Biking and Walking Around the Niagara River

Feeling silly for driving six hours each way to see something that lasts less than five minutes, Don and I planned a mini-vacation around the eclipse. We got so excited about the rest of the trip, it discouraged us from changing plans to find someplace expecting more sunshine. That and he read an article in the Wall Street Journal that predicted the "lake effect" would encourage the clouds to burn off at peak (so we could get a "peek"). I think the Buffalo Tourism Office paid them to print that.

An hour after the eclipse we had beautiful weather so we drove to the border and rode the tandem along the Niagara River. It was a beautiful day for a ride. After the ride, we walked along the water and crossed into Niagara Falls, Canada.

As we walked across the Rainbow Bridge I was reminded of walking across the same bridge in 2022. Two years ago we were still living in the grips of the pandemic. The Canadian border had recently reopened. We had to use the ArriveCAN app to announce when (and how) we planned to enter Canada. The line to walk into the country was 45 minutes long. I suspect much of the hold up was people explaining they were there, so just let them in even though they hadn't filled out the official form on the app. This time we just showed the agent our passport and we were waived in. We were asked one question: how long do you plan to stay? I answered truthfully, an hour. After all, our car and belongings were on the other side.

Niagara Falls did not look much different in April 2024 than it did in July 2022. Due to being in totality, they had more crowds than usual, so many that they took the Maid of the Mist boats out instead of waiting until Memorial Day Weekend. It helped the weather was lovely. It was one of these moments I was grateful that I always keep my passport up to date.

Wonder how many stood between
the US and Canada to watch the eclipse

As we walked back over the Rainbow Bridge, we were treated to a fireworks display over New York. We ignored the sign's warning, and stood to enjoy the show. 

After the fireworks, there was an electric light show that was impressive. It ended with a QR code we could not get to work with our phones. Those near us could not get it to work, either. It was mesmerizing.

As we walked away we realized it was after 9 PM, we had been awake since 2:30 AM, and other than that pre-eclipse brunch, we had not eaten all day. We were starving!

I found a Texas Roadhouse near our hotel that was about to close. Made an online reservation and hightailed it before they closed. We walked in with another family who also misjudged the time. Our local bartending server gave us dinner recommendations for the next two nights. His recommendations were spot on!