The Beauty Around Us

60th Birthday Celebration (Part 1 of 2)

By Linda G. on February 28, 2016

I celebrated my 60th birthday on Tuesday, February 23.  On that day my Facebook news feed exploded with birthday wishes. I can honestly say that my most enjoyable day on Facebook is on my birthday. I counted over 250 birthday wishes from Facebook friends.  When I mentioned to a friend that I didn’t know how I felt about entering this new decade in my life, he told me “You are entering a new decade many have not been able to achieve. Accidents and other life events have kept many from experiencing a day like yours. Celebrate!!”  I decided to embrace the new decade and live it well, to the best of my ability.

We went to Red Lobster for my birthday dinner, which turned out to be the first of THREE birthday dinners. On our way home from Red Lobster we stopped at Dairy Queen for dessert. We ordered Blizzards, buy one get one free.

 

My birthday celebration continued on Friday and Saturday. We spent approximately 24 hours in Niagara Falls, Canada. We departed our home in Warren PA at approximately 12:30 pm on Friday and arrived at the Embassy Suites hotel around 3:00 pm. Our hotel room was on the 28th floor, room 2801. We had a corner suite. Our hotel room was comfortable, but it was the smallest suite that we have stayed in at Embassy Suites Niagara Falls.

Our hotel room had a city view, as well as a view of both the American and Canadian waterfalls.

City View

Falls View

At 4:00 pm we attended Embassy Suite’s complimentary evening reception. Light snacks (pickles, raw carrots, pretzels, potato chips and a Cajun Mix) and beverages were provided. Soft drinks were unlimited and free of charge. One alcoholic beverage each was provided free of charge. Bob ordered a double Scotch, using his and my free alcoholic beverage voucher. The manager’s reception was held in the lobby from 4:00-6:00 pm.

Sometime before 5:00 pm we stopped at the concierge desk and purchased two WEGO 24-hour passes for bus transportation throughout the city. The passes cost CA$7.50 each. Also we picked up two CA$25 vouchers for free slot play at either Fallsview Casino or Casino Niagara (Embassy Suites promotional item).  Another promotional item included with our stay at Embassy Suites was a CA$30 voucher for two dinner entrees at TGI Fridays or The Keg Steakhouse or Outback Steakhouse (two locations: across the street from our hotel or on Victoria Avenue).

We decided to eat dinner at the Outback Steakhouse on Victorian Avenue and to use the free slot play at Casino Niagara. We hopped onto one of the Blue Line buses, which stopped in front of our hotel and rode it to the Victoria Ave/Clifton Hill stop. It was a short walk from that stop to Outback Steakhouse. Dinner was excellent. Bob ordered the 11 oz Sirloin Steak dinner entree, and I ordered the Alice Springs Chicken dinner entree. I drank water with my dinner; Bob drank coffee with his dinner. The cost of my SECOND birthday dinner, after the $30 discount, was approximately CA$45.

It was about a 10-minute walk from the Outback Steakhouse to Casino Niagara. It was an entertaining walk, as we walked past several Clifton Hill attractions. Just before arriving at Casino Niagara we came upon the Upside Down House attraction. I said to Bob “Look at that! It’s an upside down house!”

Bob took this selfie of us in front of the upside down house.

Bob and I didn’t visit any of the Clifton Hill attractions, including the Upside Down house.  Bob says that he visited Clifton Hill attractions many, many years ago.  I haven’t ever visited any of the attractions.  I do enjoy the sights and sounds, while walking Clifton Hill. Perhaps one day I will visit some Clifton Hill attractions.

We soon reached Casino Niagara.  After a stop at the Players Advantage Club desk to add our free slot play to our casino cards, we went in search of slot machines to try our luck. We found penny slot machines and luck was on our side. We walked out of the casino a little richer. Bob won CA$31.90 and I won CA$24.95.

When we left the casino, we just missed the bus back to our hotel. We had a 40-minute wait. Rather than stand at the bus stop, we went for a walk. We caught the bus at the Sheraton On the Falls stop on Falls Avenue.

Back at the hotel, I photographed the waterfalls illuminated by colored lights.

Falls Illumination

I sat in front of the window for a while just watching the changing of the colors and listening to the falling water.  We went to bed around 10:00 pm, and I fell asleep to the sound of the falling water.

My birthday celebration will continue in my next blog post.