Over MLK weekend I finally checked another destination on my travel bucket list. I took a lovely adventure to Niagara Falls, NY and Niagara Falls, Canada with my dad for his birthday. Well I invited myself, because he planned a solo trip. My Dad was not about to be going somewhere I’ve been wanting to go. It was the most memorizing scenery and the coldest weather I have ever experienced. Freezing my tail off was worth it all in the end!
I was so happy that I didn’t spend a lot of money on gear for the trip. Luckily, I had my snow clothes from my trip to Lake Tahoe last year and they were still in good condition. Dick’s Sporting Goods had the majority of my necessities. There was a specific look I was going for and they came through. Walmart and Shoe Palace held it down too. From Dick’s, I got some snow overalls. My short petite self can fit in the kid’s section so I bought a Large and was in the game. It fit so cute! I was so excited that my look was already coming together. That was the main ingredient. It was only $39.99 ! I’m always looking for a bargain and that was the jackpot ! I spent more on accessories. I purchased a beanie, scarf and scarf. It came out to be more than my snow suit. I bought a pair of Adidas from Shoe Palace and thermal shirts from Walmart in the men’s section. They never have what I want or need in the girl’s or women’s section. The goal was to not spend over $200 and I achieved that.
I flew out of Oakland to Buffalo and met my dad at the airport.
That town is so small. There is nothing out there but Niagara Falls and the Niagara University. The first day we checked in and the concierge hooked us up! I was so happy a black man was there holding it down. He gave us 2 breakfast tickets (one complimentary) and 5 drink tickets (2 complimentary). I started calling him fam. My dad and I had the biggest smile on our face. Like yasssss ! This is a welcome. His hospitality was great ! It set the tone for the remainder of the trip. We checked in our rooms and cleaned up for dinner. There was a Fridays in our hotel so that that was convenient for us to eat. After dinner we went back to our rooms and rested for a second and took a night walk in the snow. It was so freaking cold !!!! We had to test out the night time ready to see what we were getting into and if our clothes were good to go. “We was in the game ! ” as my dad would say. Everything worked out perfect.
We woke up for breakfast the next morning and ate the buffet at Fridays. They had everything you could possibly think of. Some things were a little to salty for me to handle. I’ve been trying to cut back and I’ve been using organic unsalted seasoning on my food for a while. So when I tasted the sausages and potatoes I almost died. It was so salty. My dad doesn’t eat salt either so I had to warn him before he dived it. After breakfast we let our food digest and got dressed to make our way to the USA side of Niagara Falls.
Our hotel was right around the corner from the falls. It was a 7 minute walk around the corner. We were so happy about it too. The view was so pretty. From all different angles and locations that you could see it from. I took a picture everywhere. Looking like real life tourists and I did not care. It was so breath taking. So much snow yet so much water flowing. My dad and I walked around the park taking pictures from all of the attractions. You really risked getting frost bite taking pictures though and people did not care. You had to get that shot. We then hit the gift shop for souvenirs. We take souvenirs so seriously. You have to get all the trinkets, it’s the law for travel. We rested for about 2 hours and took a cab to this historical power plant that my dad really wanted to see. It was pretty cool. I love any opportunity to learn. For dinner we ordered pizza and rested for the next day in Canada.
It was our last day and finally I was able to stand in Canadian soil. I picked a few attractions that I wanted to do and pretty much planned the itinerary. We drove across Rainbow Bridge and entered Canada. I saw the Canadian flag and “Welcome to Ontario” sign and was juiced. The first stop was at the Niagara Sky Wheel. It’s a ferris wheel and from it you can see the falls. The views were crazy ! I couldn’t believe my eyes ! It was an 11 minute ride so you can view the falls from many angles. Definitely one of the best sights I’ve ever seen.
I wanted to check out how Canadian shopping was so we arranged a trip to an outlet about 20 minutes from the Sky Wheel. They had the majority of the same stores we did but I was in Canada so it was a big deal LOL. My dad bought me a few things from Forever 21 and we strolled for about 20 more minutes until our cab came back.
Dinner was next on our agenda at the Skylon Tower.It was a tower that spins around very slowly and you get views of the falls and the rest of the city life.
The restaurant was very nice and dinner tasted flavorful. My dad and I both ate a delicious salmon with rice and veggies. After dinner we went to the observatory and took pictures with the view in the background.
It was worth every cold bone in my body ! Glad I can finally cross Niagara Falls off of my bucket list. Now to plan an entire Canadian vacation is next up 🙂
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