My best friend is in town, and so we decided to head out to Niagara Falls together, in December!! I had never been either, and a fun road trip – even at the worst possible times to visit a waterfall – was incredibly exciting! I don’t even remember what tour bus I booked, but it included a one night hotel stay in Buffalo at the Holiday Inn. The hotel turned up to be very comfortable and convenient; the Chinese bus we found ourselves in for about 20 hrs total, not so much … We left early in the morning, with a group of other overly energetic youngsters, up to nonstop pranks, and soon enough, as we descended unto Corning New York, it was heavily snowing.
After what seemed an endless journey, of innocent laughter constantly interrupted by the angry Chinese tour guide lady, we stopped on the American side of Niagara Falls for about an hour. The view was stunning, and the weather was … colder than we expected 🙂
The next morning, we drove to the Niagara Falls State Park. We saw both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls, but we left the cruise up-close for a warmer time 🙂 As we carefully navigated on the icy pavement, we were greeted by the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen. I quickly snapped a few pictures, until my hands froze and my hair turned into Titanic like frozen locks.
I took several sepia snapshots to capture the feel of Niagara Falls on a cold December day. It was difficult to walk and enjoy the scenery, given the cold, but I wouldn’t take it back. It was magical and creepy at the same time to see it from a different perspective; it certainly helps to have someone hold your hand – I saw many people graciously sliding on their backs!
Despite the chilling cold, most people were taking pictures. I love to immortalize spontaneous moments of people – in this instance of a young man trying to capture the magnitude of a natural wonder.
As we went closer, I took several more pictures and videos, that honestly don’t do any justice to the enormity of the waterfalls. The scenery is truly impressive; it’s grand and roaring with intensity.
Zooming in the valley of the waterfall, where summer tours are organized, it resembled the valley of the shadow of death … So dark and scary, especially during winter time.
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Next time I visit Niagara Falls, I will surely take a boat trip, and dine at the Top of the Falls Restaurant.
As we got back, the bus left us in Chinatown, where we managed to crash a Chinese wedding in my unfashionably hot pink sweatpants. Wait, what? Long story … 🙂