9 - The Road Trip Begins - Niagara Falls

After a restful first night in the RV, Fred was up at the crack of dawn again.

I didn’t roll out of bed until the smell of bacon enticed me a couple hours later. Mmmm…bacon sarnies. The radio was reporting that it was going to be another glorious day with temperatures reaching 26 degrees! It had been 25 degrees the day before and about 24 the day we arrived. We definitely hadn’t been expecting that!

The plan for the day was to drive to Niagara Falls as it is about 150km from Toronto which isn’t too far. We failed to take into account, however, the fact that it was Good Friday. The roads were packed and we crawled most of the way there. For us this was no problem since we were getting used to RV life, Canadian radio and noting the uniformity of the cars! They are mostly of three types – saloons, pick ups and people carriers. It’s so bizarre! Why do the saloons even have different brands? The BMWs look like Chevvys which look like Toyotas which in turn look like Mercedes. Every so often we would see a European import, like a Golf, but they were few and far between. The roads are big and wide which is just as well because all of the vehicles come in one size…and that’s big! Another road rule we have to get used is being allowed to turn right at a red light, a bit disconcerting at first but almost totally natural now.

By the time we arrived at The Falls it was completely packed and we had to pay as small fortune to park up the beast. We were grateful for the air conditioningv but the contrast when we emerged from the vehicle was almost suffocating. A small bimble away and the spectacle was as awe-inspiring as we had imagined…as long as we didn’t turn around and see the domineering towers of concrete overlooking the water. I couldn’t help trying to visualise what this natural wonder would have looked like to the indigenous people of America before the invasion of the whites who enslaved and slaughtered their people, enforced their religion, erected their hotels, casinos and visitors centres, scarred their land with agriculture and basically stole all beauty and purity that once belonged to this place. Ineffable, I suspect.

We took a few pictures but didn’t linger for long even though the spray from the water was ice cold and wonderfully refreshing. Then we returned to the van and had some lunch.

We had spotted an Information Office quite near The Falls so we paid it a visit on the way back and collected a fair few leaflets on RV sites, canoe routes and provincial parks in Ontario.

Back on the road, we drove through lovely Niagara on the Lake where people were out and about everywhere due to the holiday and the fantastic weather. Then we headed for the nearest campsite which was in Niagara Falls (the town) and hooked up for the night.