The Landlocked Travelers

Is it super touristy? Yes.
Is it breathtakingly beautiful? Also yes.

I know what you’re thinking… “Shelly, I thought this was supposed to be a cruise and sun vacations blog?? Last time I checked, Niagara Falls doesn’t fit the criteria!!” Well, that may be true, but I felt compelled to write about it anyway. And it’s good to be a well rounded Landlocked Traveler! 😁

About a year ago, in June 2022, I was heading to Niagara Falls for a conference and I was super excited! I had never been there but had wanted to go since I was a kid. Since the conference ran from Wednesday morning to Friday at noon, we decided Jerry should fly in Friday so we could spend the weekend together!

I got a 6 AM direct flight out of Saskatoon to Toronto on Tuesday. Upon landing at YYZ it was time to find the place where I would catch the Niagara Airbus. It’s $187 + tax per adult, but I had a conference rate so it was a bit cheaper. The bus left at the expected time and then it was time to spend the next hour and a half sightseeing on the way to my hotel. Coming from the Prairies, I thought it was cool seeing tons of vineyards along the way!

Lucky for me, I was able to book a falls view room out of the rooms the conference had blocked! I stayed at the Niagara Falls Marriott on the Falls, and this was my view!

Here are some photos of the American Falls! In one you can see the Rainbow Bridge between Canada and the US, and in another you can see the Maid of the Mist boat on the river!

And some gorgeous pics of the Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls with a rainbow, once the sun came out! 🌈

Every evening they illuminate the falls with colors that change every few minutes! And there are fireworks every night at 10 PM from approximately May to October! It was so beautiful!

The next day was conference time! Once late afternoon hit and it was done for the day, I went out walking again. It was an absolutely gorgeous day!

I walked around Clifton Hill, taking pics of the Speedway and the SkyWheel, along with Skylon Tower, and some beautiful gardens. I kept seeing people walking around with these outrageous ice cream cones, so I decided to try one myself, the Birthday Cake cone from Sweet Jesus.

Later I had some delicious meatloaf for dinner at Turtle Jack’s near my hotel, and then of course watched the color changing falls and fireworks from my hotel room. (I did that every night!! 🎆)

Thursday was a full conference day again, which included a roaring 20s themed “fun night”, so no exploring for me that day.
Friday was the last day and only a partial day, so while I was at my conference, Jerry hopped on an early flight from Edmonton (this was when we were dating long distance) and met me at the hotel shortly after 3 PM. Unfortunately, he didn’t have as good of an experience on the bus from Toronto as I did, and was feeling pretty dizzy and nauseous by the time he got there! 🤢

Little did I know, I was about to get a big surprise! Jerry sat me down in a chair facing the window, and told me to close my eyes. Then I waited while he was rummaging through his stuff, and when he told me to open my eyes, there was a beautiful Glacier Fire Canadian Diamond ring in his hand! There, in front of the beautiful view of Niagara Falls right outside our window, he asked me to be his partner for life, his person. I was super surprised, but of course I said yes! There was nothing I wanted more. 💍❤

That night we had the all-you-can-eat BBQ at Frontier BBQ, just a short walk from our hotel. It was soooo good, and reasonably priced for what you get! And of course, Jerry got his favorite cocktail – a chocolate martini. Plus, we sat on the patio where they had musicians playing.

The rest of the night we just walked around enjoying the sights.

Saturday morning, it was time to find a breakfast spot. We settled on IHOP at the Fallsview Tower Hotel. Well, we soon found out this is not your ordinary run of the mill IHOP. We got sticker shock when we opened the menu!! You are definitely paying for the views, more than the food. Everything was around $25-$35. It was good but not THAT good. 🤣😂

Then it was time to take the Voyage to the Falls Boat Tour on the Hornblower by Niagara City Cruises! You can buy your tickets online for whatever timeslot you want, then go to the designated area before your cruise time. They give you a poncho to wear, and trust me, you will need it! Ha ha! The boat ride takes about 20 minutes, and there is a recording playing which explains facts about the falls. Tickets were approximately $35 per adult and we thought it was worth it for a once in a lifetime experience!

We went back to the hotel to change for our dinner at the Skylon Tower Revolving Restaurant. Now this is definitely not cheap, but in our opinion, it’s an experience you don’t want to miss while in Niagara Falls! You are seated facing the windows, and the scenery keeps changing as the restaurant slowly revolves. The food was amazing as well. We had escargot, calamari, lamb and chilean sea bass. And of course, wine! Yum!

After eating, we went out onto the observation deck, where the views were absolutely breathtaking.

And, of course, we had to buy the photos that they took of us with different backgrounds! 😁

We were absolutely stuffed after our dinner, so it was a good thing we had a nice long walk over to Clifton Hill, where we were excited to ride the Niagara SkyWheel! There was a pretty long line up, so we waited about 30 minutes until it was our turn to board. The closer we got, the more we realized we might have accidentally timed it perfectly to be near the top of the SkyWheel when the nightly fireworks began at 10 PM!! And yes, we were able to watch the fireworks from high up above. It was an awesome ride that lasted approximately 10 minutes. Tickets are $15 + tax, and you can get them in advance here.

Sunday morning we found a cheaper breakfast place, and then did some shopping before Jerry had to catch the bus back to Toronto airport, and then his flight back to Edmonton. I was staying another night and flying home Monday, as the price difference between flying back Sunday vs Monday was astronomical!
My flight home didn’t leave until Monday evening, so that morning I decided to take an Uber to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara-on-the-Lake is a really pretty town about 25 minutes from Niagara Falls, with lots of beautiful shops, restaurants and wineries! I wished I had more time to spend there. Just a note, there is a shuttle bus between Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake, which would have been a much cheaper option than Uber (Uber was $45 each way!), however in 2022 it was starting service for the summer around the 3rd week of June, so a week or so after I was there.

And that was that! It was time for me to say goodbye to beautiful Niagara Falls and head back to the airport for my 9:35 PM flight back to Saskatoon.

Final thoughts: Yes, Niagara Falls is very touristy, commercialized and expensive. BUT, it's something that everyone should see once, in my opinion. The sheer magnitude of the water that flows over the falls (3,160 tons per second) is mind blowing. The falls are mesmerizing... I could stare at them forever.
If you'd rather not stay right in Niagara Falls, there are many day trips you can take from Toronto. You can see tons of options here for every taste and budget.

As always, thanks for reading and SEA you soon!
Shelly

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Jerry’s Corner:

Well, hello everyone, hope you all are keeping safe!

In this corner of the Niagara Falls blog, I’d like to talk about the atmosphere and events of our short trip to the falls.

The weekend we were there, they were having a music festival. There were lots of live bands at most of the bars, pubs, and restaurants. We were lucky enough to sit down and have a few drinks and listen to many great local artists, as well as others from all around. I especially enjoyed some country music as we ate at the all you can eat BBQ place. As well, I very much enjoyed the Hard Rock Cafe patio bands. There were so many but these two stood out for me!

Niagara Falls was amazing to relax and watch so many other people having a great time with all the things to do and sights to see. It’s not just a place to watch water flow off a cliff. Clifton Hill area kind of has a carnival feel to the place. There’s a wax museum, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, rides, games and so much more! It’s easy to spend a few days here and not be bored. I highly recommend visiting Niagara Falls at least once in your lifetime.

Be safe, be kind, and see you next time at Jerry’s Corner!

Jerry

P.S. I’ve heard winters in Niagara Falls are beautiful as well!