Niagara Falls

“Childhood memories are sometimes covered and obscured beneath the things that come later, like childhood toys forgotten at the bottom of a crammed adult closet, but they are never lost for good.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane

When I was a child, one of the biggest vacations my family and I took included a visit to Niagara Falls.  Unfortunately, my memories of things that occurred in my life, before about the second grade, are sketchy, at best.  What I truly remember about that trip was riding on a boat, wearing a raincoat, and getting very wet.

Luckily, this summer, I had the opportunity to make new memories of Niagara Falls.

When visiting the falls, you have to decide whether you will stay on the American side or the Canadian Side of the falls.

All of our reading and advice from friends led us to choose to stay on the Canadian side of the falls.  We ended up staying at the Marriott, Fallsview.  We were very happy with our choice.  The view from our window on the 14th (really the 13th) floor was magnificent.  We ended up eating most of our meals in the hotel and were not disappointed.

Randy used Viator to book a tour for our stay.  The tour included the Journey Behind the Falls, a trip on the Hornblower Cruise, a 12 minute helicopter ride, and lunch in the Skylon Tower.

One of my favorite parts of the tour was the Journey Behind the Falls.  This tour let you experience the falls from behind in a series of tunnels.  The thundering of the falls was almost deafening.  You were also able to get up close to the falls from a side view during the tour.

The helicopter tour, while brief, gave you an overview of the falls.

The Hornblower Cruise is the part of the tour that brought back those childhood memories.  Clad in red raincoats, we were taken into the falls.  The boats leaving from the Canadian side were the Hornblowers.  The Maid of the Mist left from the American side.

You do, indeed, get very wet on the Hornblower Cruise.

After the Hornblower Cruise, we enjoyed taking in the sights of the falls on our own.  I was drawn to the contrast of the buildings on the American side of the falls with the power of nature below.

By far, my favorite image from the trip came from a spectacular light show that we were able to witness on our first night at the falls.  It literally took my breath away.

In the evenings, we enjoyed watching the fireworks from our hotel room.

I am so thankful that I had the chance to revisit Niagara Falls and to make new memories that will stick with me this time!