there we drove to Alexandria ….

there we drove to Alexandria Bay for the evening.

After breakfast, we had a two-hour boat cruise on the 1000 Islands. It is located along the border between northern New York and southeastern Ontario, Canada.

There are actually 1,864 islands and this is a stunning region. The cruise was narrated with much information. Also included was a stop at Heart Island to tour the Boldt Castle.

After touring the castle we took a shuttle back to Alexandria Bay. Back on our motorcoach, we traveled west and went through Canadian Immigration and Customs and entered Canada.

This was my seventh time to visit Niagara Falls and Joe’s third, but it is so beautiful, we never tire of being there. We arrived at the Hilton Niagara Falls hotel. Our room had great views of all three falls.

Today we had a very knowledgable local guide taking us around the highights of Niagara. At the Prince of Wales Hotel, build in 1864, we were treated to high tea. This Victorian-era hotel is a historic landmark and is still a high-end hotel.

Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls spanning the most powerful waterfall in North America. It is famed for its beauty and valuable source of hydroelectric power. Its height is 167 feet.

We were excited to experience the awe-inspiring Voyage of the Falls boat tour. We all got complimentary red ponchos and boarded the boat, which took us face-to-face with this powerful fall.

A lovely plus was that a recent rain left us with an incredible large rainbow. It’s always exciting to feel the spray and hear the roar of this epic spectacular. That evening we had a farewell dinner, of course, at a restaurant overlooking the falls which are alight with revolving colors each night.

Our final day we went through customs and continued to Lockport, New York. We had a two-hour narrated cruise on the Erie Canal. Two hundred years ago, the Erie Canal was built to fuel America’s expansion. Through extrodinary vision and effort, it connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes by water, transforming New York state and our country forever.

Built between 1817 and 1825 at a cost of $7 million, it was the longest artificial waterway and the greatest public works project in North America. It enabled people and goods to flow from around the world to New York state. Today the Erie Canal offers a place to recreate while discovering the incredible history and beauty. Our boat went through the 34th and 35th locks. This was the last event on our 10-day tour and a nice finale.

We flew back from Buffalo. Everything on the tour went perfectly including the weather. We were so happy to be able to see Joe’s sister and grandaughter and family in this tour, plus all the new and exciting things we always had on our travel list.