Niagara Falls, NY

We had a few days of relocation travel which took us down through the Lower Peninsula of Michigan into Port Huron for the night, then crossing through lower Canada to get to the Buffalo, NY area where we'll spend the next few days.

On our first day here, we just had to go see Niagara Falls. Wow, what a place!! We started on the American side where we first viewed the falls from the Prospect Point viewing area. We could only see part of the Canadian falls from there but the power and beauty of the American Falls were absolutely breathtaking! Look carefully at the bottom of the picture and you can see folks walking up to the base of the falls (as we did later).

We then donned the traditional blue plastic ponchos (to help keep us dry) and boarded the Maid of the Mist boat for a half-hour tour past the American Falls to the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. The mist from the Horseshoe Falls was unbelievable - rising hundreds of feet into the air and we rode right into it! So cool - literally! ;-) After getting back to shore, we used our ponchos to explore the bottom of the American Falls.









We then walked across the bridge and entered Canada to explore the falls from their side. We started with lunch at the Secret Garden Restaurant (sitting outside with an awesome view of the falls and the beautifully flowered and gardened main street). Then we went to Table Rock where we stood in awe watching the magnificence and power of Horseshoe Falls. With the sun behind us, we were treated to a beautiful rainbow in the mist of the falls. We enjoyed watching the Maid of the Mist treating other tourists to a shower (this picture shows the boat entering the area).









Then we took the Journey Behind the Falls tour. This involved donning yet another poncho (yellow this time) and, after taking an elevator down about 150 feet, walking through tunnels beneath the falls and emerging at several viewing areas to watch the torrents of thundering water fall from the back side. Only one viewing area took us outside and the view there was a wet one as were were mere feet away from the edge of the falls. We were sure happy to have the ponchos on. We then walked back to the good ol' USA after spending one of the most awe-inspiring days of this trip and taking almost 100 pictures. We'll sleep well tonight...