We flicked on the TV as I went through my waking process as quickly as I could. There was a story dominating the news about a guy sending out letter bombs to people in Toronto. Mom and I watched as the news chopper followed the bomb squad escorting the explosives out of the downtown area to be detonated.
Not exactly an inviting story, knowing that we would be heading to Toronto on Sunday, I wasn't worried.
I was a bit worried about the bed situation in the hotel though. The beds in our room didn't quite work with the lift I use to transfer me out of my chair. We managed to work through it the first night, but Mom's back couldn't withstand much more of that kind of strain, so we went to the front desk. The manager and two electricians (the maintenance man wasn't available) came up to our room and, with some creativity and elbow grease, came up with a solution and fixed our problem.
With that taken care of, Mom and I headed to the Falls for the day. Our first stop was the SkyWheel on Clifton Hill. The SkyWheel is a giant ferris wheel, over 175 feet tall with climate controlled cabins that can seat up to eight people inside.
I was excited and ready to go, but Mom has never been a fan of heights. She used to be nervous about the Skylon Tower until we went up, so I was hoping this would be similar.
Personally, I thought she did great, but she didn't feel as at ease as with the Skylon, mainly because of the windows on all sides. If anyone in the control room was listening in, they certainly got themselves an earful.
The view from up there was beautiful, though. Such an awesome perspective of the Falls, Clifton Hill down below, and a good chunk of the city.
After a few rotations, we were back on solid ground, much to Mom's relief. All the employees we talked to on the way in got the rundown from Mom on her take on the whole experience. From there we popped into a shop to pick up a couple souvenirs for family and friends back home.
Clifton Hill
Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf
We wandered for a few minutes in a good sized, yet surprisingly well hidden park in search of a shortcut towards the Falls. Not finding one, we wandered back to the van and drove down.
The park
We usually come up to the Niagara area after Labor Day, so it was a bit more crowded than we're used to, but thankfully the crowds weren't nearly as bad as they looked. The weather was gorgeous: warm and not a single cloud in sight. Most of the trip seemed to follow in that weather pattern.
The Maids of the Mist
Across the gorge
Into the mist
Walking by the Falls was fantastic, as always. The mist, the rainbows, even the crowds just made it great. The kids were full of great little quotes to overhear. One family was obviously also from Ohio, as the young son looked out over the rushing waters and proclaimed "I can see Cedar Point!", which was followed by a pause of deep thought and then concluded with "Can we go to Cedar Point?"
Mom & Me
Our stroll led us down to the Table Rock Center at the top of the Falls, which is currently under construction as they add onto it. We sat behind the building for a few minutes and just took it all in as a nearly full rainbow seemed to rise right out of the water before it went tumbling over the precipice.
A few feet away, another little boy exclaimed in an excited voice "It's all so amazing, Mommy!"
The Rainbow Bridge
After a little while, we were getting hungry, so we hopped back in the van and headed up the hill to Tony Roma's. I went for the sure-fire route and got the chicken fingers. Simple, but always tasty.
We arrived back at the hotel shortly after 10:00 PM, where we decided to stop at the bar in the lobby for a glass of wine to unwind.
Up your nose with a rubber hose
Back in the room, I got to sleep as early as I could. I had to be ready for concert day, after all.
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