841. Niagara Falls and Niagara Wine Country

Where: Niagara, Ontario, Canada
When: June 10-13, 2018
With: Dave, Richard, Helen, Juliet, & Izzy

One of the world's most famous natural wonders sits practically in our backyard here in Michigan. Our Canadian backyard. At least, that's how I'd consider it. Just about a four hour drive away is the destination of tourists and honeymooners alike, and that would be Niagara Falls. 

So close and yet I'd never been. But, sometimes, everything happens for a reason. Our good friends from England, Richard and Helen (see Birmingham post for our last couples' weekend with them), were going to be taking a 3-week Midwest vacation with their daughter to visit us and the surrounding area. Their first stop was Niagara, and since I'd never been, whether they liked it or not, we tagged along with Izzy in tow. 

They booked us a lovely dog-friendly AirBnB right in the heart of Niagara's wine country, the largest wine-producing area in all of Canada. Sharing a similar latitude as Tuscany, there are over 60 wineries on this peninsula between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. With lovely summer weather, what better way to spend a weekend than with beautiful wineries and waterfalls?

After our drive in and their flight from the UK, we all decided to take it easy with a casual lunch at a winery that was walking distance from the house called Ravine Vineyard and Estate. Wine tasting + no need for driving is my favorite. And Izzy loved the outdoor patio. 

The wine was pretty decent and the scenery was gorgeous, so we relaxed away the rest of the day here. Izzy enjoyed life as a vineyard dog. 

It felt like no time had passed, but the sun was already setting. And it was a gorgeous sky. 

We are all very happy to be together...and drinking lots of wine (not Juliet, to be clear). 

Speaking of Juliet, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between her and Izzy, particularly around mealtime. 

Our next day, we couldn't have woken up to more perfect weather which made us all very excited to explore Niagara Falls. Flowing from four of the five Great Lakes, the Falls flow into the Niagara River, which divides the US from Canada. There are two main falls: American Falls on the left and Horseshoe Falls on the right. While they can be viewed from either country, Canada has a more head on view of both.

In order to properly explore, we got ourselves booked on the Hornblower Cruise that take visitors right to the base of the Falls. Considering we had a dog and small child, we decided to split up into two shifts so as not to subject the little ones to loud noise and wet. First up was Helen and I. We donned our bright red ponchos and climbed aboard the boat. 

Before the boat even took off, we had a great view of American Falls. 

And a nice view of the bridge from Canada to the US, the Rainbow Bridge. 

Another Hornblower cruise. This little section of water at the base of the Falls was just filled with boats of red ponchos or blue ponchos (blue was the poncho color for the American boat tour,  the Maid of the Mist). 

As we approached the base of the American Falls, the roar of the water was thunderous. But it was also completely magical. It was difficult to comprehend how powerful and strong the Falls were because the flow of water was just like a sheet of neverending turquoise white foam. It almost seemed to flow in very powerful slow motion. 

As we got closer, we could see the mossy, bright green of the rocks around the falls, taking their color from the constant mist of water that coats them. 

Just stunning. Photos couldn't do it justice. 

 

Not super soaked after this first one. 

The small waterfall to the right there is called Bridal Veil Falls. While it is considered part of the American Falls, it has its own name as it is separated by Luna Island in the middle. 

Leaving the American Falls and heading to the Canadian ones. 

 From this angle, we could just see the massive mist cloud coming from the profile of Horseshoe Falls.

Coming around the bend of Horseshoe Falls. 

These falls obviously get their name from their half-moon shape. While they create a nice round pool in the middle, the pounding water all around it churns the water up and creates quite a cloud of mist, so we couldn't get too far into the center. 

As we bobbed closer to the center, it was sheer pandemonium. The water was rushing so loudly, we couldn't hear much else. The mist of the waterfall was covering everyone in spritz. Everyone was bumrushing for photos. The smooth ride turned choppy as we slowed down to take in the views. It was total happy panic (though it seems relatively peaceful from the video). 

A clearing of mist to the other side of the Horseshoe. 

Maid of the Mist, leaving Horseshoe. 

Much more soaked after Horseshoe!

Final views from our boat back on the city of Niagara, Canada and both falls. 

Reunited at the top with the boys, baby and puppy, we showed Izzy the Falls for the first time. She was mildly intrigued.

Oh well, we enjoyed the view. 

So while the boys took their cruise, all the ladies lounged in the shade. 

Afterwards, we started to stroll along the footpath that follows the high bluff above the river, from American Falls towards Horseshoe Falls.  

Juliet strolling along. 

A random castle on the footpath. Not sure why, but it was pretty. 

As we got closer to Horseshoe Falls, a bunch of tourist shops and places to eat popped up. They were all fast food chains, but within eyeshot of the falls, it was hard to beat the view. 

From here, we could see the river behind the Falls as it feeds in. Wow, can you imagine if you didn't know what was coming next just boating along here?

Horseshoe Falls providing a beautiful backdrop for some family portraits. 

Lucky pup!

And so we strolled, watching the boats loop back and forth from waterfall to waterfall. It was a beautiful sight to take in. 

One thing I took for granted taking photos was how much the mist could affect things. If it was kicked up enough, it was hard to see any of the falls behind it. But it made for a fun challenge. 

The walking trail ends at the corner of Horseshoe Falls where visitors can get right up next to the river as it plunges over. That water is moving hard and fast and could almost take your breath away at the thought of dipping a toe in. 

From one end of the horseshoe to the other. 

Heading back towards American Falls. 

Appreciating the clear shot. 

Final group shot!

And with that, we decided to head out. But not without a little walk through Niagara, which is basically kitsch central. Ripley's, Rainforest Cafe, casinos, gift shops, mini-golf - it was a dream tourist-central all piled on top of itself. 

And of course, what beats a giant mini-golf T-Rex chasing you down? 

From the kitsch we headed back out to wine country. 

We stopped at a winery called Inniskillen. Here, we could see the vines for the region's most popular type of wine: ice wine. This super sweet dessert wine comes from when grapes are left on the vine to freeze. And since this is Canada, that's pretty easy to do. 

While they couldn't drink, Izzy and Juliet both enjoyed vineyard life. 

Fast friends. 

The next day, we had an easy relaxed morning at the house. Our backyard led to an apple orchard, and it was a beautiful place to hang out for the morning. 

Total buddies. 

Izzy had a blast chasing a tennis ball through the orchards. A good way to tucker her out completely. 

 Leaving Izzy to nap, we headed into the small town of Niagara-on-the-Lake for a wander. Located on the shores of Lake Ontario, across from Toronto, this quaint Victorian village is adorable and picturesque, with fudge and ice cream shops lining its main street. 

We stopped into a cute little diner for some lunch and had a Juliet photo shoot. 

Who am I kidding? This is going to be an ongoing Juliet photo shoot. She's so cute!!

After lunch, we strolled to the shores of the lake. At this point, we reached where the Niagara River flows into Lake Ontario. Taking a right up the river would lead you back to Niagara Falls. 

Toronto in the distance. 

The town was very cute but also pretty small. We wandered for about an hour or so, and then decided to head back home for Izzy. We made a pit stop at Ravine Vineyards for some wine and cheese that we decided would make up a delicious dinner. 

After dinner, Helen thankfully bowed out to stay home with the baby so that Rich and I could take one more trip back to the Falls by night. . We took off into the night to see the illumination light show that is projected on the water after dark. We were not disappointed. 

Here was American Falls by night in all its colors. 

Red was pretty cool. It looks like the gates of hell. 

Equally as impressive on Horseshoe Falls. 

Some of the other colors of Horseshoe. 

The light catching the rising mist was so cool and eery. 

Despite the lights being set fairly far back from the falls, it was crazy to see that the mist was reaching them. We couldn't see this during the day, but lit up at night, it was crazy. 

The whole scene. 

By the time we reached the edge of Horseshoe Falls, following the same trail as the day before, the lights had flipped to multicolored. 

I could have stayed here all night playing with shutter speeds and photographing the falls, but sadly, our parking meter didn't allow it. So with a final extended-exposure, multicolored shot of the Falls, we said our goodbyes to Niagara. 

Despite the kitsch, I loved this place. No amount of cheesy tourist attractions can take away from the sheer beauty and power of Niagara Falls. And really, when the escape from the kitsch is wine country, how can that be bad?