Niagara Falls, Canada - June 2010 -LOTS OF PICTURES

LOTS of PHOTOS in this post! 

We planned our trip to Niagara relatively last minute.  Mid-June Jeramis came home from work and said that he thought we should do a family trip before his work related stuff started picking up and his options to take time away became less available. He had a few ideas already in mind. The top of his list was Niagara Falls.  With a little research he found a great hotel / sites package and we booked it for the last few days of June and the first of July.  Since we live by DC we figured we would drive up through Pennsylvania, into New York and then Canada.  Looking at the route options we figured we could afford to stop in at Gettysburg, PA on our way to the hotel we picked out in New York. We stayed in Corning, NY that night and then drove to Niagara Falls the next morning.  It was nice to break the drive up and see some things on the way.  Here's a break down of our adventure.

DAY 1-  We headed out around 8 a.m. and drove to Gettysburg, PA.  We stopped at the Gettysburg National Military Park and Museum and walked around. In the gift shop we purchased an Audio CD Guide of the battlefields and sites around the town. Using that we drove around to the various sites and listened as the CD explained what happened there and what the memorials standing represented. It was useful and informative. It's hard to imagine all the destruction and death that occurred there since the locations are now fields and homes. Thinking of the ground, dyed red from blood, while looking at it flourishing with crops is such a strange thing. After seeing the sites we hopped back on the freeway and up to Corning, NY.  We checked into our hotel and relaxed for the evening.

DAY 2- We checked out of the hotel and headed over to the Corning Glass Museum. I really enjoyed the museum. There was a ton of modern glass artwork as well as a huge collection of glass art and creations dating back through history.  It was cool to walk around and see how things have changed and how some things have remained the same.  The kids enjoyed the painted glass, blown glass and the diversity in the texture and concepts in the art.  I could have spent hours in the museum portion but with the little ones in tow we took the museum at a brisk pace.  We watched a glass blowing demonstration and then went into the 'exploration' section where the kids were able to do some hands on exploring.  There were several little demonstrations going on there as well and we were able to listen in.  After enjoying the museum it was time for some lunch and then we hit the road to head into Canada and on to Niagara Falls.  Crossing the border was pretty smooth for us. We had about a 20 minute wait. With the new border control measures we had to have our passports with us but the kids are still young enough that we only needed their birth certificates.  After giving our information, we headed in.  The drive from the border to Niagara Falls was quick and easy.  

We found the hotel and pulled in to unload. That is where we found out that you had to pay to park - $30 for on-site Valet, $20 for off-site Valet.  Thinking that we’d drive around ourselves a lot we decided to do the on-site Valet.  Turns out that was a waste of the extra $10/day.  So note to any of you that might decide to go there. Go for the off-site Valet. 2 reasons: 1^st the Valet still has to get the car for you, either way. 2^nd You pretty much can walk anywhere or use the hotel shuttles/attraction shuttles.  We didn’t use the car once while we were there.  Once you make the selection they bill it to the room so you can’t go and change it down the road. So, lesson learned! We unloaded the van and headed up to our Suite. Man-o-man! Jeramis did great! We had a gorgeous view of both the Horseshoe and American Falls; just gorgeous.  The room had a ‘living’ room area where the kids took up residence and then a separate room with our bed, a little sitting area with a fireplace and chairs and wall-to-wall windows.  The bathroom had a huge whirlpool tub – more like a personal spa – and a separate shower/bathroom.  We were excited and ready to get moving.  After enjoying a peak out the window we headed out to dinner.  We had to rush a little because we had tickets that night to a magic show.  After dinner we boarded the attractions bus and headed over to the “Las Vegas Magic Show.” The Magician, Greg Frewin, was actually pretty good. The kids loved the show and at the end we got in a cage to have our photo taken with a tiger… great fun!  After the show we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. Before falling into slumber we had to look out our window a little longer to enjoy the Falls “nightly light show.” They have lights of different hues shining on the falls. It’s really lovely to see and we all ‘oo’d and ahh’d over it.

Day 3- We spent this day walking around the ‘tourist trap’ of the ‘downtown’ area of Niagara Falls. We hit a 4-D movie (under the sea style), compliments of the hotel, and shopped a little. We also enjoyed checking out the different shops. They had a Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum among the shops. The kids were afraid of the statues in front.  Some of the other buildings had odd facades. Jeramis watched Jaz and I took the big kids up in the Sky Wheel. (At Jade’s request.) It was rather amusing because she REALLY wanted to ride it but once it started going she wanted off because she was afraid we would fall out!  It took several rotations before she stopped freaking out with every little swish of our cart.  The view on the wheel was pretty nice.  We also hit up Dave and Buster’s while we were there. (Another compliment of the hotel – some game credits.)  We enjoyed a stop into the Rain Forest Café and The Hard Rock Café, as well.  It was a really nice day and we had a good time spending it together.  Back at the hotel we swam for a little in the pool and hot tub and then came back and relaxed in the room.

Day 4- On this day we hit the “Maid of the Mist” first thing in the morning.  If there is one thing you do when you go to Niagara Falls, the “Maid of the Mist” is a must. We all enjoyed it, even Jaz! We also all got soaked! So if you don’t like to walk around wet be sure to go on a hot day or plan to go back to the hotel to change.  It was warm enough for us that by the time we were up the hill and on our way back to the downtown area we were dry.  It was a beautiful site seeing both the American and Horseshoe Falls up close. The force of the Falls is amazing to experience and it was SO FUN to watch the kids get excited about all the ‘mist’ (feels more like rain) pouring down.  After we finished our ride on the Maid we decided to walk around downtown again and pick up souvenirs.  We ended up catching a sidewalk show called “Galaxy Girl.” It was a bit odd and (in my opinion lame) but the kids, especially Jade, liked it.  The girl climbed a huge tower and did acrobatic stunts from it, without safety harnesses. The “danger” factor was what made it so “cool” but over all there was too much talking and not enough action, in my opinion! After we watched that we finished up downtown and the caught the bus back to the hotel.  Later that afternoon we caught the shuttle down to the Falls and we walked around and snapped photos.  The weather was so nice and I just loved all the rainbows cast about! The kids had more fun “playing” games on the grass and benches.  That night we enjoyed our last evening of vacation.

Day 5- LONG DAY! We left Niagara Falls early and started our trek back.  Originally we were going to take 2 days to head home but we decided, last minute, to just drive it straight through.  Leaving Canada we passed JELLYSTONE! Really. I could have killed myself for not knowing about it before our trip, as I would have loved to stop and take the kids – at least for a picture next to Yogi!  (For those of you old enough to remember Yogi Bear and his crew! I was absolutely laughing that there is such a place and I wish I could have exposed the children to it before the new movie comes out!) As we neared the border we realized the mistake we’d made. We left on a Canadian holiday so the border was a mess.  To help the kids we decided to stop at the Duty-free shop at the border to stretch our legs and use the bathroom.  At this location we realized that we could have purchased a lot of our souvenirs here for less.  We got back on the road and were able to cut in front of a lot of the traffic that had originally been in front of us. By using the duty free exit and entrance back to the road we ended up further up and didn’t have to play the stop and go game as long.  The rest of the day was one long drive home.  We got in around 9 p.m.  The nice aspects of just driving through were that we didn’t have to pay for another night at a hotel and we had a full day (the next day) to recoup. 

Overall I must say that our visit to Niagara was really great.  There were some things we didn’t get to, which is fine, but we were able to see the main stuff and enjoy being together.  I really enjoyed having a chance to work with my new camera some and experience the beauty of Niagara Falls. 

My tips for anyone that decides to go:

1- Don’t pay for the on-site valet. The off-site is easy enough and anywhere you drive you have to pay to park so it’s easier and cheaper to either walk or use the shuttles.

2- Bring/Buy a waterproof camera for Maid Of the Mist

3- Buy your gifts and souvenirs at the Duty-Free shop.

4- Don’t forget your passports or birth certificates if the kids are under 16

5- Stay on the Canadian side. The American hotels just don’t have the views! Trust me!

6- Take a walk along the sidewalk by the Falls during the late afternoon /early evening. In the morning the sun is in your eyes and you don’t get all the rainbows but by late afternoon /early evening they are brilliant.

7- Talk a walk during the night so you can enjoy the falls ‘lit up’ with color. 

8- Read up on some of the history of the Falls as it adds to your enjoyment. We learned about the ship that was intentionally run aground so that the men on it weren’t swept over the falls.

9- If you have time, drive up to where the ships go through the canal (the locks) (We didn’t get to do this but I’ve been told it’s pretty cool to see!)

10- Look for package deals for the attractions, as you will save money that way.  Also if you book your hotel make sure they offer a shuttle pass so you don’t have to pay. That saved us quite a bit of money.

11- You can walk pretty much anywhere. We rode the shuttle often but we also walked from our hotel to downtown and it only took us about 15 minutes. 

12- Bring a sweater. Even though it had been warm we found that we used our sweaters, especially in the evenings. During 2 of our 4 days we wore the sweaters almost the entire day because the high temps weren’t above 70 and with the breeze from the falls it was chilly.

13- If you are traveling with an infant/toddler that needs whole milk or other refrigerated items, bring a large ice chest and plan to fill it with ice throughout your stay.  The fridges in the room are really small and there is no freezer space at all.  Also, bring a small stroller because there isn’t always a lot of space for the larger ones on the shuttles. We have the Joovy Cooper, which folds down like an umbrella stroller, and it was really nice to be able to stow it easily.

14- Bring a backpack for toting around snacks, drinks, sweaters and souvenirs.

15- If you have the time, check out Corning, NY’s glass museum; it was worth the stop!

More to come soon on the blog-front. July and August updates are in the works. So come back soon! Maybe I'll actually keep on top of this for a change!