A true wonder of the world—Niagara Falls, located on the New York/Ontario, Canada border, was known primarily, by me, as a place newlyweds go on their honeymoon. Who’d a thunk I’d be assigned as naviguesser on a C-130 mission which would give me an opportunity to fully experience its wonders. Our mission required us to arrive at a certain time at a location close to the Falls. Turns out the cargo we were to carry overseas wasn’t ready, so we were released for 24 hours. Niagara Falls, here we come!!
Our crew enjoyed it immensely. We viewed it from both the Canadian and US sides. Canadian was much better for viewing the majesty of the Falls. We did the whole tourist thing including riding on the Maid of the Mist in bright yellow rain gear to be “spritzed” upon by the Falls. The small towns on both sides of the falls were quiet and welcoming. By the way, this 1965. Only 59 years ago.
I was so impressed I wanted to show the Falls to my lovely wife, Marjorie. That opportunity came about three years later while I was at Ohio State working on my MBA (courtesy of Uncle Sam with a payback from me of at least 6 more years in the US Air Force).
In one of our school breaks I took some leave and we drove east from Ohio to My Aunt and Uncle’s home in Wurtsboro NY. Gee, let’s take a small detour and see Niagara Falls. Remember: Life is a sitcom. Great timing. The Falls were wrapped in such a dense fog that you could stand at the rail above them and hear the magnificent roar of the falling water, but you couldn’t see them at all. We even tried the high elevation of the excellent revolving tower restaurant. We could see the reflection of ourselves in the many tower windows, but alas, no falls. Oh well. We couldn’t wait for the fog to
lift. So we faced our disappointment and went on to visit family with smiles on our faces
Time marches on. It’s now 2007. Marjorie and I start a fun-filled tour of many parts of Canada by visiting with our dear friends near Toronto. They will be leading our adventure in Canada.
First stop—Niagara Falls. We knew the Falls are much nicer from the Canadian side. What we didn’t know is that the town near the falls had evolved into a loud, tacky tourist trap. What a disappointment. The Falls, however, were magnificent. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit there with our friends. Thank you, Fran and Walter, for leading us on a great adventure to places including Ottawa and Quebec City. Sightseeing in the pouring rain in one of those places was a new and exhilarating experience.
Niagara Falls continues to be a favorite tourist spot. I’m hopeful that the city fathers will return to some of its hometown atmosphere and remove some of the glitz. Enuf