If I had known how much there was to see and do in Niagara Falls, I would’ve planned on staying longer and probably would’ve remembered my camera!  (Thankfully, I had my phone and it takes great pictures and video.)  It is absolutely beautiful up here!  We are stayed  at a campground called “Branches of Niagara”,  It’s a well maintained and it has a small lake with a zip line over it.  We didn’t spend much time in the campground, just to sleep and shower, but you could tell that the people running the place really cared about it.  It’s about 3 miles from Niagara Falls.

We took a tour with a company called Greyline tours and went on the Maid of the Mist and to The Cave of the Winds.   I cannot believe how close you get to the falls at both attractions.  I had never heard of The Cave of the Winds and don’t know why they don’t advertise more.  They give you a pair of sandals, that you get to keep and to everyone’s surprise were extremely comfortable.  I wore mine the rest of the day. (If you are thinking “dork!” right now, you will just have to see them, they are pretty nice sandals…seriously!)  You also get a plastic rain poncho and a plastic bag to put your other shoes in.  Regardless of how hard you try….you WILL get wet!  Don’t fight it!  Just get soaked!  That’s part of the fun and about ten minutes after you leave, you will be completely dry.   I think I enjoyed going to Cave of the Winds as much as the boat ride.  You go down in an elevator 175 feet and walk out on these walkways and platforms, RIGHT next to the American Falls.   It is incredible!

You will get another flimsy poncho at the Maid of the Mist, which takes to EXTREMELY close to the Horseshoe Falls.  My poncho had a big hole in it even before the boat started moving.   Mom and I stood out of the bow of the ship and the water was rushing and swirling around the ship and made you feel like you were in a big storm.  The noise was so LOUD that you couldn’t hear anything else.  I’m not sure why they call it “mist” because it certainly is not a mist, but more like a gale force storm.    I LOVED it.  I would recommend that everyone go at least once in your life time because it is something you will never forget.    After getting off the Maid of the Mist, you walk thru the park and we saw a man sitting in a chair feeding the squirrels and birds.  He said that he had been doing it for 15 years.  He let me and mom feed the birds.  I was amazed that the birds didn’t care if a stranger held the seeds!  I took video of the Chicadee’s eating out of my hand (you can see the video’s on my facebook page) and  I felt like a true Disney Princess.   It made my day!

Our Tour guide/Bus Driver, Tom, was funny and very informative.  He told us the story of one of the daredevil’s that went over the falls, who had  strapped both arms to the inside of the barrel and tied a 100 pound anvil to his feet.  They found the barrel and the only thing in it was the guys right arm in the strap!  They never found the rest of him!  EEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW.  I had a hard time getting that picture out of my head after he told us that….I will  always remember that story though.

Later that evening, mom and I walked across the bridge to Canada (Dad was at the Casino!).  I have to say that I think they have a better view of both of the falls in the Canadian side.  When you are right next to them or UNDER them, you don’t get the full picture, so it was pretty amazing seeing them both from the other side of the river.

All in all, it was a perfect day.

We left Grand Island, New York and Stayed one night in Glenville, New York at Arrowhead Marina and Campground, which is on the Mohawk River.  Today we drove to Wells, Maine and are staying at the Wells Beach RV Resort.  It rained all day today as we were driving out of the Adirondack’s and into the Berkshire’s.  It was still a beautiful drive, despite all the rain.  Tomorrow we head up north to Bar Harbor and will be there for 5 days.  I’m crossing my fingers for good weather and looking forward to seeing Acadia National Park!   We have been to seven States in 5 days: Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine!  Whewwwwwww.  Cannot wait to see what happens tomorrow!!!!!  Happy Trails!