Day 15 - July 11th

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Day 15 - July 11, 2013

We awoke to a brilliant Thursday morning in Canada. A big difference from the weather we became accustomed to over the last few days. This was going to be another of those BIG days, sightseeing in Niagara Falls then driving through New York and back to Reading all before our heads hit the pillows again.

We checked out of the hotel and went down the street about a block to the IHOP. It wasn’t too full, but for whatever reason, the service was very slow. It took us an hour for breakfast, we were not happy.

Since we’ve been here before and had a full day of sightseeing at that time, our plan today was to take the trip behind the falls and have lunch in the Syklon Tower. These were a couple of the attractions we hadn’t done before but still wanted to see. We passed on the wax museum and that type of attraction.

The first order of business was to park the car. Down near the falls the parking was $20. At the base of the Skylon Tower the parking was $10, a much better price. However, just across the street from the Tower we found a lot for $5. Want to take a guess where we parked?

We made reservations for a late lunch at the rotating Skylon dining room and then walked down to the falls area. It was about ½ to ¾ mile to the top of the Horseshoe Falls. The beginning of the trail was pretty steep, but it was paved (somewhat) and occasionally had steps. We bought tickets for “Journey Behind the Falls,” the tour that was to take us under the falls. We had to wait about 45 minutes until we could leave. We killed time by walking along the Niagara River just above the falls. No matter how often I see the river here I am awestruck by its power and volume. As per the Canadian “Niagara Parks” website:

The sound is like thunder; the sight is awe-inspiring! Take a journey deep below and behind the heart of Niagara . . . experience the awesome spectacle of one-fifth of the world’s fresh water crashing down to the basin below. During summer daylight hours, over 2,800 cubic meters of water thunders over the brink every second, traveling 65 kilometers per hour!”

As time for our tour approached, we got in line and were ushered through the door into a room where we were issued yellow (disposable) rain ponchos. A few minutes later we found ourselves squeezed inside an elevator on our way down 150 feet, through the bedrock. The doors opened and we walked into a series of tunnels approximately 6’ wide by 7’ high. Two tunnels went to what they termed “viewing portals” which allowed us to see the falls from the back side. There was also a railing near these portals so the visitors couldn’t get too close. The view was interesting but not as thrilling as I had hoped. The third tunnel led to a two level observation deck outside, directly adjacent to the falls - hence the raincoats. The spray from the falls was heavy but we were able to get a few pictures. This, to me, was a little more of a thrill, however, not as much so as the walk along the American Falls where you don’t just get misted you can get absolutely soaked if you are brave enough.

Since it was getting pretty close to our lunch reservation time we headed back to the elevator to the exit of the attraction. To no one’s surprise, we exited through a gift shop. We bought a few souvenirs since we wouldn’t have another chance in Canada.

We got back to the Skylon Tower in reasonable time considering it was mostly (steeply) uphill. We checked in at the desk with five minutes to spare and were pointed in the direction of the elevator. This elevator is a yellow capsule that travels outside the tower structure, giving the riders a great view during the 52 second accent. We were ushered to a table on the outer ring of the restaurant, giving us a perfect view of the surrounding country side.

The distance of the view was somewhat diminished by the high humidity and hazy conditions of the area. For example, we could see a hazy Buffalo in the distance but we couldn’t see Toronto. We got plenty of pictures as we rotated 360 degrees in an hour – about the time it took us to eat.

After we finished our meal – it was very good by the way – we walked up two flights of steps to the observation deck. We made one quick circuit around this open-air deck. We already saw everything with a much clearer view; we saw it without having to look past dozens of tourists and a stainless wire cage, so we headed to the elevator for our return trip to Earth.

We now had only one more stop to make before heading to Pennsylvania for the night. Our Niagara Falls hotel was the Ramada Plaza. We got it on-line through Travelocity for only $57. In addition to a great price, we also got a fun spiff for booking the Ramada. When we checked in, the clerk gave us a $50 voucher for the Seneca Niagara Casino. Neither of us are gamblers, but if we're doing it with someone else's money, why not? We didn't win big but at least we walked out of the casino with money we didn't walk in with. Together our winnings totaled $33. That brought the price of our hotel room down to $24. We can't complain about that!


It was now about 5:00 pm and we buckled ourselves in the the 350 mile ride south. A couple of hours later, just as teh sun was setting in the New Youk mountains, we stopped for a Geocache; we needed one from New York. It was located not too far off I-380. Guess where! Right, in a cemetery (we didn't plan this folks). We were the first to find this particular cache - that's a good thing - so we were happy we stopped.

Not too much to tell from here on, just miles of dark twisty roads. We pulled up to my place about midnight, pretty tired but happy with all we accomplished in one day.

Thanks for reading,

Don and Jill

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Photos

Part of the Famous Gardens
Niagara Falls, ON is known for their gardens.

Skylon Tower
As seen from the gardens over 500' below.

Horseshoe Falls
Seen from street level

Horseshoe Falls
From the rotating restaurant in the Skylon Tower

American Falls
Smaller falls to the right is called Bridal Veil Falls

Don in front of the Horseshoe Falls
We needed the ponchos. Note water droplets on the lens.

Clifton Hill
As seen from the Skylon Tower

The American Falls
From high above in the Skylon Tower.

Keeping an eye on the Car
Even if it is is from 520' above

Clifton Hill
The part of Niagara Falls we didn't visit.

Rising Mist
Usually rains down on tourists watching the falls. But the foliage is quite lush because of it.

American Falls
As seen from the Horseshoe Falls