Current mood:

rejuvenated

Going Over the Falls
Expensive with some truly tacky tourist trsps, Niagara Falls was still wonderful--the type of thing I could say I've always seen in photos and video but until I saw it for myself, I didn't really appreciate it. The American dollar leveled off (almost) with the Canadian, and so the high prices couldn't be rationalized by the thought that the currency was different. Everytime I broke out the debit card, it seemed the tab wasn't for less than twenty dollars. We can't saw we weren't warned, though.

Our hotel wasn't quite on the falls, but we got such a great rate for a perfectly suitable room that the five-minute walk didn't matter. The downhill street to the Falls was lined with shops, restaurants, and several wax museums and curiosity like haunted houses and 4-D moving theaters. I loved it. But we ate in a nice little joint whose windows opened to the street, and Maggie was disturbed by the ongoing screams coming from the haunted house across the street. She knew it was canned sound-effects though entirely realistic.

We got the adventure pass. four of the top attractions at the falls. First, of course, we did the Maid of the Mist, which was, after all is said and done, pretty darned cool. Then we did the Journey behind the falls--cool, but it was mostly just walking in tunnels behind the falls and seeing the cascade of water fall. We also did the the White Water Walk, Niagara's Fury (an interactive movie--apparently the Canadians love these), and the Butterfly Conservatory. We also went to the Guinness Book of World Records Museum (at Maggie's insistence), Spongebob and Glacier Run 4-D movies (also at her insistence), and the Ripley's Believe It or Not Moving Theater (ditto). We all loved the Guinness Museum, even it was mostly posted signs about world reocrds.

Our return home was met with picking up the pup at the kennel, whereupon the next day she threw up all over the house, finally vomiting what looked like blood. So we made an emergency trip to the vet, who diagnosed a virus contracted from the kennel. She's on the mend, but quite an alarming thing to happen right after a nice vacation. Oh well.