Niagara Falls was full of tourists. Who'da thunk it? People visiting one of the great natural wonders of the world? Amazing.
I'd been there a couple of times before, but in really cruddy weather. Those times we only saw a few hardy souls, who braved the winds and cold to stand on the unprotected banks of the Niagara River and shiver. Saturday it was full of people speaking dozens of languages, with only a handful of Americans. It was kinda cool hearing the Quebecois visitors chattering half in French and half in English and being able to understand all of it....that high school French still comes in handy sometimes.
The falls are so different now than when we were on our honeymoon 30+years ago (on our way to a cow auction). Then there were just concrete reinforced banks and water. A lot of water. Now there are fences, parks, walkways, and people. Of course on Saturday the weather was great.
It all started with a visit to Bass Pro that wasn't. We had stopped at the Seneca Falls McDonald's and Alan said, "I don't really want to go to Bass Pro. It would be cheaper just to drive out to Niagara Falls. Wanna go?"
See, his impulse control in stores that sell objects that propel pointy bits of soft metal rapidly through the air is not the best. Hard to get out with his wallet intact. And Bass Pro fits that description.
So we went. I would not have recognized the place. Besides the lovely infrastructure, all was much quieter. The ground did not shake even on the closest approaches to the water. I guess this is because of the many hydroelectric plants that divert water into power generation, but it was not loud and the ground did not tremble.
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