Niagara Falls {Part 1}

For our 5 year anniversary, Sal planned a trip for us. I received an amazing booklet, that he had made with all of the information and where we would be headed on Christmas Eve. We were headed to Niagara Falls in January! We didn't realize that it was going to be as cold as it was, but we were smart enough to pack warm clothes, and when I say warm, I'm talking about long johns, winter jackets, and hats, gloves, and scarves! The morning that we were set to leave, Sal received an upsetting phone call... his grandma had took a turn for the worst the night prior, and had passed away that morning. I was running late... I was supposed to pick him up at 7:30am, but hadn't gotten there until 7:45/8:00am, so fortunately for him he was able to be with his family when the phone rang. I'm thankful I was able to give him that time with his family, before we were together on a mini-vacation for three days.

We started driving, and before we knew it we were driving through Pennsylvania and New York. That was when we decided to stop for breakfast, not only because we were starving, but also because the wind was so strong that my truck was literally swerving on the highway. It was dangerous and had caused us to lose time and gas. So we thought it was better to stop and fill ourselves with breakfast! We ate breakfast at Perkin's, and luckily enough for me they had a few healthy options! We were back on the road before we knew it. When Sal and I drive short distances or get stuck in traffic, I'm not the most pleasant person to be stuck in a car with... I don't know what it is, but I just get anxious and annoyed, but on long trips in the car or truck with Sal, it's not so bad. We think of ways to pass the time - whether it's blasting our favorite country songs or talking to each other about anything and everything. Before we knew it we were crossing into Canada, somewhere we have both never been before. While we've been out of the country before, we haven't driven out of the country, so it was interesting to see how customs worked - they ask you a ton of questions and check your passports before they let you through.

We arrived at our hotel and began checking in, but not before the wind almost took off my truck door! It now makes a pretty loud noise whenever you open it... thanks Sal! When we got to our room, I was in awe at our view of Niagara Falls... it was beautiful, incredible, spectacular... all of the above. I'd never seen something so naturally beautiful in my life. We decided that we'd see it up close the following day, since it was already past lunch time. After we threw our stuff in the room, we headed downstairs to Starbucks, for me, and the bar for him. I have to admit though, the Starbucks was completely overpriced... $5 for a small tazo chai tea latte, that would've cost me under $3 in the U.S!? Insane. Sal enjoyed his Canadian beer, almost as much as I enjoyed paying $5 for tea!

Afterwards, we relaxed a little and planned out our vacation, before heading out to dinner. Sal wanted to try Planet Hollywood, because he had never been to the one in NYC and he is a big time movie genius. Ask him any question about any movie and I promise you he will know it, even if all you do is quote a line directly from it. We drove down the street, to what looked like Atlantic City... I kid you not, the lights were insane, and it was way too commercial for my liking. There were restaurants, casinos, bars, and arcades everywhere. It was disappointing to say the least - why take something so beautiful and natural like Niagara Falls and throw a bunch of money-making buildings and advertisements right down the street, but I guess that's just it, it's a tourist location, where they know they can make money. What was even worse about this though was the parking... we searched for twenty minutes to find parking under $20! Can you believe that, during off-season they charge you $20 to park to go into a restaurant to eat. Eventually we found parking for $12, what a steal, right? But when we got to Planet Hollywood, no one seated us... we looked around and there were maybe ten tables filled, with no one eating. We asked the man that seemed to be the only one working there, and he told us it was at least a thirty minute wait, because only two people were working.






We quickly left, disappointed, and headed to the Hard Rock cafe, which was right down the street. It was alright, aside from the Sangria. We just couldn't wait to go back to the hotel and hope that our second day in Canada would be better.