Freefalling at Niagara Falls; Work Can be Play

I love my job. Next to travel writing it is one of the most enjoyable ways to make a living and see interesting sites.
I have been in the dressing rooms of the Rogers Centre, been in the darkest corners of Casa Loma, walked the halls of the Air Canada Centre, took free rides at Canada’s Wonderland and just last week I was skipping ahead of the lines at the CN Tower; All for the sake of my job.

Horseshoe Falls

This week was no exception. We spent 2 days running around Niagara Falls checking out and promoting some sights.
It all started with check in at the Hilton on the company’s dime of course. Our rooms weren’t ready, so for some unknown reason, they gave us all an upgrade. Wow, As my friend Chris put it…I was staying in a rock star suite.

KIng bed and Jacuzzi

Hallway to Two bedrooms

I felt like a Rock Star too, all that room and nobody to share it with. Dave was working on his own movie so I had this big comfortable two bedroom suite with Jacuzzi, fireplace and kitchen. I even had two flat screen TV’s to watch.  I took advantage of each room however.  My air conditioning was bothering me in the middle of the night, so instead of adjusting it, I simply stumbled over to my other bedroom that contained another King Size bed.

We all agreed the next morning that it was a little excessive, but who are we to complain a free suite at the Hilton.

Jacuzzi with a View

I love this town. A couple of people on the crew were talking and saying how there isn’t anything to do at the Falls and one night is more than enough to stay.
We tend to be a little spoiled about this natural wonder that we live so close to. Torontonians don’t take advantage of what the Falls has to offer enough.
Not Dave and I, we take a weekend getaway to Niagara every year (if we are in the country) and we always find something new and exciting to do.
This week, we were there to promote Niagara Falls newest attraction, indoor sky diving.
For $70 you get three, 1-minute free falls of playing in the wind tunnel hovering in the air. You are actually in the chamber for longer, as groups go in together. While skydiving, the freefall is actually only a minute, so even experienced sky divers come to Niagara ….. to hone their skills.
I could go on and on describing it, but it is far more fun to watch the video instead.

After our time at Niagara Free Fall, we popped over to the Journey Behind the Falls. We had a little sketch that they were filming, so once again, we jumped ahead of the line and were in and out at our leisure. The thought of being under the falls is more exciting than actually being there.

Tunnel under Niagara Falls

The cost is $12.50 for adults or you can buy a multi attraction pass to allow you into all of Niagara’s top attractions. You get a rain poncho to keep you dry which I wasn’t to thrilled about. A member of our crew stated that he thought that they were biodegradable, but when I asked someone that worked at the falls. They said that they were plastic, but they do recycle. I think that they should go back to their old system of offering re-usable poncho’s. They do it that way at Victoria Falls in Zambia.

In the Tunnel with my Rain Poncho

The tunnels are small and crowded and you have 3 different areas to observe the falls from behind. The third is far out to the centre of the Niagara river and it is pretty cool to think about the fact that you are right under the river with one of the world’s biggest falls thundering right over your head.
Before leaving the Tunnel, you have to go out to the observation deck. You are standing within a few meters of 168,000 cubic metres (6million cubic feet) of water falling every second!

Up Close and Personal with the Falls

We went to dinner at the Copa Cabana. A meat lovers dream. If you are a vegetarian, stop reading here, but if you love all things meat, this is the place to eat. For $35 you will have non stop meat delivered to your table all night long. Top sirloin, filet mignon, lamb, tender chicken, it was so tender, juicey and delicious. We didn’t even bother going to the buffet to eat anything else. Not even a vegetable on our plate. We simply waited for the next round of meat to come our way.
After dinner it was off to midnight bowling at Boston Pizza. This is a great complex just off of Clifton Hill (the tourist strip with wax museums and Ripley Believe it or not etc.)
Music videos played over the lanes and our electronic score boards kept track of how we did. There is a bar, food and full arcade.
Everyone had their favorite games. I was addicted to guitar hero, but other’s loved shootem up games, driving, basketball and

Up until 2:30 am and up for work the next day can take its toll. Lucky for us, it was a downpour at the falls and our visit to Marine Land was canceled due to in-climate weather. I was pretty happy about that because I am not a fan of Killer Whales and dolphins in Captivity.
So, instead we are off to another aquarium next week outside of Toronto.
So, now that I have written about our two short days in Niagara Falls for work, I am inspired to write about our many visits to Niagara Falls. Dave and I have done it all, so check out our next post about All things Niagara.