Wednesday, March 24, 2010

in which we say goodbye to canada (but still have 3 days to go)

We woke up at 8:30 (ahhh) to the smell of pancakes & bacon.  So nice, since we were starting to be a bit afraid of the Burnses cooking!  (just kidding, Maria, we love you!)  She spoiled us though; she's such a sweet lady!  Dan worked out the luggage and somehow got it all to fit in our little car.  I'm sure leaving Toronto for the last time was hard for Connie.  This has been an amazing 18 months for her and of course it is difficult for her leave all her new friends and family.

DSCF4529Bye boys!

DSCF4527 We look so tired!

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We arrived at Niagara and were immediately wowed by the Falls.  We were snapping our cameras right and left.   Pictured here is the American Falls taken from the Canadian side.

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And this is HorseShoe Falls on the Canadian side.  Amazing.

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Finally, it had stopped raining and the temps were nice and comfy in the high 50s-it really was a perfect day for Niagara.  We got a bit wet from the mist as we neared the Falls, but otherwise, it was very comfortable.

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This picture makes me laugh-Becky took it with her camera because she wanted to take pics of all the Orthodox Jews standing behind us. After a while there were about 2 dozen of them and lots of people were taking their pictures. Ha.

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So so gorgeous.

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We had originally planned to spend maybe 3 hours at the Falls-since the other attractions like Maid of the Mist were all closed (due to the season) there really wasn't much to do other than look.  But the weather was so nice, we ended up staying until about 9p so we could see the Falls at night.

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Looking at Horseshoe Falls from up the road. 

We spent the afternoon driving around the Canadian-side city of Niagara and walked up and around the tourist street.

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Everything cost an arm and a leg so we didn't go into Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, or any of the other attractions.  They were fun to window-shop at though.

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Then we saw a sign advertising the IMAX movie all about Niagara and those who had attempted to go over in barrells in such, so we watched that and toured the small museum.

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Someone was actually stupid enough to go over the Falls in these.

 

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All for fame.  Most of them died.

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And finally, it was dark.  Niagara is really beautiful at night; I had major camera envy for my sister-in-law's camera because it took some amazing night shots.  Mine don't even come close.  I'm sure you can tell which are hers and which are mine here!

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The Falls at night were nice with the lights shining on them, but not worth staying til 9p for.  :(  We ended up not even leaving Niagara til around 9:45-ish or so, once we got through Customs and found a gas station, lost the keys, had a little meltdown, and got on our way again towards Rochester where we were staying with my Aunt and Uncle for the next two nights.  We arrived really late-almost 11:30-greeted Uncle Frank (he's so nice, I barely remember him, having not seen him since I was 14 or so) and we all hit the hay.

7 comments:

Dahlene said...

Wow! I hope to see Niagara Falls someday. They are really pretty at night. I didn't know there was enough light to see them. I had no idea the city was that close to them. I always thought they were out in the middle of the country. Very cool pictures.

Jenna said...

Wow, it's absolutely beautiful!! Great pictures and great memories!

Jennifer ♥ said...

We went to Niagara Falls on our honeymoon - it was so beautiful!! We were on the Canadian side when the falls were lit up and to watch the firework show. Great memories. We rode the Maid of the Mist and got SOAKED!!!

Liz said...

How goreous that's for sure. Looks like a great (digi book lol) I'm lookin forward to the rest of it.
I love the photos and story feel like I am there

Mark and Jessica said...

One day I want to go to the falls - maybe for our next vacation or 3. Gorgeous pictures, BTW

laurie said...

I really enjoyed seeing all your pictures and reading about your trip. I have never been to Niagara Falls but hope to go someday. Thanks for the "preview." I'm glad you had a good time - what an adventure! (chicken feet??? I'm not sure I could do that either.)

jinxi~ aka angi said...

THANK YOU so much for sharing all the photos and events.. I know how hard it is to find time to blog and recall your memories from a tiring vacation.. but I am so happy you did. Loved them all!