reflections on a vacation, way too long ago

Chilling on the Canadian side, looking at the falls

It's been two weeks since we got back from vacation, and now it's almost like we never left. Like we never loaded up kids and games and movies and snacks and all our luggage, dropped the dog off at the kennel, and hit the road for Niagara Falls. It was a surprising trip, in ways both good and bad. First, the good: The boys were incredibly well behaved on the trek. There was very little fighting, whining, or asking if we were there yet. I might even venture to say that the actual car ride was harder on us than it was on them. We drove through Canada, and caught sight of the falls for the first time crossing the Rainbow Bridge into New York. "Look, boys! We might be able to see the falls from here," I said. And a few seconds later, five jaws dropped wide open as we got our first glimpse. I mean, we knew the falls were big; they're not one of the wonders of the world for nothing, right? But we weren't prepared for just how big they are. They're overwhelming, even from a distance.

Day One, ready for action!

Mister of the Mist

Getting wet on a boat is hilarious!

Observation deck

But we weren't there to look at some water falling down from a distance. Nope, we were there to get right up in the spray. So the first afternoon, we took the Maid of the Mist boat trip, which goes close enough to the falls that everyone on board gets drenched in the spray. And the next day, we did the Cave of the Winds tour, which was a bitter disappointment to the boys in that there wasn't an actual cave to go in (it collapsed decades ago), but it was still exciting because we got to go down an elevator in a shaft carved out of solid stone, and then basically walk right up to the falls from underneath and see them in all their glory. Liam, Max, and I even braved the Hurricane Deck, where we got to feel tropical storm conditions. Of course, since it was the end of October, those were some pretty *cold* tropical storms.

We went during the last days of the year that they run the boat tours, right before they take down the scaffolding for the Cave of the Winds, and that turned out to be a very good thing because it wasn't crowded. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of people around, but we didn't have to wait in long lines, and we didn't have to hurry because there were a million people behind us waiting to see the same thing and take the same pictures. But we can tell you that what they say is true: In terms of Niagara Falls, Canada is where it's at. When we crossed into Canada on our way there, the border guard asked us where we were going, then if we were staying in New York or Canada. We told her we had reservations in New York, and she immediately said, "You may want to reconsider that." We figured she was being a great ambassador for our neighbors to the north, but no, she was just telling us like it is. The New York side of the falls was shocking to us, because aside from the falls themselves and a few hotels, there was just nothing there. Plenty of urban decay and sketchy-looking neighborhoods, but restaurants? Not so much. Just finding a place to eat was a real challenge, and we ended up driving about 15 miles away to the nearest Target and just getting groceries to keep in our hotel room. I mean, really, New York? You have this absolutely amazing resource that millions upon millions of people come to see every year, and you don't want to make some money selling some pizza or something? Incredible.

There were rainbows everywhere

Little did we know...

...just how up close and personal we would get to the falls

Our last day there was Canada day. We crossed back over the border to check things out. And wouldn't you know it? The Canadians had managed to build up the whole area around the falls with family-friendly restaurants, stores, water parks, and gambling establishments—yet they still managed to keep the area closest to the falls/river peaceful. We did a little exploring and crossed the street after a visit to the Hershey store, and walked through a gate and into an absolutely quiet park, and right there in front of us was a sweeping view of the falls. So we went down and checked out that vantage point, then headed back up a short hill and treated the boys to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. And yeah, we even topped it off with the Volcano! for dessert. 

Base of the falls

Hershey store

There's one other thing this vacation brought home to me, and I'm going to get slightly mushy here, so if you're so inclined, you can stop reading now and just look at the lovely pictures; really, I don't mind. Ever since I was a little girl, I've believed that my family is the best family in the entire world. (And sadly, I can think of very few people I know who could unreservedly say that about their own families.) And even by objective measures, by sheer size, my family just isn't like a lot of other families. As it turns out, it's an incredibly useful and happy thing for me to have aunts, uncles, and cousins spread out everywhere. On our way to the falls, we stopped over the first night in Detroit and took advantage of the hospitality of my Aunt Chris and Uncle Bob. They weren't even there, but my cousins Andy and Bill were happy to play host to a family of tired travelers. And on the way back, we drove through the United States. As we got close to Cleveland, I thought, hmm, maybe I should give my Aunt Dana a call. So I did, and it turns out that the nursery she and her husband bought earlier this year is right off the highway we were on. So we went there and got to be the first in the family to take a tour. It is an old-school plant nursery, peaceful and sprawling, and it was a perfect opportunity to stretch our legs and to see this great business that Dana and Brian are investing themselves in. And even though we were still hours from home, it was the perfect way to end our trip.

Niagara Aquarium

Apparently we weren't quite close enough to see it all