On Tuesday my sister was back in her classroom teaching. She gave her students an assignment, to write a report on "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." I gave her grief for handing out homework on the first day. "How can you be so evil?" I asked. Each student will present their report orally on Friday (today) and bonus marks will be awarded if pictures are included.
For this posting I decided to do the same. To write a report on not how I spent my summer but "How I Spent My Labor Day Long Weekend."
(I will post next week part 2: "If Only I Had A Squash Racket" because I know you're all dying to find out the ending)
"How I Spent My Labor Day Long Weekend"
by Cocaine Princess
I spent Labor Day long weekend in Niagara Falls. My sister and I left Friday evening. "A" had some type of teacher's meeting and didn't come home until 5.by Cocaine Princess
The two of us have a little ritual before either of us ventures off on any trip even if it's just for the weekend: we get ourselves our cake and light 3 candles.
The 1st candle represents: A safe journey going and a safe journey
returning.
The 2nd candle represents: To have a fantastic time.
The 3rd candle is a bonus candle: To make a wish.
It was a chocolate truffle cake. Usually I just have a bite but "A" forced me to eat half. And yes it was like tasting heaven.
By the time we arrived it was after 11pm. Traffic was awful and was going at a turtle's pace. When we checked into the hotel the lobby was filled with dogs back to back. Little ones and big ones. I inquired at the front desk, "what's with all the dogs?" Auditions were taking place in the hotel for a new upcoming reality talent dog show. Too bad the hideous creature with four legs wasn't part of the audition process. It has a phenomenal talent of scaring people.
We entered into our suite around 11:30pm. I was able to capture the following shots from our room.
If you recall there was a full moon on Friday.
The world famous Niagara Falls at night. When dusk occurs the Falls are lighted with different colors of the rainbow and keep on changing colors until midnight.
This first picture I took came out very blurry.
So I tried again from a different location in the room. 
We had a suite booked at "Sheraton On The Falls." I prefer this hotel because it sits right in the heart of the city's entertainment district and they have one of the most grandest indoor water parks!! Our suite was on the 21st floor on the left hand corner with 4 scenic balcony views. I wanted the 22nd floor but the entire floor had been booked in advanced for several weeks. So who all was staying on the floor above us? The talented dogs and their owners.
Connected to our hotel is the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino Niagara (casinoniagara.com), The Hershey Store and the Coca-Cola Store. Inside the hotel is a separate underground passage that only guests have access to so they get into the Hard Rock and the casino without having to wait forever in line outside. Oh yeah, I got asked for i.d. Poor big sister didn't! A little further down is Planet Hollywood.
I'm shocked this place is still open. It's like a ghost town inside.
RAINBOW BRIDGE
I took this pic a little after 8am. Sitting high above the Niagara River is Rainbow Bridge. This bridge connects the cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. You can either drive across into the states or you can use the pedestrian walkway.
A daytime shot of the Falls:
In the picture below, left hand corner can you see a ferry? That is the Maid Of The Mist. A ferry ride that will take passengers right past the Falls. I've taken the ride on the ferry just once and it was several years back.
KONICA MINOLTA TOWER
The structure behind the Marriott hotel is the Konica Minolta Tower. It stands 160 meters above the Falls. Located inside is an observation deck, a souvenir store, a steak house, a hotel and like almost every hotel in the Falls a wedding chapel and a jewelery store.
SKYLON TOWER
Here is the view from the corner balcony. Over to the right is the Skylon Tower. The top part was cut out.
Here is a better shot. The one below this one was taken standing outside.
This structure is 236 meters above the Falls. At the top is a Revolving Dining Restaurant/Buffet Restaurant. Below is a family fun center, fast food court and 3D/4D Movie. To get to the top of the restaurant/observation deck you ride in the "yellow bug" (glass elevator) and in an under a minute you arrive at the top. If you dine during the daytime and if the day is clear you can see all of Buffalo. We had lunch here one afternoon. It was established weeks ago "I" would be choosing where we would be eating for breakie, lunch and dinner. The lunch menu was so-so. Personally I prefer dining here at night. The food is better and the nightly illumination of the Falls and the skyline is really pretty.
ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
The entertainment district (as well as Niagara Falls itself) is made up of so many different and fun things to do and regardless of what your taste is and age there is something for everyone. You need at least a good week long stay to experience and see everything Niagara has to offer. There is no way anyone will be bored.
Regardless of what day of the year you visit it's packed with tourists. Take for example the picture below.
This was all happening behind our hotel. There is the WWE Store, Rainforest Cafe and to the right which was cut out of the picture The MGM Store. There I bought a deck of James Bond playing cards and some other goodies. You literally have to push your way through the crowds and that's not the worst part. What is? The entire area sits on a steep sidewalk and it takes awhile before it begins to level off. You're not so much walking as you are climbing.
On the left side where the WWE store is, can you see the 3 cement plaques? Each are hand impressions of wrestling greats. I managed to maneuver my way through the crowd carefully not stepping on anyones's toes however that didn't stop several gigantic feet from stepping on mine. I was able to get this clear shot.
The other 2 hand impressions I think belonged to Batista and the 3rd to Rey Mysterio.
RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT MUSEUM
I didn't go inside, I just took a picture. The museum contains Ripley's collection of bizarre artifacts and items from his travels around the globe. There is also a cinema showcasing a movie of past daredevils who challenged the Falls over a barrel.
THE FUDGE FACTORY
A really popular place along the strip for chocolate lovers is The Fudge Factory. 20 different flavors of fudge and other treats are made fresh daily in front of you.
That's me standing in line with my new Birkin Bag. I decided to take her along.
I selected Decadent Chocolate.
Here is a back shot of our hotel I took coming out of the store. The tall thin tower in front is the WWE Pile Driver Ride.
NIAGARA SKYWHEEL
Riding the SkyWheel was pretty fantastic. It stands 53 meters and you're able to view the Falls in a totally cool way.The entire ride lasted nearly 10 minutes and each little compartment is climate control. If you notice to the left is Boston Pizza and to the right, what else? Tim Hortons.
FALLSVIEW CASINO RESORT
No trip (for me) is complete without doing a little shopping. On Saturday 'A' and I went to the shopping arcade located inside Fallsview. This is Niagara's Falls 2nd casino.
Here is the front of the casino. Behind is the thunderous Falls. It's quite a magnificent sight. This is the only picture because of course once inside the use of cameras aren't permitted. I was tempted to try to sneak a picture but with all the security personnel and cameras I ran the risk of having my own camera confiscated.
Sunday night we dined inside the resort at "NOIR 17" and had a fabulous and delicious champagne dinner. If you head on over to the resort's website: fallsviewcasinoresort.com you'll see the lovely shopping arcade, the casino and where we dined. It's such a beautiful restaurant and the service, well let's just say Gordon Ramsay would be proud.
Apparently the glass of champagne during dinner wasn't enough for my sister. So we (this time "WE" means "HER) decided to open up the bottle of wine that came with our welcome basket at 2am after returning from both casinos.
I decided to have a little sippie myself.
Close up shot of the bottle. 
"A" had to be back at work on Tuesday so we left Monday morning after breakie. Before actually going home we made a stop in picturesque Niagara-On-The-Lake. (N.O.T.L.) My sister wanted to tour one of the wineries and decided to drag me along with her. I thought, "hmm, maybe this will be fun."
I was wrong. At this exact moment here (pictured below) I decided to bail from the tour and did a little exploring on my own. "A" caught up with me awhile later.
I stumbled across a little community within N.O.T.L. A little village called "Virgil." Aside from wine the Niagara region is known for its fruit. It's actually the fruit belt region of Ontario so it's very common to see roadside fruit stands here. But I had never seen this before. The town had a self serve roadside fruit stand. You select your fruit and/or veggie basket and put money in the box.
I picked up a basket of peaches and put 2 toonies and a loonie into the box
Further down the road were a group of women who call themselves "The Grape Ladies." They were selling homemade Grape Pies, Tarts, (grapes from one of the local wineries) and jam.
While waiting my turn I overheard the customers in front of me talking about the film "The Dead Zone" with Martin Sheen and Christopher Walken. They mentioned the filmed was shot in N.O.T.L. I looked it up, they were right.
Here's me with my pie and jam.
The pie was extremely sugary sweet. Perfect for someone like me who has a sweet tooth.
There you have it my lovelies my report on "How I Spent My Labor Day Long Weekend." I know Niagara Falls doesn't exactly measure up to Sin City but it's the closet thing we have. I always love visiting here and each time I do I have a fantastic time.
****
My loyal and dear readers it's finally Friday!
The VMA's are on this weekend hosted by comedian Russell Brand. One of the performers is Beyonce who will be singing her new single "Sweet Dreams." The rumor is she is set to put a twist on it by infusing The Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" into her song. A huge tribute to the King of Pop is planned too. Also on Sunday the season finale of HBO's True Blood (my absolute fave drama show) will be airing. It's going to be a good cliff hanger I hear.
Whatever your plans are have a magical weekend.-x
XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess
P.S. Saturday night I tried my luck at Casino Niagara. I'm not good at any type of gambling. I just like getting all dressed up and having fun. When I do go I prefer the slot machines. I pumped $50.00 worth of coins into one of the slots and look how much I won:
Instead of cashing it I decided to keep the voucher as a souvenir.
