We arrived pretty late, getting into town at about 10:30 pm -- but we were surprised to see that the place was absolutely hopping. People were everywhere. Every business was open, loud music blared from stores, and outdoor eating areas were full. We knew that the lights at the falls would be turned off at midnight, so we were working fast to park the car, find a room, and get down to the viewing platform in time.
I must have been pretty giddy about seeing the falls, because the lady at the Days Inn must have thought we were on our honeymoon: we walked into our discounted room to see that she had given us a jacuzzi suite! Yeah -- jacuzzi sweeeeeeet! We made sure to thank her.
The falls are amazing! We've been to Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil, so we've seen some super amazing falls... but Niagara still had the beauty and grace of a well-respected older woman. (Like the Helen Mirren of waterfalls...?) She was still very impressive! We went back before checking out of the hotel, to see it in the daylight. Lots more people around than there were at night, but still plenty of space to admire the falls.
Unfortunately, we had a problem to solve: somewhere between Las Vegas and Niagara, one of our tires sprung a leak. We didn't notice it until the Badlands National Park (South Dakota), when we thought the tire appeared low. Then, we noticed in Sault Sainte Marie that it was certainly losing air, since it was half-way flat. We drove across Ontario, stopping every 100 miles or so to top up the tire. So, after only a day in Canada, we had to dip into New York to get to the nearest Firestone (we have a tire warranty as well as a number of other "lifetime" service plans with them). The tire got a nail in the sidewall, which is an un-repairable injury. So, they replaced the tire and sent us on our way. We were pretty happy to have it fixed. It's a good little car, our Focus!
So, with a tire fixed and Montreal still on the agenda, we knew we wanted to get back to Canada. Did I mention that we're pretty tired? Yeah... staying up late a few days in a row and getting up early to get on the road -- it all adds up. Oh well. We made it. We're in Brockville, Ontario for the night. The border patrol was a little curious about our crossing twice in one day, but after several questions to establish we were not undesirable, he bid us good day and sent us back into the beautiful wilds of Southern Ontario.
It's beautiful here! The "1,000 Islands" of the Lawrence River, the marshes and the low-lying fog... it's very picturesque. We're hearing a lot of French on the radio already, and I can't wait to see Montreal! I've been wanting to go there for quite a while.
Adieu!
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