Pre-trip Trip: Niagara Falls for Mother's Day!

What began as an "RV trial run" became a Mother's Day girl's trip.  In April, Maria said she wanted to come along, so our group grew to 4.  She visited My Mom for Easter and Mom wanted to come along- the more the merrier.  Mom said she would be so happy if my sister Patty could join us- of course she could!  Bob opted out- "Do you mind if I skip this one?" ;)  Can't blame him- that is a lot of strong female Calhoon personality- and where would he sleep?

I made a reservation at Four Mile Creek State Park at a site that was right on Lake Ontario.  I have discovered that many of the State and National Parks have contracted out their reservation systems, which makes it a little more expensive (more fees), but I am able to look at a site map and choose a site.

We arrived just before sunset, and the site lived up to expectations!  Becca went "Paul Bunyan-ing", which means she found enough wood lying around for us to have a fire while watching the sun set.  Great way to celebrate Mother's Day!

Monday brought us to the Falls.  I decided that the American side suited our short trip best.  We had one day to explore, and there was plenty for us to see and do.  Canada can wait!  We bought an Adventure Pass ($33/adult), which covers 5 attractions on the American side, and the trolley.  We did 2 of them, and we can go back to use the other 3 on a later date.

The Cave of the Winds was awesome!  You take an elevator down a hand hewn shaft, then walk through a tunnel to a series of staircases that take you close enough to the Falls to get soaking wet.  Yellow ponchos are provided :).  Becca loved the Hurricane Deck, where the Falls rain down on you.  Honest- you are IN the Falls!

Lucky we did this attraction first, because Mom had enough energy to do a lot of the stairs.  The Hurricane Deck did not call her name though! She chose to wait that part out, and got a good luck bird dropping on her head instead...  Thank goodness for those ponchos!

Lunch was going to be at the restaurant near the Cave of the Winds with views of both the Canadian and American Falls.  Just our luck, it was closed on Mondays until "the in season"- after Memorial Day.  We lunched at the Hard Rock Cafe- just a trolley ride away, and a perfect size burger to split.

I grew up outside of Buffalo and saw the Falls a few times, but this was my first Maid of the Mist experience.  Becca and I rode in the front of the boat (of course), on the upper deck (of course) with maximum soaking potential (of course!).  Mom and Patty rode on the main deck to stay as dry as possible.  This boat takes you as far under the Falls and into the Canadian Horseshoe Falls as possible. Farther than I thought we could go!  It is about a 20 minute trip, and we got another souvenir poncho- woo hoo!

A special highlight of this trip was a visit with my cousin, Amy, her daughter, Lauren, and her Dad (my Dad's brother), Dick.  Dick is such a kind, upbeat and gracious man, and I know my Mom was so pleased to spend a little time with him.  Big thanks to Amy and Lauren too for setting aside time in their schedule to have dinner with us.  Good luck to Amy's Jeremy in lacrosse and the Air Force, and to Lauren at Oneonta!!

Tuesday morning we packed up and visited Old Fort Niagara, at the mouth of the Niagara River.  I remember going there as a kid- there is the cutest photo of my brother Jerry saluting the flag there when he was about 5 years old.  I'll have to add that later when I find it...  The fort was built by the French in the early 1700's to control access to the Great Lakes, then seized and built up by the British in the French and Indian War.  There is a great video in the visitor center that explains its historical importance.  We watched the musket firing demonstration (on the hour) and asked many questions that the enactor loved to answer... He explained every piece of equipment that was carried and how the musket works.  We toured the sleeping quarters and the earthworks that were used to protect the fort from land.  We also spent too much time in the gift shop!

 

All in all, we had 3 great days in a beautiful area of New York State!