TUEDAY 12th JULY 2016 - NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO

After meeting 'Jeffrey the Frog' (true story) we enjoyed a leisurely and relaxing breakfast on the front deck.  Dorien took Paul for a drive in his 1948 Bristol 400 which Paul just loved.  I stayed home as the back seat only had half-an-inch of spare leg-room and after hearing stories of Dorien's racing escapades I thought he might drive faster than I would be comfortable with.  Turns out I was wrong about Dorien's driving but it gave him and Paul a good chance to chat one-on-one.

The boys returned much later than expected.  Ann had prepared a lovely lunch, after which we all got our bikes ready to head out on the road.   Dorien led the way on his V700.  I'm sure he didn't  trust us to find our way south after turning up at his place so late yesterday.   We were, however, grateful to be put on the right road towards Niagara.   Thanks Dorien and Ann for your time and interest.  Our meeting was far too short as evidenced by our good-byes on the side of the road.

We rode off, full of anticipation of arriving at Dan & Bev's within a few hours.  Imagine our disappointment when we hit the Queen Elizabeth Way Expressway out of Toronto and found ourselves in grid-locked traffic in extremely hot and humid conditions.   Nothing for it but to inch our way to St. Catherines.

We'd rung ahead to Dan's and he was out on the footpath waving us in.  It was such a relief to finally be off the road and 'home'.  We immediately began talking non-stop (well I was!) which didn't go unnoticed by Dan!  Apparently Bev and I can give each other a run for our money.

We enjoyed the most delicious meal which Dan told us he'd been busy preparing all day.  Of course I believed him...!!!  After that we drove off to Niagara where Paul and I got dropped off to make our way through the maddening crowd to see the falls.   It was just on dusk so a nice time of the evening to see Niagara Falls.   And they didn't disappoint.   It was mind-blowing watching the sheer volume of water going over the edge.  We were seeing it but couldn't quite believe it.  A spectacle to behold that's for sure.

What we were taken back with was the circus built along the river banks.  We had no idea there was an imitation Las Vegas built on the shores of  the Niagara River.   No photograph we'd ever seen showed the urban side of the falls so it came as a shock to see the bright lights and ferris wheel and every tacky shop you could name all bunched in together.   But, guess the general populace love it...!!!  Personally I thought it detracted from the falls but truth be known it's probably a crowd-puller.

Dan and Bev drove us around to see the sights before arriving back home quite late.  Bev was off to bed as she had to start work early the following morning.  Paul & Dan chatted in the shed for a while before calling it a day.