Niagara Falls

Ahh Niagara Falls. One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and practically right in our back-yard. After the Dream Theater show and a quick continental breakfast at the hotel, we made the short 17 mile drive to Niagara Falls for the day. I used an extra vacation day and figured since we were out there we might as well make a visit. When in Rome...

Upon arriving at the state park on the American Side of the falls we were directed to a large parking lot in front of a large glass window building. This building was basically an overgrown gift and information shop. You see, the falls are a mecca for international tourism. We were amazed at all of the different nationalities and the out of state license plates present. Large groups of Chinese/Japanese were scattered about with the stereotypical mass of cameras hanging around their necks. Gift shops were not in short supply in this gateway area. This area of the park felt like a tourist nightmare, a place that Heather and I felt completely out of place in. We traveled through another information building and went down to the falls area.

The falls really are quite amazing. You can feel the ground shake from the power of 150,000 gallons of water per second flying over a cliff and crashing 150 feet below. We spent time jostling for a good picture taking position at the American falls then made our way to Bridal Veil falls and continued on to the Horseshoe falls. The walk was quite pleasant and the park was very nice. The only thing that really bothered me was the looming view from across the river to the Canadian side. That side is just packed full of large buildings, hotels, casino and towers. Since I have been there last ( maybe 11 years ago ) there have been a large number of building that have popped up. I always thought the Canadian side was very touristy, yet the view to the falls was gorgeous. Looking at it from the American side , it is an ugly eye-sore on what could and should be a beautiful view.

A couple of weeks ago we watched a show on Discovery called Road-Trip. The hosts are bubbly and goofy but the show is very informative. We were especially interested in the road trip from Mt. Rushmore to the Grand Tetons, since we are visiting these places in a couple of weeks. We did however watch the show on New York. They traveled from Long Island to Niagara Falls. During their visit to the Niagara area they took a Jet Boat ride through some class 5 rapids on the Niagara river. Now we're talkin, it looked like a total blast.

We found the address of the jet boat marina and navigated our way to a small town up-river called Lewiston. We arrived around 1:30 and were just in time to sign various wavers, and attend the safety briefing. Joining us on this ride would be a bus load of Japanese tourists. Our guides name was Won. He spoke fluent Japanese and English and seemed quite nice. We were in for a very good time I think.

After donning our life vests and a brief instruction on what not to do ( basically dont stand up, dont be stupid, and hold on for dear life ) we were seated in the third row of the boat. Won explained to us that the first three rows were the "Power Rows". These are the rows that have the roughest ride, get the most air, and get hit with the water first. Anyone with heart problems or individuals under 100 lbs could not sit in these rows. Yay! 

The boat left the dock and continued up the river as Won explained what was about to happen. The boat then took off very quickly ( he explained the boat can travel up to 75mph ) and the driver spun the boat around in a 360 degree turn. The boat then continued down the river and the views of the cliffs were fantastic. We made our way past the hydroelectric stations, with the United States having a monster of a station compared to the Canadian side. We then approached our first rapid which was a class 5. It was explained to us that the highest classification for white water rapids is a class 6 ( which we saw later but did not attempt ). We were told to hang on tight as the driver drove over the rapid in a smooth fashion, spun the boat around and approached the run. Won called this "Happy Hour... all you can drink". We laughed. The boat began the run and I thought ohh this isn't so bad.. then BAM. I was smashed in the face with what felt like a car full of water and looking to my left, I saw Heather leave her seat completely. We were jostled and pounded from every direction. Huge waves of water hit us and our gaping mouths and unexpected noses filled with the Niagara river. When the run was over ( probably 15 seconds of it ) everyone was coughing and laughing. Dam this was fun! We all gave the driver and Won a "thumbs-up" and ran it again. This time I at least attempted to keep my mouth closed and was some-what successful. The water on this run however felt like I was just punched in the head by Mike Tyson. I assume my position on the edge of the row did not help. I had basically no time to react to the water. My face was a great buffer for the people next to me though.

We ran through a few more rapids and had an excellent time. We then parked at the mouth of the class 6 section of rapids just to view the might of this section of the river . Won explained that if you fell into the churning hell before us, your body would stay under for a few days. No thanks. We made our way back to the marina which gave us some time to dry off as the boat avoided the rough sections and we could wind-dry. Overall the experience was simply fantastic. It was pricey but not something that you normally do. We can honestly say that we ran class 5 rapids on the Niagara River!

We walked around Lewiston after the boat ride and attempted to dry off. Lewiston has a bit of history as it was one of the last stops on the underground railroad in the days of slavery. Slaves would look across to the Canadian side and know they were minutes from becoming free. They would take a short row boat ride across to their freedom. 

After leaving Lewiston we made our way home. We crammed allot into a very small amount of time and had a blast doing it!