Girls Gone Wild not being the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the ideal spring break, I decided to look North. I had a week off between striking the set from one show in Washington, D.C. and one show going into tech rehearsals in the Philly area, so I decided to head somewhere close, interesting, accessible, and where I had never been. Being in the Philadelphia area, possessing a car, and never having been to Canada, I settled on Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls is less than 7 hours away by car from Philadelphia, with an easy drive over multi-lane highways and Appalachian scenery. I looked up State Parks in that part of New York (on their lovely website), found several that were interesting and semi-en-route, and planned an itinerary. First stop: Chimney Bluffs State Park.
These clay cliffs were originally part of a glacial formation called a drumlin. A drumlin is a long hill with a blunted end (formed in parallel to the ice moment, with the blunt end facing 'upriver'). These bluffs are what remains from the blunted end, with erosion causing the dramatic craters, leaving behind large chimneys of land.
I drove up to the park in one day, quicker than I anticipated, and took a walk in the moonlight. I walked down to Lake Ontario, which had some ice chunks in the waves lapping the shore.The Great Lakes don't freeze, but it was cold enough for ice in their waters. The moon was pretty full, so I ended up following a trail. I intended to just walk around, but found myself hiking the whole trail up to the bluffs. I emerged from the forest I had been hiking through to find myself on top of a hundred-foot-high cave-out. A trickle of melted snow ran down the center of the formation, and pillars of un-eroded ground stood around the perimeter of the dug-out. Walking back towards the car, there was formation after formation, with more chimney-like projections of earth, until the trail descended to lake level.
I slept in my car that night, greatful for my 0-degree sleeping bag. The next day dawned grey and overcast, so I sat in my car (with windows fogged), reading, until my morning was interupted by a flurry of activity from police, firetrucks and SUVs. Then a helicopter landed not 30 feet from my car. 
An ambulance drove up and a patient was transfered to the helicopter. Apparently medivacs are everyday activites up on the shores of Lake Ontario.
After hiking the Bluffs again in daylight, I drove to the next state park, then the next, stopping to read for hours on end, enjoying the quiet and the sound of the surf. It was drizzly and deserted. March is definitely the off-season at this lattitude.
I made dinner in my camp stove (rice and lentils in bullion broth, with tea) at Wilson-Tuscarora State Park, with a quiet moment pondering the vast stretches of Lake Ontario. With a full pot of dinner and some jam on slices of wheat bread for dessert, I curled up in my back seat to read. At dusk, the park closed (a ranger knocked on my window and told me to move along), so I packed up and headed to Fort Niagara. A police officer woke me up at midnight to tell me the park was closed, so I headed into Niagara Falls proper. I was hoping to save the entry into that city for daylight the next day, but I made the half-hour drive over in a very disoriented state (luckily there was no traffic) and slept in my car in a hotel parking lot. No one bothered me.
In the morning, I followed my ears to the rushing river, onto Goat Island, and to an up-close look at Niagara Falls. It's not every day that one wakes up, shuffles over a foot bridge and comes face-to-face with the most powerful waterfall in North America. I turned my attention to Niagara Falls, New York-a tourist town in its off-season. I drove around, looking for a diner for some nice breakfast options. Everything seemed closed, and most certainly deserted, and (when I got away from the tourist district) run-down. The casino's rainbow display dominated the skyline, and the roaring of the falls dominated the silence. I eventually settled on a Dennys. How quaint. I took some pictures from Goat Island, enjoyed the sun that peaked out (although the wind whipped away all that warmth), then headed over into our Neighbor to the North. I had booked a room in a hostel, and had no problem finding them.
Lyons House Hostel was very personable, very friendly, and very alive. The rest of the town was empty, shuttered and completely touristy. Kitsch and camp reigned supreme. This was a place for tourists. There were cheap souvenirs, thrill rides and haunted houses, bright colors and momento T-shirts. Luckily, the hostel owners were very knowledgable about the area, its natural and political history, and the interesting sights of the area. The other people staying the hostel were all both interesting and interested, so the whole experience was positive. It was a reality check among the commercial way of life of the two cities.
I ended up going with 3 other hostel-stayers to Niagara On The Lake, and the wine country. We drove along the Niagara River to the lowlands where Ice Wine is grown. We went from vineyard to vineyard, tasting the wines they provided (anything for free, we were all poor travelers). It made for a wonderful day trip, combined with a stop for lunch in the quaint one-street town of Niagara On The Lake. The German couple with us hadn't comprehended the vastness of the Great Lakes, so their reaction was unexpected when we stopped for a look across Lake Ontario.
You could just see Toronto's skyline in the distance. After the day trip, we made pasta, had a wonderful dinner, and I headed home.
With one more night in my car, at a rest stop along the route home, I made it back, a little tired, very relaxed, and satisfied with my sojourn to another country. I had read two books, recharged my drained batteries, and still had the weekend to rest (apparently, sleeping in one's car does not give one deep, restful sleep) before work started on Monday. This was a perfect four-and-a-half-day (could probably get squeezed into a three-day) adventure, cheap and not too far from home.
