Last week, my boss built a rare three-day weekend into my schedule that just so happened to coincide with Valentine’s Day. When the schedule was posted, I texted Dan and said “Let’s go somewhere!” So we did a little brainstorming and decided to spend a night in Niagara Falls, NY. We stayed on the American side because we don’t have our passports just yet.

We found a beautiful hotel, The Giacomo, that’s located right by the Falls and the casino. We booked the Sweetheart Package, which comes with a bottle of champagne and two champagne flutes that you can bring home, gourmet chocolate truffles, and rose petals displayed throughout the room. We don’t usually do anything major like this for Valentine’s Day, so I was pretty excited. When we checked into the hotel on Friday night and opened the door to our room, I thought I had walked right into a movie scene.

We unpacked our suitcase, had a glass of champagne, and then walked to the Seneca Niagara Casino for our dinner reservations. It was only about a five minute walk from The Giacomo to the casino. We had a fancy dinner, did a little gambling, and then grabbed some Cold Stone ice cream to bring back to the hotel with us. We got back to the hotel around 12:30, and we relaxed and had our ice cream in the Skyview Lounge on the top floor of The Giacomo.

On Saturday morning we had breakfast and then checked out of the hotel to go exploring. The American side of the Falls is a lot less touristy than the Canadian side. There is definitely an emphasis on appreciating the Falls as a natural wonder of the world without all of the flashy lights and tourists attractions. There are still a few things you can do at the Falls, like Cave of the Winds or Maid of the Mist, but not during the off-season.

We walked around Goat Island and Three Sisters Island to get different views of the Falls and the rapids. It was freezing, I think it was about 25 degrees outside, but it was so worth it. The Falls in all of their natural wintertime beauty were breathtaking. It was Dan’s first time seeing Niagara Falls, so it was fun to watch him see it all up close for the first time.

After we were done marveling at the Falls, we took a quick drive to Historic Lewiston. We walked through a few antique shops, and then stopped at the Orange Cat Coffee Co to warm our bones with some tea before heading back home.

It was a fun, spontaneous little getaway for us. It was short and nothing too extravagant, but it was so refreshing to take some time away from everyday life.