After spending a few days in Toronto, we traveled around the lake to the Canadian side and town of Niagara Falls. We had a room snafu - our shower door wouldn't close, and leaked water all over the place when the shower was running for just a minute. With a full contingent of showering people the next morning, we imagined that we'd be walking in a swamp - and the people below us might be getting a bit of a shower from the ceiling of their bathroom.

Fortunately my wife discovered this before we went to bed. Unfortunately, it couldn't be fixed easily, and necessitated a room change at 10 pm at night. The boys really didn't mind - it was sort of an adventure for them.

The room they switched us to, since they had no more rooms with two queens in our tower of the Fallsview Hilton, was a "Family Suite". It had two queens in the adjoining room, and a king in the main room. Bathroom was exactly the same, but each boy got their own bed. Mattresses and pillows were in good shape, resulting in the best nights of sleep I'd had in a while. Thank you very much, Fallsview Hilton.

We hurried out to see the Falls when we got into town, and they were as impressive as I'd remembered in my brief pass through the area back in the early 1990's. But the walk along the River was quite a lot different. It's been built up quite a lot since then, to the point where I couldn't recognize where I was all those years ago.

Yep, we did all the touristy stuff - Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind The Falls, Whirlpool Aerocar, Niagara's Fury (A multisensory experience of the forming of the Falls, complete with a soaking by rain falling from the "skies") and the White Water Walk (a raised trail that takes you right along the river and its Class 6 rapids).

And then there is the tourist trap, otherwise known as Clifton Hill. Plenty of arcades, wax museums, haunted house, and motion simulator rides here, along with a couple of mini golf courses, a large sky wheel, and some other rides. Restaurants included Ruby Tuesdays, Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood (a little north of the Hill), and the Hard Rock Cafe, among other smaller places. We went on a Ripley's motion theater ride where your chair actually moved. Not as effective as, say, Star Tours at Disney's Hollywood Studios, or even as the Himalamazon Ride at the CN Tower in Toronto (included with our Tower admission). And probably not worth the money we paid to do it, but I guess you live and learn.

The Falls are the real attraction, however. And they are a sight to see. I don't know if there are other such waterfalls in the world; probably there are, but I may never get to see any of them in person. There is a very good chance, however, that I may make it back to Niagara Falls someday.

Two other quick notes: Wednesday night was supposed to be a fireworks display. When we asked where we could view it from (it didn't start till 10 pm EDT), they told us that we would likely see it well from the viewing platform behind the hotel/casino across the street. So we got there early, got a good spot, and waited. But when the fireworks started, they were not over the Falls at all - they were way off to our left. By the time we got into a better viewing area, the fireworks were almost over! I'd guess they went on for 5 minutes, give or take a minute. Don't bite on the Wednesday fireworks.

And the other note is about the casino itself. It's nice. Vegas style gaming and action and decor coupled with a non-smoking policy. I only lost 25 bucks one night (that's all I was prepared to play), just a little less than the cost of the Ripley's Motion Theater for the four of us. Good thing I can walk away. I could see how, after losing 25 quick bucks, someone could be so sure they'd win on the NEXT 25, or the 25 after that. Anyway, it was nice to be in such close proximity to a facility with nice shops, good restaurants, a food court, and beautiful grounds, even if you disregard the casino completely!

Next entry: Niagara-On-The-Lake