After decompressing (from the long drive from Washington state) for about 11 days at Adam’s parents’ home in Pennsylvania, we headed out on a 10 night loop through the Northeast USA. Then we returned to Adam’s parents home for our final two weeks in the USA.
This particular Blog post is Part 3 of the “Northeast USA Loop” and will cover Burlington, VT, and the Niagara Falls area. Part 2 (the previous Blog post) covered Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Part 1 (two Blog Posts ago) covered New York City and Newport Rhode Island.
On our way from Maine to Vermont, our route went right by the retail store and restaurant of the Maine Cabin Masters, one of our favorite TV shows. The town is Manchester, MaineThis a view of the front of the Maine Cabin Masters retail store in Manchester, Maine. They did an episode on their TV show when they purchased this property and then renovated it. https://kennebeccabincompany.com/Then it was on to Burlington, Vermont. This is the pedestrian-only Church Street in downtown Burlington, VT. And yes, there is a church at the end of Church St, you can see it in the background.At the opposite end of Church St (not the Church end), sits City Hall. Besides the gorgeous architecture it has beautiful mosaics in the brick walkway in front of it.It is not just street art – it is a water fountain! If you look closely you can see there is one drinking fountain on each end of it. Located on Church St in downtown Burlington, VT.Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Company originated in the Burlington area.Burlington sits on the shores of Lake Champlain so it was only fitting that we had lunch by the lake. Nice cool breeze off the water and we walked the shoreline path afterward.
Then it was on to Niagara Falls. This is a view of Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side near Table Rock. There was a nice little mist keeping us cool. But beware that “mist” can quickly become a drenching if the wind shifts.The sheer volumn of water going over these Falls is quite impressive. And apparently it is only about half the volume of the natural Falls since they divert the other half to power production. Up until the power dam was built in the 1950’s the Falls natuarally retreated about six feet per year from erosion. Now they only retreat about one foot every ten years from erosion.We did not want to go down the hilll to ride on the crammed boats that take you up in front of the Falls to get soaking wet. So we decided instead to go the opposite direction (up) into the Skylon Tower overlooking the Falls.From the dining room of the revolving Skylon Tower, we watched the people on the boat get soaked.The Skylon Tower is similar to the Seattle Space Needle in that there is one level of the tower that rotates one full revolution every hour. If you make a reservation in the dining room, the trip up the tower is free. So we could have rode the elevator to the crowded (not revolving) observation deck for $30, or we could sit for a white tablecloth lunch in a revolving dining room for about $100 and get 90 minutes of food, service, views and photos. We thought the dining option in the tower was a great deal and we had a wonderful, relaxing time.And here is the view of American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls from the Skylon Tower.
On the way back to the car parking lot we used the funicular. From this vantage point it looks like Horseshoe Falls is water pouring into a hole in the earth!A few miles down river from Niagara Falls is the Niagara Whirlpool, where the river makes a 90 degree turn, causing a very large whirlpool. There is a cable car tourist ride you can purchase that goes across the whirlpool. Although interesting, it is not as stunning as the Niagara Falls (Horseshoe Falls, American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls).We stayed on the Canadian side near the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The town has beautiful architecture, flower basket lined streets and lots of restaurants and cafes. We highly recommend staying in this area if you go to Niagara Falls.The flowers in Niagara-on-the-Lake were gorgeous. This is a hibiscus masquarading as a rose.Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada has dozens of wineries in the area and all of the grapes are grown locally. This particular winery was called “Between the Lines” and it was exactly what we like in wineries – small, boutique, rustic and great quality small batches of wine.And before we knew it we were back in Pennsylvania from the whirlwind Northeast USA Loop.
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2 Comments
Great pics! I haven’t been to Niagara yet. Looks like I have some ideas for when I (eventually) visit. Y’all are looking great!
Thanks for your comment Laleana. I was really pleasantly surprised by the whole day – it turned out not to be “just looking at a waterfall”. We continue to hone our travel skills LOL.
Great pics! I haven’t been to Niagara yet. Looks like I have some ideas for when I (eventually) visit. Y’all are looking great!
Thanks for your comment Laleana. I was really pleasantly surprised by the whole day – it turned out not to be “just looking at a waterfall”. We continue to hone our travel skills LOL.