Road Trip 2011: Day 18 of 20 (Utica, NY to Niagra Falls, Ontario)

Helen finding out that I did not in fact stop at a hotel like we had talked about before she went to sleep, but instead drove through the night

I stopped at this travel plaza as dawn was breaking and slept for a couple hours along with Helen and the kids

The upstate New York area was really pretty with green rolling hills and farms. I don't like to drive at night because you don't get to see anything. We drove through the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts and the Adirondacks in New York overnight and missed all the scenery.

We still had a few hours to go until Niagra Falls

Niagra Falls State Park

Nikola Tesla and his alternating current (AC) beat out Thomas Edison's direct current (DC) as the preferred method of supplying power to the masses

The Power of Niagra

Waiting for Helen to get back from the bathroom (again). That's one thing we learned on these trips - girls take a long time in the restroom compared to us boys. Helen came back and said there were tons of school girls changing and they weren't being very fair about letting other people use the facilities. 

Cave of the Winds tour

The cliffs were covered with seagulls and they were flying all over the place. You really had to be aware to avoid being pooped on. It's a good thing we had the ponchos.

The Cave of the Winds tour allows you to get up close to the American side of the Falls. It's pretty impressive when you get up close and hear the roar and get soaked, but really - they suck compared to the Canadian falls.

The Canadian side of the Falls

If you stand anywhere near the Falls the wind carries the mist and soaks you

Rainbow Bridge across to Canada and the American Falls to the right

Luna Island

We caught the last Maid of the Mist tour for an up close encounter with the Canadian Falls

Adventure Theater

Crossing the Rainbow Bridge to Canada

We stayed at the Embassy Suites overlooking the Falls

Riding the elevator to check out the hotel

The Canadian side is much more built up and touristy. Lots of casinos and other kinds of edgy entertainment. Not really our kind of place.

We walked up the street looking for an Italian restaurant recommended by AAA and found it in this mall food court attached to the casino. It was closing but we managed to get some pizza slices.

Adam and Helen watching the falls

Derek had gone to bed but Adam was having such a good time in the whirlpool tub that Derek decided to jump in as well. There were some french doors that opened up to take advantage of the view of the falls.

Friday June 17, 2011

We left Acadia National Park in Maine the previous night with the intention of making a dent in the distance to our next destination, Niagra Falls. Before Helen went to sleep I told her that I wanted to at least try to make it beyond Boston so we wouldn't have to fight any rush hour traffic the next morning.

I ended up driving until dawn and finally stopped around Utica, New York. Helen stirred when I pulled into the travel plaza. At first, she couldn't quite comprehend where she was or what was going on. I finally broke the news that we had driven through the night. She was trying to digest that there would be no hotel bed, no hotel shower, and no hotel breakfast and she wasn't pleased. She rolled over and went back to sleep and I took a nap as well.

I really liked the travel plaza concept. The highways were limited access and there was no development other than the travel plazas spaced out every 25 miles or so. It was much prettier than all the billboards and development you see on other highways.

The kids complained about all toll booths we encountered on our trip and I said that they were kind of pain, but that I appreciated the concept of paying for usage. We had a little libertarian lesson in how the people that use a resource should be the ones that pay for it.

We drove a couple of hours and stopped at another travel plaza for lunch and information. We almost bought the Niagra Falls tour they were trying to sell, but decided to wing it on our own. We tried to book a room at the Hampton Inn on the American side, but it was full so we booked a room at the Embassy Suites on the Canadian side. It was supposed to have the best view of the falls.

We got into Niagra Falls about 1:30. We parked at Niagra Falls State Park and went on the Cave of the Winds tour. It's hard not to feel touristy at Niagra Falls, but it's still so cool. Even the kids were excited about Niagra Falls. In fact, if you ask them what their favorite thing was about the trip, they will say Niagra Falls. I think part of that is that it is cool, but also because it's easy to remember and it's one of the last things we did.

Along the way, Derek kept telling us that he didn't need to take trips to see things. He could just look things up on the Internet and see plenty of videos on YouTube. But after seeing Niagra Falls, Derek admitted that it was stunning and worth taking the trip. We joked that he could have just stayed home and watched a video about the Falls on YouTube while somebody sprayed him with a water bottle and it would be a real 4-D experience.

The area around the Falls is really nice. You can walk all over the place and see the Falls from all angles. You can see the American Falls and the Canadian Falls from the park. We spent some time in the shops and had some fudge and some ice cream.

We took the last Maid of the Mist tour. The Maid of the Mist is a boat that takes you right up to the Canadian Falls. They give you a poncho, but you still get soaked. It's the only way to really experience the power of the Falls. The roar of the water is amazing. It's hard to hear anyone over the roar and it's hard to see anyone through the spray. We all thought it was the best.

We went to the Adventure theater and watched a movie. We thought it was going to be about the history of the Falls, but it was mostly about a little boy, Roger Woodward, who was swept over the Falls and rescued by the Maid of the Mist. It was kind of unsettling to Adam.

We drove across the Rainbow Bridge to the Canadian side and our hotel. The Canadian side is much more touristy with lots of casinos and other edgy entertainment. We didn't really care for it.

Our hotel was packed. It was a big hotel and there were people everywhere. It took a while to catch an elevator. We were skeptical that we would get a room with a nice view of the Falls, but our room had a great view. We took the view in for a while and then tried to decide what to eat for dinner.

We finally decided on an Italian restaurant recommended by AAA and walked up the street to find it. We finally located it in a food court mall of one of the casinos. Everything was closing up but we were able to get a few slices of pizza.

There was plenty of activity in the area and lots of people strolling the streets. The weather was nice and we had a nice walk back to our hotel. Adam was excited to try out the whirlpool tub before bed. Derek jumped right into bed, but Adam was having such a good time that Derek decided to join him.