It’s funny how something as simple as being somewhere with the woman you love can make that somewhere ten times more enjoyable.

The FallsI grew up in Southern Ontario, spending much of that time about an hour’s drive away from Niagara Falls.  In the 22 years I had spent in the province, I had seen The Falls maybe half a dozen times.  Each time I had gone with friends, but never girlfriends.  Because of this, we would often go just to watch people or visit one of the many nudie bars that lay on the outskirts of the city.

Seeing The Falls themselves was alright, but not much fun.

So when Reiko and I visited Niagara Falls with some of my family today, I was quite surprised with how much I enjoyed the trip.

Driving there from Simcoe took two hours, and after arriving we had some lunch.  The weather was great, and the light breeze picked up the mists generated by The Falls and blew it across the picnic area.  Even with this cold water hitting us for the first hour or so, the day was remarkably warm.  From there we managed to take several hundred photos as we walked both above the ground, and below.  One of the attractions allowed us to walk behind the falls, and this was enjoyable as we could get right close to the water and see some of the snow that had built up in the morning.  We also treked up Clifton Hill to take in some of the sights, and even enjoyed a brief Ferris Wheel ride.

After all this, I’m still surprised that Reiko managed to stay awake.  She had just come from a Tokyo to Toronto direct flight the day before, with a four hour train ride beforehand.  With the excessive time differences, she had woken up several hours before anyone else.  And add to that the nervousness she had felt for meeting some of my family … I’m really surprised she didn’t pass out mid-afternoon.

Risu HunterMaybe that’s why she chased after the squirrels ….

I’m glad that we could make the trip to Niagara Falls during the short stay in Ontario, and I’ll be sure to bring Reiko again if we get the opportunity to stay longer.  There are quite a few places in that province that I had never really understood as being “special”, though I’m certain that everything will be at least a dozen times better with my Reiko.