Finally I get to see them - The Niagara Falls

 

Route from Harrisburg:

I 81, US 22, US 15, US 11 I 90, I 290 W, US 62

Vacation Dates: 14th Sep 2007 - 15th Sep 2007

I had always heard a lot about these majestic falls and seen innumerable pictures of people having fun at the falls but now we were planning to go to Buffalo to see the falls. My in-laws were here along with my husband's cousin sister, so it was a family trip. Like always we decided to drive to Niagara falls. The packed some nice vegetable biryani and moong dal chilas for the trip and started early in the morning as the drive is about 6 hours long from Harrisburg. Making two stops on the way, we reached Buffalo in the afternoon around 2:00pm. We had booked a hotel very near to the falls hence we checked in to the hotel and freshened up.

It was around 3:00pm that we left for the fall area. We chose a parking near the visitor center. Just next to the parking lot we saw a couple of Indian restaurants and we decided to come there later for dinner. We straight headed towards the visitor center to buy our tickets. The Niagara Falls discovery pass is a perfect bargain, for $30 it includes attractions like The Cave of the Winds, The Maid of the Mist, Niagara Adventure Theatre, The Niagara Gorge Discovery Center, Aquarium of Niagara and Niagara Scenic Trolley ride. With the tickets in hand we decided to take the Maid in the Mist ride as the last tour is around 4:00pm and we didn't want to miss it. They gave us these funny looking raincoats made of blue plastic sheet. I for once got lost trying to find the head of the raincoat. Anyway's all dressed in blue we stood in the line awaiting our turn to board the ship.

The Maid in the Mist is a half hour tour where they take you to the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the Horse Shoe Falls. The experience is breathtaking. Once we were near the colossal horseshoe falls, we could see a beautiful rainbow adorning the sky from one end to the other. The rainbow filled with vibrant colors, the water droplets falling like rain, the wind blowing through the hair and the falls in the background they all made the perfect setting for taking snaps. Those gallons of water falling from a height of 176 feet create mist all around you and hence the name Maid in the Mist. Awesome is the word to describe the scene. While you are near the basin of the Horseshoe falls, you can see people at the cave of the winds on the Canada side.The power and force in the water makes you think where does all this water come from.

I didn't want this tour to end but then there were others waiting for their turn as we disembarked the ship. We headed to the Cave of the Winds next. But I would suggest that one should first take the Cave of the Winds tour and then go for the Maid in the Mist tour.

 

It begins with an elevator ride that takes you 175ft into the Niagara Gorge. Here they give everyone a pair of sandals (floaters) so that your shoes don't get wet while you enjoy the falls. And yes this tour is differentiated from others by the yellow color raincoats that they provide. This was another fun tour where we got to get wet standing beneath the falls.  There is this wooden staircase route that takes you to the Hurricane Deck, less than 20 feet from the torrents of Bridal Veil Falls. This is the place where you can soak yourself in the waters of the falls. I, my mom-in-law and cousin, we three had a blast getting wet in the cold water splashing on us. To be frank I don't think anyone of us wanted to leave the deck. We were also scheduled to go to the observation deck the same day but due to strong winds the deck was closed for the day so we were told to take the tour the next day. Once we were out of those yellow plastic bags we went to the cafe at the falls. It started to rain  as we were heading back. So we decided to stop by the Indian restaurant for dinner. Fireworks are held every Friday and we were told by the restaurant guy that the fireworks are visible from the restaurant site. So we thought we would have our dinner and then see the fireworks. Well we settled for the Indian buffet consisting of mutter paneer, dal makhani, chicken, Aloo, etc. They had another offer that if you have food at their restaurant then the parking was free in the adjacent parking lot. The food however wasn't very great. We did see the fireworks from the parking lot area.

Then we went back to the goat island from where one can see the lighting of the Niagara Falls. Every night white and colored lights illuminate the Falls and accentuate their beauty. The blue, red, yellow, green hues mix to provide an altogether different view of the falls. I am sure the falls look extremely beautiful and grand from the Canadian side. Before it would begin to rain again we decided to end the day and headed back to our hotel.

My husband definitely needed a good night sleep, after all he had been driving for seven hours and again would be driving back home the next day. We made a schedule as to who would get up when in the morning so that all get dressed up in time. In the morning after having some breakfast we drove to the fall site. We decided to go to the aquarium first. Luckily we were in time for the feeding of the seals. For five dollars they give you a cup of fish to feed the seals. The aquarium is nice but there are better ones in the US. However the highlight of this aquarium is the seal show. We were first seated in a hall where the trainer came in with a seal named diamond. She showed us some tricks and then we saw her perform in the pool outside. The show was fascinating. We then went to the observation deck. The winds were really fierce and strong on top of the deck but it gave a nice view of the falls. Looking down at the Maid in the Mist and seeing people enjoy the Cave of the Winds tour, I felt like going for another tour. We then took the Niagara Scenic Trolley and got off at the Adventure Theatre. At the theatre we saw a 40min film titled Niagara: Legends of Adventure. The film is about daredevil acts of the people who actually made their way into the falls and survived. It was almost 3:00pm when we left the theatre and headed back home. All of us had lots of fun and I of course made a promise to myself that I would see these magnificent falls from the other side of the border.