Towards the end of our stay with Heather and Todd, they along with Bill and Sue invited us for an overnight trip to Niagara Falls   WOW.

The distance was about a 3 hour drive and we all went in Todd’s van, with lots of jokes and laughter on the way the trip didn’t take long, we stayed in a nice hotel walking distance to the falls and the Casino.  

We had a quick drive around to get the lay of the land, then checked into our hotel, a short walk brought us down to the falls.  I won’t go into specifics, you can google the information but the falls really are spectacular.   

There was still ice coming down from the lakes and it had been raining, so the falls were really thundering.  It’s still early spring so not so many tourists, but it was still very busy so I cant imagine how it will be in Summer.  

One thing we did that was really cool was to descend down through some really old tunnels and stand alongside the falls.  We then went through some more tunnels and stood behind the falls.  It was freezing and wet (obviously) but worth doing for the photos.  

A trolley car took us back up to street level and we walked back to the hotel for some fortification. 

Niagara Falls the city was traditionally a honeymoon destination, Sue’s Mum and Dad went there for their honeymoon back in the late 50’s.  It’s also a Mecca for families with theme parks, go karts, carnival rides, and even an indoor waterslide park, there is so much to see and do.

We had dinner in the rotating Sky Tower Restaurant.

The food was so so but the view was amazing, the tower moves slowly around, it takes about an hour to do the full rotation we had arrived before sunset so we got to appreciate the view by day and by night. The falls are lit up at night in different colours, there are 2 sets of falls the Canadian and the American, it is very spectacular. 

After dinner we made a b-line for the casino we all had a $20 gift card compliments of the hotel.  The other 4 managed to spend a fair few hours playing, but our money was gone in an instant and we chose to head back to the hotel.  I must admit it was a bit of a luxury having so much space so we made the most of the hotel amenities and had a sleep in. 

The next morning Heather Todd, Bill and Sue all returned to the casino.  

When everyone was done playing at the casino we headed out for a late breakfast at the Flying Saucer Diner,  its a bit of an institution in Niagara.  The diner has been owned by the same family for over 20 years.  Craig and Todd treated themselves to the super breakfast a huge plate of eggs, bacon, mushrooms and fried potatoes that came with a side of pancakes - so much food!!

A funny thing happened when we first arrived at Niagara, after our 3 hour drive we stopped for lunch and Todd orders a  Ceaser and a glass of water, Craig was in shock he thought we were away for a big eating and drinking weekend and here is Todd’s ordering a Ceasear Salad and a glass of water what’s going on !! As you may have gathered Todd likes his food, Craig’s face was priceless.

Turns out a Caesar is a drink a sort of ready made Bloody Mary so no he wasn’t on a diet, Craig and Todd both had the fried chicken and a beer as per usual.

Our next stop was the Welland Canal information centre, instigated by us - 

Because, once we get started on our journey we will traverse down Lake Huron into Lake Eire then we will use the Welland Canal to enter Lake Ontario.  

All this will take only get us to Toronto.  

We have no choice we have to take the long way around, unfortunately our hull is too big to use the Trent Severn Waterways  and our mast is a little too tall to use Eire Canal to get through to New York, so that’s how we will get out of Canada using the lake systems.

Once we pass Toronto we take the St Lawrence River passing Montreal and Quebec.

The Welland Canal enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment and bypass Niagara Falls.

It was really good for us to see for ourselves what was involved with the locking systems.  It was really cool to be able to watch a huge grain transport vessel move into the lock from Lake Ontario, (the Toronto side) the huge flat tray ship slid along the wall until he was in place, the lock gates closed in front and behind and the lock filled with water, the ship rose surprisingly quite quickly and once she had risen about 25mt,  it changed from us looking down on her - from the viewing platform -  we were now looking up, way up her side. 

Once the water had risen the right amount, the gates in front of her were opened and she smoothly glided through, there are 8 locks in total.  As she sailed out of sight her next obstacle was a lift bridge. This is where the whole road part of the bridge lifts up, way up, to allow the ships to sail underneath.

When we eventually get to the Welland Canal, it should take us about 11 hours from start to finish. 

It was awesome to watch and for me especially it helped make the thought of doing the Canal a little less scary. 

We then detoured around to see Niagara on the Lake, a very pretty, historic town. We tossed up between a visit to an Irish pub or ice Winery, the Winery won. 

Ice Wine ~ they leave the grapes on the vine until the grape temperature drops to -5c, once they reach that temperature the grapes are harvested they are then left for a short fermentation I think it was only about 1 month, this produces a really intense sweet wine that we were served over shaved ice. 

Our trip back was fun, Craig had sat in the front on the way there so it was my turn up the front on the way home but I think the driver was a bit stressed with the Aussie giving directions through the peak hour traffic.