Niagara Falls: The Canadian Version

Today's post begins with a shot from my hotel window last night. As you can see, they light up the falls at night, and the colors change periodically. Just like Vegas!

After a yummy room-service (more on that later) omelet and pot of tea, I set out for a morning of exploring the Canadian side of the falls, which, for some reason, have more mist in the morning than the afternoon. Maybe because there's more humidity in the air? I don't know. I'm not really a science person. Even though the falls look relatively close from my window, it ended up being a good 15 minutes of walking before I could get down to a road that leads to the lookout point and walkway, which was another long stretch of walking. As I look out my window now, I can see what appears to be a shortcut bridge leading to some building below, which would've been more direct. I suppose I should have asked at the front desk, but a little extra exercise never hurts. Except for my feet and legs. But I digress. Let's just take in the beauty:

These guys seem to have a different definition of "taking in the beauty."

After another stretch of walking, I was uncomfortably hot and sweaty (it's quite warm here, especially in the sun), so I decided to do the boat ride where you get right up to the falls and their mist and get soaked.

While in line, I made friends with Jolie, a fellow teacher from South Carolina, and her daughter Fleur.

And we're off! 

There were some great views and getting close to the falls was thrilling, but it wasn't very conducive to taking pictures since I don't have a waterproof camera/phone and the mist quickly became fully pelting water. As in, imagine turning on your shower and stepping under it fully clothed wearing a poncho, only it's not just coming from above you--it's also blowing sideways at you and from under you. Good times, and it definitely cooled me off, which was nice, because I had to trek another 20 minutes in the sun and up a long, steep hill to get back to my hotel.

After a bit of a rest in my room, I headed out again, this time to pick up my car. So, that mention about room service earlier? Something like that is typically a splurge I tend to avoid, but having done a little research before this trip, I found that you can park at the casino just a seven-minute walk away for only $5 vs. the $40 per day my own hotel charges. So, seeing as I'm saving $70 on parking by giving myself an extra little walk, I figure an indulgent breakfast or two in my room is okay. Especially since it's hard NOT to stay in my room whenever possible with a view like this.

Anyway, back to the car. I drove about 10 minutes away from the falls to catch my next ride.

As I watched each group ahead of me board, I was hoping I'd get a front row seat, and I am happy to report that I did. They say the third time's the charm, and this is entirely the case when it comes to me and getting airborne on vacations. Years ago, when my brother and I went on a cruise to Alaska, we booked an helicopter tour of the glaciers only to have it cancelled due to bad weather. Last summer, I got all excited to go on a balloon ride over the countryside in Belgium only to have it, once again, cancelled due to weather. Well, not so today, and while it only lasted about 12 minutes, it was a thrilling ride, especially sitting right next to the pilot.

Now I am back to my comfy chair and breathtaking view. I'm looking forward to my next stop, but I will definitely miss being able to sit here and look out at such spectacular beauty. Dinner is next, then a long soak in the tub. I don't have one of those fitbits, but I'm guessing I walked a good 6 or more miles today, including quite a bit of uphill walking and stairs. How people do those "vacations" where they walk 18+ miles a day (as one of my friends is doing with his son right now), I can't even begin to imagine. I'd need to be a lot more fit to be able to do that.