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Published: December 26th 2005
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Niagara
Canadian Falls We had a 9.15am start this morning and made our way to Niagara Falls which is what most of us had been waiting for…
The first thing that strikes you is that you can see the falls from the road on the way into town and we could see it from the bus!! I guess I had expected that it would be in a National Park somewhere and be somewhat like the Grand Canyon - out of the way of the town but it isn't. The second thing I noticed is that I thought the falls would be taller, but they are not beautiful because of their height, it's more about the width and the shear force of the water.
Niagara Falls, I have to tell you, may just be one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen.... We were all keen to get a closer look so we headed straight down. They are so beautiful and powerful.
We headed down to board the 'Maid of the Mist' and were given ponchos which was a fair indication that we were going to get wet. They packed us onto the boat like sardines but it was so
worth it! We got so close to the Canadian Falls section that you could feel the strength of the falls tossing the boat around and every so often you would get showered with water but it was so hot we didn't mind. I took some photos and braved the water going on my camera, but you just couldn't help but want to take pictures.
The Canadian Falls side is 54m high and a crest of 675m forming a deep curve and earning the name 'Horseshoe Falls'. The American Falls are higher at 56m but are only 328m wide and somewhat less spectacular due to a rock slide in 1954 that left a number of boulders at the base.
Throughout history, Niagara Falls has been a place for Dare Devils who have tried to go over the Falls in barrels and rafts or even cross them by riding a bicycle on a tightrope… some of these pranksters survived… but many did not.
Niagara is a combinations of honky-tonk side shows, which although are endlessly tacky are a source of amusement and remind me of Vegas somewhat. It’s also full of honeymoon hotels and serene natural beauty.
We
left to take a helicopter ride over the falls which was great!! Although the pilot kept swaying the helicopter around so much that most of came back feeling pretty sick!
Went back to our hotel then across to the outlet shops which were conveniently located right next door!!!
Then it was time to go down and watched the night illumination show of the falls. It took until about 9.30pm to really get dark but the light show was still pretty average and I was upset that my photos didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked but never mind, so we headed up to the ‘Beer Garden’ for some karaoke, as organised by Jordan, our fearless leader. The others had left before us and we were a bit worried that we wouldn’t find where they went… but you couldn’t get lost as we could here it as we walked up the street since it was being broadcast in the street with a TV display also!! Pour tourists having to listen to our lot!!!
The night went by in a blur of wine, beer, shots and frozen margaritas, which saw the night end with all of
Niagara
Nat & I at Niagara Falls us singing a sparkling rendition of 'Land Down Under' and "Eye of the Tiger' which were a huge hit!!!!
The following morning one of the boys on our tour showed us the tattoo that he had got the night before, on his shoulder with a heart saying ‘Mum & Dad’, we still aren’t sure what he was thinking but he assures us that he WASN’T drunk!!
We then drove through Pennsylvania after we went through customs and left Canada crossing back into the US.
We stopped at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland which was pretty interesting. There were clothes worn by everyone from Elvis to Britney and it showed a timeline of number 1 hits per year from the start of music and from the 80’s onwards I knew them all and had a chuckle remembering what I was doing at the time. CD’s fist came out in 1982.
We watched the songs of those who have been inducted into the hall of fame. I know about ¾ of them - I loved most of them even the ones from the 1950’s onwards. It was really worth while seeing.
We went
Niagara Falls
From the Helicopter down stairs and listened to some of the 500 songs that had been selected as shaping rock and roll.
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Kylie
non-member comment
Nice Picture
Hi Lis Thanks for posting a picture that makes me look totally off my head!! Haha! Its good to read your journal and think back to all our partying. Kylie