Summer Vacation IV

June 16 and 17

Monday morning came quickly but we were ready. We'd packed most of our belongings up the night before so we'd be able to sleep in a little later and not be stressed. We got up and ready with enough time to catch the complimentary breakfast offered in the hotel. NY Bride showed up to take me and Hubbs to the airport and check us in for our flights.

Now before you crinkle your nose and ponder why we needed an escort to the airport, let me tell you why it went down this way. NY Bride and her now husband had very generously offered to let us use a Buddy Pass to fly from JFK to Buffalo to help reduce cost. (Buddy pass = standby) We didn't have to be anywhere by anytime specific on Monday so we accepted with many thanks. NY Bride wanted to make sure we got checked in OK and told us that she would take us to the airport. We protested and told her we'd be fine so she didn't have to play chauffeur, but she insisted. Turns out it was a good thing she came after all because we almost didn't make the flight. :/

After a slightly nerve racking hour of watching flights get canceled, people rushing the ticket counter, and coming up with a back up plan in case we couldn't get out, we were finally boarded on the flight. As we walked on to the plane we realized that we weren't only lucky enough to get on the plane, but that we were seated in first class! Woo hoo! It was my first time so I was pretty happy. I counted it as another birthday present. :)

We made it to Buffalo only about an hour later than originally scheduled. I say only because it could have been much later. Or worse...we could be the guy that didn't get on the flight at all.

We picked up our luggage, then the rental car, and headed off to Niagara Falls. On the way we stopped by the house where Hubbs lived for most of his young life. We were able to see a couple of other spots that created the memories of the place he grew up too.

We drove through quickly and got on our way to the Rainbow Bridge that would take us into Canada.

We'd be back on Wednesday to explore and sight see to our heart's content so we didn't stick around for long. Our hotel for the next couple of nights was on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and overlooked them. We checked in and decided to eat dinner at the hotel when it started raining outside. Sadly it was cold and rained off and on the entire time we were there. We made the best of it though and ventured out to the nearby shops, restaurants, and as many other attractions as we could handle. I'll give you the highlights of our two wonderful, relaxing days in Canada.

The view from our room.

At night the falls were lit up and changed colors until 12 p.m. It was really pretty to see. I tried to take a picture from our room, but they didn't come out at all. We decided it was too cold to walk down and stand outside to see them lit up in person. The view from the room was just fine. During certain parts of the year they have a fire works show. That would probably have been cool to see too. I love fireworks. Next time, next time.

Our touristy pictures: First the American Falls.

Then the Candian Horseshoe Falls. The little boat (which is actually quite large) is The Maid of the Mist.

We decided to pay for the Journey Behind the Falls attraction instead of Maid of the Mist. Again, too cold and wet outside to get even more wet in the mist of the falls. Maybe next time.

The Journey was pretty cool, and not just for the snazzy yellow ponchos we got to wear. ;) We were able to read some interesting things about the falls and it's history as well as see it from a different perspective. Yes, I'm a bit of a nerd like that. ;) I thought it was interesting to read that the Falls had been "turned off" for a short period of time to do maintenance to the edge of the American Falls and then again to study the rock at the base. Call me crazy, but I did.

My initial reaction to the Falls was that they were much smaller than I had anticipated. It was still beautiful to me, but striking how off I was on it's height. Overall I love when nature does something grand or spectacular. Niagara Falls is supposed to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World so I'm glad I got to see it. I'll probably go back one more time, at least, so Lil Man can see it too.

I took a couple of short video clips to show Lil Man so he could experience it when I did and he thought it was cool. He really liked the pictures too. I'm sure we'll be back in Buffalo sometime and we'll be sure to head back out to Niagara since it's only about a 20 minute drive to get there. When it was time to pack up to check out we were kind of sad. Our vacation was already half over and we wouldn't have any more time to relax. Oh well...it was very nice while it lasted. Really nice.