From the Niagara Falls Review:
April will mark 18 years since I moved to Niagara Falls, and while we haven’t always seen eye to eye I’ve never loved the actual falls more.
I’m convinced everyone who moves here has a relationship with our namesake in three stages.
First is infatuation: You can’t believe you can see the falls whenever you want. Your parents had to drive hundreds of kilometres to bring you here as a kid, now it’s practically in your backyard! Like newlyweds, you can’t get enough of each other.
Then comes resentment: You start hating tourist season. You can’t get any ‘alone’ time with your waterfalls any more. You avoid the whole tacky, tawdry scene. You even gripe about turning your wipers on while driving through the mist. The thrill is gone, baby.
Then comes acceptance: You look past the casinos, museums and attractions and come to appreciate the falls for what they are – one of the most beautiful things nature ever produced. You feel protective of them. They’ve become a part of your life, and that connection can’t be described in a cheesy tourist pamphlet. Now you understand why people have written books about them.