The Unspectacular Fireworks Spectacular
Written by Annie on July 6th, 2009I got back two days ago, from a camping trip with my family to Ithaca, home of Cornell University, no doubt part of their plan to make me love and aspire to go to Ivy League schools. I left Canada Day and returned on the 4th of July.
Coming back, on Independence Day, we stopped in Niagara Falls. There were hordes and hordes of people, on both sides of the border. How do I know this? For the first time, I actually walked over Rainbow Bridge to the American side of the falls. I never knew standing with one foot in one country and the other foot in another country was possible, but now I do, because you don’t reach US Customs until another fifty meters over the border (as dictated by the sign that says “INTERNATIONAL BORDER”).
The American side of the Falls is much nicer, in my opinion, because there’s a big park where people can sit and eat ice cream, play catch, walk, whatever. It’s a much better preservation of all that green space. The Canadian side of the Falls, on the other hand, consists of a ledge in which one crowds around and looks over. Beyond the ledge there’s a road for cars, and then immediately there’s all this commercial stuff used to make money, including a shopping complex, bus terminals, hotels. And there’s a small, small strip of green space. And then you have the city. I was standing on Rainbow Bridge, looking at the falls from a side view, and I noticed that everything was balanced out, in a way. On one side, you have the Falls. The other side, you have money-making commercial shit for tourists.
The Fourth of July fireworks in Niagara Falls were disappointing. They lasted from 10 to 10:13pm. I had high expectations because of all the people that were there, how the traffic literally stopped for those thirteen minutes, and they even had live music beforehand. Oh well.
I spent today volunteering and hanging out with a friend. We somehow managed to finish a whole pitcher of Mountain Dew. I also applied for a job at Subway. It was spontaneous and therefore I didn’t have the full names/numbers/addresses of my supposed contacts, so I just had to give whatever I could think of on the spot. How smart.
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I really want to go to Niagara Falls, and I mean, visiting on Independance Day does sound pretty spectacular. Except how you describe it … I can guess it might have been a little bit of an anti-climax!
My favourite firework shows are when they actually FIT with the live music being played - it’s incredibly awesome. The explosions match the right beats and everything! I can guess it would be alot of work for one to do that though. I’ll just got to China to see the best Fireworks then, haha
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Ahh, yes, anti-climax would have been the right word to describe the whole thing. Thanks Olivia
I’ve never seen a show in which the fireworks match the live music. That sounds pretty cool. Every time I go see the fireworks, the organizers are usually trying to time it and end it just before it rains, because for some reason it’s always raining everywhere I go. YES I HAVE TO GO TO CHINA TOO. Well to see fireworks. I can’t believe of all the times I’ve been there I never have! And I can’t believe I just realized that either.
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I was too young when I went to the American side of the Falls to remember anything, but I do remember the Canadian side had a spectacular view! The Horseshoe Falls are so much prettier, but I guess Niagara Falls the town in Canada leaves a lot to be desired…