Erie, PA/ Niagara Falls, Ontario

We woke up this morning in Cranberry, PA which is just north of the city of Pittsburgh. A friend on Plurk suggested that we eat at a place called Eat-N-Park which happened to be right down from our hotel. After breakfast we decided to go to Niagara Falls, Ontario, then decided to go to Toronto first and work our way south back home after that. Then we arrived in Erie where there were lots of things to do so we spent most of the morning and early afternoon there. We went across to Preque Isle State Park which is right in Lake Erie. It was a beautiful park and we got out to walk along the beach and see one of the lighthouses. It was really hard to believe that we weren’t looking at an ocean and only seeing a lake because there were lots of waves as the water hit the beach. After the park, we went downtown to see the festival Celebrate Erie which had a lot of vendors so we found a great lunch (sausage hoagie with peppers and onions, cheese fries and a drink).

When we left Erie, we decided to spend the night in Buffalo but when we got to Buffalo, it was still early so we decided we would go on to Toronto. Luckily I went online to try to find a hotel, and the ones downtown near the Canadian National Exhibition was about $200 a night plus $30 a night for parking so we changed our mind and decided we would save that trip for another time. Instead we headed to Niagara Falls, Ontario. I didn’t realize how long it would take to cross the border because the traffic was horrendous. There weren’t any clear lanes and people were switching lanes and cutting in front of others. Finally we got to the border patrol where we were asked bunches of questions and then told to go to an area where they could search our car. My poor baby car was strip searched. They went through it with a fine tooth comb and I wish I knew what they were looking for but I know they wouldn’t find it in my car.

Finally we arrived at our hotel, Hampton Inn at the Falls which is only a couple of blocks away from the falls. I was so hungry at this time that we went to Burger King for dinner. We both got a Whopper value meal that cost me $18.01 USD! I have never paid that much at a fast food restaurant for a hamburger before! Then we walked along the water front and saw the falls. They were beautiful! Once it got dark, they turned the lights on the falls and the lights changed colors so they looked like a rainbow at times. At 10pm, they had a fireworks show over the falls and then we headed back for some much needed rest.