Day 132 & 133 - Niagara Falls, NY

We arrived in Niagara to a Blues Festival. The Main Street was closed off, there were food stands either side, a bar and a main stage with a Blues band. We had a lot of fun just standing in the street listening to the music. At 10pm, there were fireworks over the falls so we walked through the state park to the edge of the river to watch them. Although the fireworks only lasted for 5 minutes, they were really good. They were fired off from boats in the river so rather than having to crane your neck up to see them, they exploded straight in front of us at head height. The fireworks were not on just for the Blues Festival, they’re on every night in the summer and Saturday, Sunday and holidays out of season. It’s impressive that they are held so often and must cost a large sum of money.

We were staying at the Comfort Inn at the Falls which is a budget hotel but it had free breakfast, free parking and was the closest hotel to the falls. We both agreed that if we were to visit again, this is where we would stay.

The next day, we decided there were two attractions we wanted to do. Cave of the Winds and the Maid of the Mist. We checked online and unless we bought the combo ticket which includes another 4 attractions, all of which we weren’t interested in doing, it was better to just buy the tickets at the gate. So we headed over the bridge to Goat Island and to the Cave of the Winds entrance.

With our tickets bought, we went through to a theater to watch a short video on the history of the falls and then picked up our equipment - a pair of sandals and a rain poncho - before heading down an elevator to the wooden walkways. The walkways take you around the base of Bridal Veil Falls. It all starts off calmly with a little splash from the water but then you walk up to Hurricane Deck where the water pounds you, just like a hurricane I assume! It felt like a shiatsu massage but a cold and wet one.

We were soaking wet but our ponchos had saved our clothes from getting too damp. It was also a lovely day so whatever was wet, dried off quickly.

We decided to find somewhere in town for a refreshment break before hitting Maid of the Mist. This is where the US side of Niagara Falls falls down, the town doesn’t have many bars, restaurants or coffee shops. Even the hotels tend to be budget hotels with very few facilities. After spending an hour searching for a cafe or coffee shop with some outside seating, we came across the Rain Forest Cafe. Not ideal but we were desperate so we went inside.

Once we were refreshed, we headed back to the park to buy Maid of the Mist tickets. We fully expected a huge queue and a massive wait as this is one of the most popular attractions. We couldn’t believe it when we bought the tickets, got straight onto the elevator that takes you down to the river and the jumped on the boat that was docked and waiting for passengers. We had no waiting at all.

The boat ride was really good too. Like Cave in the Winds, we were given ponchos to wear and we used our Cave in the Winds shoes which you got to keep. The boat goes alongside Bridal Veil Falls and the American Falls and then stops right in front of the Horseshoe Falls where you get drenched. It was so wet that we couldn’t even get the camera out for most of the experience, it already has a number of health issues and we didn’t want to add wet electronics to the list.

The ponchos did a good job again of protecting our clothes. We did wonder whether we should take them with us given Florence is potentially going in the same direction as us but we decided it was tempting fate and we didn’t really have the space in Fin so we recycled them instead.

We walked around the park and then the town of Niagara again this time looking for somewhere for lunch. There are a lot of Indian restaurants and some road side snack places but very little else. In the end, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe and had some really tasty flat bread.

The weather was amazing, it was a real shame our hotel didn’t have an outdoor pool and that the town didn’t seem to have any bars / cafes where you could sit out and chill. After walking until or feet hurt, we went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for our night out with Russell and Louise.

Lee went to uni with Russell who now lives with his wife Louise (another Brit) in Niagara Falls but on the Canadian side. They picked us up from the hotel and took us out to a restaurant in Lewiston. We had a lovely dinner and it was great for me to meet them and for Lee to catch up after so many years.

I am so glad we had the chance to experience the US side of Niagara Falls as we have both been to the Canadian side before. The Canadian side might have a better view of Horseshoe Falls but the US side has an amazing park that takes you up close to Bridal Veil and the American Falls, you get to experience the waterfalls rather than just see them. Is just a shame that compared to the Canadian side, the US side has little going on in the town, it needs some places selling good food, locals beers and fresh coffee with outdoor seating. If we were to come again and stay on the US side, we would probably stay in Buffalo instead which looks like a neat town only a short drive away.