Niagara Falls

With "the hand" in our side view mirrors, we headed east. Our intended destination was "somewhere in Ohio" for a quick overnight. But, New York beckoned. So, we just kept driving and ended up at Sunday's destination on Saturday. We landed in North Tonawanda, just a few miles down the road from Niagara Falls.

With an extra day to enjoy, we kicked back and relaxed. We were delighted to meet virtual travel friends Gary and Vicki, who stopped by on their way out of town on Monday. We enjoyed an interesting, and tasty, Greek brunch and sent them on their way up state. We thank them so much for making time to visit and look forward to seeing them when our paths cross again down the road.

Today was our last day in New York. And, as it turned out, this was the most perfect day for visiting the falls. We checked in with a most helpful guide at the Niagara Falls State Park Visitor Center. (The park is the oldest state park in the US!) We told him we wanted to do some walking, and he lined out a most scenic route for us. Our first stop was Prospect Point, which offered views of American Falls and Horseshoe Falls. Simply awesome.

We took hundreds of pictures today. This young man painted one. And, what a subject! It was captivating to watch him work.

We strolled over to Goat Island to a platform directly over the brink of Bridal Veil Falls. The view of some 75,000 gallons of water flowing over American Falls every second was a treat for the senses. We could see, hear and feel the power!

We strolled to the other side of the island to Terrapin Point for a glimpse of Horseshoe Falls. We couldn't see it all from here, but we could certainly hear it. With the breeze blowing over from the Canadian side, Paul got drenched posing for this shot. And, a microsecond after the shutter clicked we both headed for drier land!

After taking in the stateside sights, we decided to stroll over to Canada. Here's the view from Rainbow Bridge. The United States is on the left and Canada is on the right.

Queen Victoria Park lines the Canadian side of the Niagara River. It features colorful, well-manicured gardens, walking paths and the very best views of the falls.

American Falls is on the left. The aptly named Bridal Veil Falls is on the right.

From the Canadian side, we enjoyed a full view of Horseshoe Falls. When 675,000 gallons of water fall with each passing second, it creates a lot of mist!

Speaking of mist, there's the Maid of the Mist, which offers tourists a chance to get up close and personal with the falls. Everyone on deck is wearing a blue rain poncho....for good reason! We had every intention of taking a ride today. But, after walking in two countries, we were ready to call it a day. We'll save the Maid for next time!

After all of that walking, we were hungry. We had scouted out a local star of the Food Network's Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives and decided to check it out. Since appearing on Triple D, Pizza Junction is no longer a dive. It's expanded into a nice establishment that still serves darn good pizza.

I don't usually take pictures of food. But, I couldn't resist capturing this work of art.

Yes, it tasted as good as it looks!