This is the story of our free stylin' road trip to Niagra Falls. Only two hotel reservations and lots of places we wanted to stop to eat! How much gas will we need? Shades on. Here we go...
Special thanks to the Brady Bunch for
the hours of car traveling entertainment!
First stop was not far from home, Midlothian, Illinois.
Bartolini's
Famous for their meatballs. Yes we had meatballs. Yes they were good!
"How far are we from Canton?"
"Why do we want to go to Canton?"
"Canton, Ohio, Alison, Football Hall of Fame"
"Oh...not far - let's go!"
Goodbye Ohio...
Hello Presque Isle State Park Pennsylvania
Special Food Stop #2
Anchors Bar,
Buffalo NY
Birthplace of
Buffalo Wings
As we explored the USA side of Niagra, we toured Old Fort Niagra for almost 4 hours. We got to see a musket and cannon fired. All while eating a bag of Bugles! Of course we have to have a picture of Grant by a canon! We also climbed the stairs to the top of the light house. You can see Toronto across the lake. The tour guides were awesome! All in period attire and performing period jobs.
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| Toronto in the distance |
Last stop in the US, Colosso Taco. One of those places you drive by and almost don't stop because it looks a little shady. But you go for it and when a local comes in and tells you made a good decision you feel much better!
Taco roll-ups were good!
This was our first view of the Horseshoe Falls - that's the Canadian side of the Falls. It was in the car as we were driving over the bridge to the border. The platform on the right of the picture is a viewing area on the US side. We only made two hotel reservation in advance and it was for Sunday and Monday night...this was Saturday and there was no room at the inn...so we drove 1.5 hours into Canada to sleep!
Keep in mind, this is a trip to see Niagra Falls and at this point we have basically done a drive by, gotten the kids really excited about the Falls and then just kept driving!
Dundurn Castle, Hamilton, Ontario
Luckily, Hamilton is an awesome little town on the way back from Guelph. This was the home to Camilia Parker's (yes of Prince Charles) grandmother. This estate was built for a family of four! They had lots of hired help! This looks just like our coat rack!
We are here!! We choose to do the Adventure Pass on the Canadian side. We decided the US side has the history (Old Fort Niagra), but Canada has the views! The middle picture is the view from our hotel room. The rainbow is right between the US and Canadian Falls.
We got a little wet!
First stop was the 4D Niagra's Fury movie - we don't give this experience high marks!
White Water Walk - Walking alongside the rapids downstream from the Falls.
Journey Behind the Falls
They have made tunnels under and behind the Falls for a close-up view.
Whirlpool Aero Car - viewing the rapids from above in a cable car.
Butterfly Conservatory - kids loved this!
Hornblower Cruise
We hadn't worn red ponchos yet! Hornblower is the Canadian equivalent to the US Maid of the Mist. The mist was so strong it hurt to keep our eyes open!
The Floral Showhouse - What a hidden gem!!
Last Stop - Souvenir City
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| Don't go over the falls in a barrel! |
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| Glass blowing |
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| In case you have never heard my sad tale...my parent's took me to Niagra Falls when I was 6. I got a snow globe as my souvenir. It caused all kinds of trouble at the border crossing and then I took it in to my kindergarten class for show and tell and dropped it and it broke. I still remember the little flecks of "snow" on the classroom carpet. It was very traumatic. |
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| We don't collect spoons but we pose for pictures with spoons! |
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