Niagara Falls, Ontario

View from our room

Kevin being a good sport on Maid of the Mist

Another boat heading into the Horseshoe Falls

View from the top of Horseshoe Falls

Our hotel to the left and the American Falls to the right

I have always wanted to see Niagara Falls so we decided to make it the last stop before heading south back to North Carolina. Because we wanted to visit Kevin's aunt and uncle in Toledo and we wanted spend he fourth of July with his family in Pennsylvania, the timing worked out the visit the falls. We took three days, including the stop in Toledo, and two time changes to get to the falls from the Corn Palace. Our internal clocks were messed up but it was well worth the detour.

From using www.hotels.com to book many of our nights, we had earned a free night and decided to use it at Niagara Falls. We were able to book a King Suite with a Falls View on the 16th floor of the Sheraton in Niagara Falls, Ontario (not a bad deal trading 10 nights of $70 rooms for one night in a $275 room). The room and the view were so fantastic that we did want to spend that much time elsewhere. Other than walking along the park to view the falls and taking the Maid of the Mist, we got most of our views from the couch in our room. From our room, we ate dinner with a view of the falls and watched the fireworks over the falls.

Niagara Falls is a good weekend destination. There are dozens of viewpoints both from above and at the bottom of the falls. Just be aware that all the views from the bottom are very, very wet. The views from the Canadian side are much better than the views from the American side. There are also plenty of tourist traps...you can see the falls from a ferris wheel, a tower drop, etc. You can also visit water parks and Ripley's Believe It or Not.