Niagara Falls US side: Intro and Day 1

Niagara Falls is famous world over though Iguacu and Victoria falls top it in beauty and other parameters.  Eleanor Roosevelt had exclaimed on seeing the Iguacu "Poor Niagara, it's a leaking faucet compared to this!"

I've already posted about our visit to the Canada side.  Report of our visit to Niagara falls Canada side in Sep 5, 2017 is at

http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2017/10/canada-trip-report-days-13-4-niagara.html

We visited the US side of the Niagara falls in May 2012.  Here's the report of our US side visit.

Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls - American falls,  Bridal Veil Falls, Horse shoe falls - at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the US state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. 

The falls are 27 kilometres (17 mi) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York, and 121 kilometres (75 mi) south-southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.  

WHEN TO GO:

Peak visitor traffic occurs in the summertime, when Niagara Falls are both a daytime and evening attraction. From the Canadian side, floodlights illuminate both sides of the falls for several hours after dark (until midnight). There are fireworks in the night over the falls.The number of visitors top 28 million. The main attractions of cruise boats below the falls [called Maid of the Mist on the US side] and the Cave of the Winds which is a deck just below the Bridal falls and jet boat rides are all closed during Nov-Apr. The precise opening dates in May are subject to the weather in the particular year. In 2019 for instance Maid of the Mist opened only on May 24. But in 2012, all attractions opened in the 1^st week of May and our dates of May 3-6 proved GREAT! It was 3 nights stay, however sight seeing was just one full day in the middle with 2 half days bookending it.

We only missed out on Fireworks.

The sunset is only at 9 PM in these parts in the beginning of May. so combined with no crowds as it was the beginning of the tourist season  our timing was ideal

LOGISTICS:

Research showed parking was very difficult at the Falls , so we chose a hotel at walking distance. This was not necessary at the time of our visit as there was absolutely no crowds. We would have been better off hiring a car at the airport and using it during our visit.

There is no Canadian embassy in Houston and for visa, we have to send our passports to LA and wait for a month or more. Since we had our trip to Brazil and Argentina in April 2012 we did not want to risk sending the passports to LA for a Canadian visa. Another main reason was that we did not commit to our Niagara visit till the dates for opening of Maid of the Mist, Cave of the winds, jet boat ride etc were announced a month ago, after assessing current trend of weather.

So we did not cross over to the Canada side to see the falls from that angle during this visit. It's of course preferable to do both sides at one go.

DAY 1, MAY 3, 2012, Thursday:

We boarded Southwest airlines early morning on Thursday and reached Buffalo, New York.at 2 PM. The flight had involved 3 changes, we deboarded once but all the transfers were swift and did not tire us. From the airport Niagara Falls city is 30 km.

Chose this hotel Rodeway Inn Fallsview because it was a 5 minutes walk to the falls. Looked a seedy locality but thankfully we were fine.

After a quick meal, we were off to the falls.

GOAT ISLAND:

Walked on the deserted roads and reached the pedestrian bridge to Goat island in 10 minutes... Caught our 1st sight of the rushing Niagara river.

 The road we had come by to reach this bridge had been totally deserted, in fact we were a little scared for our safety.

Cherry blossoms were in full bloom... they bloom only for 2 weeks or so. In Japan from where these have been sourced, the cherry blossom festival is highly popular... people travel from far and wide to catch the sight.

 Here's a map of all sights

Goat Island is located between the American & Canadian Falls. Accessible only from Niagara Falls New York. Niagara Falls State Park stretches over 400 acres, with close to 140 acres of that under water. It's the oldest State Park in the U.S.A. We walked the trails in Goat island to reach the falls.

 John Stedman - an early pioneer and miller - kept a herd of goats on the island. The animals all died in the terrible winter of 1780, but gave the island its name.

Augustus Porter in the middle 19th century recognized the long-term value of the falls as a tourist attraction. Porter purchased the island and allowed a group of Tuscarora Native Americans to live on the island and sell their crafts to the tourists who came to the falls by stagecoach and early railroads. In spite of pressure, Porter refused to tame the environment on the island. In 1817, he built a toll bridge to the island for tourists. It was swept away by ice, so another was built the following year downstream. Basil Hall called it "one of the most singular pieces of engineering in the world". Almost seven hundred feet long, it soon became the best-traveled walkway in the region.

In 1885 the island was included in the Niagara Reservation State Park and is the oldest state park in the U.S.A.

The Niagara River splits in two above the falls, creating two sets of falls, one on either side of the island...the American falls and Bridal Veil Falls

 The waters immediately around Goat Island are relatively shallow and studded with islets and rocks,

 This is the American Falls (between Prospect Point and Luna Island).

There are 2 more--the narrow Bridal Veil Falls (between Luna Island and Goat Island)

and the huge Horse shoe falls or the Canadian Falls (between Goat Island and Table Rock).

American falls. and Bridal Veil Falls are at the Northwest point of Goat Island.

After the Iguacu experience, Niagara did feel a little underwhelming. 

 The season had just begun. We had the advantage of the Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds having opened but the crowds had not yet started pouring in. Niagara Falls attracts some 12 Million tourists each year.

A couple of weeks later these tulips may not survive the heat.

The famous top of the falls restaurant is right behind but it had not yet opened.

 We ended day 1 at 9 PM when the sun set. It had become cold and there were swarms of mosquitoes much to our surprise.

An interesting fact: The flow over the American Falls was stopped completely for several months in 1969. The idea was to determine the feasibility of removing the large amount of loose rock from the base of the falls to enhance its appearance. In the end the final decision was that the expense would be too great.

Next day report is here:

https://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2020/06/niagara-falls-us-side-days-2-3-maid-of.html

NEVADA HOLIDAY: LAS VEGAS Day 8 Flamingo, Luxor, Excalibur, Aria

DAY 8 Thursday, December 22, 2011:

We were leaving that day, spent the morning at the nearby hotels.

BELLAGIO AGAIN:

These are the hose fountain arches at Bellagio conservatory.

 The loops of the roller coaster where riders are inverted can be seen in the pic below... loud screams can be heard here when the rollercoaster arrives at this spot…

 MGM Entrance...

 Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower on either side... Vegas is crazy…

 Skyscrapers, roller coaster, Liberty Statue of New York, New York as well as Excalibur towers.

EXCALIBUR:

Excalibur, named for the mythical sword of King Arthur, uses the Arthurian theme in several ways. Its facade is a stylized image of a castle. A wizard-like figure representing Merlin looks out from a turret.

Here we are inside Excalibur. Armored knight... in tune with the theme

Excalibur opened on June 19, 1990 and was originally built by Circus Circus Enterprises, which was purchased in 2005 by MGM Resorts. When it opened, Excalibur was the largest hotel in the world with over 4,000 rooms and covering over 70 acres. Now it is the fifth-largest hotel (by total number of rooms) in Las Vegas, and the seventh-largest hotel worldwide. 

 On the way to entering Excalibur... Newyork, Newyork facade of skyscrapers and its roller coaster.

LUXOR:

Here we are at Luxor. The hotel is named after the city of Luxor (ancient Thebes) in Egypt. 110-foot (34 m)-tall re-creation of the Great Sphinx of Giza here…

Luxor is the second largest hotel in Las Vegas (the largest being the MGM Grand) and the eighth largest in the world. This Egyptian decor was getting replaced…

When the resort opened, it featured the Nile River Tour which was a river ride that carried guests to different parts of the pyramid and passed by pieces of ancient artwork on a river that encircled the casino.... sadly not there any more…

The casino also featured King Tut’s Tomb and Museum, a duplicate of King Tutankhamen’s tomb as found in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, Egypt....

In July 2007, owner MGM Resorts International announced plans to thoroughly renovate the Luxor, spending $300 million to remodel 80 percent of Luxor's public areas, removing much of the ancient Egyptian theme and replacing it with more adult-oriented and modern lounges... SAD!.

140-foot (43 m)-high obelisk at Luxor. 

  View from the cablecar here...There is a free tram that connects sister MGM properties Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay Bay.

The pyramid cost $375 million to build.

 The main portion of Luxor hotel is a 365-foot high, 30-story pyramid encased in 11 acres of dark bronze glass. The guest rooms are situated on the outer walls of the pyramid and are reached by riding in "inclinators" that travel along the inner surface of the pyramid at a 39-degree angle. The hotel also features a 29 million cubic feet atrium, which was the largest open atrium in the world when it was built in 1993.The tip of the pyramid contains a fixed-position spotlight, Luxor Sky Beam that points directly upward and is the brightest beam in the world at over 42.3 billion candle power. Using computer designed, curved mirrors to collect the light from 39 Xenon lamps and focus them into one intense, narrow beam, engineers say that a person could read a newspaper by Luxor’s Sky Beam from ten miles up. On a clear night, the Sky Beam is visible up to 250 miles away to an airplane at cruising altitude, and is clearly visible from Outer Space.

 A second at the casino.. just for a pose..

MANDALAY BAY AGAIN:

Mandalay Bay lobby here... 

 The gold coloring of the hotel is a result of gold leaf used on the windows.

 Mandalay Beach is an 11 acres (4.5 ha) pool area with three heated pools, a wave pool with connecting pool for small children, and a lazy river that features a small waterfall.

The wave pool features 1.6 million gallons of water and waves in 90-second intervals with heights ranging anywhere from two to four feet. Because of this, it has a strict 48" height requirement....

 The European-style pool, called Moorea, features its own private bar as well as the allowance of female guests to bathe topless. Because of this, Moorea is separated from the rest of the pool by smoked glass windows and has an over-21 requirement. There are also two restaurants at the Beach. The pool area won the Las Vegas Review Journal's Reader's "Best Pool of Las Vegas" award for seven years in a row. One pool remains open throughout the winter months.

In keeping with the resort's tropical theme, it features a saltwater aquarium, the Shark Reef Aquarium, which contains the third largest tank in North America.

Shark Reef Aquarium contains numerous other exhibits, including two tunnel-shaped, walk-through aquarium.

   Inside the Crystals shopping mall stands Glacia, a feature that includes large pillars of carved ice, with the tallest one standing at 15 feet.

When these columns rise from a control room below, they are carved into a different pattern. This means the feature will never look the same twice. Colored lighting, along with music created by Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, add to the experience.

Halo is a collection of clear tubes spinning vortices of water. There are a total of 20 tubes, along with 30 windows below so we can see the water from underneath....these water features are awesome.

ARIA AGAIN:

Aria is the 9th-largest hotel in the world. Aria facade at CityCenter complex consists of two curved glass and steel highrise towers joined at the center.  

The sculpture on the right of the pic above is in detail below

 The resort's 61 and 51-story towers contain a AAA five diamond hotel with 4,004 guest rooms and suites, 16 restaurants, 10 bars and nightclubs, and a casino with 150,000 sq ft of gaming space. It also has a 215,000 sq ft pool area with 50 cabanas, an 80,000 sq ft salon and spa, a 300,000 sq ft convention center and a 1,800-seat theater which currently hosts Viva Elvis by Cirque du Soleil.

 It opened on December 16, 2009 as a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Infinity World Development. At 4,000,000 sq ft (370,000 sq m) and 600 ft (180 m) in height, it is the largest and tallest structure at CityCenter.

Aria's classy interior...

Among the most notable aspects of Aria is its incorporation of technology in the exterior and interior design of the hotel, specifically for the reduction of energy consumption. It is the largest hotel in the world to have earned LEED Gold certification. Its smart rooms automatically adjust curtains, turn off unused lights and electronics, and regulate the temperature when a guest enters or leaves a room.

Happy to watch lovely art at exclusive art showrooms at Crystals

 Drag Queens posing in the background...

FLAMINGO:

At the entrance to our hotel Flamingo. It has 3,626 hotel rooms. The 15-acre site's architectural theme is Art Deco. It is the third resort to open on the Strip and the most luxurious in the world in 1946..., and the oldest resort on the Strip still in operation today. Built by mobster Bugsy Siegel. He named the resort after his girlfriend Virginia Hill, who loved to gamble and who was nicknamed Flamingo by Siegel due to her long, skinny legs. The cost of construction was huge...workers delivered by day, stole by night, and resold the next day. Siegel may actually have bought some of the same materials twice thanks to this kind of scheming.

 At the Flamingo Habitat.. Glad to see the flamingos and the other birds in the open air. This is open from 8 am to dusk. The bright-pink Chilean flamingos grow to be four feet tall, weighing six pounds. Notice how their knees bend the opposite direction of ours -- this allows them to sleep on one leg.

 Can see the hotel rooms behind... there was a wedding going on at the lawns near the chapel. There is a memorial plaque near the outdoor wedding chapel for Siegel, the original mobster owner who was shot to death in 1947.

We checked out, took the hotel shuttle to the airport and left Vegas .. with the memories of a GREAT holiday…

Report on our visit to Niagara Falls US side starts here:

https://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2020/05/niagara-falls-us-side-intro-and-day-1.html