When my sister asked what she should do for her birthday… we really racked our brain. She asked me what destinations are on my bucket list still. First thing that popped into my mind was Niagara. My sister is usually down for anything and she went for it. But I had to come up with a plan for arriving in Toronto and getting to Niagara for the day.

After some digging and reading thousands of reviews online. Sahar and I settled on a day trip from tripadvisor. Here is the link. (https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g155019-d11458707-Niagara_Falls_Guided_Day_Tour_From_Toronto_with_Boat_Tower-Toronto_Ontario.html)

One thing to note about this… it is that the day tour did not include any excursions. Those had to be added after the fact. My sister and I went all out and got all the excursions which included all the following:

• Niagara City Cruises
• Table Rock Welcome Center
• Journey Behind the Falls
• Skylon Tower
• Flower Clock

We started the day by meeting the bus in Toronto at 10:30 am. The tour guide was very informative and friendly. He takes us past the CN tower and Scotiabank arena where the Raptors and Maple Leafs play as well as the Rogers Center, where the Blue Jays play. Seeing the arena helped me come up with something to add to my bucket list. (Definitely to travel to more arena and see more of my teams playing everywhere.) More on that later.

The tour guide also showed us the CN tower in a quick driveby… another thing that we heard a lot about and were planning to do dinner in their rotating restaurant later in the week… but more on that later. The ride to Niagara was about 2 hours. So if I had it to do again… I would have probably started out earlier for the day trip. Getting there around noon made it to where there was so little time to run around.

The park has several attractions, including Cave of the Winds behind the Bridal Veil Falls, Maid of the Mist, a popular boat tour which operates at the foot of the Rainbow Bridge, Prospect Point and its observation tower, Niagara Discovery Center, Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, and the Aquarium of Niagara. I really need to get back there and make sure that I get to do the Cave of the Winds, the Aquarium of Niagara Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center. I realize that all of these things were on the US side of the park. So I will have to make another trip to do so.

The tour guide let it be known that there wouldn’t be any time to spare for those that bought excursions… and that it was on us to get back to the bus at the correct time or we would be left behind. A little anxiety inducing but our first stop when we got into the Niagara park was Maple Leaf place. Maple Leaf place offers complementary Maple Syrup tasting and chocolate Fudges with a tour guide walking you through the process and productions. Me and my sister were able to get some good food at the cafeteria before we headed down to the boat tour. Good thing about the tour group was that we got 10% off food and souvenir purchases made at the time.

From the Maple Leaf place, we were taken to the boat tour. That was a fun day. Luckily, I was able to bring my gopro and get video of being down close by the falls. This was fun and while I think that everyone should try it, it is imperative that you bring water shoes and a change of clothes. While the tour boat did give you a poncho… it really did very little. For example… it is the Saturday of my return and I did the boat tour Monday afternoon and my shoes are still damp.

The water was intense but it was pretty breathtaking to be that close to the falls. This was a great excursion and well worth the money. My sister told me though… that she wouldn’t do it again. We enjoyed it though. It made me happy to be able to bring my gopro… and I have to say I think it stood up to the punishment. Thank Goodness, I had to foresight to bring it with me. Take a look at the footage below.

Horseshoe falls were intense. It is was where we experienced the worst of the onslaught. But it was still great to have done it. We were able to get some great footage of the falls. And look at the rainbow that made an appearance just for us.

After the boat tour, and the change of clothes we headed to the journey behind the falls which was very informative. The elevators inside the cave were a nice touch. There was also a food court there for those who weren’t going down to relax a bit. My sister got great pictures here. The line was long but it was worth the wait.

Lastly, we ended up at the Skylon Tower. Apparently, it is very similar to the CN tower. So similar that they both have a revolving restaurant. The Skylon Tower is home to Niagara Falls largest indoor entertainment centre – the Skylon Family Fun Centre/Skyquest. The Tower is 775 foot high tower offers particularly breathtaking views of the Horseshoe Falls. And that was no joke. The elevators took just a few moments from the bottom to the top. And they say that you can take pictures in the elevator… but the outdoor section of the observation deck is so much more breathtaking. Thank goodness, I was able to bring my Nikon and snap a few pictures.

We had a great time there in Niagara… and I know I want to go back and do more thorough exploring but we had to catch the bus and head back to Toronto for the next leg of our adventure. The day tour was a fun way to experience the highlights in a few hours and cram everything in but I think if you have the time to spend there… You definitely should take a few days and explore it thoroughly.

DAY 2: Hockey Hall of Fame and Ripley’s Aquarium

Day two started off chaotic.. since my sister and I got tired of calling Lyfts from our hotel to take us downtown. We finally agreed to take transit and that really eased life. (Toronto Public Transit was actually great.) After a short walk from the train station, we hit the Hockey Hall of Fame which was downstairs… I loved the fact that this a museum dedicated to my sport.

I was surprised at the inclusion of both Women’s hockey as well as the the many black players both men and women. There was a plethora of history and facts and even my sister who surface level loves sports enjoyed it very much. An 18-person committee of players, coaches and others meets annually in June to select new honourees, who are inducted as players, builders or on-ice officials. In 2010, a subcategory was established for female players. 

The museum also has interactive displays that are featured in the NHLPA Be A Player Zone. At the NHLPA Gametime, visitors can take shots using real pucks at a computer simulation of goaltender Ed Belfour. Visitors can also take turns playing goaltender, blocking shots from computer simulations of players like Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. Upstairs… in the little loft… The TSN/RDS Broadcast Zone provides a look at how hockey broadcasting works and allows users to record messages that may be displayed on both the Hockey Hall of Fame’s website, and the TSN/RDS networks. And while I would never try my hand at broadcasting only to have my faux pas on the website… I did try my hand at the goaltending. You all know I have a love for goalies and all that they do. (If you didn’t know, now you know.) Check me out here:

Shoutout to my sister for recording me. This was too much fun and if I had to do it again… I would. Maybe next time I will try the scoring one. I used to shoot pucks in high school. However, I never shot a real one before so that will be an experience. I remember Gretzky talking about the interactive shooting down there and I just knew I was not ready for that. If you haven’t seen him talk about it… Check it out here:

I loved it. There was so much great stuff there and even the Ducks made an appearance. I always credit this movie as being what got me into hockey and if you want to know more about that… go check out those blog posts.

But and while I have a lot of memories of this place… I think my favorite is the goalie masks. My sister was able to find Vasy’s goalie mask and I found Lundqvist. So I say it was a good time. They have an outstanding collection. One can hope that Shesterkin gets in there at some point.

I got to see all of the NYR memorabilia and the all of Canadiens historic locker room. Great additions to any museum of hockey. Mark Messier makes a lot of appearances. Here is to the 5 stars. I can not wait to drag my friend back for another look and to laugh at each other doing the interactive games. This is something hockey fans cannot miss.

After the Hockey Museum, we headed over to Ripley’s aquarium and it was huge. Located in the space next to the Rogers center and south of the CN Tower. The aquarium is accessible from the Union subway station using the SkyWalk pedestrian pathway. This was helpful since my sister and I had to take the train and use the sky on a rainy day. The aquarium is organized into ten galleries: Canadian Waters, Rainbow Reef, Dangerous Lagoon, Discovery Centre, The Gallery, Ray Bay, Swarm: Nature by Numbers, Planet Jellies, Life Support Systems and the Shoreline Gallery. It is home to more than 20,000 animals. Every city I go to… I stop in for the nearest aquarium.

There were a lot of Lionfish plus I did not know that stingrays could get that large but it was very entertaining and should be added to anyone’s list especially if you have kids you want to keep busy for an extended period of time. The highlight was the moving sidewalk through the tunnel. Sharks galore. My nephew would have loved it.

DAY 3: The Toronto Sign and CN Tower

My sister and I got out to take pictures and wander around the city. We knew we had to get a picture of the Toronto sign. Touristy sure… but it was good to be out and about and getting fresh air. People eating from food trucks and sitting around the water reminds me of home. Loved it.

This was a fun time. We opted not have dinner at the Skylon because we knew that for my sister’s birthday we could be having dinner at the CN tower. The 360 restaurant had a lot to choose from. I reserved the table in advance online ( https://www.cntower.ca/dine-at-360-restaurant/360-overview) and they were booming when we showed up. The views did not disappoint. The longest thing was the elevator ride up to the restaurant.

The website was very clear about the minimum needing to be spent . “360 guests must spend a minimum of $75 on food per person (minimum spend is $40 for children 4 to 12) which includes elevation to the restaurant and access to the CN Tower’s Main Observation Level following your meal.” So I was ready for views and food.

While the views were great and the city lit up once the sun went down. The food was bland. They could really use some seasoning up in the tower. It was too expensive to be that Bland. It was great to oversee the city. But if I had to recommend.. I would say just ride up and see the observation deck. It is way cheaper.

In the end, Niagara Falls and Toronto gave everything and I would love to be a frequent visitor in the next few years. Definitely check it out soon. I know I will be back to see hockey in the winter at some point. Bye for now all.