Niagara Falls

Thursday 6/21 Day 62
Tim Hortons. Have you heard of it? Well that is where I went for breakfast this morning. A Canadian fast food chain created by a hockey player and it was pretty good. I went once before with my parents and we got the doughnuts but this time I got a muffin and a breakfast sandwich, Dale and Suzi took me out. It is the place to be in the mornings, a lot of people go there for their breakfast and their morning needs. Once we were full we headed home and started the day.
Today Dale road with me to Niagara falls and showed me a path to the falls that had very little traffic. We stopped along the canal and watched the big cargo ships pass by, man they were huge! I also learned that they were about ready to make the 5th version of the canal a couple years back but then the economy set in and Canada changed their minds. I couldn't immagine any bigger ships going through the area! I enjoyed riding with Dale out to the falls, it was a good change of pace from me riding by myself.
Once we hit the Niagara river we headed north to the falls and the boarder crossing.  As we were going north there were a few battle fields from the War of 1812, and other historical markers along the way that I had to stop at. This year is the 200th year since the war and it has also been 200 years since we have had war with Canada. Once getting to the falls we encountered many people but squeezed through the crowds with our bikes and managed to get a few photos.

Niagara City

This was the second time I have seen the falls, although the first time I was about four or five and I do not remember the experience. It was really impressive to see the amount of water going over the edge, seeing the power of nature. We overlooked the maiden of the mist going up to the falls, and the different walk ways from the US sid and the Canadian side of the falls. At the top of the falls we also saw an old barge that crashed in the 1920's, we saw where the water gets sucked in for the hydro electric plants, and the Niagara rapids. Dale explained how at night time the water that goes over the falls is drastically reduced because they use so much for the power plant, but during the day they are not allowed to divert as much water. They still divert enough so it does alter the way the falls would look if it were natural. He was also telling me how there used to be a fair on the frozen part of the falls in the winter until it collapsed one year. haha I loved all the history lessons.
Dale then took me to the bridge to get back into the USA, and we said adios. Customs was not to bad, the boarder agent responded to me by saying, "Get Out of Here", when he found out what I was doing. But I got through without a problem and explored the east side of the falls. While I was over there I had a few tourists get pictures with me, it was kind of funny.

Dale & I

I was soon picked up by my buddy Pete's dad. This is the Pete that I started off the trip with. I had the opportunity to meet his family and see him, but I had a small window of this night. We went into Buffalo where for dinner we had wings and pizza! We pulled out a map and I showed them where I had gone on my trip, it was a surreal feeling to see how far I have gone and how much I had left. Just hard to believe.
Petes flight was late so we would have to save our reunion for the morning.