Three weeks ago today we were on the way home from Maine. We started out on Friday night at about 10:30 and Chris drove all night long. We stopped at a rest area sometime around dawn so we could both doze for an hour or so. Then onward, west through New York until about 9 a.m when we arrived in the Niagara Falls area. It turned out to be perfect timing on a beautiful morning. We woke up the girls to let them know we were at the falls - we all pulled ourselves together and trooped into the beautiful building that serves as the starting point for any of the Niagara Falls tours. The "Maid of the Mist" boats depart every 15 minutes for the ride up the Niagara River to the base of the falls, and we just made the 9:15 departure.
We rode an elevator down - way down to the dock area at the river. Everyone donned the mandatory blue ponchos and we were herded into line to wait for the next boat. In short order the pushing and shoving began as the horde of people shuffled onto the boat, everyone hoping for the best possible viewing area. We lost track of the girls in the process; we found out at the end of the ride that they had gone to the upper level of the boat. Chris and I took a spot at the side of the boat - we figured there wouldn't be a bad view anywhere, and we were right.
The observation deck off to our left looked like a huge high-diving board - you couldn't have paid me enough to go out there! As we pulled away from the dock we could see a beautiful rainbow - a permanent feature at the falls as long as the sun is shining. The wind picked up as we got closer and closer - those blue ponchos were flapping like crazy as we approached the base of the falls. The light mist turned into a cold spray, making it hard to snap many pictures when we were at the closest point. The water was churning, the boat was rolling and the roar made it impossible to talk. Everyone was clutching whatever railing they could, and I noticed a couple of little children crying from fear - it really is a scary and powerful experience to get that close to the falls.
I don't know which view I liked better, the close-up roaring in-your-face experience, or the view from above as we walked back to the visitor center. The people in these pictures were going to the "behind the falls" tour, I think - that would have been an awesome experience, too. Anything but the mile-high observation deck!! (It's not really that high, but you get the idea.)
One of my favorite moments of the boat ride was towards the end, as we pulled away from the incredible roaring of the falls. I overheard a scared little boy ask his dad, "Daddy, did we go through the waterfall already?" The poor little guy didn't really understand what was happening on the ride - he was so overwhelmed by the whole experience that he thought we had actually gone through the falls and come out on the other side. I imagine it really did feel that way to him!
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