving restaurant. For our Seattle friends, it was like taking the Space Needle and moving it to Niagara Falls, Canada. The food wasn’t bad, which goes against the general principal that you shouldn’t eat in a revolving restaurant.
At sunset, they turn on giant floodlights to illuminate the falls and they are quite nice.
After a good night’s rest, the next morning we set out on the quest that all great Niagara Falls explorers yearn for, a ride on the Maid of the Mist, or what we affectionately call “The Blue Man Boat Group.” Everyone gets a blue plastic poncho to wear and from a distance it is quite entertaining to watch all these little ant-like people all wearing blue be herded onto a double-decked boat for the opportunity to see the falls up close and get wet from the spray of the falls. We were like many as the lure to get close to the tumbling water was too great to resist. We thoroughly enjoyed the outing.
Afterwards, we took a stroll the promenade and
snapped hundreds more pictures of the falls and the people who came from afar to look at the never ending flow of water. We saw people from all the many corners of the world, all here for the same reason, to look at the marveling cascade.
Now, while we don’t go in for the night life that the area provides, there is one place we found that is sure to impress, a Hershey Chocolate Store. It’s got it all, a 5 pound Hershey bar, a $10 Reese’s cup, T-shirts, mugs, and even Oh Henry bars. Needless to say we dropped some cash on this place and made off with some fine chocolate for later…..
Dinner that night was at the Sheraton which was okay, but you couldn’t beat the view!
On Sunday night there was a very nice fireworks display that we took in from the comfort of our room. Seems that once the weather warms they shoot off a display on Friday and Sunday nights. You never seem to tire of watching the spectacular pyrotechnics.
The next morning we awoke leisurely and then decided that on the way back we would stop at the Falls
Clock, which is an impressive floral display about 5 km up the road from the Falls. The clock is actually part of the local hydro electric power company. It is about 30 x 30 ft. and is well maintained. We even had the chance to talk with a woman who was doing some flower maintenance due to a rogue mouse.
A few great pictures later and we headed back to “The Burgh.’
If you go to Niagara Falls we recommend staying at the Sheraton as the view was terrific and we recommend spending the extra money for the falls view room. We enjoyed looking at the falls from our room and listening to the sound all night long.
Thanks for coming along with us to one of the quintessential tourist spots in North America!
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michael huffman
non-member comment
Felt like i was there
MJ I really wish there was more money in travel writing, because you're great at it! I saw them when i was so young i couldn't remember how stunning they themselves actually are. Time to travel more again :-)