We had a very pleasant journey through the White or maybe the Green mountains to Niagara Falls. I get the White and the Green mixed up but we did them both at some point in our New England travels so I’m not going to look it up just now. We stayed in state parks along US Hwy 2 and the St Lawrence seaway through NH, VT, and NY. They had names like Coles Creek, Sackets Harbor, and Four Creek. It may have been a little early for the renowned ‘fall’ color but it was still a beautiful and relaxing trip. I was in part influenced by the fact that we were headed west. I’ve done this a lot in the past ten years and it always happens that I feel just a little better heading west. Maybe it’s some of what Horace Greeley was talking about that comes out in me. More likely it’s familiarity and comfort level and the calling of home and heart. Anyway! The weather was great, the highways were in good shape, the traffic was light, and mostly it was just us. How bad can that be? Far from it!
I do have one small complaint though. Well, maybe not so small! There ain’t no moose! There’s s’posed to me moose!!! I wouldn’t complain, but this is moose country and every few miles there is a yellow sign that says “Watch for Moose”. Well, I’ve been watching and all I can say is. “Liar, Liar”!
I saw one moose (pictured) but he was a poor specimen indeed.
It was at Four Creek that we stopped for a few days and went in to Niagara Falls. We drove the few miles south into Niagara Falls and parked at some cultural (?) center or something, which overlooked the Niagara river. We didn’t realize but a few minutes later a trolley came by and we ran over to see what was the deal. As it turned out it was a trolley to the Falls. Not only that, but it was free. So we got on for the ride. The trolley dropped us at the Visitor Center and scenic overlooks, and the place where you ride the Maid of the Mist. All this was very unexpected and we thought quite fortuitous. We took the Maid of the Mist boat ride which was quite a ‘kick’. The boat takes you up passed American Falls and into the spray and mist of Horseshoe Falls. Everybody gets a blue plastic raincoat for the trip and as it turns out, it really is necessary. We couldn’t believe how much spray we got. We got on with some folks who were on a tour and they told us that they were told to go to the front of the boat for the best experience. We got right up front and I think they were told right. We had a great view and we got all the spray and mist. I was worried the camera might be ruined but it came through OK. Kat was a little more ‘the worse for wear’. She had trouble pulling her hood tight and really got soaked all the way to her underwear. We did some other things but it really was the highlight of Niagara Falls.
Maybe I should not relate this story but it’s kind of hard to resist. When we bought our tickets, got our raincoats, and walked down to get in line for the Maid of the Mist ride we got behind two young couples who were probably French Canadian. They may have been French or Belgian or something but they were foreign and spoke what sounded mostly French. The guys were wearing their funny little European shoes and what I would call Capri’s, or I have heard them called mud pants. I don’t think these guys would say mud pants though. That would be too masculine I think? I’m trying to set the mood here. They were very European and I think Capri’s is the best term. Anyway, one of them was trying to help the other put on his blue raincoat. These are very lightweight see-through raincoats and I just couldn’t shake the image I was getting. And as too often happens I voice what I’m thinking. Out of the clear blue I said to them, “kind of like trying to put on a giant blue condom huh”? Kat just about pee’d in her pants and said later , she would have “crawled under a rock if she could have found one”; fortunately these guys and girls thought it was kind of cute too. Well maybe, because I think after they had some time to think about it for a couple of minutes they weren’t so sure it was so cute. They kind of shied away from us and we didn’t see them the rest of the trip……… Oh well!
I do have one small complaint though. Well, maybe not so small! There ain’t no moose! There’s s’posed to me moose!!! I wouldn’t complain, but this is moose country and every few miles there is a yellow sign that says “Watch for Moose”. Well, I’ve been watching and all I can say is. “Liar, Liar”!
I saw one moose (pictured) but he was a poor specimen indeed.
It was at Four Creek that we stopped for a few days and went in to Niagara Falls. We drove the few miles south into Niagara Falls and parked at some cultural (?) center or something, which overlooked the Niagara river. We didn’t realize but a few minutes later a trolley came by and we ran over to see what was the deal. As it turned out it was a trolley to the Falls. Not only that, but it was free. So we got on for the ride. The trolley dropped us at the Visitor Center and scenic overlooks, and the place where you ride the Maid of the Mist. All this was very unexpected and we thought quite fortuitous. We took the Maid of the Mist boat ride which was quite a ‘kick’. The boat takes you up passed American Falls and into the spray and mist of Horseshoe Falls. Everybody gets a blue plastic raincoat for the trip and as it turns out, it really is necessary. We couldn’t believe how much spray we got. We got on with some folks who were on a tour and they told us that they were told to go to the front of the boat for the best experience. We got right up front and I think they were told right. We had a great view and we got all the spray and mist. I was worried the camera might be ruined but it came through OK. Kat was a little more ‘the worse for wear’. She had trouble pulling her hood tight and really got soaked all the way to her underwear. We did some other things but it really was the highlight of Niagara Falls.
Maybe I should not relate this story but it’s kind of hard to resist. When we bought our tickets, got our raincoats, and walked down to get in line for the Maid of the Mist ride we got behind two young couples who were probably French Canadian. They may have been French or Belgian or something but they were foreign and spoke what sounded mostly French. The guys were wearing their funny little European shoes and what I would call Capri’s, or I have heard them called mud pants. I don’t think these guys would say mud pants though. That would be too masculine I think? I’m trying to set the mood here. They were very European and I think Capri’s is the best term. Anyway, one of them was trying to help the other put on his blue raincoat. These are very lightweight see-through raincoats and I just couldn’t shake the image I was getting. And as too often happens I voice what I’m thinking. Out of the clear blue I said to them, “kind of like trying to put on a giant blue condom huh”? Kat just about pee’d in her pants and said later , she would have “crawled under a rock if she could have found one”; fortunately these guys and girls thought it was kind of cute too. Well maybe, because I think after they had some time to think about it for a couple of minutes they weren’t so sure it was so cute. They kind of shied away from us and we didn’t see them the rest of the trip……… Oh well!
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