Honeymoon: Niagara Falls

Instead of doing the typical honeymoon in a warm, tourist-y destination, we opted for staying in upstate New York and seeing the sights it had to offer. Because a) this was Steven's first time to N.Y. and there truly are a lot of neat places to go, b) this is technically our "busy season" at work so we wanted to needed to come back from our honeymoon a little early to recoup and prepare for the intense work load ahead, c) funds are skimpy at the moment due to wedding expenses, and d) we wanted to be able to take a second honeymoon in the near future; hence, we are calling this trip our mini-moon and we hope to take a MEGA-moon this winter. 

Sorry for the list. For some reason I felt it was necessary to defend our little honeymoon. Not sure why. Moving on...

Of course, being in NY we had to and I mean HAD TO go see Niagara Falls. Really, when one of the seven wonders of the world is only a three hour drive away how could you not go? I've been to Niagara Falls once before, but I was young so this time was just as, if not more so, exhilarating than the previous visit. 

Ready for a photo dump? My camera could not even come close to capturing how amazing the Falls is, but we tried.

At first, while walking along the water you can hardly see that there's a huge waterfall ahead. It just looks like the water continues all the way to those buildings (which are in Canada).

 And then BAM!

The waterfall to the left in the photo is the American Falls. You can begin to see the Canadian Falls (called Horseshoe Falls) though in this picture as well. Can I just say, the Americans got gypped on the Falls. Horseshoe Falls is MASSIVE! Just as a reference consider this, the water cascading down the American Falls hits the base of the Falls with 280 tons of force compared to the Canadian Falls hitting the base with 2,509 tons of force!

The Maid of the Mist is a boat ride that goes right underneath Horseshoe Falls. It really is an incredible experience. It's so beautiful you want to keep your eyes open the entire time but it's impossible! You come out completely drenched! It feels as if you've been transported into the frightening scenes of that movie The Perfect Storm with George Clooney. Remember that?? Okay, maybe not quite like that. But close.

Riding the Maid of the Mist was probably my favorite outing for the honeymoon. I am so glad Steven and I were able to experience it together! Actually, not just the Falls, but the entire Niagara Falls State Park area is beautiful. We spent two days exploring all the region had to offer before heading a little more South to check out Buffalo, NY. 

More on our honeymoon adventures to come! But if you are interested in checking out more amazing facts on Niagara Falls check out this website!