The bus trip is relatively uneventful - an 8 and a half hour drive up over the Pokonos mountains, cutting through Pennsylvania, back into upstate New York over the Appalachia’s and over the border into Niagara Falls Ontario.
The trip is broken up with stops for breakfast, lunch and another waterfall in Chequaga as a taster for the big one at the end of the day. Lunch stop was Wegmans - similar to Whole Foods store where we could choose from a whole range of foods in their cafeteria - huge slices of pizza, sushi of all types, subs, sandwiches, buffet and desserts. These ones are self funded but all very affordable.
For those who have not been to Niagara, they may not be aware that there are actually two Falls - the American Falls accessible from the US side of the border, and the Horseshoe Falls which are in Canada. The first afternoon we get there with about an hour to spare of daylight to capture some memories of the American Falls from an observation deck suspended out over Niagara River. I actually like the American Falls a little better as it photographs so well and doesn’t create the same mist as the Canadian falls - again resulting in better photographs. We also have a bit of time to roam around and over the top of the falls for a completely different eye’s view of the falls.
Then it’s back into the bus and the wait to cross over the Canadian border. Not long to wait and our passports are stamped and Stefanos our guide is giving us a quick tour of town before we checkin to our Ramada Hotel for the night.
The three of us made the 15 minute walk into the Main Street tossing up our options for dinner, while checking out the sites of “little Vegas” - there’s a lot of neon on the main drag - it’s very much a theme park kind of vibe - a little more family friendly than the real thing!
We settled on Montana’s - where I had the most delicious buttermilk chicken with fresh vegetables (oh how I’ve missed fresh vegetables) and cornbread. Oh and home style gravy - a delicious white sauce like nothing I’ve ever had in Australia. Hayden indulged in a chicken waffle sandwich (yep - a fried chicken breadt between two waffles, and Brendon did justice to a 7 oz sirloin. We had a fab waitress named Paulette and I may have had a Sommersby Long Island Iced Tea - same as a regular one but replace the soft drink with cider to make it a little more potent!
We roamed the Main Street checking out souvenir stores, avoiding the haunted house and Ripley’s attractions before Hayden took himself back to the hotel to watch the Islanders v Maple Leaf ice hockey game (yes I’ve created a monster introducing him to a new sport), while Brendon and I hung around for the illuminated falls and the final fireworks display of the season. Treated ourselves to a hot chocolate and a gingerbread latte on the way home and retired in our toasty warm hotel room for the night.
Not too early wake up at 6.30am - to the sight of a winter wonderland - it was snowing! Brendon and I got ready in record time and dragged Hayden downstairs to play in the snow before a quick breakfast and onto the bus to explore the Canadian Falls all the whole with snow still swirling down and around us.
The tour includes a trip behind the falls at this time of year (up until November you can do the Maid of the Mist tour where the boat takes you right up to the falls), but at this time of the year it isn’t an option. It’s still pretty awesome to go behind the falls - it’s a real chance to experience the power and force behind the million litres per minute of water flowing over the side of the cliffs. The history of the falls is interesting too - not least that it has eroded so much that it used to be 11km further upstream.
The bus trip home involves a stop at the Crossings Premium Outlet mall in Pennsylvania - an hour and a half of shopping nirvana for those who like that kinda thing. Unfortunately Brendon lost his phone at the mall, but fortunately it was found and handed in so we just have to work out how to get it back now as we fly out Tuesday morning and the tour company will bring the phone back Tuesday afternoon - will keep you updated on the progress of getting it back!
So now with a final day in NYC we will cram in a bit of last minute sightseeing. Still a few things on the bucket list even after that so I guess we will need to come back sometime (please let it be in Spring - I’m sick of winter New York and would love to see it in its green glory, especially in Central Park).
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