Buffalo in the winter turned out to be not so bad at all. We spent the time between breakfast and David's game at Niagara Falls.
We wandered the American side of the river, me towing the camera and snapping way too many pictures, even though I know from experience that no photo ever does justice to the falls.
Crossing into Canada required no more than showing a driver's license and answering questions: where were from, where we were born, where were going, and why? No birth certificate required, and no physical check of the car.
The woman agent who quizzed us at Canada's crossing appeared to have a bit of the Niagara River flowing through her veins--no smile, no "Welcome to Canada, enjoy your visit"-- glaring suspiciously as she leaned slightly to look past my husband at me in the passenger's seat of the car.
"And where was she born?" she asked my husband, keeping her eyes locked on mine. Conscious of my tendency to make wisecracks at inopportune moments, I said nothing, and we were waved in with an impatient flick of her icy fingers.
In the winter the park closes access to the "up close and get wet" viewing areas near the base of the falls, but the view is still spectacular from the higher vantage points, and the number of tourists competing for the view is greatly diminished compared to the summer time.
Reentering the US, the agent peered into the car and asked, "Only two?"
"Only two humans," I replied.
Bruce winced, but the agent laughed. "We don't care about the aliens," he said.
A little more small talk, the "W" questions, a few more chuckles, conversation about the basketball tournament we'd come to watch, and then he asked to see my license. I reached into my pocketbook with deft fingers and handed him the card.
Suddenly he bent down and peered more closely at me. "Why are you giving me your VISA card?" he asked, smile gone.
"Oh, darn!" I fiddled for my license. Bruce sat silently, just shaking his head slightly, probably trying to indicate to the agent that I could be ditzy, but wasn't in fact trying to bribe my way back in to the country with my ATM card.
"Just habit," I said. "That's the only card I ever pull out these days." I laughed, a genuine laugh at myself. "I've handed my VISA card to the librarian by mistake, too." I shook my own head to indicate that I was indeed a ditz.
He laughed then, and waved us in. "Wish your son good luck with his game," he said.
~~~~~
Many a calm river begins as a turbulent waterfall, yet none hurtles and foams all the way to the sea. ~Mikhail Lermontov
Comments
I have not seen Niagara yet - isn't that shocking? One day...
Glad you had a good time Ruth. Did David's team win?
You're pretty far from that end of Canada aren't you? That's like me saying I still haven't seen the Grand Canyon, which I haven't except in a plane.
They won the first game, but not overall. :>)
I was in an interrogation room. I was grilled about my 'drug use' and the doctor and who had recommended him, and what kind of injury. I showed the interrogator that I couldn't move my left arm at all and nearly cried when he demanded that I show him how far. I was in that room with that man for nearly an hour, answering the same questions over and over. I assume that they want you to trip yourself up. I don't know. But, all I could think about was how much money in man hours they were wasting on me and didn't they know any better and I was hoping they wouldn't take my meds away because I was due for a pain pill pretty soon and was really looking forward to it.
They changed interrogators. The second one was nicer, and then the first one came back.
They finally let me re-enter the U.S. I was so glad that I always travel with my passport. I think it would have been harder without it. I suppose that they were checking my background while they 'worked me over.'
How incredibly stupid!
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
The only thing that has happened to me coming from Canada into the U.S. in a car is that a Canada Goose let me have it right through the open window of the car - it was like a quart of wet coffee grounds, but stinky.
Alice
The pictures of those powerful falls are spectacular. I hope you had a good mini-vacation.
Lisa~ I can definitely imagine that. The last time I'd been to the falls was with my parents!
Barbara~ I can see something like that happening to me. Actually, your friend was more forgetful than you!
Wanda~ That must have been spectacular. The closest I'll get to a bird's eye view is Google Earth.