Niagara at night

Horseshoe Falls

The water begins its decent

Niagara Falls had long been on our bucket list and we had been told that they are best viewed from the Canadian side. Since we had applied for a Southwest credit card and earned enough points for two free roundtrip tickets we opted to fly direct from Las Vegas to Buffalo, NY and rent a car. Later when we contacted the credit card company about travel plans, we were pleased to learn that if we charged the car rental to our Southwest Visa, we had the added bonus of no deductible collision insurance (luckily not needed)!

The drive from Buffalo International to Niagara is only about 20 minutes, but you need to allow an additional 30-60 minutes to cross the border. Luckily, in August we still had several hours of daylight to enjoy the spectacular views. Parking is at a premium near the Falls, but we decided to splurge and pay $15 for a close parking spot. It was worth it! We were able to view Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls in full daylight from many angles. Fortunately we had our raincoats to shield us from the mist. At one spot you can almost touch the water as it builds up speed, rolls and bubbles before cascading to its destiny below. Seeing is one thing, but hearing the thunderous rumble and power is quite amazing. I could not stop snapping photos.We decided to have dinner at the Edgewaters Restaurant just so that we could continue to enjoy the view and stay until after dark. We were pleasantly surprised with the prices and extremely happy with the food. The seafood chowder was so good, I went back the next day for more. Strawberries were in season, and they had a delightful strawberry spinach salad on the menu. We sat at an outdoor balcony table with just a hint of mist touching us every now and then. The temperature was in the low 70’s so it was a perfect evening. Promptly at 9PM the flood lights lit up the waters below……..pink, blue, yellow, purple. Now perfect turned into memorable!

View from Edgewater Restaurant

Amazing seafood gumbo