Niagara Falls

On our way out to New Hampshire for Anna's Baptism I had the great idea to stop at Niagara Falls. John had never been and Anna would be able to say she has been. We asked a nice lady who was working the tolls and she told us it would take us less than 30 minutes to get there. Great, we could drive up, get out run up for a quick look and photo op, then leave.
Well, we got off for the exit to go through Buffalo. Okay, maybe this added a little to our trip, but it was a pretty drive and the weather was great. Sunny, in the 70's. We followed the signs and slowly gathered more traffic. At the next toll the gentleman told us which exit to get off. As we get off it looks like nothing I remember. Complete chaos and tourists everywhere. Kind of like Daytona Beach. We drive around and finally pay to park in the state park parking lot.
We take out the dogs and Anna and follow the signs to the Falls. This lead us to a barricaded stairway and the Visitor's Center building. We ask a lady who worked there how to get to the falls with the dogs. She said to just go through the building.
Inside the building is crowded and we have to go down a narrow (for the number of people plus dogs) staircase which took us through the food court and outside. Not the most direct route.
Finally we head over to the Falls. Nothing is at all like I remembered. Milo thinks they are quite interesting and is curious about getting closer for a drink. We take a look, some photos and decide to hit the bathrooms while we are there. While I held Anna and the dogs I noticed a better view of the Falls. We head over to the area under the observation platform and get a better view. We take some more photos, enjoy the sun and spray then head back to the car. We go back to the parking lot by heading towards an area people are coming out of. It was much shorter, a lot less crowded and all outside. Come to find out there was another way to the Falls. It even had a small sign. Next time we will know.
Did I mention that July 1st is Canada Day? That explains all the cars from Ontario...