Niagara Falls, Old Reunions, and the 100th Post

I took a journey to Niagara Falls this weekend, ignoring such issues as lack of my Canadian cell phone, and the lack of the guy who was supposed to accompany me. I took off alone then, that fateful Friday the 13th, in my freshly waxed car with little idea of what was in store for me... Actually, despite the rough start, I had a wonderful time at the Falls, staying with my (second) cousins. He is located in St. Catherines, ON for a summer seminary assignment. I have not seen them for over ten years, so seeing them came somewhat as a shock. Of course, in their perspective they had not changed nearly as much as me, and they were probably right in that assessment. Their kids are now ten years older than when I saw them last. Their son was but an infant that I had held at the age he is now. We sat on the couch till 1 AM and ate nachos and discussed the previous ten years. I spent the following day at Niagara Falls, the Journey Behind the Falls, and where else but the Casino Resort in town. Unsurprisingly, the former two turned out in the end to be better uses of my time and money. Sadly, when spending time at table games, you have by far the best chance in a casino, but nearly even odds do not indicate a win. The casino has just as likely a chance of winning, and so my two $10 bets were lost in the span of about 3 minutes. Not being one to blow more than a few of my increasingly rare bills of currency, I moved on shortly after getting fleeced. “The Journey Behind the Falls” was interesting enough, and while I did get thoroughly soaked, I found the experience to be rather expensive given the amount of time that one typically spends down there. I would posit a theory that the average person spends about a $1 a minute for the privilege of getting close enough to the water to feel the spray. The Falls themselves are magnificent to behold, the most surprise there being that the American Falls are best viewed from the Canadian side, oh, the irony. Other than having my passport stolen, it truly was a fantastic weekend. That night we went out to Port Dalhousie for ice cream and walked the pier out over Lake Ontario. You could see Hamilton and Toronto from the shores. I could have spent days there, but unfortunately reality has a harsh buzzer, and they had to leave for New Hampshire for a family camp, and I had to return to work the following day. Southern Ontario did however make it onto a list of places I would love to return to. Yes, this is my 100th post since I began blogging on here in late 2003. I had intended to reach this milestone much earlier, but summer called...