To Canada we go...

So today we made the next leg of our trip to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. So yeah sure it is just across the border but we made a big deal of it b/c it is the boy's first trip to a foreign country. We've had several "plans" to go abroad since Xander was born but this is the first one to actually happen. We got off to a good start- our plan was to leave at check-out, which we did, but I think the grandparents were chomping at the bit to get going. It's not so easy to pack up 4 people after 4 days in the same place. I got up at 6am with James and didn't go back to sleep and it still took us till 10 to leave the hotel.

So we got some lunch on our way out of town and our timing worked out well with the boy's nap schedule. We passed through passport control relatively quickly and we made it to our hotel just in time for check-in. We parked the car, threw the bags in the rooms, and headed out to explore. We stayed at the Days Inn which was perfect. They had free parking and it was right at the top of Clifton Hill- where all the really garish touristy stuff is located (glow in the dark indoor mini golf- really?)- but only a few short blocks from the falls themselves. We bought an Adventure Pass which worked well for us b/c we wanted to do some of the really touristy things. First we headed to the Maid of the Mists- b/c you can't go to Niagara Falls and not go on the Maid of the Mists. It was awesome! I can't imagine the power that those engines must have to fight against that current. We had seen the plume of mists as we were driving in but it was really neat to be right in the midst of it and just feel the power of all that water pounding down around you. James didn't think too much about the whole boat thing but I think Xander enjoyed it. They had the cutest little ponchos for the kids!

Then we headed up along the river to the horsehoe falls. It was a beautiful day- not too hot but warm enough to not mind the misty air around the falls. We went to the Journey Behind the Falls, which was also pretty cool b/c you got to get right up next to the edge of horsehoe falls. It was pretty wet I have to say. I think the Cave of the Winds on the American side looked a bit more interesting but hey we got to to visit some pretty wild tunnels back behind the falls. After the Journey we went back up to the welcome center and went to Niagara's Fury, which was like an interactive ride a la Universal Studios. It was actually really fun. They had a cute little video before the ride part which Xander really enjoyed- the polar bear was hilarious! And the ride part was pretty cool too. Xander didn't like the thunder much and James fell asleep but the adults enjoyed it. They spat us out through the giftshop which was interesting b/c Xander ended up suckering me into getting him a stuffed Mammoth by beelining right to the stuffed animals and them sucking on the tusks-sigh... After that we headed out to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner, which was my choice and I think I enjoyed it more than anyone else. Well Xander didn't much care for the thunder storms but he liked the fact that our table was right underneath a fish tank and right behind us were gorillas that talked every 10 mins or so. After a very long afternoon we all headed back to the hotel and collapsed!