Porter Summer Tour - Niagara Falls

Recently we were lucky to spend 10 wonderful days in New York and Ohio. This blog post is all about the first stop on our trip, Niagara Falls.  The lesson we learned during this portion of the trip was this: on vacations sometimes things don't go exactly as planned, and yet they turn out just right.

On Thursday, August 25th we left home for the airport at 5 a.m. and boarded a flight to Buffalo, NY, with a layover in Chicago. In the rush of packing I forgot to check into our flights on Southwest until the evening before we left, so we were one of the last groups to board and would certainly all have to sit apart (including Joseph). In desperation, Joseph and I slipped into the pre-board area so we could get on earlier with the "families with young children".  Technically, I think Joseph was supposed to be 4 or younger to qualify for this privilege, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  I just stood kind of close to a Dad and his two young kids who were traveling alone together and preboarding. When this Dad laughed and talked to his kids I smiled and tried to look related to them. Thanks to my incredible acting skills, Joseph and I were able to board early, snag a row near the back, and save one seat for Aubrey to sit next to us. Poor Dan and Bailey each sat in the middle seat next to strangers.

Below, eating really good Chicago pizza during our layover in the airport.

We arrived in Buffalo, solved a minor snafu with the rental car (the "SUV" we rented had a trunk the size of a miniature Barbie house), and then I pulled out my meticulously organized folder with all of our itinerary and vacation plans. Let's see - Comfort Suites in Niagara Falls, ONTARIO???? As in Canada? Oh no.  NO, NO, NO.  I had made a big error. Luckily for us, it was a fortuitous error . . .

While planning our trip to Niagara Falls, we learned that it's ideal to cross over into Canada to see the more spectacular view there.  But, we didn't get the kid's passports done in time so, we weren't going to be able to cross the border.  Instead I made plans for us to view the falls the best we could from the New York side.  I had researched the hotels in the area extensively online, looking for suites big enough to accommodate our family which also received high ratings. Somehow in the midst of all this research and booking the hotel I failed to notice that the #1 rated family hotel in Niagara Falls is in Canada, not in the U.S.!  As we stood in the parking garage of the airport I called the number for the hotel and they told me that the $185 charge for the room was non-refundable. So, we had no hotel booked in our own country and were stuck paying for a hotel in a country we couldn't visit.

Or, could we?  At the very last minute I had shoved our passports (mine and Dan's) and the kid's birth certificates into an envelope and put them into one of suitcases. I had read online that kids under the age of 18 might be able to cross the border with just a birth certificate.  I brought them just in case we decided to try to cross at some point, but never dreamed that doing so would be necessary! We decided to live dangerously and try to cross over (of course -  we knew it wasn't going to be too hard to get into Canada, but getting back into the U.S. might be trickier.)

We told all the kids to look happy and non-terrorist-like as we stopped our car and talked to the border agent with a really cool Canadian accent. He asked us a few questions about our car (the rental car was registered in Canada, with a Quebec license plate, which I guess is a little strange for supposed American citizens visiting Canada), and then ushered us across the border.  Wahoo! We did it!

These are some things we now know about Niagara Falls:

1.  The Canada side is WAY more impressive than the U.S. side. The water flows from the U.S. side and then crashes down almost 200 feet into Canada. So, the view of most of the falls is only possible in Canada. (If you look at the picture on the top, the American side is on the far left, with a sorta-view of American Falls, but no view at all of the much cooler Horseshoe Falls).

2.  Also, there is no other way to say this . . . the American side is just plain dumpy. It was embarrassing, actually. Good thing our car had a Canadian license plate, because this wasn't a time that we were proud to be associated with the American side of a famous landmark!  The Canadian side was really beautiful and amazing. There were some areas set back from the falls in Canada which were Las Vegas tacky (we're not sure why there were so many "Ripley's Believe It Or Not", Haunted Houses, and arcades so close to one of the great wonders of the world.) We just ignored that touristy element and enjoyed the spectacular view of the waterfalls.  For example,what exactly does this wacky looking building/museum have to do with the beautiful falls?  Can you say tourist trap?

3.  Niagara Falls is crazy expensive. The most expensive meal we ate the entire trip was eaten that first night. By the time we got checked into our hotel and drove by the unbelievable nighttime light show at the falls

it was almost 9 p.m. Eastern time (6 p.m. Washington time.) We weren't starving yet, but we realized our options were closing for food. So, we looked for a fast food place and couldn't find one. Finally, we ran into a Perkins restaurant just before closing. We ordered the most expensive pancakes in the history of the world.  Try $70 for our family, with a really annoyed waitress who just wanted to go home.

Below, this was the cookie they gave us at Perkins - half chocolate chip and half sugar cookie.  We decided it was a representation of Niagara Falls -  half Canadian/half U.S.  But maybe it's just how they make cookies at Perkins!

We thought it was super cool that everything in Canada, including the jam and hot chocolate packets, was written in both English and French!


4.  We knew this already, but we were reminded that adults can happily spend a lot more time than kids looking at spectacular natural beauty. The next morning we got up and walked to the Falls from our hotel. It was an awesome sight, and we all loved our trip on the Maid of the Mist, a boat which takes you right to the base of the falls (more on this below). We took lots of pictures from the vantage points overlooking the falls. After the boat ride Dan and I wanted to continue walking down the sidewalk to "Table Rock", where you can stand next to the thundering water rushing over the brink of Horseshoe Falls. Once in a lifetime experience, right?  Well, we gave up about halfway there. Too much whining. So, we turned around and headed back to the hotel, swam for a bit, and then checked out and headed to Palmyra.

It was raining a bit, but that's not why I looked like a drowned rat below. Actually, we were in such a hurry to get down to see the falls in the morning that I left the hotel with completely wet hair.  It was easier that way - when it rained and then when I got drenched on Maid of the Mist it was no biggie.

 The mist coming off the bottom of the falls is so thick that it looks like a big plume of smoke.

Below, our pictures from the Maid of the Mist boat tour, which was an awesome adventure. We all donned blue raincoat thingys and rode an open air boat around and very near both American and Horseshoe Falls. It's hard to even describe the power and force of the wind-driven mist close to the waterfalls.

 

  

 

Below, this is a close up of American and Bridal Veil Falls, showing the wooden walkways for the "Cave of the Winds" tour.  This tour allows you to walk very, very close to the waterfalls and feel the tropical-storm-like conditions right under Bridal Veil Falls, getting drenched in the process.

And here we are, very wet after the boat trip.

 Walking along the water to see the falls up close.

 

 Aubrey standing in front of one of the beautifully landscaped areas near the falls. Like I said, the Canadian side is very well maintained. Not quite so impressive across the border!

  Posing with a Canadian mountie on the walk back to the hotel.

 Look what we found near the hotel - a chocolate bar just the right size for me.

Oh, and by the way, we did make it back across the border into the U.S. just fine. In case you are wondering, birth certificates are a perfectly okay way for kids to cross the border, as long as they are accompanied by parents with passports. Whew!

Bailey kept track of some of the funny moments on our trip. Here a few from our day at Niagara:

*  Bailey: there's bird poop on the window!                                                                                          

   Dad: Cool! Canadian bird poop! 
   Bailey: Uh, I'm pretty sure it's New York bird poop...                                                                       
   Dad: Ew! Gross! 

*  Joseph: I don't want to go to Canada! We don't speak Canadian! Take me back to Buffalo! 

*  Joseph: Canada's a BUILDING! Take me back! (After we crossed the border we saw a building that said "Canada."  He thought that was all there was to see.) 

*  Joseph: (who was less than impressed by our plans to visit a waterfall for an entire day) Can't we just DRIVE past the Falls?  

*  Joseph: this is NOT my idea of fun.  My idea of fun is swimming! (After enjoying a really cool Maid of the Mist tour and looking at one of the most impressive waterfalls in the world.)

That's it for the Niagara Falls portion of our summer tour. Next stop, Palmyra, New York!