Niagara Falls

Growing up in Sarnia, whenever anyone came over from Ireland, we would make the trek to The Falls. It was an obligatory Canadian trip. Back then all I could remember was the drive and then the Falls. Lots of water - A wishing fountain and more water. Well it was my duty to allow my children that same memory... oh, and Christopher as well. My little brother needed to experience this with his niece and nephews! It was a sunny day and we headed off. The drive wasn't too bad once we got out of Toronto traffic. Entering Niagara Falls it felt somewhat larger and more colourful. I remember a few malls along the way with some funky, cheap souvenir shops...now there are hundreds of shops which means hundreds, upon hundreds of shoppers. The water seemed almost secondary. 

After fuelling up at The IHOP(International House of Pancakes) we headed to the water. Hearing that sound made my tummy felt full of butterflies. I remembered that too. The sound of the water. It was all rushing back...(water metaphor omitted) LOL . Once we saw the water, the kids were amazed. 
"Where did it all start? Why is there a rainbow? I want to get wet. "

Desperate hunts for a loonie to look through the special binoculars ensued!

We headed to several spots in order to garner the best view. We finally got to the top end of the Falls and were able to get to the guardrail to see the water barrelling over the edge. It was mesmerising. Cohen was especially mesmerised! We all got sprayed by the mist and had our photos taken - did heaps of selfies and we quickly did a lap of the souvenir shop where I had to repeatedly say, "what does a stuffed purple snake have the do with Niagara Falls?" 

We could not find the wishing fountain...I guess there is not enough business in wishes. A bit of the magic had gone but we still left feeling like we saw something super special! 

 We did not go into any of the "attractions" that, again, have nothing to do with The Falls. I don't think the kids missed out by not going on a ride, buying a bubble blower or walk through a laser strike course! I just didn't want their memory of Niagara Falls to be one filled with arcade colours and sounds! It was about the water, after all.

Niagara Falls on PhotoPeach