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The title of this blog is taken from a book I owned as a kid. The heroine of the story wrote letters to her best friend and always ended them with "Yours Till Niagara Falls," and so I could think of no better title for this entry.
This was not my first trip to Niagara Falls, nor do I suspect it will be my last. My parents brought me here when I was little (I think I was 8 or 9) and I have definite memories of the trip and particularly the Falls, but needless to say it has changed a bit over the last 25+ years. Not so much the Falls themselves as I don't imagine they've really changed all that much in the last few thousand years, but the surrounding area definitely has. The addition of buildings, hotels, and neon-casinos have probably also meant the addition of more tourists making it all-but-impossible to imagine what the Falls must have looked like to the first human eyes that took them in when they were surrounded by nothing but wilderness. I thought about that a lot while I was there. What must that have been like to "stumble" across
something this immense and magnificent for the first time? Surely they would have heard the Falls long before first seeing them... Did they wonder what that endless thundering sound was? I would think the sound alone would be a little frightening without knowing the source. Could they have fathomed the sight they were to encounter?
Well, before launching head-long into my weekend, let me save you some of the suspense and say that no, I did not go on the Maid of the Mist or the Journey Behind the Falls. It is not so much that I wasn't interested in doing these things, but that I did do them when I was little (and I still remember it), and it was also a rather cold weekend and I just didn't much care for the idea of spending part of a windy and chilly Saturday drenched to the core. Like I said, I highly doubt that this will be my last trip to Niagara and I'll just work those in then.
Now for the weekend play-by-play...
Friday started early. I met up with the group I was going with to Niagara in the Church of the Savior parking
lot in Wayne, PA at 7:30 a.m. - Starbucks firmly in hand. We boarded the minibus and were on our way around 8 or so. 7 hours and 3 pit-stops later, we arrived at the Rodeway Inn Fallsview on the Canadian side of the Niagara River. I'm not going to bore you with all of the thoughts I had on the lodging situation, but I think you'll get the idea when you hear that the best thing I can say about the Rodeway is that at least it had four walls. I'm not trying to be a snob because I'm sure it was economical and all, and those of you that know me know how much I love roughing it...but I feel very strongly that "roughing it" is a phrase that should only be used in association with camping, NOT hotels. I don't feel that I relax as well or have nearly as much fun when staying in a place where I'm afraid to take my shoes off. Sure, camping is dirty and all, but let's just say that if I dropped a hotdog on the ground while camping, I would be far more inclined to brush it off and
eat it anyway where as there is absolutely no way I would eat anything that hit the floor at the Rodeway.
So as you might imagine after we checked in, I left the room as quickly as I could and headed down with a group of people to take in The Falls.
Wow. And allow me to say again, wow.
They were big and loud (but not in a bad way) and gorgeous. I couldn't stop staring at them. The path along the road was speckled with viewfinders (you know, the kind you stick a quarter in - or dollar in this case - and look through the holes) which made me wonder if people really had that much trouble seeing them with the naked eye? The Falls also amazed me at the way they would change size based on where you were standing. For example, from the top of Murray Street, the American Falls look like towering giants - as if you would get down to the bottom of the street and have to be looking up at the Falls. From the Niagara Parkway which runs alongside the river, the Falls still look big, but definitely
The American Falls
From Niagara Falls State Park, NYon an equal parallel. Then, from the US side (which we visited yesterday afternoon), the Falls look even larger up-close than they did from the landscape vantage point on the Candanian side (which I kinda preferred, but more on that later).
Friday night we all went out to dinner to a place called Cocoa's on Murray Street. We sat outside which turned out to be a rather chilly decision, and ended up huddling around the heat lamps that were strategically placed on the patio area. Afterwards, some of us headed back to the hotel and layered-up (it was REALLY cold...I even toyed with the idea of strapping one of the heat lamps to my back to carry around all evening, but in the end I decided it wouldn't have been very practical, and I might have even caught fire). We were back down to view the Falls by 9 when they were lit up by both spotlights and fireworks. I managed to get some relatively decent pictures considering I'm still trying to figure out my camera and am pretty far from mastering night scenes.
Saturday I was up by 9-ish and out hunting for Starbucks by 10. I
The American Falls
Looking down Murray Street managed to find one with some nice outdoor seating where I chilled (literally - it was still cold) and enjoyed my latte before beginning my 7-hour self-guided walking tour of Niagara Falls.
I wandered down to the Falls, walked North along Niagara Parkway until it became River Road and ran right up to Rainbow Bridge. I followed the sidewalk under the bridge where there was an exotic bird aviary. I like birds so I bought a ticket and walked through. It was fun to see all the birds and, even though it doesn't compare to seeing Red Macaws in the wilds of the Amazon, I still enjoyed myself.
I came out and walked back down and, despite how windy and even chilly it still was, I found that all the walking was quite a workout - especially in the sun - so I decided that a stop at the hotel was in order. I changed and headed back out to the IMAX theater where they were showing a film about the Falls covering its history and some of the raving lunatics...er, I mean BRAVE SOULS...who have launched themselves off of the Falls inside "barrels" made of everything from
Tulips
Tulips with the American Falls in the background wood to home insulation.
After the movie I walked for another couple of hours, taking pictures all the while. I stopped to find a tacky souvenir toothpick holder for Es and pick up a Niagara Falls Starbucks mug to add to my collection at home. Finally I decided that I'd had enough alone time (somehow I managed to not run into anyone from the group all day) and went back to the hotel to see if anyone else was contemplating dinner.
About half of us ended up eating at The Keg inside the Embassy Suites (good steak, EXCELLENT mushrooms stuffed with crab and cream cheese) and then one of the women who I'd become friends with (Julie) and I walked down to the hip-and-happening Clifton Hill area. We found a sports bar, had a couple of drinks and dessert, and closed out the night taking some photos in front of the Casino on Fallsview.
Sunday was a long day. It started out even colder than Saturday with a sky that threatened rain all day long (eventually making good on that threat). We had to get up and have the minibus loaded by 9, however we weren't actually
shoving off for brunch at the Skylon until 10, so Julie and I decided to walk over to the Tower after we handed over our suitcases. We made a quick souvenir shop stop and met the group in the lobby.
Brunch was good and we had a beautiful view of the Falls from our seats. FYI - if you ever go, be sure you ask to be seated in the main dining room which is a revolving restaurant. Wherever it was that they seated us didn't move an inch.
After brunch we spent 2 hours (give or take) waiting to cross the border back to the U.S. (which was exhausting and subsequently made us about 2 hours late getting home). Anyhow, once we got back into the good ol' U.S. of A., we stopped for awhile in Niagara Falls State Park for some photos and a completely different (and in some ways better) view of the Falls.
I say "better" because as beautiful as the Falls were from the Canadian vantage point, and as nice as it was to be able to stand in one spot and view them all at once, there was just something really
majestic about being right next to them - thundering water cascading down 22 stories at the tune of 600,000 gallons per second - in other words, one-half of the Mediterranean Sea. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
I think some of the pictures I took Sunday afternoon are still pretty, but it would've been nice if it hadn't been so overcast. You can judge for yourself. I've of course included my fave pics in this entry, but if you want to view all of my shots from the trip, visit my
Niagara Falls album.
All-in-all, it was a nice weekend. I got some sun (a little more than I would've liked, actually - I'm still feeling it on my face and upper arms), I walked probably close to 20 miles, and got to spend some quality time with one of the natural wonders of the world.
I will leave you with a couple of quotes. One from Charles Dickens in which he described his Niagara Falls encounter during his visit there in 1842. He certainly puts it far more eloquently than I. And, because I like to keep things fun, the final quote is from Mark
The Falls
Horseshoe Falls in the front with the rainbow and the American Falls in the distance. Twain upon his visit to the Falls:
When we were seated in the little ferry-boat, and were crossing the swollen river immediately before both cataracts, I began to feel what it was: but I was in a manner stunned, and unable to comprehend the vastness of the scene. It was not until I came on Table Rock, and looked - Great Heaven, on what a fall of bright-green water! - that it came upon me in its full might and majesty.
Then, when I felt how near to my Creator I was standing, the first effect, and the enduring one - instant and lasting - of the tremendous spectacle, was Peace. Peace of Mind, tranquility, calm recollections of the Dead, great thoughts of Eternal Rest and Happiness: nothing of gloom or terror. Niagara was at once stamped upon my heart, an Image of Beauty; to remain there, changeless and indelible, until its pulses cease to beat, for ever. Charles Dickens, American Notes for General Circulation, 1842
Although it was wonderful to see all that water tumbling down, it would be even more wonderful to see all that water tumbling up. Mark Twain
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Jo
non-member comment
Wow
I like your pictures. Was it mainly the overcast day on some of them or was it the dry bag that made some of them a bit darker than you might expect. Unless that's the effect of the endless water spray. :) I LOVE pictures 2 and 18 especially. That fireworks make the falls look like they're floating. Good job. Can't wait to see more as you get more and more used to the camera! Can you take it to Antarctica?