The Right Shoulder of Niagara Falls

The only way you ever want to see the Horseshoe Falls from this vantage point is from the deck of a sightseeing boat!

Many locals I know will avoid the tourist area of Niagara Falls at all costs, only venturing into the camera-toting and fanny-pack-attired clutter when they are hosting visiting family members. Then it's okay because your clan is so enamoured of your touring abilities and enthralled at the idea of you actually getting to LIVE here and see such beauty every single day that you forget you're doing "tourist stuff".

Then there are those who embrace this effervescent industry and revel in that which draws people from all over the world - the endless array of activities as well as the vistas. Those are the people to whom I raise my glass. If you live here you may as well enjoy the benefits.

I joined a group who were visiting but who had been on the Maid of the Mist sometime during their lives. Aside from our various children, I was the only person in our party who had never been on it!

It was a wonderful day, mercifully less humid than in previous weeks. I shudder to imagine the feeling of those plastic blue ponchos fusing to the skin as would likely occur in the intense heat we had been having most of the summer!!! 

I loved the view as our boat nuzzled the crook of these Falls, showering us with mist. I delighted in the mild turbulence as the downward force of the water churned in the lower river, urging me to reach out and balance myself with a secure stance. I truly realised the sheer expanse of falling water as I literally panned my head from my right shoulder all the way to my left to see it all.

Why would people forego this cool experience just because they happen to share an address? It reminds you why travellers venture here just to see this natural wonder. Living close by and not having to expend huge amounts of money or vacation time to see it is a bonus!