Niagara Falls

On Friday, June 27, we left Williamsport around 4pm and headed for Niagara Falls.  We planned this trip on the weekend so Greg could go with us.  We stopped in Buffalo for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory as I was having a craving!  We shared meals, drank water, and got out of there for $73 even with 3 desserts.  :)  We made it to our hotel around 9:30pm.  During the summer, there are fireworks over the falls on Friday and Sunday evenings.  I didn't realize that when I made the initial plans, but it turned out to be perfect.  We walked onto the observation bridge right as the fireworks started.  They were so beautiful as were the lights on the falls which are on every night.

 

The next morning we bought subs at a local grocery store for a picnic lunch and headed back to the park.  Niagara Falls is in Niagara Falls State Park.  You pay $8-10 to park in one of their lots, but that is all you actually HAVE to pay.  You could park on the street outside of the park and walk in if you could find a place.  We bought the Discovery Pass which allowed us to experience five attractions in the park.  The two main things were the Maid of the Mist boat ride and the Cave of the Winds.  Doing these two things separately would have cost the same as each pass, so we figured everything else was a bonus.

 

Look at that gorgeous rainbow in the background!

 We did The Cave of the Winds first.  This attraction wasn't really cave-like except that you took an elevator down into the rock.  After that you walked out on this contraption of stairs and bridges which they rebuild every single spring due to the wear and tear of the ice over the winter.

You were given these lovely ponchos and sandals to keep dry.  Yeah, right!

Look how close we were to the falls!

See the sign?  It says Hurricane Deck.  I elected to stay one deck lower and take pictures!

One season, four hurricanes hit Florida. We NEVER got this wet!

On our way to the trolley, we passed this statue of Tesla.  Carys and Landon both had to have their pictures taken with it!

We got to ride the trolley around the park all day as part of the pass.

 

So we rode over to the Maid of the Mist next.  These are the two most popular attractions, so we opted to do them first before it got too crowded.

The boat ride was incredible.  You rode right up to the falls.  At a certain point, you can't really see anything, though!

 A truly incredible sight!  "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls."  Psalm 42

The American Rapids from the trolley

We also went into the aquarium and the Gorge Discovery Center.  I'd heard how small and awful the aquarium was, but Carys enjoyed it thoroughly, especially the sea lions.

Carys wanted Greg to take her picture with every stuffed animal in the aquarium gift shop. 

Chase decided to get in on the action, except she was trying to imitate the expression on each animal's face.  It was hilarious!

 

We went into the Gorge Discovery Center simply to wait for the next trolley to the parking lot.  I made these people pose, but only Greg looks very happy about it!  I think they were making those faces on purpose. :) 

We were exhausted by the time we headed home, but it was worth it!  We made it back to Williamsport by about 7:00 that evening.