Thousand Islands

 2nd October 2022

Today is going to be quite a few hours on the road, so we head off to breakfast (included in our package) with the hope of having a quick meal and hitting the road. However, we forgot one of the cardinal rules of travel, NEVER get between a bus load of aged tourists and a free breakfast. 

The breakfast rooms were chaos, with people waiting in the foyer with the hope of getting a table. We spotted an opportunity for the 4 of us at a raised table shared with a few others, enquired if the seats were available, and staked our claim. Minutes later were were accosted by a woman speaking to us in French saying they were her seats and the wayward child that was supposed to be holding the spot for her and her family had gone walkabout.

Once again we were seatless, eventually securing 2 tables each with 2 seats somewhat apart where at least we could sit down and have breakfast. The French speaking family that had displaced us must not have eaten for a month, their out of control kids commandeered the waffle machines and had to be moved on by the staff to allow others to have a go. We finally thought they had finished breakfast and were leaving, only to realise they had moved into the adjoining dining room, and were starting all over again, with the waffle machines again under threat. 

As we were loading our car to leave, the woman was walking across the carpark with a plate stacked with waffles and the kids tearing around on skateboards in the carpark.  

After so much excitement were were on our way to Niagara. It is mostly freeway driving, so not that scenic. We stop in a small town to get fuel and hopefully use a toilet. The service station has no toilets, a bad attitude and told us to go to the nearest Tim Hortons (a local fast food chain), and use theirs. We had coffee whilst we were there using the facilities.

Once we pass through the outskirts of Toronto, it is a pleasant drive down to Niagara through one of Canada's main winery areas. 

By 2 pm we were at Niagara On the Lake, an historic old town with a lot charm and not far from our final destination. It was time for lunch and a comfort break and our choice of lunch venue was pretty much chosen by where the nearest toilet was. The Prince of Wales Hotel won, and like everywhere it was busy.

Prince of Wales Hotel

The service was slow and the food OK, but the drama came when it was time to pay the bill and the waitress declared that the EFTPOS machine was not working. We did not have enough cash between us to pay the bill so I headed off to the only ATM in town which was about 4 blocks away. The ATM also had no interest in giving me cash, so it was back to the hotel to see what happens next. I explained the situation to the waitress, who explained that I must have a debit card, as neither the bank nor their machine will allow their use ???? Why is this only a problem in this very busy tourist town ? Anyway, the EFTPOS machine came good and accepted AMEX.

A walk around town was needed after this debacle. Tourists are everywhere, because it is Sunday, and the debit card seems to work fine in the local stores ! A few shots of the town are below.

Our hotel in Niagara is literally right in front of the falls and we have rooms facing the falls from the 12th and 15th floors. The view is stunning. It is a windy afternoon so the spray from the falls is pretty heavy and  heading in our direction.

It is now after 5 pm and we have all of tomorrow to explore the falls and the area, so retreat to our rooms to unpack, admire the view have a short rest. We plan to meet in the foyer at 6.30pm for a pre dinner drink.

The restaurant in the hotel seems the easiest option for dinner, so after a drink we head up to the mezzanine floor and have no trouble getting a table

Our next experience was one we have become quite used to in the last week, the explanation of the items on the menu they had run out of. The girls had set their heart on a seafood salad based on salmon. Hard to believe, but a Canadian restaurant had run out of salmon. I had chosen the Wagyu meatloaf. You guessed it, it was also gone. So we ended up selecting from what was left.

There was some interest in seeing the desert menu, but it also had been reduced in half by items that they had run out of, so we declined and moved on.

Instead we headed back to our rooms for an early night and to take in the view of the now floodlit falls.

There was a fireworks display at 10 am, but partly blocked by a nearby hotel. It happens every night and only goes for around 5 minutes, so we may check it out tomorrow.