When I reserved our room at the base I enquired about tours and the lady told me Gray Line Tours picked up at the base and gave a military rate. She also recommended the Canadian tour as she thought the Hornblower cruise was better than Maid of the Mist. She actually confirmed what I was thinking from what I had read. So, we booked the Rainbow Tour for today. It was supposed to pick us up at 11am but the time changed to 9am and we met the driver at the base gate. Captain Ron greeted us and we were the first ones on the bus. He told us the bus wouldn't be full so to feel free to stretch out. We got front row seats.
We made stops at four other locations and then we were on our way. The crowd was a very friendly happy lot. A mother and daughter sat behind me and after they found out that I was a little worried about the boat and getting my face wet, they adopted me. Telling me I could stand between them if I wanted. It was very sweet.
We waited on the Rainbow Bridge to enter Canada and got our first view of the falls from this angle.
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| American & Bridal Veil Falls in the forefront, Horseshoe Falls at the back. |
We got through customs with no problems and then the girl that had adopted me, and was the outgoing person of the group, organized a group picture. She arranged to send it to everyone. It was a good idea. Here we are outside Canadian Customs, with Ron, our driver and tour guide.
Our first stop was the Hornblower Boat Tour for their cruise to the bottom of the falls. I was happy about this as it meant I could get it over and done with, and not have to worry about it all day. Because we were in a group, we got led through very quickly.
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| Waiting in line to get on the boat. |
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| Still waiting |
The ladies that offered to help me found us. I told them that I would be Ok. They ended up going on the top deck.
We were given capes, but surprisingly no water shoes. However, our feet didn't get wet.
Once we were on the boat we were off.
Two boats ahead of us, red one just leaving the falls, blue one waiting to enter. We would be next.
The red Hornblower boat returning past the Bridal Veil Falls & American Falls. We were on our way to Horseshoe Falls.
The next pictures are our journey as we got closer and closer.
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| American Falls |
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| American Falls & Bridal Veil Falls on right |
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| Going past the American Falls |
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| Calmer waters between the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls |
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| Approaching Horseshoe Falls |
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| Closer |
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| CLoser |
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| CLOser |
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| CLOSer |
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| CLOSEr |
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| CLOSER |
At this point we were getting wet and not really able to see anything, so we went to the other side of the boat. Thankfully, the boat was not packed like sardines as we saw yesterday, and we were able to walk around quite easily. Changing sides at this moment was the BEST thing we could have done, as we were now on the same side as the Horseshoe Falls and would get the closest to it. Surprisingly, we did not get the spray on this side until we were turning to start back. So, we had quite a while just admiring being so close and the amazing roar of the water crashing all around us. It might not look like it but I did loosen up my hood so I could at least see.
I just stood at the rail, watched and listened to the falls. It was amazing. At no time was I scared, I just really was in awe.
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| CLOSE!!!!!! |
There is a Zipline to the falls. This is the platform where you land. I believe it starts up near where the Hornblower boat starts. It doesn't go over the water at all, just alongside. It didn't look that impressive to me.
We made it safe, sound and dry back to the bus.
Next, it was time for lunch. I will continue our day in the next blog.
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