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!!