Valentine's Day

We went to Niagara Falls for Valentine's Day. We aren't sure exactly why, but everybody thinks that it's the best place for honeymoons, anniversaries, etc. so we decided to try it out. I went there as a little kid and Lexi had never been, so it was pretty much a new experience for both of us.

We drove up through Buffalo and were surprised to see the amazing buildings in that city.
We also had a romantic dinner at a small restaurant in Buffalo called Fiddle Heads. We got a cheese appetizer. Lexi is somewhat of a cheese connoisseur, and I am a redneck when it comes to things of that sort. We had brie, derby sage, provolone, and aged cheddar. We also had some delectable chocolate cheesecake.

Then we headed across the border. The Canadian border agent was a nice guy (Lexi thought he was cute) and was much nicer than our grouchy, irritable, "I-hate-my-job-and-I'm-going-to-take-it-out-on-American-citizens" US border agent. It was a little awkward at first driving in Canada. The only place outside the US that I had ever driven before was in Iceland, and driving there is like driving in downtown Rexburg, Idaho, so you can't go very fast. I was confused at the speed limit of 100. I thought it was awesome that somebody finally figured out that time is precious and nobody wants to spend it on the highway. Then I was quickly brought back down to Earth when I remembered that Canada, like essentially all other non-US countries, uses the metric system. 100km/hr sounds great, but it's really not all that exciting.

We stayed in a cool bed and breakfast called the Bampfield Inn. It was bright blue. It was almost too blue for even a loyal Cougar alum. Along with our room, we had access to the house collection of VHS movies. It really makes me feel old that I remember using such low-tech media not so long ago. We watched "Death Becomes Her", an old flick with Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep, and Bruce Willis. It was a tad cheesy, but still funny.

The next morning we went to the falls. It was SO cold there, but the sun was out! The iron fence along the edge of the cliff was covered in ice, which made it really pretty. There were also chunks of ice floating in the water. We didn't last too long at the falls, but they were very beautiful. If you ever go, you want to go to the Canada side--don't waste your time viewing them from the US side, because you can't see much from there.

Besides being a gateway between the third- and fourth-largest countries in the world, Niagara Falls is also home to a plethora of tourist traps. Needless to say we were sucked into two of them. We went to a wax museum that was full of fake celebrities. It was like experiencing the E! channel first-hand. You'll see some pictures in our slide show, so just know that I really didn't meet Pamela Anderson and Lexi didn't really hook up with Brad Pitt, so not to worry. We also went to the moving theater. It was a typical movie theater setup, except that the seats move in 8 directions. We got to experience a roller coaster, a runaway log truck, snowmobiles, and dune buggies. It wasn't very realistic, but it was fun. They even found a way to make soap bubbles feel like real snow. Kudos on that one.

Finally, our trip ended with a short drive up to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a small town about 10 miles (17 km) North of Niagara Falls. It's an old town with a lot of shops. We found the best ice cream in the world. It is called Cows. We got pralines and cream. It was divine. It had real caramel in it and the ice cream tasted like a sled ride at grandma's house with a big hug at the end (I'm an aspiring food marketer, mind you). We also bought some fudge which was very good, although not worthy of the "best in the world" moniker. Lexi bought a raspberry cordial drink at the ice cream store. Apparently it's an integral part of the plot in Anne of Green Gables, but since I'm not really into that kind of thing, I had to ask what it was. I was expecting it to be a box of chocolates when she first mentioned it. Despite my ignorance, I really enjoyed the raspberry cordial. Anne of Green Gables just went up in my book.

We didn't bring home any prescription drugs, didn't smuggle any foreign nationals across the border, and didn't bring home rolls upon rolls of Canadian quarters for our laundry (only due to the inflation of the US dollar, not because of moral opposition). We had a great time and hope to go back this summer sometime.