Dawnswork Blog

Nick and I took a weekend trip to Niagara Falls.  We met up in Rochester airport (my flight was 2.5 hours delayed…imagine that!).  What a treat to get three whole days by myself with Nick and no work!!!  Once I got past the tacky appearance of both the Canadian and US side we had a fantastic time.

From Rochester we drove the scenic byway along Lake Ontario.  We made one stop to take pictures.  Lake Ontario is such a clean lake.  I have never been to the Great Lakes but from the looks of them they can be quite the attraction.

Arriving in Niagara:

We stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast on the New York side called the Butler House.  It was about a fifteen minute walk from the park where you can see the falls.  Breakfast was delish.  Would highly recommend this place.  We found it on trip advisor.  The price was just right and the reviews were good.  The area in NY was a little shady (one street over is completely run down, we walked through in the middle of the afternoon and didn’t feel entirely safe), but we confirmed with the owners that it was safe to walk around at night.

I could not believe the shape that Niagara was in.  I thought it would be cute and quaint.  Not the case.  The NY side was splattered with wax museums, eye sore tourism shops, and tons of people.  Somehow we couldn’t find a unique place to eat lunch outside of the million Indian restaurants which is a cuisine that Nick is not a fan.  We ended up having a beer and splitting a sandwich at a local hotel bar, which wasn’t bad since we got outdoor seating.

Adventures:

After lunch and checking into the hotel we departed for the park.  First stop was the Maid of the Mist, a boat that takes you around and into the falls.  It is amazing how “misty” the falls are.  Quite a way to experience them.  The wait was about two hours for this attraction.  Kinda like standing in line at an amusement park.  They give you a poncho so you don’t get too wet, but if you are adventurous I guess you could just wear a bathing suit, but it is only a 20-30 minute ride so staying dry is good to walk around the park which is what we did.

After getting a feel of what the US side had to offer we walked across the bridge to the Canada side.  From the Canadian side you can see both the American Falls and Horseshoe falls.  Though you get closer on the US side.  I have heard that the Canadian side is better but maybe that was for attractions.  Niagara in Canada is kinda like Times Square in NYC.  Lots of lights, lots of people, tacky shops, then there are the casinos, and chain restaurants.  Again a disappointment on where to eat as far as unique (and considering we had decided not to go to the Skylon Tower to eat a $200 meal it was chain food for us).  We ended up eating at the restaurant with outdoor seating that looks over the falls so that we could see the falls be lit up at 9pm.  The food was just alright but the views were nice.

After dinner one last glimpse at the falls and a stroll back to the US.  It was quite cool out at this point and we were shivering with no jackets so we made a pit stop to a local wine bar in NY for a nightcap.  After our drink back to our room we went.

Niagara On the Lake:

On the second day we decided to bypass the Niagara attractions and go to Niagara on the Lake.  Boy were we glad we did when we got there.  What a cute quaint town.  Everything we expected Niagara to be that it wasn’t!  If you go to Niagara and want a town with the feel of Charleston or Savannah you should definitely stay in this area.  Though it is only a 30 minute drive from the falls.  We spent a few hours walking around meandering in and out of shops.  When it was lunch time we decided to pop in a few local restaurants to partake in local wines and appetizers.  The first spot we went “Corks”; apparently we are suckers for outdoor seating.  We ordered a glass of wine, but they did not have appetizers, so we had to go to another place (oh darn!:)).  Our second place was a little more fancy but still super cute and of course outdoor seating (Shaw cafe).  We each got a glass of wine and split the smoked salmon and shrimp.  Was a pretty yummy appetizer the scone being the best part of it.

After our quick bar hop we were off to the local vineyards. The first one we went to was Konzelmanns which our waitress at the first restaurant had recommended.  Situated right on Lake Ontario we had a few samples and purchased a bottle of wine for that evening.  We also went to two others for tastings and had a bigger lunch at a local spot before heading back (had to end the wine hop so there would be no drinking and driving).

Arriving back to to our Bed and Breakfast we took a nap and then proceeded to the american side to explore goat island.  From this part of the park you can see the Canadian Falls up close.  What an amazing sight.  We were definitely in awe.  If you stay on the Canadian Side definitely walk the bridge and go to the American Side to hang out on Goat Island.

After bumming around and taking pictures we crossed the bridge back over to Canada to get some dinner and see the fireworks.  Unfortunately finding a place got us off schedule and we missed the fireworks.  But they were only a 5 minute ordeal, or so it seemed.  So I guess we didn’t miss much, and headed back to the house to drink our wine purchased on the mini vinyard tour.

Last Day:

On our last day we decided to go to Cave of the Winds and explore goat island a little more.  After standing in line for Cave of the winds for about 1.5 hours is was finally our turn to cimb the stairs and get wet.  It’s interesting how things become attractions and people stand in line so long for them, but this was definitely worth the wait.  How majestic these falls really are when you are standing at the bottom of the.  Standing closer to the falls you feel like you are in a hurricane.

After our adventure in Cave of the Winds and walking around Goat Island we decided it was time to leave for the airport so we could decompress a little before going our separate ways.  We arrived a little early as we didn’t find much in the way of food on the drive to the airport and got something to eat at an airport bar.  Then it was time to board the planes.  Nick’s was cancelled at the same time I was boarding my on time flight.  He ended up catching a flight to Philly and taking the local train from there:(.  I arrived home at 1am and he arrived around 3am.  Exhausted, it was time for work on Tuesday morning for both of us.  But, always worth the time together.