Niagara Falls

         Dad came last weekend! He drove from Pittsburg to come hang out.  We went to Brooks BBQ for lunch on Saturday in between work.  Frankie and Logan came too.  Frankie has got to be one of the corkiest people I've ever met but he's fantastic and makes me laugh. I've probably snorted more from the things he's said than I have from anyone else's statements. Dad stuck around and watched Opening Ceremonies here and then we left late that night to spend a night in a hotel about an hour from here.  It was so incredibly nice to sleep in a big bed with clean sheets and not have to wear shoes in the bathroom; oh and watch tv and walk on carpet.  It's the little things I've 


really learned to appreciate being out here.  On


 Sunday we went on a run and then headed to Niagara Falls.  It rained some but he put on jackets and embraced the rain. We stayed on the American side for a little while.  I didn't know that Niagara Falls consisted of 3 falls....American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and finally Horseshoes Falls (the most well known).  It was so amazing to be there.  The amount of water (700,000+ gal/sec) flowing over the falls.  Everyone should go and check it out.  It's a statement of powerful peace and terrifying tranquility. Once we got across Rainbow Bridge and into Canada we found our cheap motel and then headed to the falls to watch the fireworks as they began over the falls. They were gorgeous especially since they had colored lights on the falls.  Fireworks bring lots of memories to me and this will just add to my list of memories. We finally got dinner at Shoeless Joe's Grille.  I had a delicious sandwich on gluten free bread that had real Canadian Bacon on it. I had french fries too of course. For dessert we split a blueberry cheesecake cocktail.  Since the drinking age is 18 in Canada I got to order it. I felt like quite the adult especially when we went into the casino after and they checked my ID because you have to be 19 to enter.  On Monday dad and I slept in and then continued touring on the Canadian side.  We went on the Maid of the Mist boat ride which takes you right up next to the falls.  You get pretty wet but it's well worth it to be that close.  Seeing the falls on the Canadian side is the best because you have a much better view of all three falls.  Dad and I shared a buffalo burger for lunch as we sat and listened to the water.  We did lots of walking in those two days.  It was then time drive to Lake Ontario. On our way saw a guy with an old, homemade convertible car. We had made a pit stop and dad started talking to the guy. He ended up asking me if I wanted to ride and he drove my 15 miles as dad followed. Mom would've either freaked out that I was riding with a 70 year old stranger or she would've encouraged it. But YOLO right?! So many people stared at us because his car is so old. I was happy this old man had a hobby though and this car allowed him to talk to people. People in Canada asked if I was dad's wife. Uh no!!!! We were concerned about that thinking he was some store of cradle rober.  Dad and I did a little wine tasting (nothing good in Canada, except the iced wine).  We crossed the border and headed to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo to get the original BBQ wings.  We did get them and they were great. After leaving the bar at 9ish we headed toward Cooperstown.  It was a four hour drive. We stayed the night in Oneonta (20 miles from the park). It was great again for a clean room even though I went right to sleep and had to be awake at 6:30am. It was so much fun.  
         It was great to get out of here for a few days. SO much fun and such a worthy site to see! 

      The towns out here are so different then out west.  There are dozens of villages and towns all over the place that seem to pop up and if you were to blink you'd miss them.  The cities are full of old, run down factories and rail road tracks. Along our journey it was nice to see these little towns full of what I consider 'small town America'.   It really is beautiful driving through the country side.  When you look out and see flags flying, volunteer fire crews out fixing power lines at midnight, people walking down the streets in overalls waving at you.  I've had to get used to being in a small town where it's not uncommon to see toothless people who don't have a college degree. Life out here is more about living with what you've got and making the best of it versus pursing another dream and trying to get to the next level.  It's a different way of thinking but it works for the people here.