Day 4 - Saturday 5/6/2023 - Niagara Falls State Park, New York / Travel Back Home to Houston
I woke up at 6:30 but snoozed until almost 8:00. Breakfast was amazing again, with it being poached egg on top of a toasted ham and cheese bagel. We took the morning easy and did get packed and out the door until 10:00. Checking the websites for the US / Canadian boarder, it seemed that there was a line to get into the US at Lewiston - Queenston and the Rainbow Bridge with the Rainbow Bridge being shorter at 20 minutes. The weather for the day was the best of the trip with it being bright and sunny (figures). It did take 20 minutes or so waiting at the US boarder. The guard on our line seemed to be very thorough and we were a bit nervous. We told him we were just on vacation from our kid and he grinned, asked if the car was a rental and let us through real quick.
Our goal now was to view Niagara Falls from the United States sides with New York's Niagara Falls State Park. We parked on Goat island and took in the sites from the US side. You can see alot more on the Canadian side but the US side is less touristy and more like a park which was nice.
We ended up walking all the way over to the Maid of the Mist area and paid the $1.25 each to do the observation deck. The deck was free for those that did Maid of the Mist but we were not interested in getting wet before flying home. The $1.25 was not bad to pay for it. The area was actually pretty crowded with it being a pretty Saturday but the observation desk offered some real nice views!
Our goal now was to view Niagara Falls from the United States sides with New York's Niagara Falls State Park. We parked on Goat island and took in the sites from the US side. You can see alot more on the Canadian side but the US side is less touristy and more like a park which was nice.
We ended up walking all the way over to the Maid of the Mist area and paid the $1.25 each to do the observation deck. The deck was free for those that did Maid of the Mist but we were not interested in getting wet before flying home. The $1.25 was not bad to pay for it. The area was actually pretty crowded with it being a pretty Saturday but the observation desk offered some real nice views!
It was now about 12:30 when we walked from the observation tower back to our rental car on Goat Island. We had a 4:25pm flight out of Buffalo so decided to go ahead and make the 30 ish minute drive back to north Buffalo and get something to eat around there. At least we would be closer to the airport. Once we got in the area, we started looking for somewhere to grab a bite at and kill an hour or two. We found Britesmith Brewing in Williamsville, NY. We parked and walked up but they had a pretty lengthy wait for a table.
We retreated back to the car and continued our search. We ended up just down the road at Ration Ales. It was a little more low key but had some decent food and a wide assortment of drinks from the area. It was a nice spot to chill for sure and a place I could see us going to if we lived in the area.
We made it to the Buffalo Airport and got through security without any issues. Our flight was on time and we again got exit row with Em getting the exit row seat with a seat in front of her. Our flight took us from Buffalo to Baltimore. There we had a two hour layover so we found a restaurant and got a bite while we waited. The flight back home to Houston was, again on time with Emily getting the ultimate leg room seat!
We arrived back in Houston at pretty much on time but at a late 10:20pm. It was close to midnight before we got our checked bags and drive home to the Katy area. This proved to be a quick but a really nice get away location that provided both a little nature with the falls and some relaxation with the wineries. We highly recommend!
We retreated back to the car and continued our search. We ended up just down the road at Ration Ales. It was a little more low key but had some decent food and a wide assortment of drinks from the area. It was a nice spot to chill for sure and a place I could see us going to if we lived in the area.
We made it to the Buffalo Airport and got through security without any issues. Our flight was on time and we again got exit row with Em getting the exit row seat with a seat in front of her. Our flight took us from Buffalo to Baltimore. There we had a two hour layover so we found a restaurant and got a bite while we waited. The flight back home to Houston was, again on time with Emily getting the ultimate leg room seat!
We arrived back in Houston at pretty much on time but at a late 10:20pm. It was close to midnight before we got our checked bags and drive home to the Katy area. This proved to be a quick but a really nice get away location that provided both a little nature with the falls and some relaxation with the wineries. We highly recommend!
