Best of the Day: Day 3

August 12, 2018: Today, we took the Horn Blower cruise to the middle of Horseshoe Falls and then to the very edge of the right side where we were soaked.  Impressive, but not the best of the day.  We ate another delicious breakfast and had a picnic lunch.  Both were yummy but not the best of the day.  We walked for frozen yogurt just a few streets away from our bed and breakfast.  A convenient treat but not the best of the day.
     I have heard it said that, when traveling, a person should do what the locals do.  Pass on the tourist attractions, get off the beaten path and really live the place.  Yesterday, while driving around, we saw people swimming in the river under a bridge close to where we were staying.  This afternoon, we headed over and spent a glorious three hours or so swimming in the river and jumping off the bridge.  Sophie surprised me by being the most enthusiastic jumper and swimmer.  Time after time, she floated from where we were sitting on the dock to the ladder at the end, climbed out, jumped off the bridge and repeated.  She met a friend--Gigi--who swam with her but was reluctant to jump again after one try.  Ella swore she would not jump but ended up going twice.  In fact, we all jumped multiple times.  It was a lot of fun, just the right amount of scary and the river swimming is my favorite kind.  The water in this particular river heads to Niagara Falls meaning that the water we swam in ran over the falls not long after it touched us.  I think that is pretty cool.  Definitely the best of the day.
    Later, Chris and I walked to the Queen's Guard Bar and spent an hour over beer on the patio.  The beer was not my favorite or that might have competed for best of the day.  Instead, it was just good time spent in beautiful weather on our last night in Niagara Falls.

 On the Horn Blower cruise.  On the US side, it is called 

The Maid in the Mist and the ponchos are blue.

 I had a rain coat with me so I opted not to wear the red trash bag er poncho

 All red

 The US side.  On the right is Bridal Veil Falls.

 Another cattle boat.  They really did pack us in.

 River swimming

I've always suspected Sophie of being a fairy but maybe she's really a mermaid.

Very clear sign

 Dock sittin' cuties

 Ella said never but jumped more than once

 She gave it a thumbs up

 Oldest three dames jumping together.  This may have been Mia's first jump.  She did not wear her bathing suit to the river because she hadn't planned on swimming.  The fun persuaded her to go back and change!

 I think this photo shows that we are not in Kansas (or Pennsylvania) anymore

I'm not sure how many times Sophie climbed up this ladder.  Many times 10.

Two sunflowers

 Look at that face. 

 Canada?  US?

Goodbye sweet Niagara Falls B & B!  Next up--Quebec City.

Day 2: Just Peachy

August 11, 2018:  It is so hard to blog about vacations because I want to remember everything, more than I can record here.  The day began with a huge feast delivered to our door at 7:45.  There were eggs cooked at least three different ways, huge sausages, a stack of pancake waffles (flat like pancakes but with the waffle grid on one side) and a variety of fruit.  It fed us all with some leftover for lunch.  I am sad to say that this is the only B & B we will be staying in during our vacation.  These breakfasts will spoil us!
We decided with Niagara on the Lake today.  On the way, we stopped at a scenic overlook and met a couple who recommended the peach festival in the downtown area.  We took Niagara Parkway and passed a huge number of wineries and amazing homes.  The scenery was breathtaking.  One establishment we passed advertised a winery and biking tour that looked fun.  Maybe next time!
Old Town Niagara on the Lake was packed for the festival but with persistence, we found a parking spot and proceeded to check it out.  There was a lot to see, do and taste at the festival and we walked the length of it before deciding on peach ice cream.  Madeleine got her ice cream with a crepe and Chris opted for peach frozen yogurt.  It was all delicious.  While we were walking around, one of the girls observed, "I'm getting Epcot vibes".  In the sense that it was very clean, well kept and picturesque, that was about right.
Leaving Old Town, we headed back toward Niagara Falls and stopped at the flower clock where we took pictures and enjoyed a picnic.  A couple of the girls had books with them and read while Ella led the rest of us in a game of two truths and a lie.  No one pulled off a lie.  I guess we know each other too well.
Mass was next on the agenda and then dinner back at the B & B where Chris grilled.  Afterward, we headed back to the falls to enjoy the scenery at dusk and watch the fireworks.  Though brief, they were beautiful and I had fun taking pictures of them.  In fact, I have very much enjoyed going back to using a real camera this trip.  The camera on my iPhone is so convenient that is has become my go-to but there is something about the feel of a real camera that still draws me.  When I put the photo card into my computer tonight, I found 100 old photos and videos taken by Ella a couple of years ago.  A fun surprise to end a fun day.

 A feast more for giants than hobbits!

 The water at Niagara Falls was an amazing blue.  Having grown up near the Potomac River, I expect my rivers to be mostly brown and murky.  This water was right out of a movie.

 Feeling peachy at the peach festival

 One of the many quaint buildings

 Crepe eating tourists

 When you see a lemonade stand...we patronized this little boy's booth where all proceeds went to charity.  Little sparks of goodness.

 I love this pic of G.  One of five reading machines living in our house.  

She said this book was excellent.

 C and me at the flower clock

 Back at the B & B:  Sunflower or shower head?

 Friends

 Candid girls

 Horseshoe Falls.  Check out that spray!

 Watching the lights on the falls while waiting for the fireworks

One of Ella's surprise photos that showed up on my photo card.   Baby mine.

Canada, Eh?

The next few posts are from summer vacation 2018 when we spent two weeks with our neighbor to the North, land of moose, hockey and all things maple.  Most of the posts were written on the trip at the end of very long days.  I would literally spend ten minutes before bed capturing what I could.  Which proves that something is better than nothing and, in fact, something can really be worth doing.  Enjoy!

Canada Day 1:

August 10, 2018:  We left between 10 and 11 AM as planned.  11:05 to be exact but who's counting?  We're on vacation!    The drive to our first destination took about three hours.  We arrived at Hoak's on the Lake at 2, a seafood restaurant highly recommended by Chris' coworker.  It did not disappoint and we had no leftovers.  After lunch, we wandered down to Lake Erie where we skipped rocks, collected rocks and, amazingly enough, did not get wet.  The day was beautiful with perfect temps, blue skies and just the right number of fluffy white clouds.
When we got back on the road, we headed to Niagara Falls, NY/ Niagara Falls State Park.  We walked to one of the observation areas and got our first glimpse of the falls.  The view was partial and, for that reason, a bit underwhelming but we were all so excited to be here that we were easily satisfied and impressed.  We noticed that below us, on a platform at the bottom of the falls were yellow ponchoed people standing nearly under the falls, getting completely soaked and having tons of fun.  After walking around a bit, we bought tickets, were given our own yellow ponchos and went on the "Cave of Winds" tour.  We started off in a small museum about the use of the falls for energy and for the appreciation of beauty.  Then, we watched a movie, the theme of which was "The World Changed Here".  The star of the documentary was Tesla, a brilliant scientist/ inventor who discovered a way to harness the energy of the falls, turn it into electricity and send it over a distance, a revolutionary thing at the time.  After the movie, we were given extremely stylish footwear for our tour that we were allowed to keep.  Then, it was an elevator ride down to the self-guided tour where we walked along layers of decking for a wonderful view of the falls.  The "Hurricane Platform" was the highlight of the tour.  It was there that we experienced hurricane force winds (category 1) and were literally bathed by Bridal Veil Falls.  It was truly amazing.  At one point, I stood with my arms raised and eyes closed at the edge of the platform facing the falls, a wall of rushing water.  I heard the roar and felt the power and, for one second, fear.
Soaking wet and chilly, we climbed in the car and drove to the border where we were asked questions about our plans in Canada, whether we were planning to leave anything behind at the end of our stay and whether we were planning to meet anyone.  No and No.  It was a bit intense but we passed and were allowed to continue on our way to our bed and breakfast.  We have our own little apartment, a breakfast delivered in the morning and extremely friendly hosts who gave us a full run down of the must-dos of the area.  We will run out of time before we run out of options!

 Hoak's on the Lake 

(Wish we'd gotten a family pic there as it was the first stop and first meal!  

I think we were all too hungry!)

Beauty and the Mama

 Piggies in Lake Erie, picture by G

These two bonded while the rest of us hunted interesting rocks.  We came home with a ton.  Literally.

 Niagara, New York side

 Five Fearless Frodos

 As you can probably tell from this photo, I loved every minute of the Cave of the Winds tour

 And I love him more (true story)

 These two stuck together exploring the decking.

Amazingly, they take it down at the end of each season and rebuild it all the next year!

I love this photo.  Grace, open mouthed yelling something to her little sis'.

Those falls are fierce: powerful, loud, majestic.  It was worth every penny to be right in there.

Glad Game

On our way to Arkansas at the end of April, the girls and I listened to Pollyanna, a story with which we were familiar but one that easily grabbed our attention again.  I could digress here and talk about the fact that audio books are a true gift from heaven and make long car rides not only bearable but anticipated but I won't do that.  Instead I will observe that of all the details of Pollyanna, the one easiest to recall is her glad game.  Pollyanna literally changes her whole town by teaching people to play her game of finding things to be glad about in the face of adversity.  Of course, after an accident that paralyzes her from the waist down, Pollyanna struggles to play.  It takes her a long time to find something to be glad about again.
I can relate to that.  Sometimes life's bleakness blocks out the light and while hope hasn't completely raised the white flag, it at least goes into hiding.  It is in this state that I turn back to my old friend Frodo (Seven).  When I started this blog back in 2008, I intended it to highlight all of the goodness in my life, especially the little things I took for granted.  And it did, beyond my wildest dreams.  When I surf the blog, I find so many treasures in the form of memories of my sweet girls and my own thoughts as a young(er) mom.  The girls (mostly Grace) have asked me often to start the blog again but like anything set aside, it has been hard to pick up again.
I hope that today's post is the first in a new series of reminders that life is good because God is good and He loves us.
So let's see--I am glad for my family and am glad to have so many daughters.  I am glad for our recent trip to Canada and for the photo below taken at Prince Edward Island.  I am especially glad for Faith.  Without it, there would be no Hope at all.  Until next time!

Frodo Seven   August 2018