The drive to Niagara falls was so much fun. I drove Alan to Allentown and then we went to sandwich for sandwiches ;) New York State was beautiful. I always think of NY and picture the city but the truth is that there is so much to see and the majority of the state is comprised of pristine country side. We drove all day and night to make it to Niagara Falls, Ontario.
I again was surprised to learn that Canada isn't much different from the states. I expected to see mountains, snow, and Canadian Mounties once we crossed the border but if I didn't know any better I would have said that we were still in the states. It's funny how we sometimes create assumptions about people and places that we've never experienced.
We stayed at a Hosteling International hostel. The staff was great, the hostel was nice but quite crowded. We had a nice breakfast and then we were off to see the sights. We decided to take a tour that left directly from the hostel. We spent the day riding around the country side, we bought fresh vegetables for our dinner and we toured some of the historical sights in Niagara.
We stopped by Niagara on the Lake and we drove through the major tourist area near the falls. I'm so glad that we decided to take that particular tour. There were only three of us, the tour was very personal and we were able to see that Niagara has so much to offer other than the falls. Although I had a great day, our anticipation was growing and growing to see the falls.
Once we returned from our day tour we whipped up a quick tikka masala with the veggies we had just purchased. We sat together outside eating our delicious dinner while drinking some cider that we had purchased from the micro-brewery in Boston. We checked out of our hostel and moved to a smaller more personal hostel which was much closer to the falls.
Our evening was spent on the Maid of the Mist.
We donned our body condoms and we rode into the falls. The falls were so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. As our boat inched it's way closer to the falls the drops of spray became heavier and heavier. The seagulls were swooping overhead and as we looked up a beautiful rainbow instantly appeared over our heads. I couldn't help but think about how lucky I was to be right there, right then. I felt so fortunate to be soaked as we approached the falls. As we went into the falls the speaker over head blared “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Niagara Falls”. I smiled and laughed to myself. After our boat ride we both stood in awe admiring the amazing natural beauty of the falls. We stopped by a local pub on our way back to the hostel for a quick drink. We returned to our hostel tired from the long day so we showered and called it a night.
The next day's adventure in Ontario was even more exhilarating than the first. We explored the countryside, the small town of St. Catherines and Niagara on the Lake. We went for a hike and stumbled upon a waterfall.
We had to take advantage of the opportunity and hop in for a swim. The cool turquoise water was perfect on our hot sweaty bodies. We walked behind the falls and felt the blast of wind from the powerful water. Our hike back up became quite difficult when we discovered that we had to do a bit of rock climbing. I felt a rush of adrenaline when I turned and looked down. I realized at that moment that if my wet hands slipped from the slippery rock that I would fall quite a distance onto sharp rocks below and no one would be around to help me. My shoes were off, my toes were gripping the best they could to the small crevices and my fingers struggled to pull me up over the rock ledge. Once we made it to the top I had a chance to reflect on what I had just experienced. I realized that I love rock climbing.
When you're trying to figure out where to put your fingers and toes and you're contemplating your next move you're challenging your mind and your body. I forced my self to focus on the moment. You cant think about anything other than what you're doing because if you let your mind wonder you'll screw up, you'll fall and you could get hurt. Not only that but, once you've finished your climb you get to look down and admire your accomplishment. When I get home I'm definitely taking up a new hobby.
Our clothes, hair, fingers and toes were covered in the clay from the river bottom and our toes and feet were sore from walking bare but we jumped into the car and drove 12 hours to St. Louis to see the arch.
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