Sunday, March 18, 2007
photo slideshow
Sunday morning it was time to say good-bye to our luxurious suite at the Econolodge. Ann was definitely sorry to leave the jacuzzi behind. We spent a while finding somewhere to have brunch (again, surprisingly expensive, but at least it was all-you-can-eat) and then headed up the road north of the falls. Our first stop was at the Niagara Glen park, where we walked out to an overlook with a nice view down the gorge and out into a section of the river that apparently hosts a whirlpool. While we were there, we got to watch some folks riding an open cable-car across the river – that had to be cold!
From there we continued north to our destination – the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory. What a cool place! The interior of the conservatory was hot and humid, with a multitude of plants and some neat streams and waterfalls, and of course – butterflies, butterflies, and more butterflies. Big butterflies, small butterflies, bright colorful butterflies, muted brown butterflies, flying all around. It was an incredible sight – I would have loved to spend more time wandering around, but they seemed to discourage doubling back and going through again (perhaps to keep it from getting too congested.) There were also terrariums with visiting critters – geckos, snakes, a caiman, tarantulas, scorpions, and even a couple of giant millipedes.
All in all, it was definitely worth the price of admission. Ann spent much of the time trying to coax butterflies to land on her… fortunately, on a couple of occasions they did, and with luck the pictures will come out.
After that we made a brief stop at a horrendously expensive souvenir shop (mainly due to the cool statues they had out front) and then at a Buddhist temple (also due to the cool statues.)
We considered stopping at the new Niagara Falls Aviary but decided to spare the time and expense and come back another day to see the birds. And then it was back across the border into the good old USA, and back to Rochester. All in all, a nice weekend (if a bit colder than I would have preferred) spent with my sweetheart, whom I haven’t seen nearly enough of over the past month.
JMH
