Travels with Iggy, Niagara Falls
Posted 11-14-2013 at 11:15 PM by Road Geezer
ONE REALLY NICE TOURIST TRAP
The most northeasterly point on our itinerary was to be Niagara Falls--a "bucket list" destination. We almost missed it for the lamest of reasons.
That morning the helpful receptionist at a local KOA on Grand Island marked the route on a good map mentioning that the Rainbow Bridge was closest to the Falls; travel time looked to be about 15 minutes in mid morning traffic. We had been told the Canadian side had a much better perspective of Niagara Falls than the American side, kinda like the best views of San Francisco's skyline are from across the Bay. There was a light drizzle, rain tapering off after last night's downpour of Biblical proportions.
Creeping through US and then Canadian Immigration, I noticed something missing from the maps. The actual Falls were not shown ... anywhere; every BurgerKing, MacDonald's, souvenir shop, liquor store and casino in the area was shown. No Falls. Oh we'll, there had to be tourist signs that would point the way once we got to Canada.
About half way across the bridge we noticed this huge, misty cloud off to the left. Good gravy, the rain must be starting up again over there... Rats! To the right we could see the vertical-sided canyon extending into the distance.
Having cleared Canadian Immigration, pleasantly I might add, we set out to find the Falls. Forgot to ask the Immigration officer which way to turn. Oh we'll, we'll just follow our instincts. Through the roundabout, hmmm, no sign for the Falls. Onward through the beautiful park. Let's stop at this overlook, the Whirlpool; hmmm, thought that was actually down river from the falls. Oh we'll, must be mistaken. Onward. Anyway, it didn't occur to me to ask the two maintenance men working at the overlook where the Falls were. Probably just up the road anyhow. Beautiful, grand homes along this tree lined boulevard. Gotta give it to them Canadians, no crass commercialism here, just wealthy beauty. The Falls, now where are they?
Ten miles--pardon me Bill, 16 kilometers, later we approached historical Niagara on the Lake, a spot one of Bobbie's former VA colleagues had said was a "must see" destination. No Falls yet, but this looks good; let's check it out. Driving a couple blocks into town past a lot of parked tour buses, we were awestruck by the beauty of this small community.
The Main Street was all small store next to boutique, next to candy shop, next to dress shop, sandwiched between small restaurant and deli ...pun intended. This was tourism on an intense scale, but done ever so nicely; the Japanese tourists must have agreed. They were everywhere snapping pictures of each other, the floral baskets, flowerbeds and gardens. Pointing foot-long telephoto lenses at blooming ginger, the cobbled sidewalk, minute blooms, and ... each other. I joined right in. I can't recall ever having seen such a profusion of flowers luxuriantly pouring over railings, cascading out of tubs, hanging from window baskets and cast iron street lamp posts. The buildings themselves were beautifully set, variegated, to highlight the traditional ambiance. I think one or two we're historical, but most looked to be post 20th century, but very we'll done. Quality, not kitsch. Disneyland's Main Street is a poor shadow to the beauty of this small district. I knew I was on a retail street set up purely to part me from my money, but it was so beautiful, so floral, so well done I thoroughly enjoyed being manipulated. So we had lunch, bought some maple candy--but passed on the local wines though, they seemed pretty much the same as CA varietals--then made it back to our car before the meter maid tagged us.
OK, where ARE those Falls? Not around here, that's Lake Ontario over there. Let's head back the way we came and maybe we'll stumble across them. Bobbie was driving so I had a chance to really study the two maps we'd been given. Oh .... There they are on the other map, a couple small dotted lines with the name printed in 2 point type, about the same size as all the legalize on the back of a Safeway coupon.
We did actually find them, and quite easily, once we saw the road sign we'd missed at the roundabout. They are glorious to view, majestic, powerful, awe inspiring, deserving of their reputation. And our Canadian brothers have done a splendid job creating a beautiful area from which to observe them up close. Whoever "they" are, the ones who said it's best to go directly to the Canadian side, were right.
Coming back over the Rainbow Bridge, we again saw this huge cloud, this time on the right. Yep, it was huge. It's spray from the tumbling water of the Falls less than a mile away. I imagine when the sun hits it just right, there's a big rainbow. Fancy that.
What we briefly saw of the New York city, Niagara Falls, was really seedy; I think it's never changed from being an early 20th century industrial location that benefitted from cheap electricity generated near the Falls. Too bad, it could be so much nicer.
All in all, it was an enjoyable excursion; it should be on your bucket list. Just get a map that shows the Falls. Actually, Google maps probably would have directed us there just fine if we'd have thought to use our iPhone app. Sigh ...
The most northeasterly point on our itinerary was to be Niagara Falls--a "bucket list" destination. We almost missed it for the lamest of reasons.
That morning the helpful receptionist at a local KOA on Grand Island marked the route on a good map mentioning that the Rainbow Bridge was closest to the Falls; travel time looked to be about 15 minutes in mid morning traffic. We had been told the Canadian side had a much better perspective of Niagara Falls than the American side, kinda like the best views of San Francisco's skyline are from across the Bay. There was a light drizzle, rain tapering off after last night's downpour of Biblical proportions.
Creeping through US and then Canadian Immigration, I noticed something missing from the maps. The actual Falls were not shown ... anywhere; every BurgerKing, MacDonald's, souvenir shop, liquor store and casino in the area was shown. No Falls. Oh we'll, there had to be tourist signs that would point the way once we got to Canada.
About half way across the bridge we noticed this huge, misty cloud off to the left. Good gravy, the rain must be starting up again over there... Rats! To the right we could see the vertical-sided canyon extending into the distance.
Having cleared Canadian Immigration, pleasantly I might add, we set out to find the Falls. Forgot to ask the Immigration officer which way to turn. Oh we'll, we'll just follow our instincts. Through the roundabout, hmmm, no sign for the Falls. Onward through the beautiful park. Let's stop at this overlook, the Whirlpool; hmmm, thought that was actually down river from the falls. Oh we'll, must be mistaken. Onward. Anyway, it didn't occur to me to ask the two maintenance men working at the overlook where the Falls were. Probably just up the road anyhow. Beautiful, grand homes along this tree lined boulevard. Gotta give it to them Canadians, no crass commercialism here, just wealthy beauty. The Falls, now where are they?
Ten miles--pardon me Bill, 16 kilometers, later we approached historical Niagara on the Lake, a spot one of Bobbie's former VA colleagues had said was a "must see" destination. No Falls yet, but this looks good; let's check it out. Driving a couple blocks into town past a lot of parked tour buses, we were awestruck by the beauty of this small community.
The Main Street was all small store next to boutique, next to candy shop, next to dress shop, sandwiched between small restaurant and deli ...pun intended. This was tourism on an intense scale, but done ever so nicely; the Japanese tourists must have agreed. They were everywhere snapping pictures of each other, the floral baskets, flowerbeds and gardens. Pointing foot-long telephoto lenses at blooming ginger, the cobbled sidewalk, minute blooms, and ... each other. I joined right in. I can't recall ever having seen such a profusion of flowers luxuriantly pouring over railings, cascading out of tubs, hanging from window baskets and cast iron street lamp posts. The buildings themselves were beautifully set, variegated, to highlight the traditional ambiance. I think one or two we're historical, but most looked to be post 20th century, but very we'll done. Quality, not kitsch. Disneyland's Main Street is a poor shadow to the beauty of this small district. I knew I was on a retail street set up purely to part me from my money, but it was so beautiful, so floral, so well done I thoroughly enjoyed being manipulated. So we had lunch, bought some maple candy--but passed on the local wines though, they seemed pretty much the same as CA varietals--then made it back to our car before the meter maid tagged us.
OK, where ARE those Falls? Not around here, that's Lake Ontario over there. Let's head back the way we came and maybe we'll stumble across them. Bobbie was driving so I had a chance to really study the two maps we'd been given. Oh .... There they are on the other map, a couple small dotted lines with the name printed in 2 point type, about the same size as all the legalize on the back of a Safeway coupon.
We did actually find them, and quite easily, once we saw the road sign we'd missed at the roundabout. They are glorious to view, majestic, powerful, awe inspiring, deserving of their reputation. And our Canadian brothers have done a splendid job creating a beautiful area from which to observe them up close. Whoever "they" are, the ones who said it's best to go directly to the Canadian side, were right.
Coming back over the Rainbow Bridge, we again saw this huge cloud, this time on the right. Yep, it was huge. It's spray from the tumbling water of the Falls less than a mile away. I imagine when the sun hits it just right, there's a big rainbow. Fancy that.
What we briefly saw of the New York city, Niagara Falls, was really seedy; I think it's never changed from being an early 20th century industrial location that benefitted from cheap electricity generated near the Falls. Too bad, it could be so much nicer.
All in all, it was an enjoyable excursion; it should be on your bucket list. Just get a map that shows the Falls. Actually, Google maps probably would have directed us there just fine if we'd have thought to use our iPhone app. Sigh ...
Total Comments 0
