Niagara Falls, Canada

Overlooking the falls from the Skylon Tower

Bonjour! Dave and I traveled internationally again. He had a business trip with Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. Wegmans is a regional supermarket chain; headquartered in Rochester, NY; where I am from originally! We decided that since Southwest Airlines flies from San Antonio to Buffalo, NY that we would do so; but would fly out early and spend the night in Niagara Falls, Canada! We flew out on Saturday, June 16. Now let me tell you about Niagara Falls. There is the American side and the Canadian side and is categorized by three names; American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Canadian/Horseshoe Falls. If you haven't ever seen the falls; you must! The length of the brink is 1,060 feet and it has a height of 176 feet (due to the rocks at the base the actual fall is 70 feet). The volume of water is 150,000 US gallons per second! Actual amount varies, there are two hydroelectric plants which draw water into their reservoirs prior to the Falls. Their intake greatly affects the volume of water flowing over the falls. The amount of water being siphoned away depends on two variables. The time of year, and the time of the day. Flow is greatest in the daytime during peak tourist season (June, July, and August). In the event of an emergency the flow can be somewhat reduced by the hydroelectric companies increasing their intake. The Bridal Veil Falls is named for its appearance. It is located next to the American falls, separated by a small piece of land called Luna Island.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and spent the afternoon as tourists attending the show at the local IMAX Theater followed by some gaming at a local casino. There are no gambling taxes in Canada so if you win big; it's all yours. However, sadly; we didn't win big. We didn't win anything for that matter! That evening we had dinner at the Keg Steakhouse & Bar at the top of the Embassy Suites which overlook both the American and Canadian side of the falls. http://www.fallsviewrestaurant.com The falls are lit at night and are turned off at midnight during peak season. They will also adjust the flow of water to a minimum at night to help protect against erosion.

On Sunday we signed up for a tour that began at 9:00 am and ran through 2:30 pm. We did it all! We started out on bus and saw all the landmarks that Niagara Falls has to offer including "Behind the Falls" the "Skylon Tower" the "Maid of the Mist" and the "Butterfly Conservatory".

Behind the falls

Skylon Tower

Butterfly Conservatory

We drove from Canada to Rochester on Sunday afternoon. We had dinner that evening with my sister Sherri; cousin Leila and Linda. On Monday we spent the day driving around Rochester including the suburbs of Greece (where I was born) and Brighton. I showed Dave the house and neighborhood where I grew up (he was amazed at how nice the neighborhood was and how lovely the trees are there). We also went out to the cemetery to put flowers on my Mom's grave site as she is buried in Pittsford, NY. That evening we had dinner with my other cousins Laurie, Teena and Teena's husband Tom. Tuesday was Dave's business meeting so I had lunch with yet another cousin; Michael and spent the afternoon on my own at the George Eastman house in Rochester; founder of Eastman Kodak. That evening we dined at Tastings; Wegman's own signature restaurant. We left that night for Buffalo as we had an early morning flight out the next day.

Our travels are complete for June! Next stop; Las Vegas. Keep reading and post your comments if you'd like.

Au revoir! Pin It Now!