Ohio Day Eight - Niagara Falls and the Road Home

Niagara Falls was so much fun!!  We have had a great day today.  The boys let us sleep in until eight which was wonderful.  Although, the beds in this hotel were not quite as nice and James and I both had backaches when we woke up.  When we booked the hotel we had asked for a crib but they didn’t have one available last night.  At first we tried to put Charlie in bed with the boys but he tossed and turned and kept hitting Will and Jon in his sleep.  Finally around one am he woke up and cried until I brought him to bed with us.  All through the night he kept reaching over to make sure I was still there.

sleeping boys

  We were on the road to Niagara before nine thirty which was later than I’d hoped but still pretty good for us.  It had rained in the night and the sky was still overcast when we left but by the time we got to the falls the sun had begun to peek out.  Neither James nor I had ever been to the America side of the falls before but I think I preferred it over the Canadian side (although Canada does have a great town and beautiful gardens).  Here we were able to get a couple of great views, right up close to Niagara Falls.

 

 



Niagara Falls





Boys love to run in any field

Daddy gives Will a lift



Horseshoe Falls

 Our first stop was Luna Island, a very small island right on the edge of the waterfall.  It was amazing to be so close to the powerfully moving water.  The railings were pretty high so thankfully I didn’t have to worry about the children.  And we got to see a rainbow at the top of the falls!  James and I did have to laugh at a sign we saw along the rushing water, about 50 feet from the edge, it warned “Do not go in the water.  Violators will be prosecuted.”

Our family on Luna Island

Rainbow!



Charlie loved looking at the water

 

Will's toothy grin

   From the tip of Luna Island we were able to see people walking around right at the bottom of the falls.  Of course Will wanted to go down there.  So we headed over to Cave of the Winds which, to Jon’s great disappointment, is not an actual cave.  Apparently there was a cave there but it collapsed in 1928.  Will and Jon discussed this at length until it was generally decided that it had been knocked down by a hurricane.

  The trip promised to be very wet and we weren’t sure about the suitability for a toddler so James stayed up with Charlie while I took Will and Jon down to Cave of the Winds.  It was amazing!  After we bought our tickets we were given sandals and ponchos before a long elevator ride to the bottom of the falls.  As soon as stepped out we were greeted by the raucous sound of the thousands of sea gulls that lived on the rocks.  Will and Jon were particularly captivated by the gulls and Will, who was in charge of the waterproof camera, took many pictures of them.  I was thankful for the poncho which also protected us from the white rain that littered the pathway.

Ready for Cave of the Winds

Will was fascinated by all the gulls

Thousands of gulls on the rocks

   We walked along the path until we came to a wooden walkway that was built out over the rushing water at the bottom of the falls.  In some places the waterfall thundered down only feet from where we stood and everywhere we were subject to gusts of water from even the slightest breeze.  It was absolutely incredible and I wish I could have stayed there longer.  Will also loved it and if it had just been the two of us we probably would have stayed for a while.  But poor Jon found the constant roar too loud for his ears and he was a bit intimidated at the more exciting dangerous parts of the walk.  I couldn’t use my camera but Will was able to get some good pictures with the waterproof one.

Too loud for Jon

This platform was constantly soaked from the fall only a few feet away

At the bottom of Niagara Falls

The platform we were walking on

Will on the hurricane deck, bravely near the waterfall

Will under Niagara Falls

Will's picture of me getting soaked by the waterfall

   While we were at Cave of the Winds, James and Charlie took a nice walk to see the Horseshoe Falls before meeting us back at the top.  We stopped to grab some ice cream where Jon met with yet another disappointment, they were out of his chosen popsicle.  Luckily we were able to find it at another establishment on the way out and the day was saved.

Niagara Falls

 

  By the time we were done it was a good deal later than we had planned to leave and the day had grown fairly hot.  We were facing at least eight hours of driving so we knew it would be a late night.  But we were happy to be heading home!

Our drive was rather uneventful but we did stop for a nice little break at a lakeside park in New York.  The boys got to run to and play on a playground and they even made a few friends.  I wish we could have spent a couple hours there.



At the playground

Hanging out by the lake

Playing on the slide



Looking at the lake

 

   It was a good day and a very pleasant drive but I am happy to be home and sleeping in my own bed.  On the way home Jon said “I liked going to Ohio” which I think sums it up quite nicely.

Goodnight and thanks for reading!!

Ohio Day Seven - Back to New York

 I'm afraid that this will be a short entry today.  We had fun plans but James and I were too tired and the boys are getting sick so we just had a quiet day of traveling.  Before we left Cleveland the boys had to show Daddy their favorite playground but it was hot and crowded so we didn't stay long.  Charlie was pretty cute this morning, he brought everyone their shoes and said "Welcome, welcome" as he handed them out.  He hasn't got the hang of "Thank you" yet but he does know when to say "you're welcome".

  Speaking of Charlie, this trip has really strengthened our relationship with him.  Trips are always a big family bonding time for us and since Charlie has only been living with us for a couple of months this has been a great opportunity to grow our relationship.  I can tell that Charlie and I are more connected but the biggest change has been with him and Will.  Jon has always liked Charlie and the role of big brother while Will primarily ignored him or saw him as a nuisance.  But on this trip Will has been seeking him out, speaking kindly, playing with him and trying to teach him things.  He even referred to Charlie today as his "littlest brother" which was huge.  (yes, he understands the temporary nature of foster care)
 
  I'm really happy that even on days like today, when everyone is tired and grumpy and we don't do anything fun, we all still love being together.  I do so love my family. 

  But we did have some fun today.  We spent a long time in the hotel pool followed by pizza and a movie.  We did make a mistake ordering the pizza though... we forgot what a large pizza looks like in New York.  This could have easily fed twice as many people.



Me and Jonny in the pool



lots and lots of pizza!

Charlie passed out

   James and I have decided to head home tomorrow instead of staying another night.  When we planned the trip we had very low expectations of Cleveland and so we wanted to do something fun on the way back.  But Cleveland was such a blast and our hotel room was so amazing that everything else seems like a disappointment.  Add to that the kids oncoming colds and our exhaustion and the idea of spending Sunday at home instead of on the road sounds really nice.  Our plan is to visit Niagara before we leave so I will have one more post (and hopefully some good pictures!) tomorrow. 

Goodnight!

Ohio Day Six - Last Day in Cleveland

I’m feeling much better today!!  I think by tomorrow I’ll be completely back to normal.

We were planning on swimming in Lake Erie today but for the first time this week it was cold and raining.  So after we dropped James off, the boys and I went back to the hotel and went swimming in the pool instead.  I was a little nervous about taking three boys to the pool by myself, especially since Charlie thinks he can swim.  But everyone behaved beautifully. 

Jon in the pool

   We had so much fun!  Both Will and Jon practiced their swimming and they both did really well.  Will played with my waterproof camera, throwing it out and then diving to the bottom to retrieve it.  We also had squirt gun fights and I taught the boys how to play Marco Polo.  At one point Jon put on Charlie’s float and his own and then jumped into the water.  He promptly flipped over.  Luckily I was right there and able to pick him up right away.  But Jon was a little freaked out.  Charlie, in his float, also flipped completely upside down in the water.  I flipped him upright in seconds and he didn't seem at all upset.

playing in the pool

Jon with two floats

  After over an hour in the pool we headed back upstairs for lunch and a nap.  Will read another chapter of his book and Jon drew this cool picture of Superman shooting something with his laser eyes. 

Will reading at quiet rest time

Jon's picture of Superman

  Despite feeling better I am still very tired and so I confess that I was a lazy mother this afternoon.  The boys watched TV while I spent time reading and slowly packing.  Finally we left for an hour at the playground before picking up Daddy.

Peter Parker shooting his web

Jon and Charlie climbing Spiderman's web

Will swings on the monkey bars

  Having heard our exuberant praise of the ice cream, James wanted to eat at Tommy’s tonight.  To our delight we discovered that Tommy’s had a visiting clown who was making balloon animals for all the children.  The boys were thrilled.  Jon had a look of amazement and wonder on his face the entire time.  Charlie got an inflatable hammer that wouldn’t pop (hooray!) and the clown made a balloon Batman for Will, complete with a cape.  Jon got the coolest one, a green balloon octopus that he named “Octopussycat”.

Octopussycat

Octopus head

watching the balloon animals get made

Will holds balloons for the clown

our visit from a friendly clown

Will's Batman balloon

Will and the clown

  It was a little difficult for the boys to focus on their food once they had their balloons.  But they did manage to put them down for dessert.  As before the ice cream was delicious but, on further reflection, not quite as good as our favorite New England ice cream.

Will and Daddy enjoy some ice cream

  Next door to Tommy’s was an amazing toy store, full of cool old toys.  In a large room stuffed to the brim with toys, Charlie immediately found the thing he loves most and with a loud cry of “Fan!” he pointed excitedly to the slowly spinning fan on the ceiling.  Will and Jon were in heaven and with the promise of one toy each they began the difficult task of choosing the best one.  They both spent a lot of time in the super hero section but finally ended up with Legos.  We’ll see if their Legos make it home in one piece…

A small section of the toy store

  Right around the corner from Tommy’s and the toy store was another cool playground.  Charlie found a couple of little kids to play with and they were so very cute.  Will loved the zip line and rope swings and Jon enjoyed sliding down the Batpole.  Will and Charlie also had fun running and rolling down the big hill.

Will on the Zip line

Boys on a big slide

Will on a rope swing

Jon at the playground

Jon sliding down the Batpole

Will rolling down the hill

  At the playground was a very angry young boy.  He was about 9 or 10 and he was very loudly and angrily complaining to his friends.  (He did not appear to have any parents there)  In three or four years a rant like this would have him written off by those around him as a juvenile delinquent.  As we listened (you could hear him across the entire playground) we learned that he was hurt because someone had called him ugly and stupid.  This broke my heart.  I wanted so much to tell him that he was handsome and smart, that he was good and valued and loved.  I couldn’t of course.  Strange adults approaching children on a playground is never a good idea.  But James and I did pray for him on the way home.  If you could, I’d like to ask you, my readers, to also pray for this little boy.  He reminds me so much of some of the hurt children we have cared for.

Tonight is our last night in Cleveland so after the playground we went home to put the kids to bed and to pack.  I have to confess that we have been pleasantly surprised by Cleveland.  The city is very nice, and seems to have an endless supply of green parks and playgrounds.  We didn’t spend much time in downtown Cleveland, which seemed rather small, but the outer city and surrounding area is beautiful and very kid friendly.  I would be very happy to come here again.

I’d better be off to bed because tomorrow we head out to New York and Niagara Falls.

Goodnight!