Southern Ontario and Niagra Falls

August 26, 2010
Set out for Thornton Ontario, where a friend of ours Barb Cormack lives. Barb had to cut her RV trip in the US short when she became ill on the west coast. It was hard to see her in a lot of pain, when just this spring she was so “gung ho “ about her trip. Hopefully she will soon be on the path to better health and be able to resume the RV lifestyle again.
From Thornton we headed for the Niagara region. This involved some heavy traffic in the Toronto area and large freeways again. Garmin brought us though all the traffic changes again and we pulled into Riverside RV Park ($45 bucks a night) early afternoon.
The area around Niagara is beautiful and kept spotlessly clean. There are a lot of tourists however, and prices are high. (Small dish of frozen yoghurt $5.00 and coffee $2.49) There are several tourist information sites, but getting information on what attractions are about is a challenge. We were sold an Adventure pass for $42 each that would give us 4 of the biggest tours. This included a two day bus pass on the People Mover, that ran up and down the Niagara Parkway all day long. Distance is about 20 km, so a little beyond my walking capabilities. We had no idea what we could expect from each “adventure”. Except for “Maid of the Mist” which is highly advertised. This is a boat tour that goes right to the foot of both the American Falls and the Canadian Falls,, What I didn’t count on was that there were really long lines while they crowded about 500 people on the two decks. Felt a bit like a sardine, and although I was lucky enough to find standing room by the rail, most people were in the middle of the deck with their cameras at arms length over their heads clicking pictures. The actual boat ride is less than ½ hour, getting to the boat and getting off again consumed about an hour.
The Niagara Fury, was a 4D theatre experience. While we knew that it was going to be a movie type thing, we wondered why they issued rain ponchos. We soon found out though, when experiencing the calving of glaciers ice cold water was splashed on us. I got wetter at this venue than I did on Maid of the Mist. But it was well done although very short 15 minutes. (I guess the water was the 4th dimension.)
The 3rd adventure was the Journey behind the falls. In this one you stood in line much like a cattle feed lot back and forth until you entered an elevator that took you down about 150 ft to tunnels that travel 1/3 of the distance behind the falls. There is an observation platform just at the edge of the falls (see picture) and then you travel on and on and on through a drippy tunnel surrounded by people in yellow ponchos, that leads you to the last portal and you will see from the picture the magnificent view that awaits. (I got wetter watching the movie) Then you trek back though the same tunnel, same line up to catch the elevator to the top. On our way back, a couple stopped and asked if the trip was worth it. Jerry told them if it meant missing Happy Hour, they should see about getting their money back. I now know why they do not give much information on this “adventure”. If they did no one would pay that money.
Don’t get me wrong, Niagara Falls is magnificent, and the area is beautiful. The major drawback is the sense that getting into your wallet is the main event for the operators.
Last night we went into town for dinner. Luckily we talked to a staff member who told us how to obtain free parking on Clifton Road (this is where the big ferris wheel, and all the other paid attractions are, parking is normally $20.00 most places , and here was $12 unless you knew the secret phrase (Boston Pizza). We had a good dinner and then walked down to the water again where fireworks were happening (10:00 oclock in the evening) At night the falls are lit up as well, and very pretty.
Today we will head into the big smoke (Toronto) and then north to Ottawa. We will be stopping for a bit in Mississaugua and then hope to avoid most of Toronto.