The Events of Saturday, September 25, 2010                                                                                                                         

This morning, we woke up to the sound of gentle waves meeting the Lake Erie shore in Evangola State Park. We had a special breakfast with yogurt, and then drove the scenic route along Lake Erie to get to Niagara Falls. We arrived at our KOA where we would be camping that night at around noon, so we parked in our spot and had a quick lunch. Then we drove off towards the biggest tourist attraction in the Northeast, debatably in the country. On arrival, we could see the columns of mist rising from very far off. Parking was an adventure in itself. When we asked one parking lot patrol if they had room for an RV, he responded, “Oh no! We don’t even have room in here for a…a small horse!” We laughed and drove on, finally finding space in a lot farther away. The first building we entered Mom called commercialism at its best, whatever that’s supposed to mean. They tried to sell us a tour of all these attractions we could access for free for $65. Everything was on sale there from T-shirts to knickknacks to “international” food. Then we found the REAL visitor’s center, where we purchased our Niagara Falls Discovery Pass, which included a Maid of the Mist boat tour, a Cave of the Winds under-the-falls tour, admission to the Aquarium of Niagara, Niagara Legends of Adventure Theater, and the Discovery Center, in addition to free trolley rides for one day.

So we went to the theater first to watch the IMAX movie, “Niagara”. I’m not telling the whole story of what happened in the movie, but I’ll cover the basics. It presented an exciting view of the falls and told the stories of legends, explorers, and daredevils, including a dramatic reenactment of a steamship ride down the whirlpools rapids and the true story of Roger Woodward, a seven-year-old boy who survived plunging over the falls. It was a very well-done film, and we enjoyed it to the max.

Then we decided to go on the Maid of the Mist boat tour, as we had watched the video online the night before and we were all very excited about it. So after we were admitted, we first went up to the observation tower to see what we were getting ourselves into. It was awesome! No kidding, you could feel the mist even from like a mile away! And it was so much water! From our vantage point high above the falls we could see the boats filled with people in blue headed to and fro below. So then we went and got our free blue ponchos and then got on the boat. We chose a spot on the side towards the front, so as to get as wet as possible. As we passed the American Falls, we could feel a light mist, but nothing like what was to come. The boat (conveniently named Maid of the Mist VII) then passed into the Horseshoe Basin, towards the most powerful of the three falls which make up the Niagara Gorge. As we neared, I could feel my face getting wetter and wetter, and then I heard shrieks of joy all around me. I refused to put my hood up the entire time, otherwise it would be lame, I was sure. We got closer and closer, until we were right there. The mist surrounded us and we joined in the screams of delight. My smile grew and grew until it got so big that it felt like it was going to pop right off my face. To be surrounded by that pounding, powerful water – there is absolutely nothing like it.

As the boat turned around and headed back, we waved to other tourists on Maid of the Mist boats on their way to “explore the roar”, the Maid of the Mist’s somewhat sappy, but very true slogan. After disembarking, we ventured off to explore the boardwalks that led to an area right next to the American Falls. This was another awesome experience and we got even wetter! Now the bottoms of our jeans were soaked (except Dad had worn shorts and Mom gloated about her choice of capris). Even our shoes and socks were wet and they squished audibly as we walked.  Thoroughly soaked, we headed back to Harvey, changed into dry clothes, spread out the wet ones all around, and packed up dinner to go, along with an additional set of dry, warm clothes.

Then we took the scenic trolley (basically a decorated bus) to Goat Island, the location of the Cave of the Winds trip. After we were admitted, we received six bright yellow rain ponchos, and six pairs of blue, green, and white sandals. After properly outfitting ourselves in the appropriate garb (we looked absolutely ridiculous, by the way), we descended 175 feet through the Niagara rock escarpment into the Niagara Gorge to view the falls from the bottom. Drenched wooden walkways led us to the Hurricane Deck, just twenty feet from the roaring Bridal Veil Falls (the smallest of the three falls, but still incredibly powerful). Told to expect a good dousing, a dousing we received. Screaming and dancing and jumping and laughing, we ran in and out of the waterfall. Ben screamed like a girl, but then again, so did his sisters. J Because we had been properly dressed and prepared this time, we weren’t quite as soaked after we took off our ponchos.

We then headed to the bathrooms, to change into dry sweat suits, and then ate dinner on a hexagonal table (one side for each of us!) at Prospect Point, overlooking the American Falls. It was a delicious dinner, to say the least. Afterwards, we took the trolley back to Rainbow Bridge, the bridge to Canada, and walked across to see Canada and the falls at night. After a slight delay at the passport-checking place, we visited the restroom in a gift shop in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. What else is there to do in Canada late at night, but to pee in a new country? Though I was disappointed by their ordinary toilets, we ladies were somewhat startled by an elderly lady in a glass box in the corner of the public restroom, and Ben said he saw a moose in the men’s restrooms. Hmmm, maybe Canadian restrooms aren’t like American restrooms after all!

After that miniature adventure, we tried on some funny hats in the gift shop, then left to walk in a few Canadian gardens and view the falls from the Canadian side. And just as we walked up, the light show started! We watched as the falls turned red, yellow, purple, pink, blue, green, all colors of the rainbow – in no particular order, which annoyed me. Then the American falls were red, white and blue, and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls were red and white, with something like a maple leaf projected onto them. It was really cool, and very pretty. Then we walked back across the Rainbow Bridge to America, but we had to pay fifty cents each (a total of three dollars) for toll to walk back to our own country!

After a quick walk back to our parking spot, we enjoyed a dessert of pumpkin pie in the parking lot, and then drove home and went to sleep, to be alert and ready for more Niagara Falls tomorrow.