Winter Scenery at Niagara Falls

Cabin Fever - We needed to get away for a day from the city!

We have been experiencing an usual cold winter this year! In the city of Toronto alone, the city has issued  extreme cold alert for thirty one days this winter. In the past winter, we did have extreme cold alert might be just a couple of times for the entire winter, but this year, we have had numerous such alerts.








There is cabin fever building up in many of us -Canadians have been cooped up for too long indoors and we need to get out of the cold and go somewhere warm or somewhere different rather than staying in our hometown for the entire winter.

We just came back from Arizona - a very warm place for Canadians to get away for a little while. For many of the Canadians who cannot get away for long due to work commitments, we can always have a mini - holiday.

My husband is one of these Canadians, therefore he opted to have a weekend away from Toronto. Where did we go? Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York. He even took a Friday afternoon off from work so that we could have an early start for our weekend.

The Duty Free Shop at the Lewiston Bridge crossing on the Canadian side

With the wind on our back, a blue sky overhead and a milder temperature ( -7 degree C compared to the -22 degree the previous night), we headed to Niagara Falls on the New York side. Canada and U.S. have the longest undefended border in the world and we are quite friendly towards each other. There was no much difficultly crossing the border.

We stopped at the Lewiston Bridge, shopped at the Duty Free Shop which offered pretty good price to travelers before heading over to the States.

A mural at the Fashion Outlet Mall in Niagara Falls, New York

With a  wedding shower and two wedding invitations, I have a few gifts to buy.  Armed with our GPS, we headed over to the Fashion Outlet Mall on Military Trail, exiting at Exit 22 after crossing the border and found the place easily.

 Shopping at the Dress Barn, one of my favourite stores in the U.S. brought back some fond memories of my younger and working days when I needed to dress professionally and beautifully for work daily.
I could always find something that looked good on me at the store and this time it was no exception.

My husband was very patient as he parked himself at the Star Buck surfing the net while I was lost in the stores.It seemed like yesterday when I was shopping with two young kids in tow at the mall. But this time I was by myself; how time flies!

We concluded our shopping day in the States by relaxing and dining at a Mexican restaurant decorated with colourful furniture and decorations. We tried some new food and looked forward spending the night at Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side.

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

The Niagara Falls are on both sides of the U.S, and the Canadian borders. However, on the Canadian side, its is so much busier and touristy with lots of attractions, shops and tourists. Unfortunately,   it was bitterly cold this weekend.  Our hotel was  right where the actions were but we had no desire to explore the shops because it was late and pretty cold. Instead, we jumped into bed, enjoyed the comfortable spacious room and had a good night of sleep!

Part of the Niagara Falls was frozen during winter this year due to the cold temperature

The next morning, after taking a dip at the whirl pool, we took a leisurely walk to the Keg located on the 9th floor of  the Embassy Suite Hotel and had lunch there. It was a different venue from the regular place at where we dined.

Winter scenery at Niagara Falls

It was not very busy  and we were seated by the window therefore getting an excellent view of the falls, partially frozen by the freezing temperatures this winter.

Well, we are now into March and next week, we will have the clock put forward an hour for the daylight saving time; we look forward to warmer weather ahead!

R.T.
Niagara Falls
Canada
Weekend of March 1, 2014