Oh Canada!

Imagine driving a few hours out of your way to see one of the worlds most recognizable and beautiful natural sites. The excitement builds as you get closer and closer and you begin to anticipate the view, the pictures, everything. You have seen pictures but everyone says the same thing; “Its just so powerful when you can see it in person, its 10 times better.” You arrive, go through the hassle of parking your trailer, and quickly bike to the viewing platform.

Then, out of nowhere, clouds. Thick dense clouds. So thick that you cant see even see 75 yards, or the giant buildings around you, much less the gorgeous spectacle you wouldn’t even believe existed if it weren’t for all the signs, other tourists, and the fact that you can hear it!

This was our experience at Niagra Falls. I really remember thinking at one time that it was possible that we could leave that day having never seen the falls. Luckily the clouds broke enough for us to see the falls and shoot a couple of pictures. We even have some with blue sky background!

I have always thought of Canada somewhat like America - North Campus. So much so that I really didn’t even think twice about crossing the border to view Niagra Falls from the Canadian side. Oops. Big mistake.

First they searched our trailer. Not to bad. Then we remembered (after racking up $20 in fees in the first 3 minutes) that our cell phone plans were probably quite different in Canada and had to turn off our phones. So now we were in a foreign country with no way to call anyone and no maps. Did I remember to get gas in America, where it is over a dollar cheaper a gallon? No. Did I have enough gas to get back to America? No. Did I realize this until I was far away from the border, and with it all of the money exchange places? No. Did I even have a reasonable amount of cash to exchange if the opportunity produced itself? No.

Needless to say what was supposed to be a shortcut through Canada ended up being quite a funny adventure. Thanks to some family coming through in the crunch (shout out to my dad and Bret) we survived. More importantly, we learned! So next time we cross the border we will be much better prepared. Oh Canada!