Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Niagara Falls, The Maid of the Mist

Hello!  I have another travel post for you today because I haven't had any time to be in my craft room to create anything for weeks.  In fact, I haven't been home other than to sleep and take a shower for the past two weeks.  If I'm not at my full time job, I've been at my church decorating it for Christmas.  My own house is just falling apart.  The houseplants haven't been watered for two weeks, my dishes and laundry keep piling up, and I still have fall decorations up.  It's ridiculous.  Today, the fall decorations will come down as I finally have a day off, although I'm really not happy about having to go outside in below zero temps to remove them.  They are probably all frozen in the ground by now.  It's been ridiculously cold here in Wisconsin.

Anyway, enough ranting about my lack of time and back to my travel post.  As most of you probably already know, I've been posting pictures and stories of our August Vacation to New Hampshire/Vermont for months now, and I'm happy to tell you that I'm just about at the end of this journey as I wrap up this series with a couple of posts about Niagara Falls.  Now, for some reason, although I've heard about Niagara Falls my entire life, I really had no desire to go there.  I don't really know why, maybe because it's very 'touristy' and I don't generally like 'touristy' activities.  But on our three day journey to the east coast, we had to drive right past Niagara Falls so we thought, 'We might as well as stop and take a look, because this might be the only chance we'll ever get to see it'.  And I'm so happy that we did because we had the time of our lives!

The first thing we did when we got to Niagara Falls was to take the Maid of the Mist boat ride.  What a blast that was!  The boat takes you on a short tour of all the waterfalls and takes you very, very close to the falls themselves.  And you get soaking wet….the plastic ponchos are a must!  Here is one of the boats as it glides past the first waterfall.

 This is the boat station where you wait for the boat to arrive.  The water is so clear and has such a beautiful color to it.


 Here I am in my plastic poncho brimming with excitement!  My son-in-law Jason felt like a super hero wearing his poncho!




 My husband felt so uncomfortable wearing his poncho…the hot sun was beating down on us as we waiting for the boat, and the thin plastic just sticks to your skin.

But once we boarded the boat are misery was soon forgotten because you get so close to the falls that the mist of the falls really cools you off quickly.

 This is a view of one of the boast that shows the Canadian side of the falls.  I believe the old building is an old water power facility.
 This the bridge that connects the American and Canadian borders.  The tower to the right is on the American side and has a beautiful view of the falls.
 I was absolutely amazed at how close the boat was able to get to the falls.  You could really feel the power of the falls.  It is difficult to see because there is so much water in your eyes.

 There are actually three waterfalls in Niagara Falls,  the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls.  I believe the one pictured above is the Horseshoe Falls, and the one pictured below is the American Falls.
 Here is a view of the boats headed to the falls.  You can see how the two falls form a basin with the American Falls on the left, and the Horseshoe Falls in the center.

There was a lot more to see and do in Niagara Falls other than ride the Maid of the Mist, so I will finish up with more pictures and stories in a later post.

Have a great day! Amy

6 comments:

  1. Fun photos Amy, we went to Niagara Falls in 1999 and loved it. We too rode the Maid of the Mist. These photos make me want to go back and take the kids this time, I bet they would have so much fun!

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  2. This is definitely on my list of places to see! That looks amazing!

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  3. Goodness, love Niagara falls and this looks like the funnest day. Love all your photos... you guys look like you had an absolute blast!!

    xo
    By The Shore, a life + style blog

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  4. Oh this is beautiful ! Thanks for sharing my friend !
    xxx

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  5. Beautiful pictures, smiled at the one of your hubby, certainly did not look too happy!
    hugs
    Glenda

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