Oh THAT Niagara

June 17

When I set out I knew there were places that I really wanted to see:  Grand Canyon, The Everglades and so on.  For some reason it never occurred to me to go see Niagara Falls.  There I was in Pennsylvania looking for somewhere to go and right there on my map app was Niagara Falls - so I went.

I parked at the casino that is right downtown and "paid" for my stay by eating at the buffet.  They had gluten free desert and I ate waaay too many of them.

From the casino it's only a half mile to the falls so I avoided the $20 a day parking fee by walking.

It's really three falls, Horseshoe, Bridal Veil and American Falls

Super fun to take the boat tour.  You get good and soggy and they take you right up to both the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls.  It's also fun watching all those people destroy their expensive phones by taking pictures in what amounts to a hurricane.  I had my phone in a plastic bag.

It's an easy walk across the bridge to enter Canada and worth the trip.  The Canadian side has a walkway along the river from the bridge up to Horseshoe falls - like, right up to the edge of the falls.  Plus it's fun to tell the border checkpoint guy that you're only staying for half an hour or so.  How far did he think I would get on foot if I were escaping to Canada?

Another advantage of sleeping close to the action was that I could break the visit into two days.  I did the "cave of the Winds" tour on the second day.  There is no longer a cave but they put up walkways that let you get up close and personal with Bridal Veil Falls.

Although I managed to be polite enough not to take pictures of them, it looked like there was a mennonite outing to the falls that day.  Lots of young couples and families getting drenched right along with me.  Funny to see them trying to protect their hats by putting them under the plastic poncho.  I was soaked despite the exotic plasticwear we were given and I expect their straw hats weren't nearly as crisp after the adventure.