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Published: August 22nd 2006
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After a glorious stay in Boston, our next significant destination was Niagara Falls. However, between Boston and Niagara lay nearly 600 miles, two nights of camping and, using our somewhat less direct and more scenic route, 3 states. The journey itself doesn’t warrant an entire blog, so I will just fill you in on the highlights en-route to the falls.
Our first night’s stay was in Portland, Maine, home of the quite frankly delicious ‘Maine Lobster’. We decided that we could not travel through Maine without sampling at least one (each) of those rather tasty crustaceans. The lobster alone made the journey worthwhile, and all for the very palatable price of $15.00 each! A bargain, at anyone’s table. Before lobster, we took in the sights of the Portland area including the Cape Elizabeth Twin Lighthouses and the Portland Head Light, claimed to be the most photographed lighthouse in America - all very impressive and definitely worthy of a visit, if you like lighthouses! Portland itself, particularly the old port exchange area, is also worth a visit if you ever find yourself stranded in the area. The town elders have gone to great lengths to regenerate what was once a very
dilapidated part of the city, with great success; restaurants and craft shops now line the streets where previously derelict buildings were commonplace.
The following morning, after some truly fantastic blueberry pancakes freshly made by our campsite chef, oh yes…it turns out that this part of the world (Maine) grows something like 60% of the world’s blueberries…this explains their apparent obsession with their pancake breakfasts. After this second gastronomic delight, we headed off towards our next stopover in Lake Placid, home to no less than two winter Olympics! The journey towards Lake Placid took us through the truly outstanding White Mountain National Forrest. Had we known about its splendor before hand, we would have definitely scheduled a couple of days camping there to explore the area in more detail. Alas, our schedule was already set and we had our campsites in both Lake Placid and Niagara to think about. We still managed to stop along the way and take in some of the more impressive sights including Mt Washington, the highest peak in the north eastern USA, and a few inspirational mountain lakes.
Lake Placid is nestled between several lakes and mountain ranges deep within the Adirondack National Park;
the town itself is much smaller than we expected especially considering its infamy. However, the campsite was a welcome respite from the long day behind the wheel and the food at one of the many local restaurants was hot and tasty.
The following day we set off early as we had just over 350 miles to cover on our journey to Canada and the Niagara Falls. The first few hours of the journey took us through the rest of the Adirondack Park; the roads were quiet and traffic was extremely sparse, so much so that I decided to ignore the state speed limit and set the cruise to a healthy 69 mph…not the most intelligent thing I have done. Despite making very good time, I caught the attention of a state trooper who unsurprisingly took offence to my excessive velocity and set off in hot pursuit. Despite a few well timed dabs on the brake, my game was up. Sure enough, the long arm of the law caught up with us, and after a split second of thinking to myself, “Should I accelerate or brake?” I duly pulled over. My pulse raced as he approached the window… and the
Double Arch
If you look closely you can just about make out the 2nd arch above. rest is a lesson well learned. Despite my attempt at Anglo ignorance, I quietly and humbly accepted my spanking and received a well deserved speeding ticket. Suffice to say…the spanking I received from Jennifer afterward was much more severe!
The rest of the day unfolded with much less drama and we soon reached the Canadian border. The Canadians welcomed us with open arms and swiftly allowed us into their much celebrated country, a quick flash of the passports was all that was required…perhaps this remarkably easy passage was an omen for things to come…(read later for the truly memorable experience we had trying to re-enter the good ole U.S of A)
So, on to Niagara Falls!
Before I start, ‘The Falls’ themselves are truly amazing, an awe inspiring spectacle demonstrating the power of nature. However…I am not sure about the rest of you, but I have always had some sort of preconceived mental image in my mind about the Niagara Falls area. In this image, the Falls are an amazing natural wonder, surrounded by parklands and wildlife and other such inspirational things. Visitors take the 2 mile hike from the landscaped and hidden parking area through leafy
tree lined avenues, the path is long and treacherous but the knowledge of reaching one of the natural wonders of the world drives all but the most lazy-arsed couch potatoes forward…and just when you have reached the point of exhaustion, suddenly, a clearing emerges and the falls reveal their awesome beauty.
Ok, so perhaps my mental image was a tad preposterous…however, in no way was I prepared for the extreme commercial tackiness that surrounds the whole area. Just 300 feet behind the falls, you will find yourself immersed in a Las Vegas style strip including casinos, theme parks, all the ‘usual’ hotel chains, each trying to build the highest possible towers and every high street restaurant chain you have ever heard of. Un-fu**ing-believable!
Undeterred by the crass commercialism of the area, we decided to make the most of the falls and we immersed ourselves in the undeniable beauty of this most impressive spectacle. The falls themselves are split in two by a small island, known as Goose Island. This island marks the border between the USA and Canada; you will see from the pictures that each of the two countries has a slice of the falls. The American
Thorough Soaking!
Jennifer looking very stylish, and getting very wet, in her blue plastic poncho. side has a straight cliff-type cascade whilst the Canadian side has a horseshoe-shaped cascade. The Canadian side is by far the most impressive spectacle and is easily viewed from the promenade surrounding the entire river side. The best course of action, as suggested by the Rough Guide, is to take as many pictures from all possible viewpoints and ignore the neon glitz of the hotels behind you. We duly took this well informed advice and secured a good two hundred fine pictures of masses of water falling off a cliff. Do get in touch if you would like to see more photos from every conceivable angle!
One of the more impressive and unexpected phenomena were the myriad of rainbows magically emanating from the cascade below the falls, many two and some even three arches wide. This added a whole new dimension to the Niagara Falls experience; one that we will both remember fondly in years to come. Another unexpected surprise unleashed by the falls came about by the frequent changes in wind direction. Those more intelligent than myself would have seen this coming…unfortunately I was not having a particularly bright day and suffered the resulting soaking, although it was
Up Close and Personal
A bit closer and we could reach out and touch it! reassuringly refreshing! The vast amount of mist and spray generated by the falls is prone to being influenced by the wind, as the wind changes direction so does the resulting shower and it often ‘rains’ all over the surrounding area - one to remember if you ever get there yourself.
The highlight of the entire visit was taking a trip on the Maid of the Mist boat, and if you do ever get to go there yourself, it is an absolute must. The trip takes you up the river right to the base of the falls; from there you can really appreciate the scale and power of the immense amount of water flowing from above. Prepare yourself to get a thorough soaking (even with the provided plastic poncho), although it is more than worth it to experience Niagara in all of its glory! One final tip, do remember to go back after it gets dark when the falls are illuminated with a brilliant light show; we were lucky enough to see this with a full moon glowing low in the sky.
As hinted earlier, our return back into the USA was not an easy passage. Despite being the
proud owner of a USA residency visa, I was initially refused entry and was escorted to immigration where I had to wait for over an hour to plead my case with an immigration officer. When I finally got to see an officer, he informed me that the border control chap had made a mistake, apologized for the error and allowed me into the country…nice.
Next stop Ohio!
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