I Think We've Done Niagara Falls...

We were both tired today! Forry had to be a bit organized early as the Honey Wagon guy was here at 9 AM to empty our gray and black tanks. We spent some time vacuuming and picking up getting ready for tomorrow's move. I washed and changed the sheets, then read my Kindle a good share of the afternoon. Forry's been alternately napping and working on his Sudoku.

It was again very hot today, but we are west of the horrendous thunderstorms that were hitting eastern New York and New Jersey this afternoon. The outside thermometer was hitting 99 degrees, but Auntie Violet's air conditioner kept it quite comfortable inside.

The New York State Park fold have made arrangements with Kodak and there are photographers all over the park -- as well as at Skylon Tower last night. We did break down and buy this photo of the two of us at the Cave of the Winds yesterday.

I took a flank steak out of the freezer this afternoon and grilled it for supper along with some caramelized sweet onions and peppers. It was sure a lot more flavorful then that expensive tasteless meal we had last night at Skylon Towers! I had a Filet Mignon with a Bearnaise sauce that was just flat tasting -- no seasoning whatsoever. Forry had prime rib and he said that it's a good thing they served horse radish with it as that was all that made it palatable! Such a disappointment. I guess we have gotten used to restaurants and chefs who delight in making interesting meals with fresh ingredients that are a delight to eat. As one of the reviews I read today said, "You definitely go there for the view, not the food!"

We've definitely done Niagara Falls and have pretty much seen most of it. We both agree that we enjoyed the Jet Boat ride through the rapids the most, followed by the Maid of the Mist boat trip. In fact, I wouldn't mind going on the Jet Boats again!

Maid of the Mist V

Once again, we managed to get quite wet today! We have been here at Niagara Lazy Lakes Campground since Friday, but today we finally made it to Niagara Falls. The Falls are located in Niagara Falls State Park, the oldest state park in the United States.

The streets around the park are filled with restaurants and souvenir stands, including a huge five story glass building that seemed to be just one huge food court.

We found parking (everywhere around and in the park for $10 per day) and walked across the street to the actual park. We could see the mist from the Falls before we got anywhere near enough to see it.

And is it ever an impressive sight! The American Falls are in the foreground while the Canadian Horseshoe Falls are in the back ground behind the mist. I've seen so many pictures over the years -- and we had watched the IMAX movie of the Falls at the Visitor Center -- but in person, it is incredibly awesome!

Today's main objective was to take a ride on one of the Maid of the Mist boats to take a closer look at the Falls. The building in the back houses the elevators that take you down to the bottom of the gorge to the dock. It also extends out as an Observation Platform for viewing the Falls.

As we got off the elevator at the bottom, we were each handed a blue poncho --

The ponchos are a very lightweight vinyl complete with hoods --

This was the Maid of the Mist IV that was operating from the Canadian side coming back from her trip to the Falls. It was a very bright sunny day today, all the mist and gray you see is from the Falls --

I was brave enough the first part of our trip to pull my poncho up enough to expose my camera for a few shots (sure wish we were close enough to our friend Leslie to have borrowed her water-proof one!). This is as we approached the American Falls. We couldn't get as close to them as we would to the Canadian one due to all those large boulders you can see at the bottom of the Falls (the Falls are eroding backwards up the river.) We are at the bow on the bottom deck of the boat. There were not too many people down here as it is a much "wetter" spot than the upper deck!

This is the Bridal Veil side of the American Falls. We're about as close as we'll get to this set, you can see the mist creeping towards us a bit --

As we approached the Canadian Falls, we totally lost any visibility we had. The mist actually became hard water droplets -- like being out in a hard rain storm! There were rapids along the foot of the Falls that were every bit as wild as the ones we went through on the jet boat yesterday.

The Niagara Gorge is amazing. That's Goat Island on the left that divides the Niagara River and separates the two falls --

 Can you see the rainbow over on the left in the mist?

 After we left shook off our very wet ponchos and deposited them in the recycle bins, we walked back across the street for hamburgers at the Niagara Falls Hard Rock Cafe. We were soaking wet below our knees where the ponchos hadn't covered, but nobody even seemed to notice. I think they were used to it...