Niagara Falls up close!

Day 23 -- Niagara Falls, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 3410 km
Distance from Kingston: 245 km

Today, we went to see the falls! We started with a bus ride from our hotel (we didn't stay on the waterfront) to the falls. We were lucky because there was a bus day pass left in our room by whomever stayed there last. After looking at the falls for a bit, we went on the Maid of the Mist for a close-up view of the falls. The American Falls were really nice and pretty but the Canadian Horseshoe Falls were really misty so it was hard to see them in detail. But as the boat got closer, we all got incredibly soaked! It was so much fun! It felt like we were under a giant shower.

In total the boat trip took half an hour and gave us a great experience of the falls. Afterwards, we walked towards the Canadian Falls to the "Journey Behind the Falls" tour which is an elevator ride down to almost the base of the Horseshoe Falls. At the bottom, there were tunnels that takes you behind the falls a little bit and you can look out tiny holes to see the falls. It wasn't spectacular, since it is just like looking out the window on a really rainy day. Except the water is coming from Niagara Falls! However, the really cool thing that was also at the bottom was the Observation Deck, a viewing area near the bottom of the falls. I really enjoyed standing there, closing my eyes, hearing the roar of the water and feeling the mist and wind blow against me. That was my favourite experience of the trip! Laura preferred the Maid of the Mist because the Journey Behind The Falls promotional photo looked like you could go to a cavern behind the falls, but that was not true. I thought that the Maid of the Mist was more fun overall than the Journey Behind The Falls but standing next to the falls was better than any single moment on the Maid of the Mist.

After being completely soaked twice (we dried off quickly in the hot weather, except for our socks and shoes), we had some frozen yogurt and walked back to the bus stop. The frozen yogurt was very very melted -- it was like drinking out of an ice cream cone. We bussed back to dry off and make dinner plans. We were early so we took another walk around the outlet mall across from our hotel but while we were inside, a huge thunderstorm started. It was really pouring, as if someone was dumping water from the roof. We decided to drive to dinner instead of taking the bus down to the falls (free parking with dinner).

Luckily, by the time we got to our dinner reservation at 8pm, the weather cleared up. We had dinner on top of the Hilton (33 stories up) so that we could see the falls being lit up (9pm) and fireworks (10pm). We had a nice and long dinner to enjoy our last night "on vacation". Tomorrow, we will be in Kingston and getting ready to move in!!

The American Falls from the Maid of the Mist

Canadian Falls from the Maid of the Mist

Laura after the Maid of the Mist soaking

I also got very wet!

"Journey Behind the Falls" Observation Platform

View from our restaurant

Falls get lit up at night

There are also fireworks!

Everyone loves Marineland!

Day 22 --Niagara Falls, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 3410 km
Distance from Kingston: 245 km

Today, we went to Marineland! We had the tune from all those commercials we heard in our childhood (e.g. http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=r1XOzE15iPk&feature=related) stuck in our head the whole day and even now. Finally we got to go to Marineland after years of the commericals!

We saw killer whales, belugas, dolphins, sea lions, and walruses! We also went to "Deer Park" which was a large fenced field where you can walk amongst the deer and buy deer feed. Our favourite non-aquatic animal was the bears! They were just sitting in the water while people threw marshmallows, corn pops and peanuts at them! They also had bison and deer. Marineland is kind of like bits of the Greater Vancouver Zoo, Playland, the Vancouver Aquarium put together with a little bit of a mini Universal Studios feel to it (especially the main show).

It was really really hot today too but we were careful with sunscreen so we didn't get burned! (except for the parting in Laura's hair) After Marineland, we swam in our pool to cool down then went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. We read online reviews and someone who used to live in Vancouver recommended it so we decided to try it. It was pretty good, though a bit more pricey than Vancouver sushi. Then, we went to the outlet mall that is across the street from our hotel. There was a "Stokes" (kitchen store) that had many items at clearance prices with an additional 20% off everything if we spend more than $50. We found a nice tableware set (plates, dish, bowl, cups for 4) and a spice rack (12 spices included) on sale as well as some small things like baking pans, jars, and oil bottles.

Tomorrow, we will finally go to see the falls up close!

Killer Whale Jumping/Splashing Show

Sea Lion at the main stadium show. We saw it twice (second time
without taking pictures or video so we could enjoy it more).

Bottlenose dolphins!

This looks like so much fun!

The walrus ends the show!

Deer Park

This bear never got off that rock. It would just stand on the edge and grab at food in the water.

Mommy (bottom) and Baby (top) Beluga

Niagara!

Day 21 -- Niagara Falls, ON

Google Earth measurements (straight line between locations)
Distance from Vancouver: 3410 km
Distance from Kingston: 245 km

Today, we drove to Niagara Falls from Mississauga. We started with visits to four wineries and buying 5 bottles of wine. We now have a good collection for our apartment! One of the wineries made wine from fruits other than grapes. We really liked an apple wine that tasted like drinking an apple pie!

We also looked around the Niagara-on-the-Lake region because it's really beautiful there. The whole area seems to be small little towns and vineyards, just like the Okanagan. Afterwards, we played some mini golf and had dinner at Red Lobster. It was our first time at Red Lobster and it was really good.

After dinner, we drove down to see the downtown and falls area at night. It was really crowded and filled with bright lights. We could see part of the falls from the road but we will have a day dedicated to that later this week. We just wanted to see the area at night and the town and falls lit up. We were unable to go and look at the fall because it was too hard to park.

Niagara Falls!

We're not sure, but it was parked at a gas station. 

(Dukes of Hazards car?)

Niagara on The Lake

Even the Shoppers are built nicely!

Wine Country!

A car from the Yukon!