Gigantic! (22 June)

Yes, the Niagara Falls are truly gigantic, a breathtaking marvel of nature. Since the Cross Roads tour took us so close to this spectacle, we drove out there together with the two British guys, Mark and Pete. Luckily it stopped pouring rain during our brief sojourn at the Falls, and the view was worth the 30 minute wait in traffic (and paying $0.35 for that pleasure at a toll booth). Unfortunately, I found there were way too many tourists jostling for photo ops and the power of the Falls was lost in the swaying, milling crowds. For the real Falls feeling, I prefer Vernal Falls in Yosemite, and the hike you have to take to get up there.

Originally I had planned to cycle on Presque Isle today, but leaving the shelter of the hotel I already encountered the first rain drops of the day. So I put poor Sirrus back in the car and mounted the much less attractive training bicycle in the fitness room. As it turned out, the timing was right as far as cycling went because I beat Emil to the hotel by just a few minutes.

Perhaps this also had to do with a delay I incurred when stopping for a coffee and a piece of pie at Aunt Millies (actually I had to use the restroom, so the rest of the stay wasn't really planned). However, at Aunt Millies I encountered another example of gigantism: I have never seen such enormous baked goods and especially the cream pies with their whipped toppings were almost frightening.
Who can eat these things?! The restaurant was packed with people attempting to do just that. I must admit, the meringue on top of my lemon pie defeated me ... it was almost as gigantic as the mountains of mist rising from the Niagara Falls. It was interesting to note that the majority of waitresses were probably retired seniors. They certainly took pride in their busy restaurant. And the sentiment of the sign in the window spoke to me.

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