waterfalls are definitely wonderous

slowly, but surely. i only get two hours of time on the computers in Schlow Library. gotta get crackin' on fixing the laptop at least to the point of Internet use. =(

so, i had the joy of being at Niagara Falls for the Canada Day fireworks. sorry no photos of the pyrotechnics. i had no idea on the time of festivities and didn't have my camera ready. then i really just wanted to sit and watch the show. got to try out night shots of the falls, though. check out the album, for sure.

[both the American and Canadian falls]

there were a lot of international people, which i thought was really cool. couldn't find a bar close by (that wasn't an American chain), despite all efforts. festival-ish stuff was set up at the end of the Rainbow Bridge was all pretty G-rated. i could have wandered deeper into the bustle, i suppose, but i was exhausted. there's been lots of walking on this trip; sooo much cheaper AND i dig the slow pace to absorb everything.

[Canada from the Rainbow Bridge]

i've seen tons of bridges on this trip and am getting quite attached. they each definitely have a personality of their own, especially ones that cross borders. the checkpoints at the ends compare to airports and train stations in their design. i think it's the union of motion and structure that draws me to that sort of architecture. the building seems more like a mechanism and not just a stolid mass. where's Nick to back me up?

transportation is just another thing that defines a city. Sandman readers, Gaiman talks about the fear of cities waking. i say that buildings like airports and train stations are the arteries that keep moving even while a city sleeps.

[the American checkpoint]

anywho, the American checkpoint looks great, but charges 50cents. wtf? i only had a five dollar bill and nothing Canadian the change machine could convert for me (it only had one option which i, of course, did not have). needless to say, i ended up with a shit ton of quarters AFTER i had to get change to do my laundry. there are worse things in life.

the next day i didn't feel like paying $10 to park again and just walk the same path. i paid the same amount, but this time on Goat Island, which i have never been to before. i saved the Cave of the Winds for another time and just walked around the park to the point by Horseshoe Falls and the small islands on either side of Goat Island.

i have got to get a friend who flies helicopters.

[Maid of the Mist getting pushed away from the falls]

the Falls got me on a camera trip and i used the Garmin to find camera stores on the way to the airport. no satisfaction. oh well, more time to kill walking through Buffalo.