Published: August 21, 2008 10:51 am            

FAMILY: The Cave and the Maid

By Anthony Custode Jr.

Working for the Cave of the Winds for the past six summers has often dulled my senses when it comes to the Niagara Falls experience.

“What’s the big deal? It’s just water. Go take a shower and you’ll see the same thing,” I would often joke.

But this weekend I decided to take a step back and look at the falls from a tourist perspective. My uncle was married Friday and I offered to play tour guide for his family from Massachusetts.

We began our journey Saturday, the busiest day of the week for the park.

Our first stop was the Cave of the Winds. We grabbed our sandals and raincoats and my guests were thrilled with them. Once we were on the trip, I saw the awe in the faces of these out-of-towners.

For me, it was “been there, done that.” I’ve seen this view thousands of times. It was nothing special, so I thought.

Once we were walking the decks, the view became overwhelming for my guests. I don’t think one of them stopped smiling the entire time we were down there.

“Amazing,” was a common word used during our Cave experience. It seemed I was hearing it every other minute.

When we hit the thunderous Hurricane Deck, I began to see why people come here from all over the world. The roaring of the falls was intense. A bit too intense for my two-year-old son however.

I had forgotten how remarkable this tour’s signature spot was. You can get about 10 feet from the base of the Bridal Veil Falls, the smallest of the three water falls. Don’t let the word “smallest” fool you. There is a reason they call it the Hurricane Deck, as conditions are equivalent to that of a category three hurricane.

As we made our way back, my guests were all smiles. I’ve never heard so many “thank you’s” in my life.

We then set our sights on the Maid of the Mist. Because some of our patrons had issues with walking far distances at a time, we elected to take the trolley. Unfortunately, once we were at our desired destination, my group concluded there wasn’t enough time to take the infamous boat ride. After all, they had a plane to catch.

Sunday was a new day and I was determined to get on that boat. Once again I took the trolley, as walking is my kryptonite. This time I was alone.

One thing I gathered on my born-again Niagara Falls adventure is the difference in conductors on the trolley. Each one has their own little tidbits to add to the general speech.

Soon I arrived at the Maid of the Mist, an attraction I last visited during grade school. Sunday is still a pretty busy day and I was impressed with how smooth they kept the masses moving. In about 15 minutes I was on the boat and we were heading toward the Horseshoe Falls, the largest of the three. The boat takes you past the American and Bridal Veil Falls and you can even see those taking the Cave of the Winds trip. That is, until the mist from the American Falls covers you for a few seconds. After the mist calms, you get a real sense of the beauty surrounding you.

This was the point where I began to really appreciate Niagara Falls. Before I knew it, we were face to face with the Horseshoe Falls. The thunderous sound of the water crashing into the rigid rocks below was intense. Mist surrounded us leaving us temporarily blinded. The only sense we as passengers could properly utilize was our hearing.

I’m not quite sure what the other passengers thought, although it was pretty obvious everybody had a great time. The experience at the base of the Horseshoe Falls gave me a new perspective.

Often locals will talk about what they would do if they were ever in a dangerous situation involving the falls. You hear people claim they would grab on a rock. If only it were that simple. Being on the boat made me realize the intensity of the falls. In such a situation, logical thinking would likely go out the window and panic would set in immediately.

I think my perspective of Niagara Falls before this weekend is similar to most others who live in the area. One can’t begin to count the people who have lived here their entire lives without visiting even one of these two attractions.

We always hear how there’s nothing to do in this area. But what we forget is that we have a true wonder of the world in our backyard. The next time the family is looking for something different to do, it might not be a bad idea to check out an attraction or two.



IF YOU GO:

* WHAT: Cave of the Winds

* WHEN: Open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

* WHERE: Goat Island, Niagara Falls State Park

* MORE INFORMATION: Call 278-1730



* WHAT: Maid of the Mist

* WHEN: Open 9:15 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. daily

* WHERE: Niagara Falls State Park

* MORE INFORMATION: Call 284-8897 or visit maidofthemist.com

        

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