2013 NorthEast by Motorcycle Day 7

Watertown, New York to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.  228.1 miles.

We had a slower morning since the radar was showing rain over far western New York.  The breakfast at the Comfort Inn was also much better than expected.  It had waffles and bacon and it doesn't get any better than that.

We were on the road a little before 8:00, headed south and west.  We stayed on the interstate for a bit before getting off on State 104.  State 104 took us on a trip to Mexico en route to Canada.  It probably seems odd to go almost 2500 miles out of the way to Mexico and it may have been.  But Mexico, New York was just off the interstate.

We continued winding our way through rural New York, very near Lake Ontario.  We got back on the interstate near Rochester before heading south to the toll road.
We came as close as we have on this trip to running out of fuel, but made it to one of the tollway service stations.

Google maps showed a fairly direct route to the Rainbow Bridge to Canada.  Unfortunately, the guys in Mountain View must have been laughing it up since it sent us on a direct route, but an odd one as we were on a road that didn't typically appear to be used for tourist traffic.  It was also through a heinous construction zone that a Goldwing didn't belong on so soon after a rain (read lots of mud and huge potholes).
With a bit of consultation with the antique GPS, we found our way to the bridge and were across the border quickly with little fuss.  The cars going the other way to the US where backed up for miles however.
Following our map, we found the Days Inn easily.  We were too early to check in, but got parked and just hung out in the lobby for less than an hour until our room was ready.  Being very early, we got an upgraded room with better view.  However, I may have rather had the original room overlooking the parking lot so I could see the bike to feed the paranoia.

We walked around a bit before eating at the "Family Restaurant."  It was nice to have something that wasn't Planet Hollywood or Hard Rock Cafe.
After lunch, we went to see the falls.  The Canadian side is better to see the overall falls.  It can be hard to believe from this vantage point that up to 75% of the flow of the Niagara River does not go over the falls, but is diverted to generate electricity.  A treaty between the US and Canada states that an "unbroken curtain of water" is to be maintained as the waterfall with more in the daylight during the height of summer tourist season.  A minimum flow rate is also set.

One of the great aspects of living in the US is the great relationship between the US and Canada.  After driving across the border, we then walked back to the US over the bridge.  The line of cars waiting to get to the US was still very long, but short compared to what might be encountered between countries with less friendly relations.

The view may be less majestic from the US side since it is not as easy to see all the separate falls, but it is much more dramatic than the Canadian side since it is so easy to get close to the thunderous pouring of the water over the edge.

On both sides of the border, I heard more foreign languages and accents than English, with the Candian side having more than the US.  This is likely due to the greater ease of foreign travel in Canada, including getting visas compared to the US.
While the US has a tendency to "over-tourist" locations like these, Niagara Falls stands as an example of the US getting it right.  The US side of the falls is more serene and park-like.  The Canadian side has more of a Circus-Circus feel to it with ample wax museums, haunted houses, loud speakers and the like.  This is Southern Canada however so I guess this is the equivalent of the Canadian Miami (importantly, hotels near the falls are a little cheaper in Canada).  Kakabeka Falls near Thunder Bay may not have the grandeur of Niagara, but is comparatively almost a hidden Canadian gem.

It was quite a walk back to the hotel from the US side, including another border crossing.  After yesterday's long day on the road, all the walking is kind of nice.

Dinner at night was at "Montana's" which was better than expected followed by Baskin Robbins.  It was surprising given the carnival atmosphere how many businesses were closing up relatively early while we were on the way back to the hotel after dinner.