Trip to Niagara Falls and 1000 islands!

Last weekend, Kavitha and I did what a perfect desi would do as one of the first things when parents visit them in this country. Drive to Niagara falls. I can say for sure, that it has become more of a ritual for desis and still remains an unsolved mystery for many firangs.

But I did not want the visit to include just the falls, so sneaked 1000 islands into the itinerary. I was attempting to make the trip as different as I could. (Anybody who has visited Niagara for more than 5 times would understand what I'm talking about!). We set off on a Friday evening, the plan being to reach 1000 islands and rest for the night in a much-hyped completely furnished riverside cottage house.

We had no idea that a)it will not be a cottage house or b)it will not be on the riverside, until we reached the place at 1.30am. We were told by the vacation home company that they would leave the lights on and place the keys on the living room table, if we reach late. The only thing that was lit in the absolute dark campground was a caravan. We looked around and having no option, I stepped into the caravan, opened the door and switched on the lights. I shocked myself at the amazing sight!

The insides of the caravan looked exceedingly well furnished and the key was on the living room table, as told. I invited the other folks to join, only for them to be suprised and excited! Kavitha and I had our moments of laughter, as only we knew what we'd planned for and how it had all ended up! Everyone seemed extremely happy and it was one hell of a night!

Kavitha and I spent the next half hour outside in the cold attempting to take a night shot of the Caravan and also a long-pending picture of star-trails. I was not entirely unhappy with what it finally turned out to be.

Night photograph of the Caravan and the star trails

The next day had equally exciting moments, but on water instead of land. We rented a Pontoon boat and set off into the waters. Yours truly being an experienced boat driver (having rented a Pontoon boat once before, I can't call myself a Captain yet!), started the boat engine and within 10 metres of slow-sailing near the dock, we heard people shouting and waving at us. We looked around, only to find that I had been inadvertently dragging one of the fishing nets by the boat engine.

Who the hell would expect a fishing net there? We had to wait for help. One of the rental company folks arrived in a smaller boat, disentangled the net. We started all over again, this time with no problems. We spent the next 3 hours in the water,enjoying the sights of the numerous islands around. Everytime a big boat or a ship passed us, the waves made our boat rock big time. Everyone tried their hands in the wheel and overall, it was quite an experience in itself!.

We then visited one of the state parks in the area and spent the evening watching the splendid sunset. After a sumptuous dinner at an Italian restaurant and a super-filling ice cream, we headed back to the caravan, where we played a few interesting games of poker and hit the bed, knowing we have a big day at Niagara the next day.

Niagara falls, for some reason has become desis' paradise. 9 out of 10 people I saw were desis. I could have counted the stars in the sky a little more easily. The place was absolutely crowded for Memorial Day weekend. For the much-acclaimed 'Maid of the Mist' ferry, we had to wait a whopping 1 hour in the queue at a scorching 90 degrees. Completely drained, we entertained ourselves by playing interesting self-invented games such as 'Spot the tambrahm in the line' and "Count the H4's in the line", etc. The parents, of course, were impressed by the grandeur of the falls and the excitement of the boat ride!

We spent the rest of the day roaming around the falls area and dining at one of the 'worse than spit-worthy' Indian restuarants. Late evening was good, as the weather became nicer and there was fireworks to celebrate Memorial Day!

Memorial day Fireworks, Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls- overlook

The parents and us

Overall, it was three days well spent and left us with the satisfaction of surprising our parents with the coziness of a caravan, adrnelin rush in the rough waters and the wonderful sight of the gushing waters of Niagara Falls!

Ciao, till the next trip travel update!