Niagara
Falls 2003
Day
1: Thursday, August 2
We drove most of the day to arrive in Niagara Falls on the Canadian
side in time for a late dinner. We were staying at the Radisson
just a few blocks away from the Falls.
Day
2: Friday, August 3
After a quick breakfast, we headed to the biggest tourist attraction,
and the one "must do" thing in town: The Maid
of the Mist boat ride. In the old days they gave
you real rain coats and boots. Now it's a blue piece of plastic
that something like a garbage bag. But no matter, because when the
boat approaches the Horseshoe Falls, all I can say is Wow! You get
close enough to get wet, almost like it's raining. The announcer
then says, "Ladies and gentlemen, THIS IS NIAGARA FALLS!"
(See my Attractions
pics.)
Afterwards,
we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, which is next door to the Casino
Niagara. This place is packed on weekends because
it allows 19 year olds, whereas the age minimum on the New York
side is 21. I took home a few bucks from the casino! We took a ride
north along the river to see the Floral
Clock. But we passed on the Spanish
Aero-Car, which takes you across the river high in
this cable car ride, because you have to stand the whole way. Instead,
we tried the White
Water Walk, where you ride an elevator down to river
level, and then walk along the edge and get a good close up look
at the ferocious rapids downstream from the falls. This is also
worthwhile, if a little pricey.
Then we went
to the Journey
Behind the Falls, on another elevator that takes
you into some cutout holes that give you a glimpse of the Falls
from literally behind them. However, this is a tough view, and probably
not worth seeing again. We had dinner in the Marriott overlooking
the Falls. At night we took a look at the colored lights on the
Falls, along with fireworks and music. Quite the spectacle.
Day 3: Saturday,
August 4
This was our drive day, a short two hour away along the coast of
Lake Ontario to Toronto......
Day
4: Sunday, August 5
We spent about half the day on the New York side of the Falls, checking
out Goat Island, which gives you a terrific close up view of the
Horseshoe Falls (see my Horseshoe
Falls pics). We had lunch overlooking the river and
I took one
pic of the American Falls in the distance. Finally,
we tried out the Seneca
Niagara Casino before heading home. I had one of
my best runs ever here, winning about $200 in a half hour playing
$5 a hand on the blackjack table. A nice finish to an interesting
weekend!
Key to Links
> Yellow: External Links
| Tan: Photos | White:
Other Sections
