Vacation Day 4-- Niagra Falls-- The American Side

Whew! What a crazy week this has been. I haven't had a minute to post. I am up to one of our favorite parts of our vacation. It was the second part of Day 4. We LOVED the American side of Niagra Falls. The Canadian side was more the "stand back and look at the view" side of the falls. The American side lets you get up close and personal with the falls. They have overlooks right at the top of the falls and look down. It gave us a new perspective on the falls. You got to feel the power in a whole new way.

Our favorite part of this side was the "Cave of the Winds". It is not really a cave. It is a series of walkways that lead up to about 20 feet next to the falls. You stand in a long line (again) and then you take an elevator down to begin your walk. As you climb up you get closer and closer to the Bridal Veil Falls. The climax is the "Hurricane Deck". It is loud and wet and you feel like if you don't watch your step you could slip and tumble down the stairs, maybe even over the rail. It was pretty awesome. The poncho they give you seemed pointless. We all wanted to experience the Hurricane Deck in its fullness so we all got soaked anyway. Jake was the only one who wasn't too sure about it. He and I only did it once. Then we stood down a deck and Greg took the kids back up a few more times. They loved it! It was sooo much fun. I wasn't too sure about bringing Jake, and he was definitely the youngest child we saw down there, but he did great. Greg carried him most of the time so he was safe. It was great to experience this as a family. It was something that was enjoyable and fun for ALL of us, which is something that can be tricky when you have a 2 year old and an 11 year old, not to mention 2 grownups and a mix of boys and girls! I would say this is a must see at Niagra Falls. It was our favorite thing we did there and one of our favorite things of our whole trip.

We topped the day off with ice cream cones, dinner and a movie at our hotel. We were all beat by the end of the day, but what a day!

Here we are at the bottom of the falls, just getting ready to start walking up. A nice lady took our picture. Notice the matching yellow ponchos. We also got matching Niagra Falls sandals, all included in your entry fee.

A view looking up from below. The falls on the right is the Bridal Veil Falls. The Falls on the left are the American Falls.

This is about as close as I dared get the camera to the Hurricane Deck. Even taking that picture was difficult. Sorry, no one from my family is in the picture, but you get the idea of the overwhelmingness of the falls (and this is the smallest falls of the three).

Coming down from the Hurricane Deck. Interesting fact: Every year they dismantle the decks and walkways because the nasty winter weather would destroy them. They rebuild them every spring.

Here is the after picture. Notice the hair plastered to the head. Pictures really don't do it justice. We were soaked. As we were walking up and others were walking down, they would just look at us and laugh and say, "The Ponchos didn't work, eh?"

Here are our snazzy Niagra Falls matching sandals. They didn't have a size small enough for Jake. I guess they don't get too many 2 years old at this attraction. Can you tell who's foot is who's?

Remember if you go to Niagra Falls, do the Cave of the Winds! You won't be sorry (unless of course you are a total stick in the mud and would just like to look at it from a far, not get wet, and not feel the real power of the falls). Go! Do it!