Tour Tales

I have been doing bike tours whenever possible this summer, balancing with my Allstate business but I have had a great time. Seeing Niagara Falls by bike is seeing it in a way most people never do.

It strips away the attraction of the Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds. It replaces it with the Cataract Hotel, Stedman’s Bluff, the Great Gorge Railway and more. 

You never know

One of my favorite groups this summer was multiracial, 19 people or so, Black, White, Latino, African. We are all the same.

The children, all less than 10, were borderline out of control for the whole time, running ahead, falling behind scrambling on rocks for the joy of it, like an excited-to-be-off-leash poodle running down the gorge stairs.

I assumed the cultural and ethnic diversity they had to be religiously affiliated and like didn’t have much money. Then they handed me the most generous walking tour tip of the summer. 

Wine tasting

We do wine tours as well. I had one Sunday. The guests said they liked dry wine. I took them to Schulz, because the wine is good and they are always kind (even if the live music was too loud), Victorianbourg for the same reason and because they give guides a free bottle of wine just for bringing guests and Chateau Niagara.

It is a bit further drive to get to West Creek Road in Newfane but always worth it to visit with Jim Baker. I like his Bull’s Blood as well as Cab Franc. I like Arrowhead Springs almost as much. Freedom Run is excellent as well. 

I tell guests the difference between the wineries in Niagara, Ontario and New York is the price of a tasting. In Canada, they are multi-million dollar operations. Stateside they are mostly mom-and-pop.

Japanese people

One of the tour companies with which I work has a relationship with a Japanese tour agency. Guests fly in from JFK or LaGuardia, go for a quick Maid/Cave/DiCamillo’s/Whirlpool run with a drop back at the airport.

Sometimes they speak excellent English. Other times Google Translate is your friend. A trio of interesting Japanese guests a few weeks ago included daughters living in Sweden and England and a mother from Iowa City. She and her husband were employed at Iowa State.

The mom and daughters planned to walk across the Rainbow Bridge, stay the night and go to Toronto via public transportation for a K-Pop show.