what IS Columbus Day?

Today was a good day. Which makes up for yesterday entirely! We arrived in foggy Niagara Falls at around 8 A.M and obviously headed for the nearest Denny’s and breakfast. The experience was not quite as pleasant as last time due to the fact the service was incredibly bad (and we’re at ones to moan!). They forgot to give me my drink but still tried to charged me anyway and everyone there looked liked they’d rather be somewhere else! However the pancakes were as good as ever so that made up for it!

We asked directions from the cheery bus driver to the falls and set off with great anticipation. One thing that became immediately apparent was the map we picked up was actually TO SCALE which meant we were definitely going to be able to see everything we wanted to and indeed we did!

We joined the rushing river that runs along to the falls just before it’s giant decent. The water was the roughest I’d ever seen and literally seemed to jump and fly over the rocks. At this point Ollie was more interested in capturing a picture of a squirrel perched on the edge of a bin nibbling! 

Anyway we walked through a lovely little park and realising that we were actually on the Canadian boarder, decided to cross it for the day. As we walked along the massive bridge that links the countries together over the basin of Niagara falls we caught our first glimpse of the falls themselves. The U.S.A falls was extremely long and covered with large boulders at it’s base. The Canadian falls, called the ‘horsehow’ was a giant curve of gushing water hurling itself from the edge. This was the more striking to witness of the two we thought. At the border crossing we gained another stamp in our passports (we have two now!), were put under light interrogation as to our plans and finally allowed to cross into Ontario.

Canada is definitely the side to view Niagara Falls from! With stunning views of both falls and plenty of things to do it has been a fantastic day out that we have both enjoyed very much. We took a trip on the MAID OF THE MIST!! So super excited that I got to go on this boat trip as I’ve wanted to do it ever since I saw ‘Bruce Almighty’! (Yes a movie reference Jack!) We got to wear the classic blue ponchos and got absolutely soaked as we motored past the foot of each water fall and held position against the current at the ‘horseshoe’. Spray raged into our faces from every direction and the roar was deafening as it cascaded around us. A rainbow marked our way back to the boat dock. It was all simply beautiful. The pictures of me wearing the poncho were not.

Back on land we walked up the main ‘strip’. A mass crammed collection of all the cheapest and tackiest amusements Canada could find to offer us. For me it spoilt the beauty of the spot a little but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy winning tokens at the arcade and trading them for three Canada juggling balls. The only difference between them and normal juggling balls was the red maple leaf on the side! I did think the wax works museum of America’s most deadly killers was a little disturbing, even just to pass by. What were the patrons of such an establishment thinking?!

It has been another boiling hot day. We thought being so far north the weather might have eased up on us but it wasn’t so. After an hour spent waling around we were due what is now becoming our ‘proverbial’ morning caffeine beverage. Situated within a posh hotel the coffee house was perfect for looking through all our pictures from the boat trip. Feeling the urge to use the toilet I set off to find one. Unable to see any in the coffee house I decided to do what Dad always recommends and attempt to use the facilities of the hotel. Walking up the grand over sized staircase, trying to do my best impression of sophistication, which included trying to cover up the orange juice stain on my top and hastily flicking mud off my shoes I quickly stepped into the ladies. I very much enjoyed my brief moment of luxury and feeling pleased with myself for taking Dad’s age old advice of ‘look the part and you can pee anywhere’ (not his exact words) I walked back out into the reception. Just as I thought I was free (America has tough rules about frequenting restrooms without using the services of the building your in) I realised the manager was standing watching me. 

‘Goodmorning. How ya doin’?’ he beamed.

‘Great thanks how are you?’ I beamed back in ultra confidence. A little astonished at my confidence he let me past but I could tell he was thinking ‘who let a scruffy girl like that have a room here?!’. Anyway I told Ollie how great the toilets were and he went straight up after me and had the courage to have a nose around the place. Who said backpacking had to be all bus station tissue paper covered smelly loos?!

For the rest of the day we wondered about enjoying the sights and having a snooze in the park. During this time I had an unfortunate encounter with a large amount of dog poo which ended up on Ollie’s fingers! It was an odd set of circumstances that led to this precise predicament. Earlier in the day I had complained of how greasy my hair was due to having no shower for two days and spending a whole night on a bus. I had used some dry shampoo on my hair that morning but had some how managed to use it incorrectly (how that happens the mind boggles to understand) and my hair had ended up a giant mass of gloop. Unable to put up with the discomfort any longer I begged Ollie to just let me wash it. As we weren’t staying over I had no other option but to buy a small bottle of shampoo and a large bottle of water and wash my hair that way. I found myself on a disused patch of land at the back of some motel trying to wash my hair before anyone came along and asked what we were doing. During this time I must have stepped in the dog poo. Once the hair had been suitably cleaned Ollie suggested we jump over the nearby fence because he thought it would be a shortcut back to the main street. Bending over to give me a ‘leg up’ he took my shoe in his hand and then let out a giant ‘ewwwww’! The dog poo was all over his fingers and I felt awful. Not a great moment for him. Poor guy but a trip back to the posh hotel toilets soon sorted it!

After all that palaver we decided to use our last bit of weekly budget on dinner at T.G.I Fridays. And it was gooooood! Plus I also got to watch a baseball match which I really enjoyed! At 7P.M Niagara Falls was lit up in all different colours so we stopped by to watch as the sky grew dark and the water came alive in yellows, purples, greens and blues. Just like the postcards we’d seen. We left Canada and crossed by over the boarder to more questions and more stern stares. Waiting at the bus stop shop we watched the start of an NFL match and I tried to work out the rules. I haven’t got very far but I now know tackling off the ball is o.k. and shouting C’MON MAN is funny...

Lastly today was Columbus Day in America. It is a national holiday but after spending the whole holiday weekend trying to work out what Columbus Day actually is we still haven’t a clue. If anyone can offer any answers there might be a postcard in it for you thanks!!

10/10/11