Susie's 65th-Part 2-Cave of the Winds, Niagara Falls, USA

Monday 25th June, 2018 - 1 of 4

I'm 65 today, officially an old person!!  I have been dreading this birthday and feeling old!!!  I've never dreaded any of the previous milestone birthdays, 40, 50, 60, but this one was playing on my mind.  That is, until we made a final decision, about 10 days ago, to come to Niagara Falls.  I was suddenly excited about my birthday.  WooHoo!!

Many of you will know that Niagara Falls was part of our trip that we cancelled, so that I could be with Mum and help her when she was diagnosed with Lung Cancer, and when she subsequently passed away in 2014.  I was so fortunate that I was able to be with her those last 3 months and am ever thankful to Bryan for being so understanding.

Anyway, we had planned on Niagara again this year, but had decided to cancel again, as we had some unexpected expenses and couldn't really afford it. It was as if the trip was doomed.  Then we received a good offer for a room.  We decided we didn't know when we would have the opportunity again, and you don't know what is around the corner. So we decided to do it.  Then there was a whirlwind of organizing and here we are.

Bryan said I should make the decision of what we did today as it was my birthday.  I did some research and decided I would like to go to Cave of the Winds, followed by a trolley tour, if we felt like it afterwards.  I determined that we would be able to see all of the American side of the falls from Goat Island. I did run it by him and he said that was fine with him. Yay!!!!

It was a short trip from the base to Goat Island and we took the scenic road.

The spray was our first view of the Falls

We entered Niagara Falls State Park, which is where the Falls and Cave of the Winds are.  There is a lot to do here, fabulous walking and biking trails.  There is also a Discovery Pass available for $46 which covers a lot of the attractions including Cave of the Winds, Maid of the Mist, Aquarium of Niagara, one day on the trolley bus, and a couple of other things.  Good value, however we didn't purchase one as we have paid for a tour of the Canadian side tomorrow, and will be going on the Hornblower boat.

Individual tickets for Cave of the Winds are $19 each and the trolley is $3 for an all day on and off pass.  Parking by Cave of the Winds and the falls on Goat Island is $10/day. The Discovery Pass does not include this.  There are other parking areas that are cheaper and some free spots, and you can park in other areas and get the trolley over to the island. We decided we wanted to be central here, and the parking fee was worth it to us.

We parked the car and got our tickets for Cave of the Winds.  They tell you to get here early to ensure you can get tickets.  We didn't arrive until after 11am, and fortunately only had to wait 15 minutes for the next available tour.

There is an amusement style line to go through, including a room to wait in with informative information, and a movie room showing the history of the falls.  To be honest, I wasn't impressed with either as I just wanted to get to the falls.  I'm not the most patient of people, ha!!ha!!

Eventually we were "loaded" into an elevator and taken down to the walkway outside.  Although this is called "Cave", it's not what you would think of as a cave.  More of a tunnel.

Our first view outside.

                           

Included in the $19 entrance fee is a pair of water shoes and a poncho as you will get wet!!!

A nice souvenir

Don't we look glamorous!!

They give you a plastic bag to put your shoes in

Bryan putting the water protection cover on his camera.  It definitely needed it.

Bryan ready to go on the other tiers. We went down to the one on the left next.

                                    

Close up view of Bryan.  Look at the fabulous footwear.  We definitely needed the water shoes though!!!

There were LOTS of birds flying and sitting around.  So, here I was getting water on my face, and being dive-bombed by birds!!!  Those of you that know me, know that those are my two greatest fears.  I handled both like a champ. I really am getting braver in my old age!!!

Seagulls

Baby Seagull

More seagulls

The next two pictures are at the right of Bridal Veil Falls and have small waterfalls and streams coming from there.

This seagull has an awesome view.

                            

In the next picture, look for the Hornblower boat at the bottom of the falls.  We will be on that boat tomorrow!!!!  Yikes!!!

Horseshoe Falls, Hornblower boat & more seagulls :)

View of the Canadian side.  Can you see any seagulls? 😂

We will be staying in the Hilton Fallsview hotel, shown in the next picture on Thursday night. 😀

The building to the right is the Hilton Fallsview on the Canadian side.

Maid of the Mist goes to the base of the Horseshoe Falls from the American side

Here are some pictures taken from the tiered walkway of the American Falls (on the left) & Bridal Veil falls (on the right).  We got very wet and didn't go up to the top tiers, or the hurricane deck. 

Spot the seagulls?

The sound and power of the water was very powerful.  I tried to Facebook live from here but discovered that I must have lost the signal as it didn't turn out.  This was the closest we got to the bottom of the American Falls, pretty close!!!

The following pictures are Bridal Veil Falls

Can you see the people at the top left.  We will be up there later.  See Luna Island blog.

What's that flying???

The Hornblower cruise on her way to the base of Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side.  See the blog for tomorrow for pictures from that cruise.

Looking as though they are packed like sardines!!!! Hmmmm!!

We disposed of our ponchos as we knew we would get more tomorrow but we kept our water shoes.

The wait to go back up in the elevator wasn't bad and once back outside we decided to treat ourselves with an ice-cream and contemplate what to do next.

We decided to go and get on the Niagara Scenic Trolley.  An all day on/off pass costs $3, a bargain.

To be continued on Niagara Scenic Trolley Blog.