I’m lucky to have a mom who is bold and spontaneous. Her drive for adventure is what prompted us to take a last minute trip to Niagara Falls in August. It was lingering on her bucket list and since she planned to be visiting me in Detroit, why not take a little (4 hour) drive to check off that line item? The logic was sound enough for me as I am someone who also loves an impromptu journey. I was especially enthused about our route from Detroit to Niagara, because it meant I would finally get to cross the Ambassador Bridge! A pillar in the Motor City skyline that had been enticing me since I moved to Detroit in 2021. For those who are unfamiliar, the Ambassador Bridge is a private bridge that takes you from Detroit into Windsor Canada. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the bridge to show in this post as I was the one driving, but an image is just a google search away. 

We left in the late morning and drove through a downpour for the first half of the journey. We were both a little unmoved by the Ontario landscape. It was not too different from the American Midwestern surroundings with which we were familiar. When we finally arrived at the crowded falls, we were lucky enough to find parking. Within five minutes, we were staring at one of the World’s Wonders. After taking in the sights, we retired to our hotel for the evening. My mom had done a lot of research on places to stay and decided staying on the Canadian side of the falls was the right move for us. 

The next day we got up and explored the American side, the Niagara Falls State Park. We rode a trolley that took us around the park grounds and bought some souveniers. My mom took a solo journey on the Maid of the Mist, the boat that takes you up to the falls. I stayed back to complete some work. She gave the boat ride a rave review and said the view from the water was exhilarating. 

After the morning’s excitement, we decided to check out a nearby town called Niagara-on-the-Lake before we continued back towards Detroit. Niagara-on-the-Lake ended up being way more charming than I was expecting. We had a great lunch at a restaurant next to Lake Erie and explored the main streets. The rain found us there too, so we hopped back in our car and made the journey back to America. I bought a bag of Ketchup flavored chips on our way home, a perceived Canadian staple. 

My Canon Rebel XSi accompanied me on this journey. You may remember this camera served me well on my trip to Ireland a month prior. What I noticed on my Niagara Falls pictures that I didn’t notice on my Ireland photos, was some artifact presumably from my lens. It looked like a wipe was used to clean the lens and it left some residue, which should not happen. The artifact was edited out of the photos below. Thank goodness for Lightroom and Photoshop! Enjoy the photos and maybe consider taking an impromptu road trip with your mom.