NIAGRA FALLS: Part One I can’t believe my mom waited this long to venture to Niagara Falls. She hasn’t visited the falls since she was a child and was just as excited as I was to head there this past July. It was basically the midway point while traveling to visit family on the East Coast.
If you think a weekend in Niagara Falls would be a fun adventure for yourself or your family, here’s our helpful itinerary:
We left Naperville, at 4am (my mom’s a morning person) and arrived at the Oak’s Hotel at 2pm Eastern Time. The shining star of this hotel is the spectacular panoramic view of Horseshoe Falls. Our jaws dropped the minute we stepped foot into our room and drew back the curtains. Yes, there are fancier and pricier hotels to stay along Hotel Row with similar views, but for one night, the Oaks was absolutely perfect for us. The 14th floor also has an observation lounge with even better views than the rooms.
We took the incline down the hill for $7/person. There’s a beautiful view from this gondola ride as well and we were fortunate to spy our first rainbow from here! Getting so close to the most powerful waterfall in North America was absolutely amazing! We just stared in awe for the longest time.
In the course of two hours walking around, grabbing an ice cream cone and admiring the falls, the sky drastically changed at least five times from ominous stormy clouds to the bluest skies with expansive rainbows. We counted 14 rainbows in all!
After hours of ogling the waterfall, we took the incline back up to hotel row to walk around and explore a bit more. Since it was a Friday, we were excited to see the Falls Illumination show and fireworks. We debated taking the incline back down for this but decided that the view from our hotel room would far surpass a ground level view. We were right!
Seeing both the Horseshoe and American Falls illuminated by changing colorful spotlights, along with the fireworks display from our room was magical. This year-round feature began in 1925 and is definitely worth seeing!
In the morning, we enjoyed a thrilling boat ride with Hornblower Niagara Cruises. Be prepared. You will get wet! Read about the second half of our trip to Niagara on the Lake in the Mid-March issue of Glancer Magazine and on our blog at at www.pedisnpassports.com
ABOUT THE BLOGGERS Naperville mom and teacher, Kristen Kainrath and her teen daughter, Brooke, are a mother-daughter travel-blogging team who have always shared an incurable case of wanderlust. Their goal is to inspire girls to follow their passions and appreciate the diversity of our global community. Follow them on their journeys at www.pedisnpassports.com and watch for their monthly article inside Glancer Magazine in 2017.
