Sands of Zanzibar: Niagara Falls 2022 Part 4

As we were leaving the park, I saw a woman with with a stroller with a large, light brown standard poodle sitting in it. Not a dog-type stroller, but a regular baby stroller, and the dog was sitting in it like a child, and it was wearing a kerchief (on it’s head, not around it’s neck like you often see) and it was gazing around and “smiling” at the world. It was really a funny sight. Just thought I’d share.

We walked down 4th Street which is the street with all the quirky restaurants and food trucks as well as lots of benches and seating areas. The building at the end was the Seneca Casino, which was our final destination.

About half way down the street though, you could see tents, hear music and the road was blocked off to traffic and the smell of delicious food was wafting though the air, as well as the smell of pot. I was excited as I thought we had stumbled upon some type of street party, or maybe a wedding. I saw a couple of folks with security jackets on, so I stopped and asked them what was up, but to my (and their) dismay, it was a televangelist who was having a fundraiser…..$2,000 a plate!. The two security guys we talked to were disgusted with the event, but they were getting $20 an hour to stand around, so they were happy about that aspect. One of them was the pot smoker and he was the happier of the two. We chatted for a bit about wages and religion and then we ambled on.

The grounds of the Casino.

The casino was pretty nice, not as big as the Niagara one, but still a lot of fun. We hung out for a couple of hours and ate at The Blues Brothers. I had a hotdog which is highly unusual for me, not because I turn my nose up at “lips & assholes” (as we call them) but simply because I’m just not a fan, however all of a sudden one was calling my name. Steven had a beef-dip type of thing with more meat on it than any human needs at one sitting.

After that we heading back towards the Rainbow Bridge for the walk home. I did not get stuck in the turnstile this time as I was going the right way. When we got to the Canadian border there were a few people in front of us; a young couple who were about 20-ish, a couple maybe in their late 30’s from England, a single woman maybe 40 and another couple probably also in their 30’s.

The border guard was letting one person in at a time, and he wanted everyone to wear a mask. He gestured to come in, made you set your passport on his counter (behind plexiglass, like at a bank) and then back away back to the door. He then asked all the usual questions, but everyone kept coming back out and huddling with their partner. Turns out, no one knew the proper procedure for the ArriveCAN app. NO ONE. They were all trying to fill it out standing in the hot sun, and they were panicking and starting to argue with each other.

The English couple had filled one out a few weeks ago, so they had most of the pertinent info already there, however they had thought it was good forever, didn’t know about the 72 hour thing and that you needed the name of your border crossing (which luckily I knew) and they eventually got through, however the young couple and the other couple didn’t have a clue. They were talking (a little loudly now) about how they didn’t have a credit card and how the f*ck were they supposed to get in? I had to interrupt them and asked why they needed a credit card, and she showed me some sketchy app she had downloaded that would do your ArriveCAN for you, for a fee. I showed her the correct one, and her boyfriend went inside, came out again and he told her that they were just “not going to let him in”.

When I went in, the fellow said “Thank you for wearing your mask” and I said (as nicely as possible because it was a genuine question) “No problem, however I didn’t know we needed them, I just happened to have a couple with me.” He said “Oh, well, you don’t really, I just prefer it”, which I have to say I thought was a bit of a dick move since the one single lady didn’t have one so she had to go back. It’s one thing if he had some there for folks to use, but to arbitrarily make this rule is kind of, well, dickish.

But, who am I? I just answered his questions and told him that my husband was coming in next and is a bit hard of hearing so he (the guard) might have to shout a bit.
He laughed a bit and all apparently went well as Steven came out and we continued on our way, with my 18 loonies still rattling around in my pack as it was a toll-free return.

We walked down the street, the gardens in front of the hotels are beautifully manicured and filled with little spots to sit as you wait for the Wego.

We went back to the hotel to change, had a hot tub and went to Shoeless Joe’s for dinner, which was across from our hotel. I wasn’t hungry, the giant hotdog 🌭 still had me filled up, so we shared chicken wings and veggies. I ate the veggies as I find wings revolting. Bony little bits of grossness….wings of a bird? Who ever thought of that, and why are they so popular?

After dinner we walked up and down the street, it’s sort of the Main Street, and watched the cars and motorcycles show off, like any town on a Friday night…all the muscle cars and hot rods were cruising the strip. It was really fun, there were outdoor restaurants with live music, so it had quite a party vibe. Here are a few random photos from the day and night.