![\"horseshoe](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2017\/03\/cimg0947.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAlthough my parents were still recovering from their
\nThanksgiving holiday, we had no time to waste while they were visiting. Call me Clark Griswold, but I like to stick
\nto an itinerary. I let them have a day
\nto rest and relax and then we were off again on our Northern adventures! This time it was to Canada!<\/p>\n
We loaded up the front wheel drive sleigh and headed to
\nNiagara Falls, a short five hours from Clifton Park. (I am still amazed at how much<\/u> you can get to from such a short drive up here!)
\nOur band of merry misfits made a run for the border and didn’t even
\nbother to stop on the American side to check out the Falls. Oh, heck no…we were ready for
\nthe main attraction!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With the mist in our sights, we flashed our passports and
\ncrossed the Rainbow Bridge. It was
\nliterally just seconds before we had a perfect view of Niagara Falls! I had visited the Falls once while in college
\non spring break (no wild beach parties for me) and it was better than I
\nremembered! I was so glad that I got to
\ntake Brett & my parents there for the first time.<\/p>\n
![\"americanfalls.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/dsc08600.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Basically, Niagara Falls breaks down into two
\nsections. The larger Horseshoe Falls (pictured above) is
\non the Canadian side and American Falls (pictured left) sits in the USA. Just to the right of the American Falls is
\nthe smaller Bridal Falls. The view is
\namazing! So much water coming through the
\narea, it’s no wonder that Niagara carries about 20% of the world’s fresh water,
\nall coming from the Great Lakes.<\/p>\n
The Niagara Parks Commission was so sweet to provide us
\nwith tickets to visit the Journey Behind the Falls. And, seriously…it ranks in the Top 10 coolest
\nthings I have ever seen! If you make the
\ntrip up here, you have<\/b> to see
\nthis! The view from the top is great,
\nbut this is just unbelievable<\/i>. There is nothing like being up close and
\npersonal with the Falls.<\/p>\n
\n![\"falls.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/dsc08526.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n![\"CIMG0848.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/cimg0848.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The self-guided tour begins with a fashion
\nstatement. That’s right, everyone gets
\nto wear those cute little plastic rain coats over their clothes! In seconds we were suited up and off! An elevator took us down 150 feet and we were
\nallowed to explore the 650 feet of tunnels that weave behind the Falls. When we surfaced, we were right at the basin
\nof Horseshoe Falls!<\/p>\n
\n![\"familyatfalls.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/cimg0872.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
There is nothing like standing at the edge of North
\nAmerica’s most powerful waterfall! At 13
\nstories tall, the water flows over the Falls at some serious speed…moving about
\n40 miles per hour. It’s hard to believe 7-year-old
\nRoger Woodward survived the ride over the Falls when the boat he was in
\ncapsized in 1960. Wearing only a
\nlifejacket, he was rescued by the Maid of
\nthe Mist <\/i>when he surfaced in the basin.<\/i> Crazy!<\/p>\n
Turns out, our yellow rain coats came in pretty handy! We ended up a little damp on our tour. I would not advise spending a lot of time on
\nyour hair before hitting this attraction.
\nMine will curl at the slightest hint of rain or humidity…you should have
\nseen the hot mess it became standing next to a massive waterfall.<\/p>\n
\n![\"brettheather.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/dsc08517.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n![\"DSC08534.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/dsc08534.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Journey Behind the Falls also offers a chance to
\ncheck out the falls from the backside.
\nThere are two spots where you can see the water flowing from carvings in
\nthe rock. Warning-it’s super loud in
\nthose tunnels!<\/p>\n
![\"tunnelbrett.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/cimg0900.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
We were also lucky enough to be given tickets by the
\nNiagara Parks Commission to watch the Niagara’s
\nFury: The Creation of the Falls<\/i> 4-D movie!
\nThe experience is styled a lot like a Universal Studio-type of
\nattraction.<\/p>\n
![\"DSC08562.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/dsc08562.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The ground shakes, you get
\nrained on, snowed on and you can feel the temperature literally plummet in a
\nmatter of seconds. It was a great way to
\nexperience the Falls from another perspective and the little kids will love it
\n(well, my parents did too).<\/p>\n
By the time we wrapped up our tour and movie, we walked
\nout of the Table Rock Welcome Center into another breath taking view of Niagara
\nFalls…night had fallen and the Falls were all lit up! The Falls are illuminated in the colors of the
\nrainbow and have been shining brightly since 1925. During the Winter Festival of Lights, you can
\ncatch fireworks over the Falls on Friday nights from mid-November until New
\nYear’s Eve. I mean seriously…just look at the smiles those lights put on our faces!<\/p>\n
\n![\"niagara](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/niagara202.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
If it’s your first time to the Falls, there are a couple
\nof things to know before you go. First
\nof all, don’t forget your passport…you gotta have it to get to Canada and
\nthat’s where you want to see things from.
\nAlso, don’t worry about coming to visit in winter. There’s plenty of stuff to do up here!<\/p>\n
![\"fallsview](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/cimg0942.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
If for some reason you’re not excited about the view, you can
\ncheck out the Fallsview Casino. It’s smoke free and also the largest casino in Canada-which my mother loved! It was all we could do to pull her away from the nickel poker slot machines. If you prefer spending your money rather than betting it, there’s tons of cute little shops where you can do a little souvenir shopping. Brett & I decided to start adding patches of our favorite travel places to our backpack and picked up a cute Niagara Falls, Canada one.<\/p>\n
![\"skylon](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/cimg0938.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The
\nSkylon Tower probably offers the best view in town and you can even grab a bite
\nto eat there too. There are great
\nwineries in the area and even a Butterfly Conservatory to visit.<\/p>\n
Tickets to the Journey Behind the Falls can be purchased
\nyear round. It’s $12.75 for adults,
\n$8.35 for kids 6-12 and admission is free for youngsters under 5. In mid-December prices drop a little when the
\nlower observation decks are closed because of ice.<\/p>\n
Niagara’s
\nFury: The Creation of the Falls<\/i> tickets run $15 for adults and $9.75 for kids
\n6-12. Shows are every 30 minutes
\ndaily.<\/p>\n
But if you’re headed to Niagara this winter, one of the
\nbest deals going right now is the Niagara Falls Winter Magic Pass. You can do Journey Behind the Falls, Niagara’s Fury<\/i> and snag tickets to the
\nButterfly Conservatory for a great price.
\nThe pass runs $24.95 for adults and $16.95 for kids ages 6-12.<\/p>\n
For more information about visiting Niagara Falls, check
\nout niagaraparks(dot)com. You’ll find
\ngreat tips on planning your trip and even better deals on attractions in
\nthe area. Brett and I decided that a visit
\nhere was a great weekend getaway from Albany and a perfect opportunity to see something
\ndifferent. I can promise, y’all won’t be disappointed!<\/p>\n
\n![\"niagara-parks-home-logo.gif\"](\"https:\/\/www.albany.com\/i-heart-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2010\/12\/niagara-parks-home-logo.gif\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n
*Special
\nthanks to the Niagara Parks Commission for providing tickets and admission to
\nJourney Behind the Falls and Niagara’s Fury: The Creation of the Falls. Thanks y’all…we loved it!<\/i><\/p>\n
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Photography image credits: Ed Flanigan, Heather Flanigan, Brett Garrett. Graphic image credit: Niagara Parks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Although my parents were still recovering from their Thanksgiving holiday, we had no time to waste while they were visiting. Call me Clark Griswold, but I like to stick to an itinerary. I let them…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":11738,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[60,140,189],"class_list":["post-7590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-canada","tag-niagara-falls","tag-thanksgiving"],"yoast_head":"\r\n