Toronto to New York is a long drive. Eight and a half hours to be precise. On the trip across we had talked about how we’d tackle it. One suggestion was to travel from Toronto down to Niagra and stay there the night before travelling on to New York. That plan worked out quite well as we got to see a bit of Toronto (as shown in the previous entry) and it split up the longer drive.
Arriving in Niagra Falls was not what I had expected. It’s like Tramore on a grander scale. There’s a few casinos, a main tourist street and attractions like Crazy Golf and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. We arrived mid-afternoon after spending the morning in Niagra so after hotel check-in went directly for the Maid of the Mist. I spotted a staff member on the way down to the cliffs and asked where the ferry went from but she informed us it was closed. Shite. The one day we have to really see it (a beautiful clear day) and there’s an issue with one of the boats. We wander on down anyway to see the Falls from a distance and saunter up to the Maid of the Mist ticket office to quiz them on if it’ll be running again. As we approach one of the booths, most of them switch from CLOSED to OPEN. Happy days, we’re the first group through. No queueing at all and we’re on the boat within 10 minutes.
The Maid takes you right into the Falls. You’re probably aware of that from all the sources you’ve seen but it is truly spectacular. The rapids the boat has to contend with and the spray thrown up from the base assure you of the awesome power that’s generated by this natural wonder. We’ve crammed some really kick ass things into the holiday but this was certainly one of my highlights.
