A stroll along Falls Ave alone can leave you in awe if you’ve never been to Niagara Falls before. The street is filled with restaurants, haunted museums (House of Frankenstein, Haunted House, Ripley’s believe it or not), theatres, shops, ice cream parlours and so much more. There is also a big ferris wheel that somehow fits in this already crowded area. When you remove your eye from one thing, something else catches it. You find yourself constantly looking back for fear you missed something important. One building has a man hanging from a rope; moving in an up and down motion as if climbing it. On first view you think it’s real, but when you look back you realize it’s a dummy. When deciding what to eat, that might take awhile because the restaurants are in quantities! Even Burger King looks appealing! It’s called, “the House of Whopper” in this location. I decided to sit and eat there. I took a window seat so I could get full view of the bustle of activities. So many people! People come in all kinds of colour, shapes and sizes. It’s hard to dissect tourists. I completed my meal and joined the crowd. Every space is occupied by a body, it’s hard to maneuver myself. What other country look as diverse as this one?

I’m walking towards the famous Niagara Falls. I arrive at the end of Falls Ave and I cross the street. I see signs about the prices for “Maid of the mist”- this is an opportunity to get in a boat and go up close to the falls. I’m going to pass on this activity today because it’s too cold to get wet. A couple years ago I had a chance to walk under the falls, which is another activity you have to pay for. I continue to walk along the boardwalk with people travelling in opposite directions with cameras, eyes on the falls. There are two falls. The first is on the U.S side though it flows out into Canada as far as I can see. Right next to it, is the Canadian falls. In comparison, the Canadian falls is like a giant or like a great great Grandfather. Where do all this water come from? And where is it going? It flows so powerful that it leaves this great mist and looks more like smoke is exuding from the water.

What about falls that people like so much? Tourists come from near and far to take pictures. The rain is drizzling but no one is taking shelter. They seem mesmerize by the presence of such a spectacle. I stop for a moment to stare at the falls. I’m surprised to see what looks like a hundreds of birds flocking around. There is a white residue that floats to the edges of the stream? Lake? Boats are in the water conducting tours, going as near to the falls as possible, then turning back.  I wonder if it would be at all possible to climb this falls the way I climbed Dunn’s River? The powerful current and energy of the water washes that thought away. I would probably die if I tried.

Niagara Falls was a great experience. I’ve only seen it a few times. Viewing the falls at night is a completely different experience than during the day. And coming to the Niagara Falls area during Christmas time is also a sight to see with all the lights.