Niagara Falls

ready

set

Fun!

Choose a quality barrel.

Don't forget your passport.

Slowly I turned...

...step by step...

I wonder who was first with that bit, Abbott & Costello, or The Three Stooges?

Between those two groups, I would guess Abbot and Costello; they both first put it on screen in 1944, but the A&C film probably was in production longer the 3S short.

But the true originator is probably lost in the history of Vaudeville.

Edit: Apparently a comic named Joey Faye claimed to be the original.

Good research, HapMo.

Back. We drove up to Niagara Falls on Tuesday, but in order to make it more interesting we stopped along the way. First because we had never been to any of Pennsylvania's many tourist caves, we went to Penn's Cave, in which you descend about 100 feet under the ground to a cave with a little stream running through it, and tour it by boat.



You look around in wonder at the slow creation of the place. Calcium carbonate leeching through the little cracks and constructing its own monuments. The tour takes an hour, it's 52 F degrees all year (and thus winter home to many bats).



It was about an hour, a perfect way to relax and see something cool for a while, instead of just driving.

Next stop, Kinzua Bridge State Park and the wonderful Kinzua Viaduct. This consists of a really huge trestle-type bridge, built as high as the Statue of Liberty. In the late 1800s, it became important to move a lot of oil and coal from Pennsylvania, and this bridge helped get that done. It was the fourth-tallest railway bridge in the US. When it was built, it was the tallest.

They stopped using it in 1959. And then, in 2003, a tornado came right through the middle of it.



But now it's a lot cooler, because they constructed a viewing platform at the end; so you can walk to the end and look over at the devastation. In the middle of mountainous forest land that is really not used for anything. It's really cool and worth a stop.

We stayed at the Hilton, Canadian side, and got this excellent view of both falls. The iPhone takes a nice panoramic shot:



This was by far the most expensive part of this trip but it was worth it because damn. Then at night they light the falls for the first few hours, and at 10, it's fireworks. From this view, that is all pretty glorious.

Next day we drove over to the 'Merkin side where you can do a lot of the cool touristy bits. First we went on Maid of the Mist which is the little boat the takes you right into the Horseshoe, Canadian falls. That was outstanding, although we don't have any pictures of the best part of it, because it was too... misty. Keep your phone tucked away or it will get soaked.

But we do have this nice shot of the American falls which you pass right by on the way to the bigger one.

This is from the top of the American side, and shows the Maid of the Mist boat on its way. I like this shot because it has the boat, and also, the string of people with blue ponchos on, who are just off the boat and heading over to an observation platform.

Then, Cave of the Winds. From the island in the middle of the falls, you get yellow ponchos, and walk out on wooden decks to the bottom of the Bridal Falls.



And the decks lead up to what they call the hurricane deck, where you're hit with forceful waters and 60 MPH winds. The falls right in your face. And it is awesome. Especially at the end of a long hot touristy day.

Before:



After; because I stood right in the middle of it and got super soaked, because that is what you should do:



In a stunning coincidence, Jackie's brother and his Japanese wife were ALSO in Niagara Falls, stayed over Tuesday in another hotel. We did not plan this whatsoever, and only figured this out Tuesday night via family posts on social medias. ("We're in Niagara Falls!!" "Wait, are you with T and Y?" "What? You mean they are here TOO?!")

We got together for this part of the tourist venture.

In order not to spend a whole day driving, instead of going right home, we stayed overnight in the NY Finger Lakes. Here we AirBNB'd a little villa next to vineyards on Seneca Lake. The price was about half that of the previous night, and OMG, OMG, such a way better choice than a Holiday Inn.



There are about a hundred wineries in the Finger Lakes, but in my experience you should visit two per day. Because you taste about five wines at each one.

We didn't have much time in order to drive home before dark, so we did our two right in a row. The best of these was McGregor Vineyards, which I had visited 20 years earlier and was still awesome.



That's the trip. It was a great one!

Was this a honeymoon rehearsal? :lol:

Very nice!

I had not heard of that cave before. The bridge looks a little familiar, like I might have seen pictures of it once. I think it would be fun to visit both.

Did your phone know the instant you crossed over into Canada and offer you some expensive roaming package if you clicked a button, even though it could have connected to the US towers across the river?

Yes, yes it did!

I ignored that and just went on my way, feeling all uncertain of whether I was going to incur charges accidentally, so I turned off data. This led to a little comedy of errors, when the Hilton offered free WiFi if I signed up for their something something. I signed up and they emailed me a code to get free WiFi. Uhhh... how'm I gonna get that email exactly?

Even connecting with cell data, the email never came. Eventually I just paid for the WiFi and felt idiotic. The email finally arrived, a little late...! (But at least I paid in Canadian dollars so I did save 20% on it.)

glatt;993800 wrote:

Very nice!

The bridge looks a little familiar, like I might have seen pictures of it once.

Maybe it was here.

Looks like a good time!

xoxoxoBruce;993805 wrote:

Maybe it was here.

I'm certain that's it.

There's a little bit of crazy in that thread.

glatt;993811 wrote:

There's a little bit of crazy in that thread.

:yesnod:

Yup, she was wrong. There's a trail right down to the ruins. :lol:

Yep. And people camp in the area all summer - there's no particular restriction of access. It's a beautiful area.

That is a brilliant loop, well played. You look good man.

orthodoc where have you been? We've missed you.

Griff;993859 wrote:

That is a brilliant loop, well played. You look good man.

whs - in spades

great pics!

Nice to see you smilin, Tony. Glad to see you had a good time.

How could he not have a good time when accompanied by a hot babe. :blush:

Exactly! We think alike Mr. Bruce.