Hi, my name is Tony. I am one of Croswell’s many awesome tour escorts. Being offered an opportunity to travel to a fantastic destination is a “carrot” I find hard to refuse. So, when an opportunity to visit one of America’s most beautiful locations comes around, how can I let it pass me by? Next thing I knew, I was on board a motorcoach heading to the Empire State…New York.

As we made our way toward up-state New York, we had to make a stop for lunch, of course. I have a weakness for mom-and-pop, hometown eateries and seek them out as stops along the way. This time, I found Market Street Family Restaurant in Mentor, Ohio. They were able to accommodate all of us new friends. And they did so with blue ribbon style. The food came out fast and hot, and not to mention absolutely delish! My patty melt was excellent but everything I saw come out of the kitchen looked so good it made me think twice about my choice.

After a day on the road, we made it to Niagara, New York for our two-night stay. We stopped at the Red Coach Inn for a buffet-style dinner of prime rib, pork tenderloin, vegetables, salad, and an eye-popping selection of desserts. We got back to the hotel early enough that we had the chance to walk across the street to the national park. It was amazing to see Niagara Falls lit up at night in all her natural beauty.

After a great night’s sleep and a quick breakfast, we headed over to the falls to start our day. First, we were supposed to visit the Cave of the Winds first, but there was a minor problem with the elevator. We decided to go take our ride on the Maid of the Mist first, then come back. That gave the maintenance crew time to fix the little problem. No worries. We hopped back on our trusty steed – our motorcoach – and made the quick trip to the entrance to the Maid of the Mist. We donned our provided ponchos and climbed on board the state-of-the-art watercraft. It took us out on the Niagara River past the American side of the falls and over to the Canadian side. We could hear the roaring power and feel the cool mist of the spectacular falls. There were times where the mist was so thick I had to take off my glasses because of the accumulation of huge water droplets on them. We got back to the dock, surprisingly dry I might add, and took some time to grab a bite to eat. I stopped at a little burger joint called Flip Burger, and tell you what, my burger and steak fries were awesome!

Once we were fed, we made our way back to the Cave of the Winds. This was a series of decks and platforms that took you up close to the bottom of the falls. Again, the ponchos and provided foam flip-flop sandals proved invaluable as we made our way through sometimes shallow flowing water and heavy mist. Being this close to the falls was both gorgeous and thrilling at the same time!

From experiencing the raging spectacle of the falls up close, we headed off to our next destination – a hydroelectric power facility. We were given the occasion to tour the plant and walk out on the observation platform high above the Niagara River below. Then off to our last stop for the day, dinner at famous Como Restaurant. We enjoyed our buffet dinner and sorbet for dessert. Finally, after sharing stories of our adventures from the day over delicious food, we climbed aboard our coach and headed back to the hotel for a much-needed evening of R&R.

Our last day was our sad travel home day…my least favorite days of the tour because we say “until we meet again” to our new friends. We did make another stop at a small-town diner for lunch. This time it was Petie’s Family Restaurant in Willowick, Ohio. This was absolutely another keeper on the list of places to stop for lunch. The food was fantastic…my burger was perfect. After a filling and delightful meal, we wrapped up our trip back to the Cincy area wishing we could do it all again.

Thanks for reading about our trip to the beautiful Niagara Falls, New York. Hope to see you real soon on one of Croswell’s tours!

From the escort seat of,

Tony

Niagara Falls - No Passport Required