What I Did On My Summer Vacation

We spent the past week roaming from Erie, PA, to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, Canada. We meant to get up to Toronto but the Niagara area was so nice we just couldn't leave. Pictures here.

Erie, PA was a big letdown. Our hotel was very nice (possibly the best hotel on lake Erie), but the city itself (the third largest in the state) appeared to be economically depressed, and downtown Erie was not the quaint place I was expecting. In fact I felt rather unsafe there even in broad daylight. Also, our visit coincided with the annual Roar on the Shore motorcycle rally, making downtown non-navigable. However we found Presque Isle State Park very pleasant and spent a lot of time there.

Niagara Falls impressed me more than I expected. We started on the US side, parking on Goat Island in the Niagara Falls State Park, and walking from the wet and windy Horseshoe(Canadian) Falls side of the island to the calmer American Falls.

After checking in to our hotel on the Canadian side to dry off, we walked down to the falls viewing area, only to get drenched again as we approached Horseshoe Falls. At first I was impressed by how ridiculous everyone looked in their brightly colored ankle length plastic ponchos, but after fighting the mist/rain and wind I saw the wisdom in this fashion.

The second day in Niagara Falls we took the Maid of the Mist tour boat that gets you as close to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls as you can go without drowning, and where you are surrounded by the semicircular wall of roaring water. I wish I had some pics of the view down there, but the mist cloud was raining heavily down on us and I was afraid to get the camera wet.

We decided to spend our last couple of vacation days in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is a quaint early 19th century town on the shores of Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Niagara River. We booked a fairly decent B&B, which while comfortable (and featuring jetted tubs), wanted to charge us an extra $20 for the second B upon our arrival. The town's main street had several ice cream parlors, and we dined well there too.

Dining on this trip was varied...

On the road:
Aunt Bee's - truck stop diner on I-79 exit 141, featuring friendly service and hunting/country clutter/bee decor. Cheap but decent, except for the lousy coleslaw.

Erie, PA:
Pufferbelly Restaurant - plain but good food, this restaurant is in an old brick firehouse that still has the fireman's pole and lot of other neat old fire station stuff around.
Perkin's - not as good as Denny's and that's not sayin' much.
Ruby Tuesday - located in the Millcreek Mall (one of Erie, PA's top 5 attractions according to the hotel visitor's guide), this is a decent bar/restaurant similar to TGI Friday's.
Joe Root's - family friendly steak and seafood. good, plain, friendly.
Bob Evan's - The best breakfast the entire trip. You just can't beat biscuits and gravy.

Niagara Falls:
Food court at the US side parking garage - A chaotic, disorganized, "multi-cultural" fast food garbage, but we found a coffee counter that served decent grilled sandwiches.
Buchanan's Chophouse - The Doubletree hotel restaurant. This was the best meal the whole week. Really impressive soup course and satisfying portion of foie gras.
Tim Horton's - these fast food/cafe places are EVERYWHERE. fast and cheap breakfast option.
Passage to India - bland, expensive buffet.
My Cousin Vinny's - friendly but too expensive for what is basically the Olive Garden. Food was rushed so that we were served our main course before we finished the salad.

Niagara-on-the-Lake:
Bistro Six-One - Excellent food, great atmosphere.
Churchill Lounge - Prince of Wales hotel casual dining option. We enjoyed the weather and people watching on the corner patio.
Tim Horton's - cheap, fast, EVERYWHERE
Cows - Rich creamy ice cream. The smell of baking waffle cones outside practically forces you in the door.
Epicurean - Fresh ingredients make the plain offerings satisfying. Nice large patio.
Stagecoach Restaurant - local greasy spoon. nothing special.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory - the gorgeous chocolate candy displays draw you in, the Turkish coffee mocha chip ice cream makes you want to come back again and again.