Wow finally getting to write a blog entry before 10:00 pm, this is a first for this vacation. Today was another very fun day. We didn’t do much in the way of activities today, but the girls were on some of their best behaviour for the most part, so the things we did do were all the more enjoyable.
This morning we took our time gathering, organizing, and packing up our things and just got everything into the car for our 11:00 am check out time. From the hotel we crossed the border into New York State. Jen was very happy to finally set foot on American soil for this vacation lol. The hotel we are staying in now is only about 25 minute away from the previous hotel, not including border wait time which was not bad today. Even though we could not check into the new hotel until 3:00 pm we still headed in its direction. Caile had told us she wanted a grilled cheese sandwich from McDonalds for lunch so that is where we headed. Right across the street from the restaurant was a Kohls store which is one of Jen’s favorites. Needless to say we headed over there to allow Jen to get some of her first shopping done for this trip. Of course everyone including myself benefits with new clothing.
After lunch and shopping we cam to the hotel to check in and let Ella have a bit of a nap. While she was napping we looked around online to see what was close by to eat and how to get down to the falls. We found an Applebees on the way to the falls so that is where we stopped to eat. They were quite busy and we actually had to wait for a table, just a short time thankfully. The food, I think, was some of the best we had on this vacation. One night while we were on the Canada side we were going to go to Applebees to eat but it was very expensive. We compared menus for a few different Applebees on either side of the border and on a lot of items there is an $8 difference in price.
We finally made it down to the falls and found parking. We then rushed around and found where to buy our tickets and took our ride on the Maid of the Mist. This is certainly the best way to see the falls. Everyone wearing their blue plastic rain covers we were very close to the falls. Jen ended up being tired of trying to keep her hood on so she ended up with pretty wet hair at the end. Ella absolutely loved the whole ride. She didn’t mind getting wet and just smiled so much the whole ride.
Now after experiencing both sides of Niagara Falls I would have to say that Canada’s side has a better view of the falls themselves. You can see the both sets of falls from the shore very easily. The American side however has down a great job with developing their side. You are able to get down very close to the edge of the falls. They also have a great observation tower built which gives you a great view of the falls.
It was pretty interesting after we had finished our trip on the boat we were taking some pictures at the top of the observation tower. A complete stranger came up and asked if she could have her picture taken with our baby (Ella) because she is so beautiful. We were standing right there so we thought why not. Ella didn’t want to at first, but after Alex started posing her and Caile both got in right away. It turned into quite the photo shot with the whole group of people taking turns getting their pictures taken with our three girls in front of the falls. It was a very bizarre situation, and after the whole photo shoot Ella didn’t want to have her picture taken anymore so I didn’t get to have my picture taken with her in front of the falls.
Like most of these tourist destinations they are very smart with setting up their exits. In order to get off the observation tower you have to go through their gift shop. So of course we ended up with some keep sakes for the girls from this spot as well. Ella had gotten a blow up dolphin from Marineland so that she can bring it into Grammy’s pool this summer, so Alex got a blow up Maid of the Mist boat so she can bring it with her. Caile, like most other spots we picked up souvenirs, got a stuffed animal and is sleeping with it right now. Ella got a soccer ball which she obviously can’t sleep with, so Caile let her sleep with her stuffed frog she chose from the Bird Kingdom we visited.
Tomorrow is going to be our last real day of vacation so it will hopefully be a good one. There will certainly be more shopping involved but we will be doing things the rest of us enjoy as well 😉
Sandy McFadden 