'Journey to the Maid of the Mist': Immigrants and the Great American Road Trip

The Niagara Falls, New York observation tower provides a stunning view of the American, Bridal and Horseshoe Falls above the Niagara Gorge. (R. Taylor/VOA)

A Hornblower Niagara Cruise ventures into the mist of Horseshoe Falls, where more than 680,000 gallons of water flow per second. (R. Taylor/VOA)

Vikas and Madhavi Vijay drove from Cleveland, Ohio, to Niagara Falls State Park to show their son and visiting parents “the pressure of the waterfalls” and experience the ‘Maid of the Mist’ boat ride. (R. Taylor/VOA)

Tourists stand between the Bridal Veil and American Falls on Luna Island, Niagara Falls, New York. (R. Taylor/VOA)

Guatemalan-native Victor Manuel, right, with his wife and friends from Ecuador, drove to Niagara Falls from Queens, New York. “We want our youth to know the good and beauty of sharing traditions with family,” Manuel said. (R. Taylor/VOA)

International tourists pose beside Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario. (R. Taylor/VOA)

Soohyun Kim, a Columbia University student from South Korea, traveled to Niagara Falls from New Jersey with her aunt, uncle, cousin, and their dog, Noodle. “I’m very used to seeing the countryside, because even when I was in Korea, I would see the countryside a lot," Kim said.

A magenta-illuminated Niagara Falls brightens the night sky. (R. Taylor/VOA)