New York, New York

Saturday morning, we awakened to a bright sun and got ready for the day.

This is a good time to mention the "bower". The bed and breakfast room/suite we were in had its own bathroom. It was in the corner (we were basically in an attic) and had really low ceilings. It had this really neat clawfoot tub with a handheld shower attached to the faucet.  So to take a shower, we had to crouch in the tub and hold this little handheld shower over our heads.  That was quite an experience.  We dubbed the set up as the "bower" (bath + shower= bower).  I will say, I appreciate our shower at home that much more now...

At 9 (prompt!), we had our breakfast part of the "bed and breakfast".  Our "appetizer" was a slice of grilled pineapple topped with a blueberry sauce. Oh, yum.  Then we were served homemade buttermilk pancakes with ricotta cheese between each pancake, also topped with a blueberry sauce.  Double yum.  After that, we were deeply disappointed that we would have to leave so early the next day that we would miss breakfast.  We were also thankful we had some walking planned for the day after such a big meal to start the day.  It was  neat/interesting to meet the other couples staying at the b and b...two were from Michigan and another from Florida.  We had to laugh...one of the big topics of discussion at breakfast was about vineyard tours.  Apparently they all had or were planning to do one.  We (who are not really drinkers) just nodded; we had planned to hike for the day, possibly grabbing a bottle of water along the way.

We set out for the Rainbow Bridge I mentioned in yesterday's post.  We had to pay 50 cents to walk across it which was quite a bargain compared to the many other tolls we had paid along the way.

Here is a view of the Falls from the bridge.

Horseshoe Falls

Walking across the bridge...that is Niagara, Canada to the right of Mark.

The American Falls and Bridal Veil (the furthest right)

Can you guess why it is called Rainbow Bridge? :)

Getting back into the US wasn't difficult.  In fact, it moved rather quickly for pedestrians. I think the great number of tour buses probably was a bit slower...

Once in New York, we decided to do a little hiking.  We followed the Great Gorge Railway Trail, a 2.5 mile trail along the Niagara River (away from the Falls).

Here is our bed and breakfast, a view from ACROSS the river.  (Loving the zoom on my new camera)

There were overlooks along the way.  We loved this view of Rainbow Bridge with the Falls behind it.

A view of Niagara, Canada.  You can see the Maid of the Mist boats already making their rounds.

Following the River...notice how "calm" it looks right now.

I have never been to New York City, but I will admit, that cityscape is the first image that comes to mind when I think of New York.  Yet New York also has some beautiful natural scenery.  We were amazed at the heights of these bluffs (and possibly cursing them later when we climbed a very high stairway to get off the trail...).

Another view looking back

After a while of walking along the calm river, we discovered the rapids.

The force of the water was amazing.  I wish we had been able to walk a little further down to see more of the rapids along with the "whirlpool" area but there was construction at the end of this trail and we had to exit.

Something I learned:  Though the high was only supposed to be 74 for the day, I learned that 74 is MUCH warmer there than it is at home.  I was really sorry I had worn jeans (and almost wore a jacket).  By this time, I was a hot, sweaty, mess, and not in a good way. :)

A glance at the Canadian flag across the river...

Something else I learned:  In Canada, if we were near the river, my phone was NOT roaming. I could call home, check e-mail, etc. as if I were at home.  Yet in parts of New York, I was "roaming" and would be charged international fees for calling someone!

Anywho, once we climbed up the stairway to exit the trail (huffing and puffing the whole way), we somehow missed where we needed to go and ended up walking along the streets of Niagara, New York.  It wasn't nearly as beautiful. We had a highway on one side, and a city full of cement on the other side.  But eventually we made it back to the Discovery Center where we had started our hike.  And there, two hours after we began (and about 4 + miles down for the day), we promptly bought trolley tickets to reach our next destination...

More to come!

Reba