Tom and Izzy’s last day of school was 3 July and as it was a bank holiday due to Independence Day being on Saturday we decided to make a weekend of it and head to Niagara Falls (a 7 hour drive away)! We all got up at 5am so Tom and Izzy could partake in the school ‘end of year’ quiz, packed the car and headed off at 8am.

About 2 hours into our journey we saw a sign to a view point just off the interstate so pulled in for a break. It was the most disappointing view – just some rolling fields but it meant we could all have some brownies which we had packed for the journey.

4 hours into our journey we stopped at the service station which has the I Love NY sign.

We did another quick services stop and then made it to Niagara by 4.30pm which was pretty good going. We parked up and headed straight to the view point. It was ridiculously hot as there was a heatwave but if you stood in the right place the spray from the falls would cool you down.

^{Niagara Falls View Point}

We were staying at the Hampton Inn Niagara Falls so decided to go and check in and then headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for tea where we were temperature checked before we were allowed in. Stu and I both had burgers and once we had eaten we headed back to the falls to wander up to Three Sisters Islands. We didn’t stay too long as when the sun went down, the bugs came out and we were not wearing bug spray!

Cave of the Winds

The next morning we got up bright and early so we could visit Cave of the Winds. Due to Covid there was a limited number of tickets available each day so we needed to get there early as they tended to sell out by mid morning. Luckily we got tickets for 10am so spent an hour or so exploring Niagara State Park whilst waiting for our time slot.

We needed to go down to Cave of the Winds in the lift and only one family group could enter at a time – which was lovely as it meant it was very quiet. I imagine normally on a Saturday you would queue the whole time.

^{Cave of the Winds}

Once we got outside we put on our yellow ponchos and made our way to the viewing platforms at the bottom of the Falls.

Walking around the viewing platforms we got absolutely soaked. Parts of the walkway were covered in about 5 inches of flowing water and the spray coming off the falls was huge. As there were very few people we were able to take our time and capture some brilliant photographs.

^{Getting wet on the viewing platforms}

The final platform was closest to the falls so obviously the wettest. At this point we were so drenched we just decided to have some fun and take some great pictures. Unfortunately it was very hard to film using the Go-pro as it was just getting covered in water. It was also difficult using our phones as our hands were so wet we struggled to get the touch screen to work!

We had such a fun morning – probably helped by the fact that due to social distancing we practically had the place to ourselves.

Fort Niagara State Park

Although we had bought tickets online for Maid of the Mist we decided to save that for Sunday and do something a bit different. I have always wanted to see the Great Lakes so we headed up to Fort Niagara State Park which is on Lake Ontario.

It was only 15 minutes away and when we arrived we found out that there was an outdoor swimming pool and as we had all the swimming kit in the car we let Tom and Izzy go to the pool (once I had a look at the lake!) At the lake you could just see Toronto in the distance.

We did consider visiting the Fort but it was really expensive so gave it a miss.

^{Outdoor pool at Fort Niagara State Park}

Whirlpool State Park

On the way back to Niagara we stopped off at Whirlpool State Park. We walked to the rim where you could look down at the river and see whirlpools and rapids.

^{Whirlpool State Park}

We found a trail which took you down to the river but it was so hot, we were unprepared as not carrying enough water and we were tired so decided to return Sunday afternoon after our boat trip to hike down.

^{Whirlpool State Park}

We headed back to the hotel and ventured to Olive Garden for tea. It was our first trip to Olive Garden and it did not disappoint. I went for the Chicken Parmigiana which I really need to learn how to make. Stu had the Tour of Italy which was a trio of lasagne, fettuccine alfredo and chicken parmigiana.

Maid of the Mist

On Sunday we got up early again so we could do the Maid of the Mist nice and early. I think there was a capacity of 50 on the boat which was great as it meant there was plenty of space. For this we were given blue ponchos – which were definitely needed.

^{Views from Maid of the Mist}

Whirlpool State Park Hike

We were off the boat by 9.45am so headed straight back to Whirlpool State Park to hike down to the river before it got too hot. The hike down was pretty easy as it was mostly a stone staircase.

Once at the bottom there was a short walk along the river to a rocky bit of land where we could sit and admire the view. We watched a rip boat which took people on a river rapid ride. We could also see a cable car going over the rapids but as that was on the Canadian side it was out of bounds for us!

^{Whirlpool State Park}

We headed back to the hotel to relax for the afternoon before going to Longhorn Steak House for tea. We all had to have steak and it was really good. I had a side of jacket potato with sour cream, cheese and bacon which I have had to make since. We were wanting it to go dark so we could see Niagara Falls all lit up so let the kids have desert to waste some time and they went for a chocolate sharing pudding.

We headed back to the Falls to wait for it to go dark to see the lights……we concluded that although pretty they are better from the Canadian side.