Our next planned stop was one we were all looking forward to: Niagara Falls. It was such a long drive that we were going to need more than 1 day to get there, especially since we were going to drive along highway 2, the scenic route through New Hampshire and Vermont. What an amazing drive that was! It was just beautiful. Even though we were a few weeks before the fall colors really hit, we got a hint every now and then. It was kind of funny. You would be driving along and enjoying the green, tree covered rolling hills when suddenly there would be a bright red or orange tree right in the middle. We could imagine how spectacular it must be during peak fall color!
Yes, the drive was long, but we enjoyed it. One of the stops we made along the way was to Christie's in New Hampshire where we saw how maple syrup was made. They had samples of several different grades of syrup for us to taste and this lovely maple cream that I fell in love with! In the barn we saw some old memorabilia including old giant wooden barrels used for hauling the syrup in from the trees to the barn. These things held 200 gallons! That sounds like a lot, but when boiled down it only makes 7 gallons of syrup! We bought ourselves a limited amount of syrup and some maple candy and got back on the road again. We figured we would find many more such places in Vermont. We didn't and had to settle for a gift shop to buy more syrup for friends and family.
We drove and we drove and we drove some more. We hadn't booked a campsite, because we wanted to get as close to Niagara Falls as possible so that we could maximize our time there the next day. When we finally figured out where we felt we should stay it was after 8pm. We tried to call the campground, but there was no answer. When we got to the campground, it was after 10:00. There was a sign up saying that if we hadn't paid up front, we couldn't enter, but we figured we would just set up camp and settle the fees in the morning. Marcus worked hard to settle up with the guy in the morning. He was somewhat upset that we didn't have reservations, but I'm not sure he would have noticed if we hadn't said anything. Anyway, Marcus finally got it sorted out, but we were all pretty uncomfortable with the whole thing and decided we would never go without reservations again!
Now that was settled, we were off to the falls! We still had 3 more hours of driving to get there. We had heard that we wanted to go to the Canadian side of the falls for the best viewing so we headed for the border. We were a bit worried about whether they would want to search our trailer at customs. What a pain that would be to have to put it up there and then! They didn't thank goodness! They asked a few questions, looked at our papers, and sent us on our merry way. This meant that we had now been in all 3 countries on this continent this summer! How cool are we?!
Wow! The falls were big! Not so much tall, just big...lots of water. Very impressive! Marcus directed me to a parking lot where we could park, trailer and all, and get a shuttle to the falls. We got on the shuttle and were part way there, when I remembered I hadn't brought the camera with us! We got out at the first stop and headed back to the car. There is no seeing the falls without a camera!!! Colin grabbed his too! Now that we were properly prepared, we got back on the shuttle and set off for the falls (again).
There were 4 main falls activities to choose from. We decided we would do them all! The first was a 4D IMAX movie. They provided rain ponchos, so we knew we were about to get wet... in a movie?! They had a little cartoon thing at the beginning that was supposed to give us info on how the falls were formed, but it was pretty disjointed and kinda lame. Then we shuffled into the IMAX room where we were splashed and doused with water as the movie took us right up to the falls. That part was fun. Next we went on The Journey Behind the Falls. We were issued another poncho and set off into a set of tunnels that took us behind the falls. There were a few openings where you could look out at the water as it rushes down. It was loud and misty! Then we went out right beside the falls. The vantage was amazing! The splashing was pretty amazing too. After that it was time for lunch. We sat and ate while sitting on the rock wall with the falls right in front of us. What a view. From this point we could see across to the American side quite well. It looked like the view from that side would be limited, but there was a hike there that we wished we could go on. It took people down by a small part of the falls and it looked like one would get good and wet! Finally, it was time for the Maid in the Mist! This was a little boat that took us up close and personal to the falls. Again, we were issued our rain ponchos. I mean, really... how many ponchos does 1 need?! Well, I can tell you, we needed this one! We boarded the boat and boy did we get close to those falls! The mist was thick. It was hard to take photos. You had to take one and then dry off your lens before you could take another. It was an incredible experience though! The power of that water pounding over the falls made me feel a bit small and insignificant. Put me in my place but not in a bad way, just amazed me at the power and beauty of nature! Yes, we got very wet. It was great. I highly recommend it!
Derek had started to not feel very well earlier in the day, and was not up for our final adventure which was to hike by the falls. It was getting a bit late, and we weren't sure where we were staying that night, so we agreed to skip the hike. We said farewell to the falls and took the shuttle back to our car. As Marcus drove, I researched where we might stay. I found a Canadian KOA that seemed like the right distance, so that was the plan. We got there a little before 8, partially set up the trailer (we didn't pull our bed all the way out so we could stay hooked up to the car) and settled in for bed. Marcus and I discussed just how early we wanted to get up to leave for our second trip to Tennessee... it would be a long drive for 1 day! We agreed on 6 (I thought).
I guess I need to back up a little and say that Marcus and the boys had both had mild colds starting in Maine. I had been gloating that my superior immune system was keeping me from getting sick. Of course I jinxed myself. On the drive to the KOA, I began to have the dreaded symptoms of a bad one coming on. That night, as everyone else slept, I just couldn't. I was so sick by this time, I couldn't breathe through my nose at all. I couldn't get comfortable. I also kept having to go to the bathroom, which was quite a long walk in the dark. I don't think I slept more than a few hours that night. I was finally in a nice deep sleep when Marcus tapped me on the head and said it was time to go. It wasn't 6 by the way! It was 5!!! I was mad! Sick and mad. We took down the trailer in the dark, and started on our way back to see the cousins again.
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