New Years Eve 2014/15

Yes, this is a little late.  I actually posted it on time, but a technicality prevented you from being able to view it, so I re-did it just for you! 😁

 Not a lot exciting going on these past few weeks. I'm homeless, but so far not without a place to stay.


The new year finds the girls and I in Buffalo Niagara, London and Sault Ste. Marie.

Buffalo City Hall

Buffalo is a city...
...with people

Some people seem to have money - the city does not. There is some interesting architecture that dates back to the days when Buffalo was a vibrant city about a century ago, but the intervening decades of decline have taken their toll and the vast majority of the city now just feels tired.



this guy stood in the
 freezing mist a bit too long

Having previously made a daytime visit to Niagara on the Canadian side in summer, we decided to visit the American side in winter at night. New Years Eve started as a light blizzard in Buffalo, but by the time we got to Niagara the snow had stopped, although the wind was still pretty bitter. It made for some very frosty scenery downwind of the falls.

We managed to avoid being frozen in place by alternating visits to the falls with visits to the pub or restaurant as we waited for midnight to arrive. Usually, with the American affinity for fireworks, they outdo fireworks displays put on by the Canadians, but this time it was the Canadians who significantly outdid the Americans.

can you see me at midnight sitting
in the freezing mist painting this
wonderful scene with my mittens on?
'cause that totally happened!

On the Canadian side there were fireworks over the falls, more at the concert and even more falling from the tower. In comparison, the Americans had a somewhat longer but much less vigorous display spouting from their tower. To say the Canadians outdid their American counterparts re their respective New
Years Eve concerts would be a bit of an understatement as well. I won't comment on the performers, as that is a personal preference issue, but there must have been 20 times the number of people in attendance on the Canadian side.

US falls with Canadian falls in
the background

The falls themselves are a very different experience by night. They are still huge and very impressive of course, but night give a sence of mystery, and being lit gives them a very different look where they are much more the centre of attention. It may have been due to the freezing wind, but the experience
was a much more personal one as well, since there were almost no other people around.
.