Destination: Niagara Falls

Day 18 of our Back East Trip. The much anticipated: Niagara Falls. We left Palmyra early that morning to drive the three hours to the Falls. We navigated to the Niagara Falls Visitor's Center, and what we saw driving in honestly surprised me: I didn't expect the town to be so smothered with tourist EVERYTHING: hotels, restaurants, gift shops, and paid parking. I was surprised, and not pleasantly so. We finally found a $10 parking lot, and walked toward the Maid of the Mist loading docks.

We decided that we would start our day with the famous boat ride, hoping that we would get our ride in before the day got really crazy. We stood in line for quite some time, sweltering in the sun, until we were finally handed our blue ponchos. We were definitely prepared (more so than other tourists) with waterproof cases for our phones and hats on our heads.

WOW. This was definitely our favorite part of the day. It was so refreshing to get so up close and personal to the Falls and get a little wet. The views we were able to get on camera were breathtaking, while others were forced to put their phones away to prevent them from getting wet. The pictures really don't do it justice either--the videos that we got capture the majesty much more fully.

After exiting the Maid of the Mist, we promptly removed our classic blue ponchos and left them to be recycled. We then waited in the popular hot spot, to climb up to a prime viewpoint of American Falls. We actually got a pretty good picture, for which we are grateful. 

After American Falls, we decided it was time for the moment of truth: we would take the passenger bridge across the "pond" to the Canadian side. We were excited to find out if the rumors were true: is the Canadian side prettier? The answer: a resounding yes! 

After crossing over, we stopped to get some delicious fudge. Well, we were really in search of some water, because we were parched, but the fudge was yummmmy. We then walked along the water toward the end of the Falls. Canada, your side of the Falls is SO much nicer! No crappy tourist traps, no roads littered with paid parking. What does Canada have right next to the Falls? A PARK! What a great idea! 

As we walked farther and farther away from the bridge, the views got prettier and prettier. At one point, my feet were aching and I told Nick that we should turn around, that we had seen it all. He insisted that we keep going, and boy, am I glad that he did! We would have missed the best views of the whole day!! 

After soaking in the incredible views from the Canadian side, we crossed back into the United States and decided it was time to head out. We went back to our Air B n B and checked in. We then went to the BEST pizza/wings bar place--and they were SO cheap! I then bonded with the host's cute puppy and had the best time snuggling him!

The next day, it was time to head home! We drove the four hours down to Pittsburg to return the rental car and fly back home to Phoenix! We are so grateful that we did this trip--well worth it!