First Trimester Babymoon - Part One - Niagara

So, I completed a successful first trimester. To celebrate, Jeff and I decided to take a little "babymoon" to our neighboring country of Oh, Canada! We started our adventure at Niagara-on-the-Lake which is twenty minutes from Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Highgrove Bed and Breakfast in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The owners, Bruce and Michael, were fantastic hosts. They made the most delicious gourmet-style breakfast every morning. The town itself is very clean, very quaint, very cute, and very picturesque. Lots of flowers everywhere. There were hanging planters on every lamp posts and flower beds galore! Oh! The homes were absolutely beautiful. They all are custom-built homes...no cookie-cutter homes here. We were wondering what type of people all lived here. Our hosts said that the community is primarily a retirement community. It used to be riddled with families and children back in the day, though. And, it seemed as if every other house was a B&B. Here is a brief overview of what we did.

Day One: Arrived at Highgrove in the the late afternoon. Took a stroll on Queen Street which is the main street for shopping and dining. We ate Old Town Restaurant which was just an okay meal.

Day Two: In the morning for breakfast, we had a plate of peaches and pears followed by a mega-size blueberry french toast. Delicious! After breakfast, we just went exploring around the town. We went to the Floral Clock, Butterfly Conservatory and the Botanical Gardens. I was able to catch this beautiful green one:



After a long hot day, we had dinner at a local restaurant, called "Rest". From the outside, it doesn't look like much. It doesn't even look inviting. The B&B hosts highly recommended this restaurant. Even the other guests in the house recommended it. There was some trepidation as we approached this restaurant, but once we opened the door, we were pleasantly surprised. The ambiance was quite cozy, warm and romantic. Jeff ordered the "3 Little Pigs" which was small plates of three different types of pork dishes. I ordered the duck confit and boy! was that the best duck I've ever had. Our housemates also told us about the dessert they had, so of course, we decided to get the same thing. We ordered the maple syrup cotton candy. Of course, it was like any old cotton candy that you can find at the fair or boardwalk, but hey! How often can you order cotton candy at a fine establishment?
Day Three: Today we went to Niagara Falls. We drove to the Butterfly Conservatory, where we caught the "Peoplemover" (shuttle bus) that was going to take us down to the falls and other area attractions. The previous day we had bought the "Niagara Falls Adventure Package". For one discounted price, you gain entrance to the conservatory, Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls, White Water Walk, 1-day pass on the Peoplemover, and coupons for other attractions. Our first stop was the Maid of the Mist. That was exciting, though I was trying my best to keep my head straight and not move about so I wouldn't get sick. Thank goodness for the handy-dandy souvenir poncho because we would've been drenched! Of course, Jeff wanted to keep it afterwards, but I convinced him and reminded him of our "cluttering rules".

After that, we went to the next attraction, Journey Behind the Falls. Okay, so I actually thought we would get up close and personal with the Horseshoe Falls as we did on the Maid of the Mist. I kinda thought this was going to be similar to what I saw the tourists doing at the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls (American side). I saw them walking up a wooden step path right next to these falls. I guess I thought there would be something similar on our side. Nope! Basically, the attraction entailed us walking through two damp, humid tunnels which abruptly ends to an opening. And, viola! The Falls! Of course, you couldn't have access to the opening because of the steel bar/gate that stood probably ten to fifteen feet from the opening. But, you saw the power of the falls gushing down in front of you. After walking through the two tunnels, we went out on an observation deck where you can see and feel the thundering falls once again. I felt like we were in a major storm....it was very blustering and cold! One of my favorite part of this attraction is probably reading about the history of the falls. Throughout the tunnel, there were various posters or plaques along the wall that outlined the history of the falls. Before you go out on the observation deck, there was a small area that was filled with more historical facts and fun information on the walls.

Our last attraction was the White Water Walk. Not worth talking about. Just picture yourself at Great Falls (MD or VA, doesn't matter!). After all the attractions were completed, we walked around Souvenir City and downtown Niagara. We ended up having dinner at a casino buffet. We are proud to say that we did not spend a single dime on any slots or games. I did get a lesson on "Craps" - is that the name of the game? I don't know, but that all seemed too complicated for me. Oh yeah!!!! I saw a "Plinko" board, too. Of course, that was one game I wanted to play but no one was around it. I asked my craps instructor if that was actually a real game or some room decoration piece. He said players who have those casino cards are randomly drawn to play for a chance of $1000 on the Plinko board. Darn!!!!! There goes my chance of ever playing my favorite Price is Right game!

We stayed at Niagara Falls until night fall because we wanted to see the falls "illuminate with colors". It was pretty but nothing to write home about. Let's just say the both of us were like "That's it?"

Day Four: Our last morning here before heading to Part Two of our Babymoon. We had another delicious breakfast.....I think we had omelettes. We stopped by Konzelmann Estate Winery. Jeff sampled their popular peach wine. He liked it so much, that he bought five bottles. Of course, we are only saving one bottle for ourselves which I can't drink until some time next year.

Babymoon.....to be continued!