Niagara Falls Getaway

Rod had some lieu time to take from work, so he asked if I wanted to go somewhere. Actually, what he said was, "If you won't be too stressed out leaving the baby, maybe we can go away for a little vacation." Well, I guess things are much different when it's your second baby. I didn't leave Andrea overnight until she was 8 months old; it was only one night, and I was freaked out the whole time. This time, when Rod proposed a trip, I said, "Sure! How soon? Two nights? Three?" :))

We settled on two nights in Niagara Falls (my choice--it's been 10 years since we last went there). Rod's parents took the kids for us, having them at their house during the day, and bringing them home to sleep. (They are so great!) I had no worries at all. Of course, I felt a little bit guilty about leaving my 8-week-old baby, but he's doing fine, he's bottle fed, and I knew Rod's parents would love him to pieces in my absence.

So, we left on Tuesday morning, and drove up to Niagara Falls. Our hotel was excellent; it was the Marriott Fallsview, and yes, our room had a fantastic view of the Falls. It also had a king-sized bed, a jacuzzi tub for two, etc.

While we were there, we took a pretty relaxed approach to things. We didn't overdo the attractions--just picked a few to focus on. Thus, on our first night, we walked over to Skylon Tower and rode up to the top and the observation deck. Then, we had a late dinner at the hotel restaurant (a bit too fancy-shmancy for my tastes, but nice for a splurge once in a while--and a great view of the Falls at night). On Wednesday morning we rode The Maid of the Mist (if you go to Niagara Falls, it's the one thing you HAVE to do), and in the evening we went on the Whirlpool Jet Boat tour (I highly recommend this--but you will almost drown). We drove home on Thursday morning.

Here's some pictures from our trip. The camera does not do the Falls justice. If you have never been there, make a point to go some day. I keep telling Rod that we have to go every ten years now. :))

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Note: There's no pictures/videos of the Jet Boat tour. They tell you straight out to leave your cameras behind, because they will get destroyed on the trip. And once you do your first high-speed turn, you'll know they were right. I'll tell you this: the speed is incredible; the rapids in Devil's Hole are an adrenaline rush; and even with a sweater, raincoat, and booties, you will get soaked as if you'd been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on! :)) Here's a picture of the boat I borrowed off their website. Just imagine us in the back row!

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The view from our hotel room was incredible. It felt like the falls were right underneath us; well, I guess they pretty much were!

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Here's Skylon Tower. We rode in a clear-glass pod, that goes up the outside of the building, to the top. We took the following pictures of the American and Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls up there, as well.

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Then, Rod realized we could have some fun with camera angles from up there. He came up with the concept of having us "Puking the Falls." It took a bit of precision and direction, and several tries, to get these pictures right. In the meantime, there was a group of elderly people laughing at us as we tried to get the perfect angles. I was so embarrassed! (Rod thought it was great.)

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Now, for the Maid of the Mist pictures. It's crazy how these little tug-like boats take you right up to the base of the Falls. But it is so amazing. It's the only way to really experience the Falls.

You can see our hotel [above] at the top of the cliff.

We dared to shoot a brief video of the Canadian Falls [below]. You can see Rod tries to get me in the video at one point, but the sun reflecting off the Falls is too dazzling, and puts me in shadow. :))

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Finally, here is a view of the Falls at night, from our hotel room. They illuminate them every night from about 8:30 until midnight, in all different colours. The pictures came out blurry because of the darkness, but you still get a sense of the mist, and all the pretty colours. It was lovely to curl up together, and gaze at them from our window.

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Oh, it was wonderfully relaxing trip. No getting up for night-time feedings; sleeping in; time for Mommy and Daddy to reconnect; no crying babies! But, I have to admit, every time I saw a cute toddler or a little baby, I would get a bit homesick for my babies. And even hundreds of miles from home, we found ourselves quoting "Dora," and commenting on what Andrea might think of this or that. :))