Mommy and Daddy's Getaway: Niagara Falls

This past weekend was Tim's Birthday and so I planned a little surprise getaway for just the two of us! I had Tim guessing as to where we were going for weeks! Finally a week before we were to leave I let him start guessing and he guessed correctly! 

Niagara Falls!

I had been wanting to go back to Niagara Falls for sometime now and I thought this would be the perfect place to go to. It was far enough away and yet still able for us to drive there. Tim had never been and I had only been once when I was around ten years old.

We got up early on Friday morning and headed out for our 6-7 hour drive. It was a LONG drive up. It's not the straight-highway that we thought it would be but this road, that road, turn here, turn there...I constantly had to be on the lookout for the next road, the next turn...and the roads were horrible, most likely from the bad winter around here in the northeast.

We finally arrived around 3pm and first went to the American Falls. It was forecast to rain for most of the weekend and it just so happened that when we got there it was just overcast and not raining so instead of heading to our hotel, we went to the falls.

There was still a good amount of ice still on the falls, which was really neat to see!

We then headed to the hotel. The Sheraton at the Falls on spg points (Thanks Dad!). When we arrived, we were surprisingly upgraded to a huge suite! Hello, happy happy dance! We stayed on the club level which gives you two hours of beer/wine and appetizers each night from 5-7pm and breakfast each morning! We took full advantage of it all!

This was the view from our room....the huge casino right across the street.

Since it was Tim's birthday we headed over to eat dinner at the casino and play some slots. It was pretty smoky inside (which is a HUGE turn-off in my book, but we knew before going) but the dinner was really nice. We opted for the buffet which was delicious. Prime rib, shrimp...it was perfect in my book! We also were able to get $2 off each of our dinners and a complimentary $25 dollars for the slots since it was Tim's bday! :) I spent the $25 bucks in no time, so we walked around and then decided to head back to the hotel. It had been a long day and we were both exhausted!

The next morning, we ate breakfast and headed straight over to Canada! I was so excited to finally take Tim to Canada! He had never been and I have been many, many times, to lots of places on the eastern half of Canada. Still I will take any advantage to head up there!

We crossed the Rainbow Bridge and headed into Ontario. 

We wanted to head up to Niagara-on-the-Lake, which was about a 20-30 minute drive. Since we were pretty early, we saw the sights along the way of the whirlpools and huge power plant.

After touring the cute little town and seeing the lake, we headed over to the wineries right when they opened at 10am. There are about 35 wineries right in Niagara-on-the-Lake, so we decided on four that would be nice. 

There is a very sweet wine called Icewine and it is only available in the north. I love sweet wine, the sweeter the better so I was eager to try it. At around $50 dollars for a bottle, it isn't cheap!

We bought some wine at each of the wineries we went to and then went to a specific one that makes only Icewine, and after spending a few dollars too much money, we headed back to eat some lunch. 

I did my research before we left and wanted to go to a little French bistro that was in town and got rave reviews. For the record, Tim said it was the best meal of his life and the crepe was definitely at the top of my list! I loved it!!

 We then headed to see Horseshoe Falls. I was mostly cloudy and the sun only came out a few times. Luckily it was not very cold, maybe around 55-60 degrees and no rain.

The sun peaking out!!!!!

Looking at the water right as it was going over the falls was mesmerizing! I loved it!

After this, we headed back to the hotel to relax and little and change before dinner. We booked reservations at a place in Lewiston, NY, right on the water (I forgot what it was called!). It was perfect. We had a great seat over looking the lower Niagara Rive and the food and service was impeccable! Tim got a rib-eye and I opted for the lobster pasta. It was wonderful. We talked with our waiter for almost half of our meal because he was so knowledgeable and nice! 

The next day we had an early breakfast and headed home to our monkeys! I sure miss my girls when I am gone but it was SO nice to get away just Tim and I. We are going to make it a priority to do it at least once a year! I think it makes us better parents, friends, and lovers. 

And a HUGE thank you to my friend Lizzie, my wonderful parents and MIL, Tammy for taking such good care of our girls while we enjoyed our time away. It takes a lot of help to manage our household and not just anyone can do it! It makes all the difference in your heart when you know your babies are being taken care of by people that love them! So, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!