NIAGARA FALLS

For Glenda’s 56^th, we went to Niagara Falls, riding on Amtrak’s Maple Leaf from Manhattan.  It’s a pretty ride in the fall, although it was a bit late in the season for best color. 

We decided to stay on the U.S. side, as the news made us a little leery of going into Canada, even ‘though Ottawa was many kilometers away.  Plus, while the view of the falls may be better in Canada; on the N.Y. side, you’re nearly close enough to touch them.  And the observation deck to the North of the American Falls offers a very good view besides.

For a real close-up experience, of course, nothing beats the Maid of the Mist.  By the way, this is where Glenda’s waterproof cell phone camera worked much better than my standard digital SLR.  (Less lens to get wet.)  Thankfully it was the warmest day of our stay, so although we got soaked around the edges of those silly plastic ponchos, we weren’t cold.  It also helped that I borrowed a pair of Glenda’s tights to use as long johns.  (It’s good to have a tall fiancé).  One aspect of this little voyage for which I was not prepared was the incredible amount of wind generated by all that falling water.  Made it hard to stand!

Niagara’s a tiny little place, and we were both really close to the falls and had an excellent view from our room.

This view also included the fireworks on Friday and Sunday.  (You knew there had to be fireworks, of course, didn’t you.)

We were also across the street from the casino, so the Seneca Nation is richer by several hundreds of our dollars.

There are plenty of places to eat, but many cater to the large Indian and Oriental visitor populations.  To mention a few, we had really great meals at the Red Coach Inn

and Leon's Bistro (the sausage pizza will make you take a double take),

and a mediocre meal (in both food and service) at the Western Door Steakhouse (not worth the surprising trouble to get a reservation).  The restaurant at our hotel made great burgers but little else of note.

Speaking of meals, we had dinner at Delmonico’s in Manhattan on Wednesday night.

Ready to hit NYC

We had a gift card which Glenda had won some months earlier (which will be the subject of another post) and since we stayed in NY that evening to make our 7:15 train the next morning, we indulged.  The service was impeccable and food was divine; the Porterhouse they brought Glenda was immense and properly cooked, and my salmon was cooked to perfection.  We sort of overdid it on the side dishes.  Apparently they’re intended for two, so some of the asparagus got left.  At their prices this sort of meal will be, for most of us, reserved for very special occasions, but it will be worth it.

One other note about Niagara Falls is that a car is more than handy to get around away from the tourist area.  The taxis are not reliable.  We were able to do a little shopping, and also ran the 20 miles up to Fort Niagara on the edge of Lake Erie.

One last thing.  Mixed in with the usual large population of squirrels are dozens of black ones, which was an unusual sight for me.