NIAGARA EXPERIENCE part.2

This was taken before our epic voyage on the `Maid in the Mist`.  We knew we were going to get a little bit wet but as we were all issued with these blue capes we weren`t worried about that.  It was so hot that I even considered not bothering with mine at all, a bit of spray would cool me down.  What I didn`t bargain for was just how close to the Horseshoe Falls we went.  We passed the American Falls and I thought it was wonderful, a fairly easy ride, but then as we continued up to the Horseshoe, things began to get a little bumpy and the spray got a bit heavier and then the boat stopped.  Then a voice from the tannoy announced, " Welcome to Niagara Falls!", and with that we moved forward just a little, and what seemed like the heavens opened, and the spray from the Falls became a torrent pouring down above our heads, we couldn`t see a thing and we had to keep our mouths closed to stop the water would get in, I felt as though I had swallowed half of the Niagara river!  The noise was deafening and it was impossible to hear anything apart from the falls crashing down on the rocks below.  It was as if time had stood still and we were at the mercy of nature, which of course we were.  It wasn`t uintil later when we were on dry land that we found out that there had never been an accident with any of the `Maids` ever.  The captains of those vessels know every inch of the waters around the two waterfalls.  Earlier in the morning we visited the local IMAX cinema where we watched a film about the history of the Falls.  We saw some of the contraptions that people had used, both successfully and unsuccessfully, to go over the Falls.  But I`ll come to that in another entry, that`s a whole new story!

We were told that the American Falls doesn`t have as much water passing over it as it did and they will eventually run dry, but fear not, that won`t be for at least 200 years, as for the Canadian Horseshoe, that will keep flowing on at it`s usual rate for the foreseeable future. 

This being the last day before we flew back home, we were going to enjoy every minute of the remaining time we had left. After leaving the `Maid` we had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the American falls and were lucky to get a table at the very edge of the outside eating area. Later, Jim and I walked for a couple of miles across Niagara Park but it became so hot we had to give up and head back.  We bought ourselves some iced cappochino`s from Starbucks (yes, they even have one there too!) and attempted to climb the steep hill into the main street of the town we had dubbed `Tackyville`....lol!  We could see the man on the highwire making his afternoon walk and people were standing in the middle of the road to get a better view.  I wondered if it was hotter up there or cooler, not that I wanted to find...well, who knows?!!

                            

Me and a native of Canada!

I was really struggling with that hill, I wasn`t out of breath but my poor knees were really hurting and I had to keep stopping while Jim marched up ahead with no problems.  At that moment I felt really old and unfit and was glad when we eventually reached the top as it would be downhill all the way from now on!  We didn`t even stay up there long as it was even tackier in the day when there were no neon lights to make it look pretty, so we walked all the way down again, till we got the edge of the river the Falls blew a cooling spray over us.  We wandered around for another couple of hours chatting about the holiday and how much we loved what we`d seen of Canada and the diversity of it all......it was, without doubt, the best holiday we have ever had, and the memories, particularly of the magnificent Niagara Falls, will live with me forever.