a lesson in listening on maid of the mist

As you're herded down an elevator and through a tunnel where you pause while a staff member snaps a quick shot of you and yours against a green screen and before you exit into the open air again and race to join the winding, cramped lined for your Maid of the Mist boat ride into Niagara Falls, you're handed a rain poncho and someone yells, "Don't put on the poncho until you're on the boat!" Nobody listens because nobody really hears the instructions because everyone's eyes are feasting on the next boat pulling up and unloading and then boarding so many people you wonder how it doesn't sink from the weight of the people and their anticipation. There's always that one person, though, that tunes into the instruction shouted in the wind, and Zander was that man. I counted three people, total, in the line of masses that had listened and heeded the warning. I hadn't. I unfolded my bright blue poncho the second the worker handed it to me, and I fiddled with it until I found the holes for my head and my arms, and within two minutes in that line, I was sweating and it was so humid under there, so I took it off and held it in my arms, and by the time I put it back on when I was supposed to, it was torn in three places - how did that happen? And so I got soaked, through and through - my clothes, my hair - the mist dripped off my chin and down my dress. And I was giddy the whole time because we were a sea of blue ponchos in a sea of mist and so close to the Falls the rushing water rang through my ears long after our boat docked again. Maid of the Mist was an attraction that exceeded the hype, and I can still feel my fingers weaving through the cloud of mist and the shiver that ran through me when Horsehoe Falls drowned out our collective noise and all was silent and just water and rocks and waterfall, and I loved every bit of those 20 minutes. Just make sure to put on your poncho once you're on the boat.

if you go...

maid of the mist operates on the Canadian & US sides

cost: $19.95 canada; $15.50 us

get tickets and board the boat at the bottom of clifton hill (canada) & prospect point (us)

tip: security will not let you dawdle to get on the next boat for better seats. if the top is full, you'll still have a great view - choose the center of the front for the most mist & best views of both falls