August 2008 Family Vacation Part 12

August 14 and August 15

Over breakfast our host at the “off the grid” b&b suggested we use “the way I go, equally fast and so much more scenic” route to connect to the New York Thruway to head west towards Niagara Falls. We had planned to drive south to Albany and then west, but no, silly us, we followed his advice. Well, it WAS pretty, even though it rained again, but it was not a fast road, winding through the Adirondacks.

We crossed the border once more into Canada at the Rainbow Bridge, east of Buffalo. Just downstream from the falls, it is called that because sometimes you can view a rainbow in the mist generated by the water. Approaching the border on the highway, the overhead electronic signs warned about the wait time at the 3 main bridge crossings. The Rainbow Bridge took us about 30 minutes to pass over; probably one of the few places in the world where the view is worth the delay. By the way, the people who need to cross the border a lot can apply for a special pass, Nexus. They have to provide all kinds of information and get approved. But there is a 4th bridge at Niagara Falls for them and shorter lines at all the other border crossings we experienced.

The last time I was in Niagara Falls I was a little girl, about a kazillion years ago. I remember we went on the Maid of the Mist, the boat that outfits everyone in a yellow rain slicker and you still get soaked as you go up to the base of both falls. Well, I had thought we might do that; it is after all, one of the classic activities to do there. But they didn’t take reservations and they had a note on the website that in summer there could be as much as a 4-hour wait. We made no plans to waste time standing in line.

We went to our B&B first. We enjoyed the name, Trillium, as that is the chat name of one of our internet friends who lives about an hour from Niagara Falls. We could not take the time to go visit her, unfortunately, and she had just moved so she had no free time to come see us. We carried in suitcases, got our bearings and then walked about 20 minutes to the falls.

Perhaps the most notable piece of info about the American Falls is that after dark they reroute much of the water for generating electricity. Although diminished, the evening falls is still pretty darn spectacular. Horseshoe Falls, or the Canadian Falls, of course, is the classic postcard landmark.

We traipsed up the hill to find the restaurant recommended by our b&b hostess. This is definitely a tourist city; you have a Madame Troussauds wax museum, a number of exciting and life threatening amusement park rides, and lots of lots of other ways to spend your money.

After dinner we headed back to the park and the kids headed to Niagara Under the Falls for their own exploration. We agreed to meet back at the b&b after the fireworks.

Here is evidence of their exploration

Falls with colored lights and moon above.

The next morning we headed to Niagara By the Lake, an adjacent town. At dinner we had had some wine from a vineyard there and we decided to visit it before heading back into the States. We were a bit surprised that it is a large wine growing area. Apparently, the micro climate between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario is further affected by the Niagara Escarpment, a circle of higher land around the region, causing the moderate temperatures to just settle there. We had a pretty nice server at the teasting bar and she then referred us to a chocolatier on the way to the Peace Bridge. Lisa had asked about some chocolates she had seen that had an ice wine flavored inside. So we went to Chocolate F/X next.

Ahh, imagine walking into a place where the aroma of chocolate surrounds you. The last place we went into like that was in Alaska. This place coats various berries, nuts and fillings with chocolate and then a colored shell. We had trouble picking……and bought too much, so I brought some into the office so we wouldn’t eat it. LOL

We crossed on the Peace Bridge into downtown Buffalo. As the traffic slowed we had a great view of the breakwater and noticed someone was out for a long stroll.

Well, we passed through immigration and customs once again (they let us back in!!) and dropped Dan back home in Pittsburgh and then headed another 4 hours south home to Huntington. Graham left the next morning for a professional conference, we got our new dog, and we then re-entered the normal routine once again. Only took me about 6 days to clear the pile on my desk!

We drove about 3500 miles, spending about $550 dollars to buy gas, took 2 weeks and didn't get to see neough. Graham and I are of the opinion that there are so many places to visit, we probably will never repeat a destination, but we are already vaguely planning a trip back to Nova Scotia, particularly more exploration in Cape Breton, in abotu 3 years.

And now, I will start planning for next summer: Russia to visit Serge and Alex, Croatia to visit Carol and to Israel to visit my cousins, since we’ll be “in the neighborhood. LOL

Isn’t life grand???

This is the end of the series about our 2008 family vacation. Of course, when I entitled the blog, I permitted myself open-ended future discussions….stay tuned.