Journey to Niagara Falls

It took us a few weeks to get there, but we finally found our way to Niagara Falls. We waited for Michael's brother and his wife to come up from North Carolina and join us in the adventure. We started on the American side at Goat Island and the Niagara Falls State Park. This is a picture of our family standing above the Horseshoe Falls. The force of the water sends mist shooting high up into the air that you can see from miles around. The noise is thunderous and it feels like constant rain that you cannot escape.

We decided to get up close and personal to the falls and paid to go down an elevator to the base of the Bridal Veil portion of the falls. It is called Cave of the Winds. We got really wet, especially up on the Hurricane deck. The force of the water blowing on to us was overwhelming, especially for Maura. The yellow slickers helped a bit, but we still got wet.

This is a view of Cave of the Winds from the top. You can see the deck that goes into the flow of the water.

This is American Falls and Bridal Veil falls, but from the Canadian side. After getting a bit bored on the American side and frustrated that we could only see the side or top of the falls, we crossed over to Canada on the Rainbow Bridge. Easy to do, but it requires a passport so we pulled out all five and made the crossing. The view from the Canadian side is amazing. We are going to have to go back at night when there are lights shining on the water.

Even though it had already been a long day, we decided to take a trip on the Maid of the Mist. It is a short ride, but incredible. After putting on blue slickers to protect you from the mist, the boat goes right into the mist thrown up by the Horseshoe Falls and right into the center of the horeshoe. When you stand on shore, you lose sight of the boats in the mist. Maura did not like getting wet in the morning, but she really wanted to go on the boat and did not mind getting wet in the afternoon, go figure. All I can say is, if you go to Niagara Falls, don't spend too much time doing your hair before you go, by the end of the day you will look like a wet rag doll. But it will be worth it, the views are incredible, and you have to experience the sights and sounds of it yourself to really appreciate it. I am glad that we made the journey and know that we will return many times in the future.