2024 Summer Trip - A birthday trip to Cananda - Pt 1 2024/07/29

Today is a special day! It's my birthday and we're celebrating by doing something special! Time to visit a whole nother country! (I did a quick write-up of this previously, but this is the extended version). 

The kids greeted me in the morning with birthday cards and hugs. Thank you! 

Then it was time to drive over to Niagara Falls where the Rainbow Bridge connects the USA and Canada! We had considered driving the truck over to Canada, but a few things were giving us second thoughts. First was immigration into Canada and then bringing it back into the USA. We'd seen long lines previously and didn't want to wait around for that. Second was parking. There were different parking lots, but they were expensive and don't offer in and out privileges. And third, since we knew we'd be walking to most places anyway, why not just hoof it a little bit longer and walk ourselves into Canada! That said, we parked The Beast in the same free lot nearby Niagara Falls and walked to the border crossing. 

Pedestrians this way!

Walk this way to Canada!

On our trip a few years ago, we'd thought about visiting, but during that time Covid was still a high priority. To visit, you needed to have a recent test performed by a doctor's office, so it would have been a couple hundred dollars just to visit for a day! 

At the US side, there is a one-way gate out to the bridge. 

No turning back now. 

From the bridge, we have a good view looking towards the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls. 

That is a ways down, isn't it. 

Here's the border! Canada on one side and the United States on the other! 

And quite a backup of cars trying to go both directions. Good decision so far to leave the truck. 

While walking on the bridge, Alli saw a small run-off that she called baby Niagara Falls. 

You can see it to the left of the American Falls a bit. 

I never did find a name when I looked for it. 

Possible Christmas Card photo. We'll have to see if it makes the cut! 

Across the bridge was the entry building to Canada. 

Canada is this way!

Where we waited in a 15 minute line for a single border crossing guard to check our passports, ask us our intentions, and then welcome us to Canada. 

We're in! 

Those red and white flowers have to be intentional, right? 

To get to the main strip, we needed to walk along a sidewalk which took us right through The Secret Garden Restaurant. They'd just read this book with Gram recently, so we made sure to send her a picture of it. 

The Canadian side of Niagara Falls is a lot more happening than the American side. There's so many different shops, all vying for your interest and dollars (Canadian dollars). It reminded me and T of Pigeon Forge in the US.  

One of those sites was something we could see from the American side of the falls last time. It's Hershey's Chocolate World! 

Outside is a ginormous chocolate bar! If only that was real!

Inside, Kiss is posing by a picture of the falls. 

Are they hugging her, or are they trying to pick her up to eat! 

The light fixtures in here were adorable. 

And they had lots of merchandise to buy. But it didn't compare at all to visiting the real Hershey Chocolate World in Hershey Pennsylvania. There was no place to make your own candy bars, or videos about how chocolate is made, or rides with chocolate samples at the end. 

Right next door is a Coca-Cola shop!

Hmm. No prices. That's never a good sign. 

Plenty of Coke products to buy, but again, the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta Georgia, or even the Coca-Cola store in Disney Springs has this one beat. 

Back on the street, we wandered by the shops, touting the different things they offered. Treats of all types, 4D shows, mini-golf, wax museums, oddities, and the like. 

The thing the kids wanted to see most was a convenience store with drinks! And there are different flavors in Canada! They chose a Canada Dry (very appropriate) Raspberry Lemonade Ginger Ale. Yum!

There's one place we are heading to that Theresa looked up for my birthday before we came over. We have to pass the giant ferris wheel and the dinosaur mini-golf with a flaming volcano first. The tagline for the ferris wheel is a little silly. "The Best Way to See the Falls!" You mean the Skywheel that is over a half mile from the American Falls and nearly a full mile from Horseshoe Falls? Right... that's definitely the best way to see the falls. 

Onwards we go. 

To the Red Ganache Bakery! 

This shop has some beautiful pastries in their display case. All of them promising to be delicious. 

Each of us got a different thing. Alli with a tiramisu, Theresa with a Strawberry Vanilla cake, Ian with a chocolate cake, and me with a chocolate coconut cake. Everyone enjoyed what they picked, though I think Alli's was the winner with her tiramisu. 

It is hot and we need something to drink. Instead of getting lots of individual drinks, we shared a 2 liter of cold soda from a convenience shop. 

And here's the start of a few of the interesting treats that I was on the lookout for. International trips are always great for finding Taste Test items. Now I was on the lookout for as many different Ketchup chips that I could find! 

The next convenience shop down the street had more snacks, but we'll save those for later. No reason to carry them around the rest of the day. These Tornados were a happy find. Filled with pepperoni and cheese, or pepper jack and chicken, they were a tasty snack to enjoy while we wandered around. 

Having satisfied our sweet tooth and grabbed some drinks, now it's time to go back to the Niagara Gorge and hang out. Down this unassuming path. 

With a paved stairway. 

And here we are by the water! 

Getting a really good view of the American Falls from this side. 

And Horseshoe Falls just a little further up the river. 

Time to break out this blanket that I've been carrying around all day! Nothing better than slowing down and enjoying the ambiance when everyone else is rushing to get to the next thing. 

Eat snacks, hearing the falls, and hanging out together. Love it. 

We'll pick up from there on the next installment!