Disclaimer: This post covers wine tasting in Canada, Niagara Falls from the Canadian side and coney dogs in Detroit, Michigan. We have not actually set foot in New York state yet. We’ve only looked at it across Niagara Gorge and this does not count as our New York visit; that’s still to come. But I had to file this post under a state and so New York it is ☺️
We debated long and hard from which side we were going to visit Niagara Falls. And while some will disagree that seeing them from the Canadian side does not fall under “USA Road Trip”, the reviews and opinions of many, many people advised us to to do it from here so we can properly view the American Falls from this side. Also seeing it from this side fitted in perfectly with our itinerary so Canada won the debate.
En route to our hotel we stopped at Trius Winery in Niagara-On-The-Lake for some ice wine tasting and lunch. We had a beautiful lunch in beautiful surroundings, with Brad our waiter who imparted in-depth knowledge about ice wine, how it is made, and what it can be used for. We highly recommend a visit for anyone who happens to be in the neighbourhood.
We were greeted at the falls with rain which did not bode well for our tour the next day but given that a) we were going to get wet on the boat ride anyway and b) we’ve managed to dodge bad weather for over two and a half months now, we were not going to let that dampen our spirits. If anything, the rain and wind gave the falls a slightly angry edge and made viewing them all the more impressive.
Sure enough, Thursday dawned grey and overcast and it wasn’t long before the rain set in. Which made our ride on the Hornblower a completely saturated experience and totally unforgettable as we faced the falls’ mist and spray head on as well as everyone else on the boat scrambling past us to find a warm, dry place to stand on the deck. Which was absolutely non-existant 😂 We also captured great views of the falls from the tunnels which run alongside them and from the top of the Skylon tower.
And as would be expected, the rain cleared as soon as we got back to our hotel. Which made for a clear night as we headed back to the falls to see them illuminated. So very pretty. The dry weather, albeit still overcast, lasted through to the following morning so we were able to do the helicopter ride which had been cancelled the day before.
An enormous thank you again to our Doha Scrabble family for gifting us with our Niagara Falls experience. It was amazing!
Coming back to Detroit for the night, we decided to go and investigate the coney dog rivalry for ourselves. For $3, Lafayette offers a coney dog that is smothered in chili, onions and mustard and is impossible to eat without making a mess. Next door, for 19c more, American gives you a coney dog that is somewhat neater in presentation – but only just – and to be honest, tastes much the same as Lafayette’s. We say this at the risk of distressing anyone who has a definite vested preference for one over the over; we plead coney dog ignorance – sorry!
Now we get ready to part ways with Ruby for nine days as we leave her in Detroit and fly back westward. We are going to cover North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska – the states we missed out on when we had to go to Calgary for a week. North Dakota, see you soon!
S&P