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Published: August 30th 2013
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Aug.28, 2013
We were hesitant at the beginning of this trip to even include Niagara Falls in our stops, but, we decided that we are probably the only two old people in the USA that haven't been there so here we are. We parked at the Casino as suggested by Trip Advisor and it was an easy walk to the Niagara Parkway and the beautiful Queen Victoria Park. The early bird doesn't always get the worm...we were the first ones to arrive at Table Rock overlook and had the place to ourselves. That was nice, but the morning was still overcast and our photos show a gloomy falls. When we drove by a couple of hours later, the sun was shining on the falls but the viewing areas were packed with people. Guess it was nice to view the falls without a jillion people around, but sun would have been nice. Somehow, we managed to avoid all the sleazy tourist attractions and I thought the falls area itself was very nice with lots of green grass and trees and flowers everywhere. The falls were impressive, too, both of them. I hadn't realized we'd get a good look at the American
Falls from the Canada side. But as we read in all the literature, the Horseshoe Falls on the Canada side are the best. Of course, we couldn't help comparing them to the incredible Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil where we spent three days hiking, boating and viewing but that's not a fair thing to do. We both felt Niagara Falls was worth our time.
We drove the unexpectedly lovely Niagara River Road through fertile agricultural land to Niagara-on the-Lake, stopping for some wine tasting at Inniskillin Vineyards. Interesting that this part of Canada has a similar latitude to northern California and is farther south than Bordeaux, France, so it should be expected that it's a good place to grow things. I guess I've always associated Niagara with Buffalo, NY, and that place never seemed like a garden spot. Niagara-on-the-Lake is a lovely town full of friendly people, cute shops and oodles of flowers. It is where the Niagara River flows into Lake Ontario. The town used to be the capitol of upper Ontario and there is a lot of War of 1812 history here.
It was a slow drive (lots of traffic and construction) on our way to the
Bruce Peninsula National Park. Joe was surprised by the amount of traffic for a seemingly rural area, but guess it's because we are near Toronto. "The Bruce" as the Bruce Peninsula is called is a vacationland for Canadians and lots of others that don't speak English. We stayed in the little town of Tobermory and had a nice evening walking along the small harbor and had a great whitefish meal at the Shipwreck restaurant. We both love Great Lakes whitefish, the fish we had tonight had been caught that day in the Georgian Bay and was delicious. Our waiter made the meal especially fun, he sat with us and told us what to see in Toronto. He's a musician that spends the winters in Berlin, interesting guy. I'm supposed to listen to his music on Youtube.
Oh, saw a cool coffeehouse today, it's name was "Brewed Awakening."
We are staying at the Coachhouse Inn, the owners are full of information and very welcoming.
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Connie
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Not us, either
We haven't been to Niagara Falls, either- so you aren't the only "old people" who haven't visited... wait, are we old people?! However, I have eaten Great Lakes whitefish many time, growing up- fresh and delicious, on our way through Duluth, Grand and Little Marais, to the Gunflint Trail near the Canadian border.