Day 12: Maid of the Mist

We made pancakes this morning. Sadly I forgot to buy bacon at Costco so we had to make due without. We rolled out around 9am today since we read online that the lines can get longer later in the day. We were so glad to make it our early because we got close parking, cheaper parking, and we didn’t wait in line at all for the boat. 

We ventured on the Maid of the Mist which is the boat from the New York side of Niagara Falls. So we had to cross the border this morning and Rainbow bridge. It’s probably called that because there is always mist from the falls and therefore there is a rainbow in the sky probably all the time. Pretty cute, huh?

Here we are before the ponchos and the wet experience! They give you these full body ponchos to wear plus a hood. Those hoods did prove challenging to keep on with the wind, but the thought was there!

Today is a beautiful sunny day so the sun was shining and the mist was appreciated. But then the mist got stronger, and the wind kicked up. The force of the water falling over the ledge creates a huge amount of wind power. You would think that we had stood in front of a powerful industrial fan with how much our hair was blowing around. 

And next, are the wet shots. If you left your hood on then your hair would not have gotten wet. But we also wanted to experience the full effects and we allowed ourselves to get a tiny bit wet. We took a ton of videos and we just laughed as little Kenzie repeatedly said, “we gotta get off this boat.” 

So many laughs. Such big smiles. This was an awesome 30 minute ride and it’s amazing how quickly it was over. The intercom talked to us the whole time and reviewed some Niagara Falls history while the boat took us closer and closer to the falls. Facts about how much water is pouring over the falls.. We also learned that a boy in a life jacket went over the falls and miraculously survived. 

Afterward, we turned in our ponchos and took an elevator back up to the ground level to check out the observation deck and of course, the gift shop. We looked out over the rapids of the river before the falls and then did some souvenir shopping before heading back to the AirBnB as we had already been out for three hours and lunch was needed. We vegged out for a bit. Shared photos of the morning and ate enough to keep us content for a few more hours. Cards games were played, some work was done, and one Papa might have taken a nap. 

And I just woke up from a nap, and now Todd’s napping on my shoulder. We are tired y’all. We are on day 12 of this whirlwind trip and we go go go every day. We tired.

We rotated evening showers since I booked an AirBnB for 11 with one bathroom. Read that sentence again 😬 It’s a delicate balancing act and lots of patience. More games of Go Fish and Clue were played and then a movie and dinner in. With a group this big, it’s best to eat in 😉 Plus we need to eat all of this ice cream because we leave tomorrow for Ithaca!