There’s a little mini coffee maker in our room. It makes four cups of coffee, out of a little filter packet that they have laid out for us. There are little plastic-wrapped bags of creamer and sugar, too. So, I made some coffee for us, and Benny fell asleep while it was brewing. Probably a bit of post-food coma from the sausage, cheese, and mustard that we shared for lunch.
We went down to the falls again today, and finished out our disposable cameras. Today, the weather is much more chilly, but the skies are clear, the sun is shining, and there is a feeling of release in the air. Now, gazing at the falls from our room window, I can see the famous rainbow in the mist. As if our earlier trip down there wasn’t enough, this is amazing. Anyway, we once again took the elevator/tram thing down the hill, and smirked at a couple of people bitching about the price. I would have like to see them make the trek that Benny and I braved yesterday. In the rain. So, we went and ooh’ed and ahh’ed at the falls, which really are a much more amazing sight in the sunlight, and took a bunch of pictures. So, we’ll have two rolls of film nearly completely dedicated to the falls. We’ll look upon them as important and amazing and a reminder of this time to ourselves, and I’m pretty sure others will say, “big deal, it’s falling water.” *SHRUG* Whatever.
After a bit of discussion yesterday, we had decided to go ahead with the CAN$20 cab ride and see the butterfly conservatory. We really should have picked up the Winter Magic Pass, but oh, well. The cab ride was cheaper than advertised, and a Buddhist Temple that was under construction was pointed out to us on our way there (on your right – er, your left). When we arrived, it seemed a little deserted. There were horticultural gardens and a closed cafe, but we eventually found the conservatory and wandered our way over there. Benny took about 30 to 40 pictures, while I managed a measly 20 or so. I have never been surrounded by so much magic in my entire life! We couldn’t stop grinning when we came out, and greatly envied the park people their jobs. We got more post cards, some butterfly stickers, and a metric ton of cool gifts.
Someone’s just pulled the parking level fire alarm, so we’re probably going to go somewhere. We’re now down at the Starbuck’s on the lobby level. We made it down 11 flights of stairs before the fire department gave the all-clear. From the looks of the lobby, nobody read the fire procedure when the alarm went off; they just started down the stairs. We waited for the three-tone alarm before we left, but we did gather up what we needed in the interim.
Anyway, now that our honeymoon hotel didn’t burn down, where was I? Right, gift shop at the butterfly conservatory. The gift shop happily called us a cab, and we took a few more pictures while in the horticultural gardens. Our cab arrived, tailed by another – competition seems stiff – and we loaded in. I have never had such a fun cab ride in my life. At the cabby’s suggestion, we stopped at the Niagara Visitor’s Centre – dirt parking lot and driveway – and picked up our Honeymooner’s Certificate. We get a bunch of discounts on places that we probably won’t go to anyway, but we also got something extremely useful. A map of the area with not-so-touristy spots on it, including an outlet shopping mall. Belt and shoes for Benny. Maybe I’ll splurge on something for myself that I don’t exactly need. Hee hee!
So, here’s a list of things that we’d like to do:
Fancy restaurant that we have a coupon for. (Terrapin Grille)
Outlet mall
Flying saucer diner
Rainforest Cafe
Casino
Noodle shop in the casino
I’ll probably add more as they come up. But, there are some details that I’ve missed, and should catch up on.
The complimentary breakfasts are great starts to our days. Bacon, OJ, and whatever else we want. The redhead waitress this morning set off some sort of spidey sense, but whatever. It’s a good god damn buffet.
The ring is starting to feel normal.
Let me try to accurately describe the hill-train thing that I’ve called an elevator, tram, etc. Behind our hotel is a street and a walkway. Behind that is a sharply-inclined hill that goes down about 100 feet. At that point, the Niagara Falls Park begins. Not only is the gorge extremely deep, but it used to be a regular river. The park is built on the bed of that river, and the hotel is up at the top of the bank. So, to provide a quick, easy, and fund-producing way of getting down the bank, they built the “Incline Train.” There are two tracks laid down the hill, and they seem to use actual railway tracks. One car is always at the top, and one is always at the bottom, unless they’re in motion. The cars themselves are big metal amphitheater seats that ride up and down the tracks. Each car is canopied with plastic or fiberglass or something, and has about ten rows. The front row is the lowest, and the back is the highest – just like amphitheater seating. CAN$2 each way, and well worth it.
The champagne was gone this morning. Benny and I sat in the hot tub and got exquisitely drunk. Neither of us had a hangover this morning, which is remarkable. So, we set the bottle, bucket, and glasses next to the dish that had had the chocolate-covered strawberries outside our suite, and straightened the room up a bit. No need for it to be completely trashed when we finally let the maid in today. So, all that’s left unused from that little surprise is the rose petals.
Benny has this wonderful bubblebath soap from Victoria’s Secret that’s really thickly vanilla scented. It’s almost like a lotion, too, because it moisturizes and makes your skin really, really soft. We’ve used it, like two or three times, and it makes the jacuzzi even cooler.
Benny just told me that Bush won by an extremely narrow margin, and Kerry is conceding, instead of demanding a recount. She says that her Friends page is overflowing with ranting and moaning and the gnashing of teeth. I keep thinking of the Daily Show clip of Bush standing in front of the United Nations, asking for help, and getting pissed-off dead silence instead of the support he’s used to.
What am I supposed to do now? As an American? As an individual? As a soon-to-be student? As a husband? I love liberty, and what Bush and Cheney stand for is a removal of liberties granted us by the Constitution.
Our allies across the globe have turned their backs on us because we have, as a nation, acted irresponsibly. Even fear no longer persuades nations’ leaders to back us. We are no longer an economic superpower. We are no longer in posession of a military respected across the globe. We are not the best country in the world.
It is time to recognize that we may never have been the best country in the world. It is time to understand that we are only one country among hundreds. Hundreds that we have pushed around, betrayed, and otherwise alienated.
No one needs the United States of America. Most countries seem to wish that we’d just shut up, sit down, and mind our own damn business. I can’t see that as bad advice. Here’s a revolutionary idea: let’s ask the governments of nations in which we have bases and/or troops if they want us there. Without holding a gun to their head. If they want us to leave, we leave, excepting enough to guard our embassy. We leave the land to the sovereign government to whom it belongs. We bring our troops home to rebuild our cities, educate our youth, train our willing, and protect our innocent.
Here’s another one: Stop killing brown people. It’s not worth the effort. There are so many less costly and labor-intensive ways to make the world hate and resent us.
And the topper: Go and read the Constitution of the United States of America. Any law that contradicts it is immediately null and void. Period. How about going through our laws with a few thousand red pens and getting this shit back to simple?
I know what I’d like to do. I’d like to get the above taken care of. I’m not really knowledgeable or powerful enough. I want ideas.
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So, after being Ranty McRantrant, we headed over to the Terrapin Grille in the Marriott next door. We had a coupon for CAN$75 off of our meal. Now, before we’d had that little episode with T.Gouge.I.Friday’s, I would have said that our meal would have ended up free. Well, we went in, armed with the knowledge that we’d end up spending a nominal fee for a hotel restaurant meal. Well, let me tell you, that was a goddamn dining experience, not just a meal. While each dish was around CAN$50, there was a sleight of hand act that came around to tables (and talked American politics, at least with us), fancy bread, specially prepared appetizers, get this, because my meal was going to take a while to be cooked as I had ordered it. Free wee appetizers.
So, Benny had ordered the New York Steak, and I had a 16 oz. veal cut. She described hers as orgasmic – and rightly so. Mine was perfection. I was amazed. It was done all the way through. It was crispy on the outside. And it was juicy. Not dry. The heavens opened up and sang hosannas over our perfectly prepared slabs of meat, garlicky mashed potatoes, carrots, and asparagus. Hosannas, I say!
So, after the coupon, the bill came to around CAN$40. We calculated the tip for what it would have otherwise cost, and ended up dropping CAN$60. Worth every goddamn penny.
At the beginning of this trip, I would have shit my pants at dropping that much money on a meal. Hell, I nearly did at T.G.I.Friday’s. But…
(continued in the next day’s entry)