Here it is: the last vacation recap of my trip to Niagara Falls! On our last day of vacation, we visited the American side of the Falls. Originally, we hadn’t planned on visiting this side since so many people said it wasn’t worth it, but after spending time there, I vehemently disagree with that assessment. While the Falls are obviously more beautiful from the Canadian side, I still think there is such beauty and incredible experiences to be had on the American side and it is well worth a visit.

Cave of the Winds

Cave of the Winds was, hands down, my favorite experience of this vacation. And this is why I think visiting the American side of the Falls is a must. It is the coolest experience and I couldn’t believe we were there, so close to the Falls. Cave of the Winds is a boardwalk built right next to the Bridal Veil Falls that you can traverse up and down, getting rained on throughout your jouney by the Falls. You will get wet during this journey, which is why you’re given a poncho and a set of water sandals. At one point, the stairs to go up to a new platform were completely covered in water, so it’s a very good thing not to wear your own shoes! (However, the poncho kept my clothes quite dry!)

There are multiple sets of stairs and multiple platforms, and as you traverse up each set of stairs, things get windier and wetter and more chaotic. And I loved every second of it! There was truly nothing like being rained on by Niagara Falls and to be able to see the Falls so closely like this. We could almost touch the Falls, we were so close to them!

The platform at the tippity top of the boardwalk is the one that is the craziest. You will get drenched! It’s so loud and windy at that level and I was pretty sure my mom wouldn’t want to try for a photo opp here. Remember, she didn’t want to visit Niagara Falls at first because she wasn’t keen on “getting wet.” And when I said that I wasn’t sure about going to the spot on this platform where the waterfall is directly coming down on you, my mom said she kinda did. I mean, I also wanted to but I wasn’t sure how my mom felt. But she wanted to experience it and wanted a picture. So that’s what we did and I’m so glad we did because it was incredible. The best experience of the vacation!

Terrapin Point

After our jaunt in Cave of the Winds, we walked over to Terrapin Point, which is this huge observation area with a great view of the Horseshoe Falls. It was pretty busy when we were there with lots of people wanting to get that perfect spot for a great view, but Mom and I were able to snag an open spot pretty quickly. The views here were amazing and it was fun to be on the other side of the Falls after spending two days previously staring at it. We took in the view for a little while, strolled around the observation area, and then took our leave.

Niagara Scenic Trolley

My mom and I were both delighted to find that the American side of Niagara Falls had a great little trolley system that would take you from attraction to attraction. We weren’t delighted because we’re, like, huge trolley fanatics or anything. Our feet were just tired after five days of vacation and we liked not having to walk to the different destinations. Ha! Vacations are exhausting! The trolley picked us up right near Terrapin Point and brought us over to the other side of the Falls, which is where you can get on the Maid of the Mist and go up to the observation deck that overlooks the entirety of the Falls. It was a really nice trolley ride, though, where we learned a bit more about Niagara Falls and enjoyed lots of great views.

Observation Tower

Our final stop of the day was the observation tower. I had seen this huge tower from the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and was so intrigued by it. It seemed so high and that you could view the entirety of the Falls from this vantage point. So we headed up there, but we couldn’t figure out how to get to the super-high platform. (There was some very confusing signage about an elevator.) We were a bit tired by this point and vacationed out, so we stuck to the first platform, enjoyed the views, took some silly pictures, and then said goodbye to Niagara. We took the trolley back to the main parking lot and decided on an early dinner at Olive Garden before we returned the rental car to the airport. (Our flight didn’t leave until the next day, but it was a 5:45AM flight and I wasn’t keen on doing a 4AM car rental return, no siree.)

And that was our vacation! It was wonderful and I had so much fun with my mom—I always do! I’m so glad we took this trip together and that we got to see Niagara in all of her glory for the first time ever. She’s a beauty and it’s well worth a visit to see her. And if you’re considering a trip here yourself, don’t forget to visit Bengal Law website, just in case of any unexpected incidents.

During my research as I planned our Niagara Falls trip, I kept seeing reviews about this adorable small town called Niagara-on-the-Lake. Located 30 minutes east of Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake makes for the perfect day trip and it’s well worth a visit.

Mom and I first stopped for breakfast at an IHOP at a nearby hotel where I enjoyed a plate of chocolate chocolate chip pancakes (IHOP does chocolate chocolate chip pancakes better than anyone). It was the perfect fuel for the road! We left Niagara Falls around 10:30 and the drive to Niagara-on-the-Lake was a scenic one. We passed winery after winery after winery! (Too bad my mom and I aren’t winos—we’d be in heaven!) Neither of us drink wine, though, so we bypassed a winery visit.

We made it to Niagara-on-the-Lake around 11 and found a great parking spot right away. The parking gods aren’t always in my favor, but they were on this day. The first thing I wanted to do was go to the cute Old Niagara Bookshop; I hadn’t stopped by any bookstores in Toronto or Niagara Falls and I was desperate to find at least one or two books to bring home. Unfortunately, when we got there, the bookshop was closed and, at first, I thought I had gotten something mixed up and the bookstore wasn’t open on Sundays. Thankfully, my mom saw a sign that said they open at 1 p.m. Okay then! We can keep ourselves busy until then!

Our first stop of the day was Just Christmas, an adorable store that was filled with Christmas ornaments, decorations, and more. I was astounded at how large the store was! It felt like I could walk forever and not see everything there. I got myself a small ornament to remind myself of my trip to Canada, and I was pleased when my mom decided to treat herself to a Christmas puzzle along with her ornament. She’s gotten super into doing puzzles lately, so how fun will it be to do a puzzle that reminds her of our vacation?

After that, we strolled around for a while, taking a trip down to the lake to enjoy the view and see the “famous” gazebo at Queen’s Royal Park.

We popped in and out of a few stores and took a moment at Exchange Brewery where my mom enjoyed a lager and I sipped on a cider.

Right next door to the brewery was an old-fashioned apothecary that was part-museum and part-retail store. I took my time strolling through the museum section while my mom beelined for the retail store (our personalities in a nutshell, ha). I loved how old-timey this place felt, right down to the original wood floors that made that specific creaking noise every time you took a step. This apothecary was an actual, real-life apothecary, established sometime in the 1820s and was restored in the 1970s to function as a National Historic Site of Canada.

Once we left the apothecary, it was a little after 1 p.m., so I was ready to head back to the bookshop and do some perusing! Unfortunately, when we got there, the bookshop was still closed. Wah! My mom suggested that we sit by a stone wall near the shop and wait and see if the store would open a little later. You know how small towns work; those open hours are likely more of a suggestion.

Our patience paid off because right around 1:30, the owner drove in and opened the store for us. She wasn’t a particularly friendly owner, but she left us to our own devices to look around and that’s all I wanted. This bookshop was so, so charming. It had old-fashioned bookshelves, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and lots of cute trinkets adorning every available space.

I picked out three books: Book Lovers by Emily Henry (this author is so hit-or-miss for me, but so many people are raving about Book Lovers that I’m going to give her one more chance), Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery, and a new edition of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. I love to buy books by local authors when I travel, so I knew I wanted to select at least one book by a Canadian author and when I saw L.M. Montgomery’s name, I knew I had to snatch up her books. I would love to have a collection of different editions of Anne of Green Gables, since it’s my very favorite book.

My mom sweetly offered to buy the books I had selected, to say thank you for planning a fun vacation for us, and I wasn’t going to turn her down! When we went up to the desk to purchase, things got insanely adorable. First of all, the owner pulled out a receipt pad and hand-wrote our receipt. Title by title, she painstakingly wrote down each book we were buying. Then, just as I was wondering if we needed to have cash to pay (because there was no way this bookshop accepted credit cards if they were hand-writing receipts!), the owner took out one of those old-school credit card imprinters!!! Y’all. It was like I had stepped back in time. I wasn’t sure what decade I was in. How friggin adorable.

After our lovely trip to the bookstore, it was time to make the trek back to the United States! We took a pit stop at Tim Hortons for some coffee and Timbits (we had to!) and then we were on the road. Unfortunately, Apple CarPlay decided it didn’t want to work in our rental car and nothing we did could make our phones connect. It was really frustrating to me because I like having the GPS right on the screen so I can make sure I’m following the right path, but instead, we had to do it old-school on my phone.

Thankfully, we crossed the border without a problem and were soon checking into our hotel in Buffalo. We had originally only planned to stay in Buffalo for one night, but ended up changing that to two nights when I realized we didn’t need as long in Niagara Falls as I had originally thought. My mom booked us a hotel right by the airport, so we weren’t technically in Buffalo proper but close enough.

We had some chill time in the hotel before heading to Pearl Street Brewery for dinner. I had found this brewery while planning on trip; my mom loves trying out local beers when she travels, so I wanted her to get a chance to do it in Buffalo. She ordered a beer flight (her second of the trip!) while I had a cider, which wasn’t very good. But I did thoroughly enjoy the pizza I ordered and gobbled most of it up! Ya win some, ya lose some.

After that, we headed back to the hotel and prepared for one last day of vacation.