Niagara Falls

God's creation is so beautiful and I am so glad I got to see another one of his amazing works! The whole experience was wonderful and our tour of Niagara Falls was especially one I would recommend if you ever get the chance to go. So, here we go! I worked all day Friday and Saturday. The Rochester WoF conference went really well and I hadn't been to one since April and I really missed it. I love going in and sitting with the ladies when I can and feeling God's presence in the arena. After the conference on Saturday, Jodi and I left on our road trip to Canada. We stopped at a little restuarant called Alex's Place in Batavia, NY. It was really good and then it was back on the road. We got to the Canadian border, had our passports ready to go, got interegated on why we were coming to Canada, and after answering each question correctly were able to get in. I was officially in Canada! We got to our hotel, checked in and looked out our window to see the beautiful Niagara Falls

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Jodi in front of Alex's Place

View from our hotel room

On Sunday, Jodi and I slept pretty late b/c I still hadn't caught up from the loveliness of the 4 hours of sleep I got on Thursday night. We got up, and since our tour wasn't until 3pm, we decided to shop around. We ate lunch at Ruby Tuesday and then the shopping began! Niagara Falls, the city, is very much a tourist town. There were souvenir shops every other shop and tons of things to do, especially for the kids. It was really fun. We bought our gifts and then headed back for our tour.

Downtown Niagara Falls

We did the Grayline Bus tour and it was fantastic. We started out by going to the Sky View Tower so we could get an aerial view of the falls. Breathtaking. Next, it was off to the 3-d movie about the creation of the falls. Just FYI...Niagara Falls is 7,000 years old. Then, to the biggest part of the tour, we went on the boat - The Maid of the Mist! This was probably the most exciting part of the tour. We grabbed our ponchos, loaded onto the boat and headed out. We went by the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and finally Horseshoe Falls. All of these falls are what make up Niagara Falls. We got soaked but it was so worth it to be right there. We then went to a souvenir shop and ate a snack. It was then off to see the Niagara Floral Clock which is made up entirely of roses - so cool! Moving on, it was off to the Whirlpool Rapids - which is at the far end of the falls and where they originated. Finally, it was back to Table Rock to get an upclose view of the falls right at the top of the falls. I got wet again but this time, I had no poncho! Did I say it was Amazing? It completely made me thankful again for all God's beautiful creation.

Horseshoe Falls from the Sky View Tower

American Falls from the Sky View Tower

Jodi & I on the Maid of the Mist boat

The American Falls

The water about to fall!

That was the end of the tour and we had the best tour guide - Myrna. She was a lot of fun and gave us all the great info about Niagara Falls and had good jokes along the way. Jodi and I packed up and when we went to get our luggage, they told me that my zipper was completely broken and my bag was barely staying shut. Ok, no big deal, we will just stop by the store and get another one on the way back to Rochester that night. So we go on our way and we are in rural upstate New York and it's not like Dallas where there is an exit every mile and a Wal-Mart off the side of the road. We start going and we can't find anything so we pull over to a Dunkin Donuts where I ask for directions to the nearest Wal-Mart. Got it, so we go and I buy my new piece of luggage. We are on our way home! Then, I decide I want to look at my pictures one more time, go to get the camera and realize it's no where to be found in the vehicle. Yep, it fell out at the Dunkin Donuts when I jumped out to ask for directions. I had taken a picture of the falls as we crossed the bridge back to the US one last time, put the camera, in my lap, and must have falled in between the door and the seat and then when I jumped out to ask for directions, fell out of the car. :-( But it's ok, I have the memories!!!!!

Me, Myrna (our tour guide) & Jodi

Thankfully, Jodi has her pics and we took extra of each other just in case and yea, I have pictures again! I actually uploaded some of my ones from Saturday night so just the Sunday pics were gone. When we got to the hotel late Sunday night we checked in slept for a couple of hours and then it was off to the airport at 5am to catch our flight home. The sweet hotel worker said we looked tired Sunday night so she said she would pay for our cab to the airport. So nice! Of course our flight was delayed but we made it!

All in all, I'm so glad Jodi and I decided to go to Niagara Falls after the conference. I am glad I went with her and am so thankful to her b/c she took care of everything from the planning, to the hotel, rental car, etc...and I got to enjoy it with her. Thank you Jodi!!! I had a great time! There are pics throughout this blog but I will post more in separate blog later.

Me, my broken luggage & my new luggage ready to come home!