Friday, October 16, 2009

Niagara Falls































































































































































After driving over 3,000 miles, through 3 time zones and 10 states we arrived at Niagara Falls. As it was our first visit we decided to do a tour as we didn't want to miss anything.

We started off the tour at The Whirlpool where the falls actually originated, but time and erosion has now moved them further back to their present location. Due to the Americans and Canadians syphoning off 50% of the water from the falls for their own use the whirlpool actually changes direction every day when not enough water flows into it.

Our next stop was the boat trip on the Maid of the Mist where we dressed in our blue waterproof ponchos. Both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls (the Canadian side) were awesome, though the Horseshoe Falls definitely has the edge. It was such an exhilarating experience on the boat as we headed to the mist getting closer to the Horseshoe Falls and listening to the thunderous roaring of the falls. Fantastic ! Unfortunately, it was over all too soon and we headed back to shore.

From there we drove to Goat Island where The Cave of the Winds Experience is located. For this we got a yellow poncho and a free pair of sandals. We descended 175 feet in an elevator to the tunnels that run behind the falls. We emerged out of the tunnels to wooden platforms that are built at the side of the Bridal Veil Falls and rise to about half way up the falls. There we ascended the steps and climbed up to the highest level (The Hurricane Deck). It's definitely worth doing as its probably the closest you get to the falls.

Coming back to the surface we walked to Terrapin Point right next to the Horseshoe Falls for Tony to take some more photos. There we said goodbye to our tour guide Dayna and headed off to look for something to eat.

Not a lot of eating places on the American side of the falls, we checked out The Hard Rock Cafe and the casino but decided on the Red Coach Inn, a replica of an old English inn. Tony's Fish and Chips were good, not so my Salmon Salad (where was the Salmon).

After eating we headed back to the hotel for a swim and chilled out ready for our departure the next day to Albany, the capital city of New York State.

1 comment:

  1. Bren, You and Tony related to Shadow, you didn't get enough of the water at the tour you had to go swimming too? Fantastic pictures,even of you waterpeople! Thanks for sharing!

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