Niagara Trip Part 2 : Adventures on Day One

We originally planned our Niagara Falls trip for three days (incl. arriving and leaving days), but soon realized that we would need at least one extra day. This is still a very small amount of time, but as it turns out - just right for a trip to Niagara Falls.

Sunday we drove from Connecticut to Niagara, which took about 8 hours including stops for gas and breakfast snacks. The biggest toll we payed was $15.30, an amount we weren't quite expecting. We called the Skylon Tower just short of crossing the border to make reservations for brunch - the cheapest option they have - and went immediately there before even our hotel.

 The Skylon is an amazing adventure to start a trip with. You ride a yellow bug like elevator up up up to a three level observation deck and restaurant. The dinner level revolves so that over the course of an hour you have seen Niagara Falls in 360 degrees, which is awesome in and of itself. We, however, were eating at the brunch buffet - which does not revolve. Nevertheless, we had a fantastic view of the falls and couldn't help but stare (despite my fear of heights - going up that elevator was the hardest part for me, after that I was fine). Brunch was delicious and we followed that with a trip up one level to the observation deck for a more direct view of the falls. The wind and cold kept us from staying up there too long, however, plus we were ready to continue our adventure!

Sunday was the extra day we added on to our trip and we stayed at a Best Western about a mile or two from the falls. This was both good and bad. The hotel itself was beautiful, clean and the staff was extremely friendly. The pool area was obscenely beautiful, but we had not brought our suits so we didn't get to use it. The hotel was not, however, in the touristy or most beautiful part of Niagara. We had to walk down a slightly sketchy street in order to get to the tourist "street of fun" and even farther to get to the falls. We were okay with this, but if you are staying for more than one day and don't plan on driving and parking near the falls - I would recommend something closer. It seemed silly to us to pay to park when we could just walk, though, so we got plenty of exercise - especially that first day.

 Ahh, the Street of Fun. Walking we saw continual signs pointing us towards "Clifton Hill - The Street of Fun" and after all that build up... boy were we excited when we finally reached it. Along with very amused and slightly disappointed. The Street of Fun is about three blocks pure TOURIST kitchy insanity. Three haunted houses, several Ripley's Museums, two wax museums, fast food galore, arcades, giant ferris wheels, bowling.... this was obviously where the action was.

Clifton Hill is great for getting fast food (slightly cheaper than the over priced restaurants) and for a laugh, but it wasn't really what we were looking for in entertainment, so after a few photos and a snack we continued on our walk to the Falls.

 Niagara Falls is one of the most amazing natural sights that I have visited. So much rushing water, an almost constant rainbow and all that mist just rising up out of the middle of it all. If you ever have the chance, you should go and visit. And at least stop by the Canadian side - the view is much more spectacular and cohesive.

Stay tuned for Day 2 :)