2021--Niagara Falls
Prolouge
It has been about seven months since our last trip. I am thankful that we have means to travel as often as we do, and do it where we can do the things we like. I try not to take that for granted. Just like I try, but failed, to take my own health for granted. You have to be healthy to travel. My sister-in-law, Jackie is a poster child for that one.
To that end, on Thursday, March 18th, after a major spring blizzard which added a level of stress, on top of all my department labor shortages, God decided I needed a break. So, he broke my hip. OK, that is an exaggeration. I slipped on some ice, formed after the aforementioned major spring snowstorm, and landed on my good hip. My bad hip did not break, according to the Xray, but I did damage it. I could not walk on it, and it took four weeks to get back to normal.
The part that is not an exaggeration, is that I did need a break from work, and I was going to get it. I took one day off for the doctor, the weekend, and the residual effects of the ice inducing snow storm, gave me another day off. I was back to work on crutches by Tuesday. But, the same X-ray that showed no evidence of a fracture, gave undeniable proof that the hip was worn out and had to be replaced, and soon. Surgery was May 12th, which was about as quick as it could be done, and my hip was replaced again. I was off work for 2 1/2 weeks, and then another two weeks working from home. It was a nice break from work, and coincidentally, I was able to get fully staffed while I was out. Once, I returned to the office, I began leaving at 5 PM. I was still working Saturdays and Sundays from home, but it was a start.
Back to surgery. Good as new, right? Well, not yet. The second time around is always worse than the first. Mine had the added complication of having a shortage of “good” bone to attach the new joint to. My doctor, Aaron Baxter, did the job, and then told me to stay off of it for six weeks and then we would talk. Six weeks drag by, and June 22nd arrives. I had been a good boy and my implant had not moved. Something we were concerned about. Now the rehab started.
At the six week mark, I could go from toe touch on the left leg to 25% of my weight. At week seven, 50%, week eight, 75%, and week nine, 100% of my weight. He had given me this schedule both at one of the pre-surgical appointments, and at my six week check-up. But, on the six week visit, he added “then we will get you on a cane.” It was both an afterthought statement and one of the last things he said, as he was walking out the door. It registered, but did not compute. If I was at 100%, why would I need a cane?
I will find out that answer tomorrow, July 20th, which is a day short of week ten. Right now, I using a cane at home and a single crutch at work. My stamina sucks, and I am a little concerned about getting around on this trip. It should not require lots and lots of walking, but it will be more than some. I did over 11,000 steps one day last week. A lot of the trouble is not my bad hip. It is the right side of my body. That hip, shoulder, and wrist start to hurt from both the walking and the crutch and cane. When the doc fixed my hip, he shifted my body position and now stress is not a different part of that hip. I wonder how long before I have to replace that one.
We were supposed to be going to Michigan about now. Actually we were supposed to go to Michigan in September, and going back to Longmire Days about now. But, when we booked the hotels, they “made a mistake” and notified us that they were effectively more than doubling the cost, to over $300 a night. I like Buffalo, WY and the thought of Longmire Days sounded good, but not for $300 a night, in what used to be a nice Motel 6. Much later, COVID intervened, and almost none of the stars are attending the festivities. That was the whole reason to go, so we were all very glad we canceled that. What to replace it with, because I still wanted a break from work. Niagara Falls is on my bucket list. So there you go. What about Michigan? Going to Las Vegas instead. More on that when I write that entry.
To that end, on Thursday, March 18th, after a major spring blizzard which added a level of stress, on top of all my department labor shortages, God decided I needed a break. So, he broke my hip. OK, that is an exaggeration. I slipped on some ice, formed after the aforementioned major spring snowstorm, and landed on my good hip. My bad hip did not break, according to the Xray, but I did damage it. I could not walk on it, and it took four weeks to get back to normal.
The part that is not an exaggeration, is that I did need a break from work, and I was going to get it. I took one day off for the doctor, the weekend, and the residual effects of the ice inducing snow storm, gave me another day off. I was back to work on crutches by Tuesday. But, the same X-ray that showed no evidence of a fracture, gave undeniable proof that the hip was worn out and had to be replaced, and soon. Surgery was May 12th, which was about as quick as it could be done, and my hip was replaced again. I was off work for 2 1/2 weeks, and then another two weeks working from home. It was a nice break from work, and coincidentally, I was able to get fully staffed while I was out. Once, I returned to the office, I began leaving at 5 PM. I was still working Saturdays and Sundays from home, but it was a start.
Back to surgery. Good as new, right? Well, not yet. The second time around is always worse than the first. Mine had the added complication of having a shortage of “good” bone to attach the new joint to. My doctor, Aaron Baxter, did the job, and then told me to stay off of it for six weeks and then we would talk. Six weeks drag by, and June 22nd arrives. I had been a good boy and my implant had not moved. Something we were concerned about. Now the rehab started.
At the six week mark, I could go from toe touch on the left leg to 25% of my weight. At week seven, 50%, week eight, 75%, and week nine, 100% of my weight. He had given me this schedule both at one of the pre-surgical appointments, and at my six week check-up. But, on the six week visit, he added “then we will get you on a cane.” It was both an afterthought statement and one of the last things he said, as he was walking out the door. It registered, but did not compute. If I was at 100%, why would I need a cane?
I will find out that answer tomorrow, July 20th, which is a day short of week ten. Right now, I using a cane at home and a single crutch at work. My stamina sucks, and I am a little concerned about getting around on this trip. It should not require lots and lots of walking, but it will be more than some. I did over 11,000 steps one day last week. A lot of the trouble is not my bad hip. It is the right side of my body. That hip, shoulder, and wrist start to hurt from both the walking and the crutch and cane. When the doc fixed my hip, he shifted my body position and now stress is not a different part of that hip. I wonder how long before I have to replace that one.
We were supposed to be going to Michigan about now. Actually we were supposed to go to Michigan in September, and going back to Longmire Days about now. But, when we booked the hotels, they “made a mistake” and notified us that they were effectively more than doubling the cost, to over $300 a night. I like Buffalo, WY and the thought of Longmire Days sounded good, but not for $300 a night, in what used to be a nice Motel 6. Much later, COVID intervened, and almost none of the stars are attending the festivities. That was the whole reason to go, so we were all very glad we canceled that. What to replace it with, because I still wanted a break from work. Niagara Falls is on my bucket list. So there you go. What about Michigan? Going to Las Vegas instead. More on that when I write that entry.
Day One-Thursday, July 22, 2021
The day begin at 2:15 AM, when my phone alarm went off. Surprisingly, I was not dead tired. Both Margo and I had gotten to bed not long after 9:15, so I got nearly five hours of sleep. Margo was already up and dressed. She had gotten up before her alarm went off and was in full on travel mode. She had spent the previous evening fussing over the suitcases, packing repacking, changing cases, and rearraging things. But, at the way too hour of 3:15 AM, everything was ready to go.
I was not, and almost never am, looking forward to plane flight to our ultimate destination, Buffalo, NY. Air travel is no fun anymore. Between the crowds, the TSA hassle, and the still in effect mask mandates, it is one hassle after another. But, it is still far and away the best way to travel distances, so away we go.
We breezed through security, even with me on a cane. I elected to leave my crutch at home. We also elected to ask Southwest to pre-board me, with the rest of the handicapped people. I felt bad each and every time. After the first one, we moved back beyond the wing, so at least we weren’t taking prime seats, and we had time to get set up.
On my most recent appointment, the doctor had told me my hip was still in the same place he left it, and looked to be healing fine. I was officially cleared to put as much weight as I could tolerate on it, and to begin to wean myself from any walking aid. It has been ten full weeks, since my hip revision. It seems like I have been limping around and using some sort of support, forever.
We boarded early, with the wheelchair-bound old ladies, and ike I said , I felt like a cripple. We picked seats up front and held up the line. I got out of the way the best I could and got us settled as quick as I could. Margo was managing more baggage than I, so it took her even longer. But, at least she was inside our seat area. She always takes a window. I always take the aisle. I like the extra room and the quicker access to the restroom. I hate being in the way, which is what I was.
I had to schedule this flight with a layover, something that I rarely do. But the direct flights were very expensive. Our first leg, which took us about 3 ¾ hrs, landed in Baltimore, MD about 11:15 AM local time. We had left at 5:35 AM back home. Aren’t time zones a wonder?
We had a two hour layover at BWI. We used it to get a few snacks for the air and go to the bathroom. I typed a few sentences here as well. When it came time to pre-board, me looking pathetic on my crutch, we snuck ahead of the six or seven people in wheelchairs. I think there was only two people to assist them, so we were doing everyone a favor, by getting out of the way.
We did them another favor and found seats over the wing, past the emergency row exits. This was evidently unusual as the flight attendant stationed there was about to chastise us, after asking if we were “pre-board”, as we approached the coveted emergency row. You see because people sitting in these rows, in order to gain the privilege of a few extra inches of leg room, must be willing and able to assist the flight attendants in the event of an emergency. Us pre-boards are cripples and can’t help. It is true. While I wouldn’t be useless, I would be as likely to just be in the way. But, I walked past them, and left Margo to explain that I wanted to be out of the way and with plenty of time to get situated.
I had slept well on the first leg of our journey, probably logging an hour’s worth of sleep. This flight, Baltimore to Buffalo was only to be about an hour and 15 minutes. Still I must have nodded off towards the end, because, with my eyes closed I clearly could hear the engines change power levels for the descent. That happens 30 minutes before touch down, as it is the start of Final Approach. My mind was wandering and the next thing I knew is the plane bumped down on the tarmac for the landing. Yeah. We were in Buffalo.
We retrieved our single checked bag. Margo and I were both concerned about losing this, as it had all our cloths, and could be a real hassle if it was not with us. The rental car counter was right across the street from Baggage Claim. I declined all insurance, and almost turned back to change my mind with the guys “Only $9 per day, and we cover everything” ringing in my ears. But, I held firm, and a short walk later we were beside our dark grey Chevy Cruze.
I will take a minute to comment on my hip is doing on the trip. At this point in time, it had been quite a hike from our B gates to baggage claim. I had made the decision, just last night to use my cane only and not take a crutch. About now would be the time that this decision was put to the test. I was doing fine. Even my stamina was not bad. I was a tad slow, with Margo having to stop and wait for me. But, I was doing fine.
Thirty easy minutes later we were pulling in, to not the parking lot of our hotel, but the parking lot of Rainbow Air, the only helicopter tour company operating on this side of the border. They don’t take advance reservations, so I wanted as many chances as I could to take one of these flights. We pulled in, parked and found out that we would have a 30 minute wait. I was thinking, “That’s nothing” We wait that long to be sat for dinner. So I paid the $270 for the two of us and we took a few pictures and videos while we waited.
When it was out turn, I started worrying about getting in and out of the aircraft. I really started to worry when I saw there was a tall step, which my left leg would have to push from. I figured I was about to be embarrassed as I would be needing extra help to get in. But, even though I was far from graceful, the only help I needed was with my cane. I had to put most of my weight on the left leg to step up, but there was no pain. I need to start working on my range of motion, as it hurts to bed my legs in certain, still mostly forbidden, ways.
Anyway, medical update aside, we were underway quickly. They turn these helicopter rides over quickly. The chopper does not shut down. They unload one group, and load up the next. Margo and I had talked with the ground team, and they say they refuel about every 8 flights, or so. There is really no good way to time these, so they just take your money and give you a card with a number. Just like the DMV. When they call your number, you’re are next up, and you make your way over to the two sets of stairs. I’m doing stairs OK, but still not my favorites.
This will be the fifth helicopter ride Margo and I have done over our travels. She and I have been traveling the country since 1985, that is 36 years. I am sure we have averaged over a trip per year, so that is a lot miles and experiences. We are running out of ways to travel. We have taken a submarine in Hawaii, Segways all the US, funiculars, railroads, with steam and diesel electric, canoe, stern-wheeler, horse and buggy, rickshaw, and so forth.
So, while a helicopter ride is not mundane, it takes a bit to impress me. This one really didn’t. it was still good, and the views of the falls are nothing short of impressive. But, the whole flight was 8 minutes, which is short even by helicopter standards. There was no narration. I get that the pilot’s job is to get you from point A, a quick, safe, flight, and then back to point A, and that a narration my him is distracting. But, we have had it on some flights. I would have been happy with something taped and piped into our headsets. It was over quick. We got out tipped the guys $20, and set the GPS for our hotel
Our hotel was the Comfort Inn-The Pointe. It looked to be the closest hotel to the falls, and it had decent reviews on TripAdvisor. I had intentionally sought a hotel close to the action, but that was just on GP, as I made the reservations before I got hurt. At this point, I can’t say I wasn’t concerned about the walking I would have to do, but I was still very hopeful.
The hotel had two comfortable beds, an entrance to the parking lot, which was secured by a guard, and an entrance to Prospect Street, which you crossed to get to Niagara Falls State Park.
You could not see the falls from the hotel, at least on the 4th floor, where we were at. They were too far back, and there were too many trees. But, you could hear them. We were maybe a quarter mile away.
The hotel also did not have maid service. They were blaming the pandemic and maybe that is true, but it could be labor as well. Any job that is considered entry level is hard to fill these days. The room had a bath tub shower. I didn’t like that, as big steps into and out of slippery places are not high on my list of favorite things right now. But, all in all, I was pretty pleased with it, and we would use them again. The guys checking us in, white, balding, 40ish, was really professional, helpful, and pleasant. He alone was worth the minor aggravations we had. Wish I had caught his name.
It was between 4:00 and 4:30 at this point. I had originally planned for us to take a nap, but with the sleep we had gotten at home and on the plane, we decided we were more hungry than tired. I told Margo what I knew about as far as nearby restaurants, and we decided on the Hard Rock Café. It was a block away.
Now might be a good idea to give you a lay of the land. Picture at the top of your mental map, a beautiful park at the top. It extends left to right and covers two thirds the page. Bordering the bottom of that park is a Prospect Street. It runs all along the bottom border. Now half way on Prospect Street, put a street that run pertendicular. It intersects it to make a T. The top of the T is Prospect. The stem of the T is Old Falls Street. This is an old brick street, and if filled with small restaurants and shops.
Back to our T. One the left corner of the T is our hotel. If you walk directly across Old Falls Street and walk one more block you come to Mayor Michael O’Laughlin Dr. It forms a second T with the park. At that left-side of the corner is the Hard Rock Café. It was a two minute walk, at my pace.
It also had a 30 minute wait. We were OK with that, until we wandered back Old Falls Street, and towards some of the shops. Right where we had just crossed Old Falls Street on our way to the home of Hard Rock (not really), was Flip Burger. They smelled good. Margo texted a cancelation and we had dinner there. It was good. I would eat there again.
Tummy’s full, we decided for a different perspective on the falls. The ones all tourist see, from the guardrails. We also wanted to scout our where to go for the Maid of the Mist. We would have like to have ridden the trolley that takes you around Niagara State Park, but you could not buy tickets at the bus, and the ticket booth had shut down around 5:30. It was after 6 PM by now.
We found the closed ticket booth and where to buy our Maid of the Mist tickets in the morning. Then we found a spot on the rails. For sheer volume of water these falls do not disappoint. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world. When you stop to consider that these falls are trying to drain four of the five Great Lakes, it starts to make a little sense. The actual view was a little disappointing. A little. All of the pictures you see show these great view of Horseshoe Falls.
Oops. Back up. Some background. Niagara Falls is actually three falls. This is because big hunks of land divide the river creating a fall on one side, the other, or both. The international border runs smack down the middle of your mental map, left to right. The Niagara River runs right down the middle of the border. On the top of the border, and top half of the river is Canada. It is also the side with Horseshoe Falls. Anyone seeing it know why it is called that. It is the largest and most photogenic.
On the American side is Goat Island, with Horseshoe Falls above it, and Bridal Veil Falls on the other side. Then there is Luna Island. It is much smaller, making Bridal Veil Falls small by comparison. Note I said, by comparison. More about that tomorrow. Finally there is American Falls. It is straight and long, and very rocky at the bottom.
It is also about all you can see from the guardrails. Watching the falls is mesmerizing. It would also be tranquil and relaxing if you were not surrounded by a few hundred of your closest friends, who were speaking another language, and all wanting the same view as you. It’s what we signed up for.
We were getting tired. It had been a long day of traveling. One of us suggested that today might be the best day to go get supplies. With a little help from the front desk we found a Walgreens and the Nice brand of foods. I don’t know if this is a local brand or Walgreen’s brand, but I liked their cookies. We got water, pop, and a variety of other things, and went back to the hotel. Margo talked me into a game of cards, and after that, about 10:30 we went to bed. We never did get out nap.
I was not, and almost never am, looking forward to plane flight to our ultimate destination, Buffalo, NY. Air travel is no fun anymore. Between the crowds, the TSA hassle, and the still in effect mask mandates, it is one hassle after another. But, it is still far and away the best way to travel distances, so away we go.
We breezed through security, even with me on a cane. I elected to leave my crutch at home. We also elected to ask Southwest to pre-board me, with the rest of the handicapped people. I felt bad each and every time. After the first one, we moved back beyond the wing, so at least we weren’t taking prime seats, and we had time to get set up.
On my most recent appointment, the doctor had told me my hip was still in the same place he left it, and looked to be healing fine. I was officially cleared to put as much weight as I could tolerate on it, and to begin to wean myself from any walking aid. It has been ten full weeks, since my hip revision. It seems like I have been limping around and using some sort of support, forever.
We boarded early, with the wheelchair-bound old ladies, and ike I said , I felt like a cripple. We picked seats up front and held up the line. I got out of the way the best I could and got us settled as quick as I could. Margo was managing more baggage than I, so it took her even longer. But, at least she was inside our seat area. She always takes a window. I always take the aisle. I like the extra room and the quicker access to the restroom. I hate being in the way, which is what I was.
I had to schedule this flight with a layover, something that I rarely do. But the direct flights were very expensive. Our first leg, which took us about 3 ¾ hrs, landed in Baltimore, MD about 11:15 AM local time. We had left at 5:35 AM back home. Aren’t time zones a wonder?
We had a two hour layover at BWI. We used it to get a few snacks for the air and go to the bathroom. I typed a few sentences here as well. When it came time to pre-board, me looking pathetic on my crutch, we snuck ahead of the six or seven people in wheelchairs. I think there was only two people to assist them, so we were doing everyone a favor, by getting out of the way.
We did them another favor and found seats over the wing, past the emergency row exits. This was evidently unusual as the flight attendant stationed there was about to chastise us, after asking if we were “pre-board”, as we approached the coveted emergency row. You see because people sitting in these rows, in order to gain the privilege of a few extra inches of leg room, must be willing and able to assist the flight attendants in the event of an emergency. Us pre-boards are cripples and can’t help. It is true. While I wouldn’t be useless, I would be as likely to just be in the way. But, I walked past them, and left Margo to explain that I wanted to be out of the way and with plenty of time to get situated.
I had slept well on the first leg of our journey, probably logging an hour’s worth of sleep. This flight, Baltimore to Buffalo was only to be about an hour and 15 minutes. Still I must have nodded off towards the end, because, with my eyes closed I clearly could hear the engines change power levels for the descent. That happens 30 minutes before touch down, as it is the start of Final Approach. My mind was wandering and the next thing I knew is the plane bumped down on the tarmac for the landing. Yeah. We were in Buffalo.
We retrieved our single checked bag. Margo and I were both concerned about losing this, as it had all our cloths, and could be a real hassle if it was not with us. The rental car counter was right across the street from Baggage Claim. I declined all insurance, and almost turned back to change my mind with the guys “Only $9 per day, and we cover everything” ringing in my ears. But, I held firm, and a short walk later we were beside our dark grey Chevy Cruze.
I will take a minute to comment on my hip is doing on the trip. At this point in time, it had been quite a hike from our B gates to baggage claim. I had made the decision, just last night to use my cane only and not take a crutch. About now would be the time that this decision was put to the test. I was doing fine. Even my stamina was not bad. I was a tad slow, with Margo having to stop and wait for me. But, I was doing fine.
Thirty easy minutes later we were pulling in, to not the parking lot of our hotel, but the parking lot of Rainbow Air, the only helicopter tour company operating on this side of the border. They don’t take advance reservations, so I wanted as many chances as I could to take one of these flights. We pulled in, parked and found out that we would have a 30 minute wait. I was thinking, “That’s nothing” We wait that long to be sat for dinner. So I paid the $270 for the two of us and we took a few pictures and videos while we waited.
When it was out turn, I started worrying about getting in and out of the aircraft. I really started to worry when I saw there was a tall step, which my left leg would have to push from. I figured I was about to be embarrassed as I would be needing extra help to get in. But, even though I was far from graceful, the only help I needed was with my cane. I had to put most of my weight on the left leg to step up, but there was no pain. I need to start working on my range of motion, as it hurts to bed my legs in certain, still mostly forbidden, ways.
Anyway, medical update aside, we were underway quickly. They turn these helicopter rides over quickly. The chopper does not shut down. They unload one group, and load up the next. Margo and I had talked with the ground team, and they say they refuel about every 8 flights, or so. There is really no good way to time these, so they just take your money and give you a card with a number. Just like the DMV. When they call your number, you’re are next up, and you make your way over to the two sets of stairs. I’m doing stairs OK, but still not my favorites.
This will be the fifth helicopter ride Margo and I have done over our travels. She and I have been traveling the country since 1985, that is 36 years. I am sure we have averaged over a trip per year, so that is a lot miles and experiences. We are running out of ways to travel. We have taken a submarine in Hawaii, Segways all the US, funiculars, railroads, with steam and diesel electric, canoe, stern-wheeler, horse and buggy, rickshaw, and so forth.
So, while a helicopter ride is not mundane, it takes a bit to impress me. This one really didn’t. it was still good, and the views of the falls are nothing short of impressive. But, the whole flight was 8 minutes, which is short even by helicopter standards. There was no narration. I get that the pilot’s job is to get you from point A, a quick, safe, flight, and then back to point A, and that a narration my him is distracting. But, we have had it on some flights. I would have been happy with something taped and piped into our headsets. It was over quick. We got out tipped the guys $20, and set the GPS for our hotel
Our hotel was the Comfort Inn-The Pointe. It looked to be the closest hotel to the falls, and it had decent reviews on TripAdvisor. I had intentionally sought a hotel close to the action, but that was just on GP, as I made the reservations before I got hurt. At this point, I can’t say I wasn’t concerned about the walking I would have to do, but I was still very hopeful.
The hotel had two comfortable beds, an entrance to the parking lot, which was secured by a guard, and an entrance to Prospect Street, which you crossed to get to Niagara Falls State Park.
You could not see the falls from the hotel, at least on the 4th floor, where we were at. They were too far back, and there were too many trees. But, you could hear them. We were maybe a quarter mile away.
The hotel also did not have maid service. They were blaming the pandemic and maybe that is true, but it could be labor as well. Any job that is considered entry level is hard to fill these days. The room had a bath tub shower. I didn’t like that, as big steps into and out of slippery places are not high on my list of favorite things right now. But, all in all, I was pretty pleased with it, and we would use them again. The guys checking us in, white, balding, 40ish, was really professional, helpful, and pleasant. He alone was worth the minor aggravations we had. Wish I had caught his name.
It was between 4:00 and 4:30 at this point. I had originally planned for us to take a nap, but with the sleep we had gotten at home and on the plane, we decided we were more hungry than tired. I told Margo what I knew about as far as nearby restaurants, and we decided on the Hard Rock Café. It was a block away.
Now might be a good idea to give you a lay of the land. Picture at the top of your mental map, a beautiful park at the top. It extends left to right and covers two thirds the page. Bordering the bottom of that park is a Prospect Street. It runs all along the bottom border. Now half way on Prospect Street, put a street that run pertendicular. It intersects it to make a T. The top of the T is Prospect. The stem of the T is Old Falls Street. This is an old brick street, and if filled with small restaurants and shops.
Back to our T. One the left corner of the T is our hotel. If you walk directly across Old Falls Street and walk one more block you come to Mayor Michael O’Laughlin Dr. It forms a second T with the park. At that left-side of the corner is the Hard Rock Café. It was a two minute walk, at my pace.
It also had a 30 minute wait. We were OK with that, until we wandered back Old Falls Street, and towards some of the shops. Right where we had just crossed Old Falls Street on our way to the home of Hard Rock (not really), was Flip Burger. They smelled good. Margo texted a cancelation and we had dinner there. It was good. I would eat there again.
Tummy’s full, we decided for a different perspective on the falls. The ones all tourist see, from the guardrails. We also wanted to scout our where to go for the Maid of the Mist. We would have like to have ridden the trolley that takes you around Niagara State Park, but you could not buy tickets at the bus, and the ticket booth had shut down around 5:30. It was after 6 PM by now.
We found the closed ticket booth and where to buy our Maid of the Mist tickets in the morning. Then we found a spot on the rails. For sheer volume of water these falls do not disappoint. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world. When you stop to consider that these falls are trying to drain four of the five Great Lakes, it starts to make a little sense. The actual view was a little disappointing. A little. All of the pictures you see show these great view of Horseshoe Falls.
Oops. Back up. Some background. Niagara Falls is actually three falls. This is because big hunks of land divide the river creating a fall on one side, the other, or both. The international border runs smack down the middle of your mental map, left to right. The Niagara River runs right down the middle of the border. On the top of the border, and top half of the river is Canada. It is also the side with Horseshoe Falls. Anyone seeing it know why it is called that. It is the largest and most photogenic.
On the American side is Goat Island, with Horseshoe Falls above it, and Bridal Veil Falls on the other side. Then there is Luna Island. It is much smaller, making Bridal Veil Falls small by comparison. Note I said, by comparison. More about that tomorrow. Finally there is American Falls. It is straight and long, and very rocky at the bottom.
It is also about all you can see from the guardrails. Watching the falls is mesmerizing. It would also be tranquil and relaxing if you were not surrounded by a few hundred of your closest friends, who were speaking another language, and all wanting the same view as you. It’s what we signed up for.
We were getting tired. It had been a long day of traveling. One of us suggested that today might be the best day to go get supplies. With a little help from the front desk we found a Walgreens and the Nice brand of foods. I don’t know if this is a local brand or Walgreen’s brand, but I liked their cookies. We got water, pop, and a variety of other things, and went back to the hotel. Margo talked me into a game of cards, and after that, about 10:30 we went to bed. We never did get out nap.
Day Two--Friday, July 23, 2021
We were up at 7 AM, but in truth Margo was up and down all night. She had a bad case of acid reflux. It is not pleasant to listen to her gurgle, and then start to choke as the liquid enters her lungs. It much less pleasant for her to experience. But, she soon found a propped up position that she could tolerate, and kept the liquid where it belonged.
I slept pretty well, and my hip felt OK. We had really not given it a big test, although we did a few stretches of uninterrupted walking to get from point A to point B. I have a theory that if I work/stress the hip just a little, kind of push it, it will grow accustomed to that and heal quicker. So far it mostly seems to work. The weight bearing part of my hip, the part the doctor is concerned about is doing great. It is getting stronger each day. But to move it to get dressed, or out of a chair, is different. It hurts. It gets stiff. Then in a few steps it seems much better. This morning was no exception. I was even taking a few steps without my cane. They were not pretty, but they were unaided.
The bathroom was tiny, with only room for one person at the sink and one in the shower. We made it work. We know each other’s routines well enough. The shower had a massaging head which I left alone, and it was mounted way up high. Something Margo was going hate. As I exited I directed the head to its downward most position and warned her.
We both finished getting ready, made our own beds, something I have rarely done in a hotel, and went downstairs for the hotel breakfast. It turned out to be very unimpressive. The lady running it did a great job. The hotel had prepared “bagged” breakfasts. In the bag was an apple and a breakfast bar. You were also given a breakfast sandwich, which you would heat up one of several microwaves. You had a either egg and cheese, on a folded tortilla. Or sausage, egg, and cheese on something. I paid little attention to it, as I mostly avoid breakfast sausage. That is one of my own acid reflux inducing foods. I had two sandwichs and felt at least fortified, if not satisfied.
We walked out the back entrance of the hotel, crossed Prospect St, and were in the park in less than a minute. Another minute later and we were at the ticket booth for the trolley tickets. It has been a slow day at the booth, evidently, as the young lady working it, had her legs up, and was startled by our appearance. $6.00 later Margo and I both had a wristband that would let us ride the State Park Trolley all day. It was quite a deal and money well spent.
Another minute or so later and we were at the ticket booths for Maid of the Mist. For those of you have never heard of Maid of the Mist, it is a boat ride on the Niagara River. It operates on the lower Niagara, which means after the falls. It’s claim to fame is that it takes you into the horseshoe of Horseshoe Falls. This should be on anyone’s must do list should they be at Niagara Falls. They have been taking people close to certain death since 1854. Tickets purchased we made our way to the Observation Tower, which has an elevator which will take you down to river level. There you are given a blue, plastic poncho, with the name Maid of the Mist, and sent down a tunnel to the docks.
The first boat of the day had launched and we got to watch it head towards the falls. One the other side of the river we got to watch the Canadian equivalent of MOTM, Hornblower, coming back in. Their passengers were festooned in red ponchos. I did not time them, but each trip lasted 20-30 minutes. So, it was not long before we were boarding the new, electric powered MOTM, and heading towards our own rendezvous with doom.
We made a beeline for the stern of the vessel, on the bottom deck. I am sure that the top deck guaranteed wetter, if not better views, but I did not want to climb a stair-ladder. Margo did not object in the slightest. She had purchased a waterproof sleeve for her phone to take pictures. I had purchased a waterproof digital camera. We wanted to make sure we captured this event for later enjoyment.
The first 5-7 minutes of the trip was just getting there. We sailed past the American and Bridal Veil Falls getting pictures of that and Cave of the Winds, our next destination. I also took pictures of anything else that looked interesting, especially what I assumed was an older power plant on the Canadian side. I will have to look that up later
I don’t know where the “maid” part comes from, but the “mist” is self-evident. Long before you can hear the falls, from out in the city, you can see a plume of mist kicked up by the falls, mostly by the Canadian giant. We were starting to experience that more firsthand now. What we also noticed was the large amount of sea gulls. They are everywhere on the water. Flying, swimming, or perching everywhere. Must be tons of food.
As we got closer the roar of the falls began to drown out most other sound. The ship was quiet to begin with, and only people very near to you could be heard. My this point you can’t see where the falls are. There is so much mist all you can see is that you are in the horseshoe. You see the ends behind you on either side, and you really hope the captain knows where the rocks are. They tell you where the life preservers are at, but no one pays any attention. I was starting to try to remember. But, I could not take my eyes off all that was around me. The roar, the mist that was now a rain, the shrieks of laughter from fellow passengers, and the feeling of being very vulnerable. This was what the word “awe” was meant to describe. Margo took a video of this, which I am sure is going to end up as part of this. It does a much better job of describing it.
I saw the maneuver later from the safety of Terrapin Point. But the captain turned towards Canada, and let the swift current take him straight down stream as he rapidly pointed the nose in that safe direction. It felt much slow than it looked to me. Normalcy returned and in no time we were back at port. Wow. Like I said, a must do.
On to Cave of the Winds. Cave of the Winds is not a cave, at least not anymore. It did start as a cave, down near the base of the gorge, and would take visitors behind Bridal Veil Falls. But, the cave had numerous rock falls (cave ins) and eventually what was left of the cave was dynamited and destroyed. Now there is a series of walkway and stairs that will eventually take you to the Hurricane Deck, which is located at the very perimeter of BVF, But, the force of the water even, right there at the edge can knock you over. The winds generated, combined with all of that water, very much simulate being in a hurricane. Fun, huh?
I wasn’t going to miss it, stairs or no stairs. We made our way from Maid of the Mist’s dock back up the Observation Tower, which gives you a view of all three falls, and spent about two minutes taking in the view and snapping a few images for posterity. Then through the combination MOTM visitor center and gift shop, and another hundred yards to the nearest trolley stop. I think there are only four or five stops right now. Anyway, a trolley was their waiting, we got on, and it took us across a portion of the Niagara River to Goat Island, home to an number of attractions, including Cave of the Winds (COTW).
I was concerned we would have a wait, but the girl asked if we were ready now. Yup. Tickets purchased, green-screen picture taken, and we were directed through a queue to the front of a chain blocked area, with no one there. I eventually asked someone walking by, and they said someone would be there shortly. I was being extra polite to all workers. Right now, everyone is trying to find help. Regardless of what the current lefty politician are saying, the major reason is the free money they are giving out. When you have the option to stay home and get paid something approaching what you would make by working, then a lot of people are just going to ride that gravy train until it runs dry.
Back to the story. We were let in just a minute later to a room, with several displays and signs. This was a staging area for the next room, which was a small theater. We were let into that after just a few minutes. We were all thinking that the next door that opened was going to be where we would be issued sandals. More on that in a minute. But, no, like I said, theater. The movie was called “The World Changed Here”, and talked about how the electrification of the world began here at Niagara Falls, with Tesla and his A/C current. It was a nice way to kill a few minutes and gave you a new perspective on the importance of the falls.
Now, another door opened, and glory be, there was a counter, with two ladies passing out Cave of the Winds monogramed sandals. Most people come with shoes that would not due well in the water they were about to experience, so the people hear decided to include in the price of admission a pair of sandals. Margo had to help me with my left one, on one of the numerous benches provided. But, where were the falls?
We were directed to a hallway, which led to an elevator. Someone asked about COTW ponchos. Those would be provided elsewhere. So, into the elevator we went, and a 30 second ride later we opened up with the gorge and a kiosk right in front of us. Yellow ponchos, one size for all, passed out here. We got ours, stepped to the side to put them on, and walked past a paved incline that said “Do Not Enter”. It was the exit. I was thinking that would be a good place to walk, by passing a lot of stairs. As I walked a few more feet, down the entrance path, I looked up and saw both a Handicap Access sign and an employee. He saw me and the cane and said we could go that way. Sweet. I had just finished looking down, and saw about 100 stairs going both up and down. Neither of us were going to miss those stairs.
We did have to climb three staircases, about 12 steps each. I took my time because the handrail was wood, wet, and had algae growing on it. So, it was slick. I was a little leery of going out into the full spray on the Hurricane Deck. In my condition it was a little intimidating. But, I went, without my cane, as I did not want to slip. I am good for several steps without it.
The Hurricane Deck did not disappoint. Without the plastic trash bag-like poncho I would have been soaked in the first second. The wind was pushing, but tolerable. But, combined with the water, which would change in intensity, I could picture myself on the Florida coast when some named storm was coming ashore. I raised my arms in triumph, Margo snapped pictures and I walked back out to the safety of the edge.
Margo, seeing that I did not die, made her way into the spray. She handed off her phone, so I could take her picture, but kept my cane. I did not need it, as I can stand just fine without it. But, the pictures we looked at later, she was gripping it so tight, she commented that it looked like she felt it was going to save her from harm. It made of a good picture.
There was not a lot else to do, so we walked down, and took pictures of the area, including a decent one of the MOTM, which was one its way to impress another group of tourists. Margo asked what was next. A perfectly valid question, which I did have an answer for. Lunch. Where she asked? I gave her about the same choices as before, and like before we decided to try the Hard Rock Café again.
We made our way to the trolley, stopping at least once so Margo could offer to take someone’s picture so the group could be whole. She did this numerous times throughout the trip. I don’t think she was turned down more than once. I am sure that have a photo with the whole family in it, is something they will treasure. I think we had one person, an Indian man, who offered to reciprocate. We took him up on it.
We made a pit stop at our hotel to drop off two ponchos, and the $50 picture set from Cave of the Winds. I am a sucker for these pictures, and then it was a one block walk to the Hard Rock Café.
I don’t have a good count of the number of HRCs we have been to. At one point I would get a pilsner glass from each one we visited, but they stopped making them, and that was kind of that. It has to be around ten by now. They prices are high, the food is OK, but the atmosphere and music generally make it worth one stop while in town.
Like before, the wait was half an hour. We gave them a number to text us and meandered over to the Rock Shop, their gift shop. I had my whole team to by something for, plus Jackie and Veronica. So, you never know. We had just found an adorable bear for Jackie, after only about 15 minutes in shop, when they texted us to come on down. The meal was as expected, the service was decent, and made sure to tip right around 25%. Doing my part to keep the staff happy. My version of paying it forward.
Margo is always there to ask what we are doing next. Truth be told, this was where my days planning had stopped. If need be, we would have headed over to Rainbow Air, but we had ticked that one off our list. So, I suggested we knock a few people off our shopping list. Margo loves to hit the gift shops. It is her version of being on a hunt. She is always on the look out for the perfect gift, or in our case, usually one that is good enough. We will, have, and did walk from shop to shop. We found just a few things, including the Hard Rock bear, and again walked back to the hotel.
By this time it is midafternoon. We are both tired, but I told Margo that this would be the ideal time to get the shopping done, and then we could just enjoy the rest of the trip, including the promised stop at the Seneca Casino, Margo’s favorite thing to do on vacation. And we did. I think in the next hour we had something for everyone. We decided later that one of my team was getting a little short changed, but for now we were done.
Back to the hotel again, and to was 4:45 PM. I told Margo, on my own personal to-do list I had four things. Ice Cream, which was also on her own list. A nap, as we were both tired. Terrapin Point, which is a must see spot for viewing Horseshoe Falls, and hitting the casino. What would she like to do? We settled on a nap.
An hour later, I told Margo I really wanted to go back to Goat Island to see Horseshoe Falls. It is the best view of that falls from the American side. She did not object, but she wasn’t really crazy about the idea. We had walked all day and now we would be walking more. It was only about a quarter mile to the trolley stop. Again, we found a trolley waiting for us. We also found out that they would be winding down about 6:45 PM. It was after six by now, so we did not have a ton of time.
We arrived at Terrapin Point stop, which was only about 100 yards from Parking Lot #2, on Goat Island. That had been our Cave of the Winds stop. It was packed. We were already full, and I wondered about getting a ride by from Terrapin Pint. From our stop we then made another quarter mile walk to the guardrail at Horseshoe Falls. You are really close to the edge. So close I was thinking that they should call this place “Teenager Disposal Site”. You did not get a feel for how far down the falls, well, fell. But, the roar and obvious water volume was a site that pulls you in. There is a small spot on the far edge of the falls that is protected by rocks, and the water is diverted. There are only splashes. It is also a spot that should have a name; Venus Fly Trap. It looks so inviting. You could just crawl over the guardrail, and get such a grand view. Then you would slip, fall, and make the news. “Idiot climbs over guard rail at Niagara Falls”
Margo continued her personal quest to insure everyone around her got into their own pictures. She snapped a picture of a young couple, with the falls in the background. I was paying only cursory attention, until the woman squealed about how perfect the picture was, and thanked Margo profusely. I wished I had seen the picture.
We made our way up, and I do mean up, the viewing area was definitely downhill from the parking lot. I suggested to Margo that we walk to Parking Lot #2, as it would give us a better chance of getting on a trolley. It did work out, but we would likely have found room had we not walked the extra distance.
When we got on the trolley driver was careful to let everyone know he had four stops left on his route and he was done for the day. We would be getting off on the next to last one, as he completed a loop. We were tired. But, Margo was energized by the though of going to the casino. It is her thing. She puts up with all of traipsing across the historical stuff, so I owe her a few hours at the casino.
Seneca Casino is almost walking distance. It’s about ¾ of a mile. If I was completely healthy, not carrying 30 extra pounds, and was alone, it would be walking distance. None of that applied. We would be driving. We were there about 7:15 or so. We were both hungry, and decided to eat at the casino. They had a restaurant called the Three Sisters. I had a steak. Margo had this monstrous fruit plate, with banana bread. It was good. Then we tackled the slot machines. They won. We both lost our limits, mine was $150. I am not sure what Margo’s was. The winners were few and far between. I did not follow my normal money management system. This system, hopefully, lets me lose at the slowest rate. There is no system for winning at slots. It is a sucker’s game, and I’m a big ole lollipop. We left at 11:30
It had been a torturous day, walking-wise. I was over 18,000 steps, easily the highest since last fall. Maybe longer. My hip felt pretty good. It was a little achy, but my good hip was feeling a little worse. I had a feeling I would be paying for it in the morning. Worked on this, jotting down notes, and then we went to bed, around 12:30 AM
I slept pretty well, and my hip felt OK. We had really not given it a big test, although we did a few stretches of uninterrupted walking to get from point A to point B. I have a theory that if I work/stress the hip just a little, kind of push it, it will grow accustomed to that and heal quicker. So far it mostly seems to work. The weight bearing part of my hip, the part the doctor is concerned about is doing great. It is getting stronger each day. But to move it to get dressed, or out of a chair, is different. It hurts. It gets stiff. Then in a few steps it seems much better. This morning was no exception. I was even taking a few steps without my cane. They were not pretty, but they were unaided.
The bathroom was tiny, with only room for one person at the sink and one in the shower. We made it work. We know each other’s routines well enough. The shower had a massaging head which I left alone, and it was mounted way up high. Something Margo was going hate. As I exited I directed the head to its downward most position and warned her.
We both finished getting ready, made our own beds, something I have rarely done in a hotel, and went downstairs for the hotel breakfast. It turned out to be very unimpressive. The lady running it did a great job. The hotel had prepared “bagged” breakfasts. In the bag was an apple and a breakfast bar. You were also given a breakfast sandwich, which you would heat up one of several microwaves. You had a either egg and cheese, on a folded tortilla. Or sausage, egg, and cheese on something. I paid little attention to it, as I mostly avoid breakfast sausage. That is one of my own acid reflux inducing foods. I had two sandwichs and felt at least fortified, if not satisfied.
We walked out the back entrance of the hotel, crossed Prospect St, and were in the park in less than a minute. Another minute later and we were at the ticket booth for the trolley tickets. It has been a slow day at the booth, evidently, as the young lady working it, had her legs up, and was startled by our appearance. $6.00 later Margo and I both had a wristband that would let us ride the State Park Trolley all day. It was quite a deal and money well spent.
Another minute or so later and we were at the ticket booths for Maid of the Mist. For those of you have never heard of Maid of the Mist, it is a boat ride on the Niagara River. It operates on the lower Niagara, which means after the falls. It’s claim to fame is that it takes you into the horseshoe of Horseshoe Falls. This should be on anyone’s must do list should they be at Niagara Falls. They have been taking people close to certain death since 1854. Tickets purchased we made our way to the Observation Tower, which has an elevator which will take you down to river level. There you are given a blue, plastic poncho, with the name Maid of the Mist, and sent down a tunnel to the docks.
The first boat of the day had launched and we got to watch it head towards the falls. One the other side of the river we got to watch the Canadian equivalent of MOTM, Hornblower, coming back in. Their passengers were festooned in red ponchos. I did not time them, but each trip lasted 20-30 minutes. So, it was not long before we were boarding the new, electric powered MOTM, and heading towards our own rendezvous with doom.
We made a beeline for the stern of the vessel, on the bottom deck. I am sure that the top deck guaranteed wetter, if not better views, but I did not want to climb a stair-ladder. Margo did not object in the slightest. She had purchased a waterproof sleeve for her phone to take pictures. I had purchased a waterproof digital camera. We wanted to make sure we captured this event for later enjoyment.
The first 5-7 minutes of the trip was just getting there. We sailed past the American and Bridal Veil Falls getting pictures of that and Cave of the Winds, our next destination. I also took pictures of anything else that looked interesting, especially what I assumed was an older power plant on the Canadian side. I will have to look that up later
I don’t know where the “maid” part comes from, but the “mist” is self-evident. Long before you can hear the falls, from out in the city, you can see a plume of mist kicked up by the falls, mostly by the Canadian giant. We were starting to experience that more firsthand now. What we also noticed was the large amount of sea gulls. They are everywhere on the water. Flying, swimming, or perching everywhere. Must be tons of food.
As we got closer the roar of the falls began to drown out most other sound. The ship was quiet to begin with, and only people very near to you could be heard. My this point you can’t see where the falls are. There is so much mist all you can see is that you are in the horseshoe. You see the ends behind you on either side, and you really hope the captain knows where the rocks are. They tell you where the life preservers are at, but no one pays any attention. I was starting to try to remember. But, I could not take my eyes off all that was around me. The roar, the mist that was now a rain, the shrieks of laughter from fellow passengers, and the feeling of being very vulnerable. This was what the word “awe” was meant to describe. Margo took a video of this, which I am sure is going to end up as part of this. It does a much better job of describing it.
I saw the maneuver later from the safety of Terrapin Point. But the captain turned towards Canada, and let the swift current take him straight down stream as he rapidly pointed the nose in that safe direction. It felt much slow than it looked to me. Normalcy returned and in no time we were back at port. Wow. Like I said, a must do.
On to Cave of the Winds. Cave of the Winds is not a cave, at least not anymore. It did start as a cave, down near the base of the gorge, and would take visitors behind Bridal Veil Falls. But, the cave had numerous rock falls (cave ins) and eventually what was left of the cave was dynamited and destroyed. Now there is a series of walkway and stairs that will eventually take you to the Hurricane Deck, which is located at the very perimeter of BVF, But, the force of the water even, right there at the edge can knock you over. The winds generated, combined with all of that water, very much simulate being in a hurricane. Fun, huh?
I wasn’t going to miss it, stairs or no stairs. We made our way from Maid of the Mist’s dock back up the Observation Tower, which gives you a view of all three falls, and spent about two minutes taking in the view and snapping a few images for posterity. Then through the combination MOTM visitor center and gift shop, and another hundred yards to the nearest trolley stop. I think there are only four or five stops right now. Anyway, a trolley was their waiting, we got on, and it took us across a portion of the Niagara River to Goat Island, home to an number of attractions, including Cave of the Winds (COTW).
I was concerned we would have a wait, but the girl asked if we were ready now. Yup. Tickets purchased, green-screen picture taken, and we were directed through a queue to the front of a chain blocked area, with no one there. I eventually asked someone walking by, and they said someone would be there shortly. I was being extra polite to all workers. Right now, everyone is trying to find help. Regardless of what the current lefty politician are saying, the major reason is the free money they are giving out. When you have the option to stay home and get paid something approaching what you would make by working, then a lot of people are just going to ride that gravy train until it runs dry.
Back to the story. We were let in just a minute later to a room, with several displays and signs. This was a staging area for the next room, which was a small theater. We were let into that after just a few minutes. We were all thinking that the next door that opened was going to be where we would be issued sandals. More on that in a minute. But, no, like I said, theater. The movie was called “The World Changed Here”, and talked about how the electrification of the world began here at Niagara Falls, with Tesla and his A/C current. It was a nice way to kill a few minutes and gave you a new perspective on the importance of the falls.
Now, another door opened, and glory be, there was a counter, with two ladies passing out Cave of the Winds monogramed sandals. Most people come with shoes that would not due well in the water they were about to experience, so the people hear decided to include in the price of admission a pair of sandals. Margo had to help me with my left one, on one of the numerous benches provided. But, where were the falls?
We were directed to a hallway, which led to an elevator. Someone asked about COTW ponchos. Those would be provided elsewhere. So, into the elevator we went, and a 30 second ride later we opened up with the gorge and a kiosk right in front of us. Yellow ponchos, one size for all, passed out here. We got ours, stepped to the side to put them on, and walked past a paved incline that said “Do Not Enter”. It was the exit. I was thinking that would be a good place to walk, by passing a lot of stairs. As I walked a few more feet, down the entrance path, I looked up and saw both a Handicap Access sign and an employee. He saw me and the cane and said we could go that way. Sweet. I had just finished looking down, and saw about 100 stairs going both up and down. Neither of us were going to miss those stairs.
We did have to climb three staircases, about 12 steps each. I took my time because the handrail was wood, wet, and had algae growing on it. So, it was slick. I was a little leery of going out into the full spray on the Hurricane Deck. In my condition it was a little intimidating. But, I went, without my cane, as I did not want to slip. I am good for several steps without it.
The Hurricane Deck did not disappoint. Without the plastic trash bag-like poncho I would have been soaked in the first second. The wind was pushing, but tolerable. But, combined with the water, which would change in intensity, I could picture myself on the Florida coast when some named storm was coming ashore. I raised my arms in triumph, Margo snapped pictures and I walked back out to the safety of the edge.
Margo, seeing that I did not die, made her way into the spray. She handed off her phone, so I could take her picture, but kept my cane. I did not need it, as I can stand just fine without it. But, the pictures we looked at later, she was gripping it so tight, she commented that it looked like she felt it was going to save her from harm. It made of a good picture.
There was not a lot else to do, so we walked down, and took pictures of the area, including a decent one of the MOTM, which was one its way to impress another group of tourists. Margo asked what was next. A perfectly valid question, which I did have an answer for. Lunch. Where she asked? I gave her about the same choices as before, and like before we decided to try the Hard Rock Café again.
We made our way to the trolley, stopping at least once so Margo could offer to take someone’s picture so the group could be whole. She did this numerous times throughout the trip. I don’t think she was turned down more than once. I am sure that have a photo with the whole family in it, is something they will treasure. I think we had one person, an Indian man, who offered to reciprocate. We took him up on it.
We made a pit stop at our hotel to drop off two ponchos, and the $50 picture set from Cave of the Winds. I am a sucker for these pictures, and then it was a one block walk to the Hard Rock Café.
I don’t have a good count of the number of HRCs we have been to. At one point I would get a pilsner glass from each one we visited, but they stopped making them, and that was kind of that. It has to be around ten by now. They prices are high, the food is OK, but the atmosphere and music generally make it worth one stop while in town.
Like before, the wait was half an hour. We gave them a number to text us and meandered over to the Rock Shop, their gift shop. I had my whole team to by something for, plus Jackie and Veronica. So, you never know. We had just found an adorable bear for Jackie, after only about 15 minutes in shop, when they texted us to come on down. The meal was as expected, the service was decent, and made sure to tip right around 25%. Doing my part to keep the staff happy. My version of paying it forward.
Margo is always there to ask what we are doing next. Truth be told, this was where my days planning had stopped. If need be, we would have headed over to Rainbow Air, but we had ticked that one off our list. So, I suggested we knock a few people off our shopping list. Margo loves to hit the gift shops. It is her version of being on a hunt. She is always on the look out for the perfect gift, or in our case, usually one that is good enough. We will, have, and did walk from shop to shop. We found just a few things, including the Hard Rock bear, and again walked back to the hotel.
By this time it is midafternoon. We are both tired, but I told Margo that this would be the ideal time to get the shopping done, and then we could just enjoy the rest of the trip, including the promised stop at the Seneca Casino, Margo’s favorite thing to do on vacation. And we did. I think in the next hour we had something for everyone. We decided later that one of my team was getting a little short changed, but for now we were done.
Back to the hotel again, and to was 4:45 PM. I told Margo, on my own personal to-do list I had four things. Ice Cream, which was also on her own list. A nap, as we were both tired. Terrapin Point, which is a must see spot for viewing Horseshoe Falls, and hitting the casino. What would she like to do? We settled on a nap.
An hour later, I told Margo I really wanted to go back to Goat Island to see Horseshoe Falls. It is the best view of that falls from the American side. She did not object, but she wasn’t really crazy about the idea. We had walked all day and now we would be walking more. It was only about a quarter mile to the trolley stop. Again, we found a trolley waiting for us. We also found out that they would be winding down about 6:45 PM. It was after six by now, so we did not have a ton of time.
We arrived at Terrapin Point stop, which was only about 100 yards from Parking Lot #2, on Goat Island. That had been our Cave of the Winds stop. It was packed. We were already full, and I wondered about getting a ride by from Terrapin Pint. From our stop we then made another quarter mile walk to the guardrail at Horseshoe Falls. You are really close to the edge. So close I was thinking that they should call this place “Teenager Disposal Site”. You did not get a feel for how far down the falls, well, fell. But, the roar and obvious water volume was a site that pulls you in. There is a small spot on the far edge of the falls that is protected by rocks, and the water is diverted. There are only splashes. It is also a spot that should have a name; Venus Fly Trap. It looks so inviting. You could just crawl over the guardrail, and get such a grand view. Then you would slip, fall, and make the news. “Idiot climbs over guard rail at Niagara Falls”
Margo continued her personal quest to insure everyone around her got into their own pictures. She snapped a picture of a young couple, with the falls in the background. I was paying only cursory attention, until the woman squealed about how perfect the picture was, and thanked Margo profusely. I wished I had seen the picture.
We made our way up, and I do mean up, the viewing area was definitely downhill from the parking lot. I suggested to Margo that we walk to Parking Lot #2, as it would give us a better chance of getting on a trolley. It did work out, but we would likely have found room had we not walked the extra distance.
When we got on the trolley driver was careful to let everyone know he had four stops left on his route and he was done for the day. We would be getting off on the next to last one, as he completed a loop. We were tired. But, Margo was energized by the though of going to the casino. It is her thing. She puts up with all of traipsing across the historical stuff, so I owe her a few hours at the casino.
Seneca Casino is almost walking distance. It’s about ¾ of a mile. If I was completely healthy, not carrying 30 extra pounds, and was alone, it would be walking distance. None of that applied. We would be driving. We were there about 7:15 or so. We were both hungry, and decided to eat at the casino. They had a restaurant called the Three Sisters. I had a steak. Margo had this monstrous fruit plate, with banana bread. It was good. Then we tackled the slot machines. They won. We both lost our limits, mine was $150. I am not sure what Margo’s was. The winners were few and far between. I did not follow my normal money management system. This system, hopefully, lets me lose at the slowest rate. There is no system for winning at slots. It is a sucker’s game, and I’m a big ole lollipop. We left at 11:30
It had been a torturous day, walking-wise. I was over 18,000 steps, easily the highest since last fall. Maybe longer. My hip felt pretty good. It was a little achy, but my good hip was feeling a little worse. I had a feeling I would be paying for it in the morning. Worked on this, jotting down notes, and then we went to bed, around 12:30 AM
Day Three-Saturday, July 24, 2021
The plan had been to be up at 7 AM, again. But with the fatigue from the night before and the late night. I was up at 8 AM. Margo, who was taking a morning shower, was up at 7:30, reluctantly. She was as tired as I was. I had slept fitfully, as my hip does better with weight on, then laying down. I am not sure if it is ligaments or something with the hip, but it hurts more to get up, or shift sides in bed, then it does to walk. It is getting better, but I am not known for my patients.
The plan for the day was to have breakfast in Youngstown, NY, home of Old Fort Niagara, tour said fort, and the drive to Lockport, NY for a boat ride on the Erie Canal. That would be highlighted by an upstream and downstream pass through two locks.
We arrived at Youngstown Village Diner, a place I had picked out, via TripAdvisor. They looked like your standard small town café, and they opened from breakfast. When we go there the sign on the door let us know that breakfast was all they were open for today. That would not affect our plans
They seated up in the back, by a window, so we had a tree filtered view of the Niagara River. I ordered biscuits and gravy, because I was not in the mood for eggs, and Margo had a cheese and mushroom omelet. This was literally the best sausage gravy I have ever had. It was very creamy. The biscuits were a bit thin, but very tasty. I had to be honest when Margo asked if it was better than hers. Sorry, dear. It really was that good. With the coffee and water, I was satisfied for the time being.
Old Fort Niagara was less than ten minutes away, and most of that was navigating from the front of Old Fort Niagara State Park, to the back, were the fort is located. We paid our refundable admission at the gate, and were dutifully rebated the $8 when we bought admission tickets to the fort.
We went inside and almost immediately joined a docent giving a history of the fort. We had not missed a lot. I knew very little about the fort, and all of my knowledge had come recently. But, what little I did know he repeated and expanded upon. I was very impressed with his off the cuff recital of the history of the area. I cannot do it justice, but it was started by the French in 1679, with three different attempts at a permanent post. It wasn’t until 1726 that what is now called the French Castle was built.
This masonry building was needed because the French and the British were butting heads again. Something they had already been doing for hundreds of years. They each had their own colonies and they each wanted to control the vast resources of the North American continent. The British took it from the French is 1759, during the French & Indian War (Seven Years War), Us American for it in 1783, after we won our independence from England. They took it back in 1813, during the War of 1812. They gave it back under the treaty we all signed after that war ended.
Why was having this fort so important. Because it was built where the Niagara River empties into Lake Ontario. You put a few guns in the fort and no ship passes with out permission. He who controls this fort controls access to the Great Lakes and large part of the continent. The Canadians had their own fort on the other side, Fort George. The Brits built that in the 1790s. We mostly destroyed it during the War of 1812. So much for that.
Our docent, who had an accent I could not place, walked up out of the museum and onto the grounds outside the fort, where he continued his commentary. But, he walked faster than I could, so I often arrived as he was finishing up, and moving to the next thing of import. I lost interest in that game pretty quickly.
His time with us ended when we entered the actual fort. It is made of brick and other masonry. There entrance is guarded by a drawbridge and moat. The moat is dry and the drawbridge inoperable, but you could still see how it worked, with counter-weights and the like. This entrance is called the Gate of the Five Nations, honoring the Indians of the time. The Five Nations were a serious force in the 17th and 18th century. You did not want the Iroquois as your enemies. They were great warriors, knew the territory, had many people, and were not afraid to fight. Best to be their friends and trading partners, which is what the French were after.
Moving from that was you were still not in the grounds of the fort. We made a 90 degree turn, and moved into what is called the British Blockhouse. The exact use escapes me, but it must be another access control point, especially with the 90 degree turn. The blockhouse also gave us our first view of the aforementioned French Castle. It was framed perfectly by the ground entrance.
It was framed so well; I wanted a picture. But, some retired school teacher was holding court, rambling on about vaccines and masks. His audience looked like they were trying to escape. I was willing to smuggle them a file, if it would help. I have found that no one drones on more than a former school teacher. They are used to a captive audience, so they are conditioned to believe that anything they have to say is of great import and significance. Just get out of the damn way, and let me take my picture. That inevitably happened, and I got my picture.
It had been a bit of a walk to get to this point, both Margo and I were tired. I had to climb at least one the ramparts to get a view of the river and lake. You could very easily see why the fort could control the area. We were told at the range of across the river, a British cannon could hit a man sized target. A ship would be easy pickin’s.
I went inside most of the building for a quick second, the powder room, what served as a barracks, and the French Castle. I had been wondering about water supply when I was walking up to the castle. Right inside, in the back was a stone well. I didn’t think it made sense to have to leave the safety of the fort to get water. I was later to learn that this well is supposed to be haunted. There was supposedly a quarrel of two French soldiers in days long forgotten, over a woman, I think. One killed the other, chopped his head off and threw it down this well. The deceased’s ghost did not like that and is said to have hung around and comes out of the well at night. I don’t know that I buy it. No matter how peeved I get I am not likely to contaminate my own drinking water, and I don’t see my fellow soldiers idly watching by.
The highlight of this tour was a musket firing demonstration. The guy doing the demonstration was also top notch. He took great pains to explain how the gun worked, the hazards and pitfalls to firing the gun, and the loading and firing.
I have seen a few of these in the past, and this fellow did the best job. When showed loading, he explained why, when after tearing open the powder/ball load, and pouring the powder down the barrel, he crammed the ball and paper down the musket. I had assumed it was expediency. But, there is a practical reason. Leaving the paper around the ball, seals it better when rammed down the barrel. That seal prevents the powder and ball from pouring out the end should the barrel be tipped down. Because an unloaded musket then becomes a club and not useful beyond a few feet.
I had heard the term Fog of War before, and did know that it originated from all the smoke produced on a battlefield before the use of smokeless powder. What I did not know, but should have figured out is that all of those brightly colored uniforms from the 18th century an back were to distinguish friend from foe on the battlefield. I knew the uniform colors had the use, but the brightness did not register. Anyway, very cool, and we all started when he fired the gun.
We left about 1 PM, even though I would have been happy to explore the fort a little more. But, we had 3 PM tickets on the Lockport Erie Canal and Locks cruise, and we needed to get lunch. I had scouted out a place for us to eat in Lockport. It is a local institution called Reid’s. Burgers, hot dogs, and shakes. No indoor dining, but lots of shaded picnic tables out back.
We arrived about 1:15 and the place was busy. But, there were still open tables and the high school kids manning the place moved it along quickly. I think it is almost a right of passage in Lockport to work here.
Before we got our food a guy with a pit bull puppy on a leash got out of his car. Margo’s face lit up and she immediately asked if she could pet him. The puppy was energetic and bouncing all over. The guy was OK with Margo and I petting him, but he was concerned the puppy was going to hurt us. People who have not been around pit bull puppies might not know that their little puppy nails are still pretty sharp, and that they nip when they lick. They just get excited. It doesn’t hurt, but people and their prejudices against the breed jump to the wrong conclusion. The little guy was adorable and ate up all the attention he was getting. We did not do his behavioral training any good, as we let him dance, bounce, lick all he wanted. We thanked him and both commented on how he acted like Enzo, when he was young.
The food was good. We each had a single, fries and a drink. I went back for a chocolate shake. It was good, and we enjoyed sitting in the shade and having a nice picnic style meal.
Then it was time to head into town. It was about a five minute drive to Lockport Eric Canal Cruises. The place is also a venue for get togethers. They had their dining area set up for a wedding reception. It looked really nice. I wonder if a cruise on the canal is part of the package?
We checked in and got our boarding pass. I had already prepaid for the tickets. They with at least half an hour to go, we looked around the gift shop. I had my heart set on a book about the canal and figured this would be the place. They had some books, but nothing really on the history of the canal. I was very disappointed. I did end up learning quite a bit about the canal from the captain of the ship. He gave a running narration, filled with information and bad jokes.
First the canal connects the Hudson River, above Troy, NY, with the Niagara River, at Buffalo, NY, and Lake Erie. Hence the name, Erie Canal. Lake Ontario was already open, via several ports to trade. So why was the Erie Canal needed? Because the Niagara Falls and the Appalachian Mountains closed off routes to trade in the western US. In 1817, when construction on the canal began, the western US was Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, ect.
These states produced a lot of agricultural goods that could not get sent east. The Appalachian’s, small compared to the Rockies here in Colorado, are heavily forested, and impassable for large wagons, even were there are paths cut. But, in upstate NY there was a natural break in the mountains, which was cut by the Mohawk River. The Mohawk River while very useful for moving freight had several drawbacks. Not the least of which was it did not give access to Lake Erie.
So in 1817, and continuing until 1825, New York state began to connect the dots, digging out a canal building locks, and aquifers. To me it is impressive that they got this done in only eight years. There were no engineering schools in the US back then, and the guys doing this were solving problems either as they came up, or not long before a solution had to be. They had no steam powered equipment. It was shovels, hand drills, and black powder. The land was forested and those had to be cleared. They had 560 feet in elevation to work through. They created 83 locks and 18 aqueducts. An aqueduct is man-made river, which in this case, was used to cross another river. I would have liked to have seen that. They also had to find a local source of hydraulic cement, cement which would harden under water. If they had to import that, the cost of the project would go through the roof. They over came all of this including a set of five locks, in Lockport, which climbed the Niagara Escarpment, of 50 feet.
Ok. Enough history. We boarded and listened the captain tell us a little bit about the canal. Width and length, and a little bit about the ship, which was in the film Mystic Pizza, starring Julia Roberts. The captain said they took the crew out for a ride on the boat, and it was on that occasion Julia Roberts proposed to him. He turned her down, preferring to remain a bachelor. We were getting a taste for the kind of jokes to expect.
I was expecting to cruise for some distance before encountering the locks. But, if I had time to do more research, I would have discovered that the town owed its entire existence to the canal, and its locations. The canal surveyors had determined this was the spot to create the Flight of Five Locks, a staircase of five locks, each raising a vessel 10 feet. These were designed to tackle the Niagara Escarpment. An escarpment is steep slope that separates two relatively flat stretches of land or water. As our captain put it, it is hard to get these boats to jump up even one foot, let alone 50.
We were on top of Locks #34 and #35 in just a few minutes. The original Flight of Five Locks has been replaced with just two locks, that each raise a ship (or even a canoe, they are allowed) up 25 feet. We must have been heading west, as we were taking the lock elevator up. The boat was steered into the lock, which has swinging doors on each end, and massive concrete walls on the sides. You could see the water line way up and you knew that was how high you were going to go.
You can’t see where the water comes from, you just see the sides roiling as it comes in. The videos I have watched of other lock systems say that small doors, at the bottom of the high water lock open and let the water in. Once the water levels equalize the big doors open and a whole new short waterway appears. Lock 35 is right after 34, and we need to go through that one to get to the final level needed to reach Lake Erie.
We repeated the same maneuver and rose another 25 feet. This time when the doors opened it was like when the Wizard of Oz changes from black and white to color. Your view had been two gray walls and a set of dark, leaky doors in front of you. Once they open you are greeted with an urban riverscape dominated by a bridge, which you pass under in just a few minutes.
This bridge, known as the Big Bridge is 399 feet, not long, but wide. It is the widest bridge, over open water in the world, when it was built. I saw am aerial view, and there is road that runs diagonal across it, with a parking lot on one side of that diagonal. It also has a road running along one edge, using it as a traditional bridge.
From there the canal opened up to a green trees along the sides. We cruised for at least 30 minutes in this direction, learning things along the way. The most interesting thing that I learned was that the canal is drained every November. Upstate New York winters are too tough on the canal. Frozen water expands and breaks things. So every November it drains into the Hudson River and ever April it fills up from the Niagara River. They do both over the course of several weeks, so it does not screw with the wild life too much.
People do fish in the canal. The water looks filthy, but the captain told us, that was due to runoff, and that if you took a glassful and let it sit for the silt to settle it would be pretty clear. There are several municipalities along the canal that use it for drinking water. I forgot to ask what those towns did in the winter, but maybe they melt snow.
We turned around, went back to the locks, taking the elevator down. The captain said they can tell back at their dock when these locks open letting eastbound traffic through, as it raises their water level about two feet. We drove past our dock and continued along this way until we got to a wide spot in the canal. These were created every 15 miles. They were a place to change animals. In 1825 neither internal combustion or steam engines existed. We had mule power back then. All along the whole canal was a path for the animals the pull their load, the barges, up or down the canal. 15 miles was the expected work life for the animals for the day.
We turned around and were back at our dock in maybe 10 minutes. It was fun and informative. I am glad we took this. If Canada had been open, we would have spent the day and part of the night on that side. But, their loss is Youngstown and Lockport’s gain.
It was a 30 minute drive back to the hotel and time for dinner. I had spent a lot of time on my feet again today and my hip was doing OK. I don’t know why, but the weight bearing part is fine. It is not a 100%, but it really only aches a little. It is getting into and out of the car, or even a chair that causes pain. It is the sore, stiff feeling you get when you sit too long. I take a few steps and I am fine.
We had dinner on Old Falls Road at Mario’s Pizza. We were looking for an empty place to sit. There are many tables with umbrellas along the street for the many kiosks and vendors. We were thinking of walking across the street when this couple, about our age, invited us to sit with them. Why not?
Their story was that they had been traveling the US from Seattle to here for the last five weeks. We talked with them for a while hearing about going to Montana, Mt Rushmore, Chicago, Philly, Boston, and others I imagine. It was really cool, as we had been to most of the same places and we swapped stories. They left to get settled in, and we finished up and went back to our room
It has to have been around 6 PM and I noticed a Wax Museum. We had not really sat through much telling of the history of this town, so I talked Margo into it. She was not really that interested, she has puppy fever at the moment. She really wants a mini-daschund puppy and she bounces from website to website looking at them.
I enjoyed it, learning a bit about the area. I picked up the Haunted Well story here, and learned about a boy who went over Horseshoe Falls when the boat he was riding in developed engine trouble and was swamped. He lived, thanks through a life vest he had one, and God’s intervention, no doubt. The owner and pilot of the boat died. His older sister, who was with him was pulled out of the water pretty close to the edge.
We finally got our ice cream at a kiosk called Bryce’s. I would have preferred hard ice cream. Bryce’s was soft serve, but it was really good, so I got over it pretty quickly. I had chocolate. Margo had Blue Goo, which was cotton candy flavored. Then it was off to the room to pack.
Margo was not thrilled with the idea, but I wanted to see the falls lit up. They have what they call Illuminations, each evening. But, I drug her down to the guardrails by Maid of the Mist. It was packed. We did get to see it, and once it was dark, it had been worth the effort, but really the crowds did spoil it somewhat. We ran into our traveling couple, and let them have our spot, so they could at least get a quick pic. Then they headed to find a better view spot.
We walked back and Margo who had been complaining a little about her stomach now was nearly in tears. We had taken the long route out of the park, because it looks different in the dark. So we sat down, and she was telling me what was wrong, when I saw movement in the bushes. I called this to her attention, and then a patch of light struck one just right. Skunks, at least four of them. We caught a whiff, not strong, just a second later, and decided our break time was over. Margo did not like my suggest of finding a kid to go investigate for us. But, it did cheer her up for a second. It had been our last real vacation day. Margo had gotten us mostly packed, and we played cards until midnight. Then off to bed.
The plan for the day was to have breakfast in Youngstown, NY, home of Old Fort Niagara, tour said fort, and the drive to Lockport, NY for a boat ride on the Erie Canal. That would be highlighted by an upstream and downstream pass through two locks.
We arrived at Youngstown Village Diner, a place I had picked out, via TripAdvisor. They looked like your standard small town café, and they opened from breakfast. When we go there the sign on the door let us know that breakfast was all they were open for today. That would not affect our plans
They seated up in the back, by a window, so we had a tree filtered view of the Niagara River. I ordered biscuits and gravy, because I was not in the mood for eggs, and Margo had a cheese and mushroom omelet. This was literally the best sausage gravy I have ever had. It was very creamy. The biscuits were a bit thin, but very tasty. I had to be honest when Margo asked if it was better than hers. Sorry, dear. It really was that good. With the coffee and water, I was satisfied for the time being.
Old Fort Niagara was less than ten minutes away, and most of that was navigating from the front of Old Fort Niagara State Park, to the back, were the fort is located. We paid our refundable admission at the gate, and were dutifully rebated the $8 when we bought admission tickets to the fort.
We went inside and almost immediately joined a docent giving a history of the fort. We had not missed a lot. I knew very little about the fort, and all of my knowledge had come recently. But, what little I did know he repeated and expanded upon. I was very impressed with his off the cuff recital of the history of the area. I cannot do it justice, but it was started by the French in 1679, with three different attempts at a permanent post. It wasn’t until 1726 that what is now called the French Castle was built.
This masonry building was needed because the French and the British were butting heads again. Something they had already been doing for hundreds of years. They each had their own colonies and they each wanted to control the vast resources of the North American continent. The British took it from the French is 1759, during the French & Indian War (Seven Years War), Us American for it in 1783, after we won our independence from England. They took it back in 1813, during the War of 1812. They gave it back under the treaty we all signed after that war ended.
Why was having this fort so important. Because it was built where the Niagara River empties into Lake Ontario. You put a few guns in the fort and no ship passes with out permission. He who controls this fort controls access to the Great Lakes and large part of the continent. The Canadians had their own fort on the other side, Fort George. The Brits built that in the 1790s. We mostly destroyed it during the War of 1812. So much for that.
Our docent, who had an accent I could not place, walked up out of the museum and onto the grounds outside the fort, where he continued his commentary. But, he walked faster than I could, so I often arrived as he was finishing up, and moving to the next thing of import. I lost interest in that game pretty quickly.
His time with us ended when we entered the actual fort. It is made of brick and other masonry. There entrance is guarded by a drawbridge and moat. The moat is dry and the drawbridge inoperable, but you could still see how it worked, with counter-weights and the like. This entrance is called the Gate of the Five Nations, honoring the Indians of the time. The Five Nations were a serious force in the 17th and 18th century. You did not want the Iroquois as your enemies. They were great warriors, knew the territory, had many people, and were not afraid to fight. Best to be their friends and trading partners, which is what the French were after.
Moving from that was you were still not in the grounds of the fort. We made a 90 degree turn, and moved into what is called the British Blockhouse. The exact use escapes me, but it must be another access control point, especially with the 90 degree turn. The blockhouse also gave us our first view of the aforementioned French Castle. It was framed perfectly by the ground entrance.
It was framed so well; I wanted a picture. But, some retired school teacher was holding court, rambling on about vaccines and masks. His audience looked like they were trying to escape. I was willing to smuggle them a file, if it would help. I have found that no one drones on more than a former school teacher. They are used to a captive audience, so they are conditioned to believe that anything they have to say is of great import and significance. Just get out of the damn way, and let me take my picture. That inevitably happened, and I got my picture.
It had been a bit of a walk to get to this point, both Margo and I were tired. I had to climb at least one the ramparts to get a view of the river and lake. You could very easily see why the fort could control the area. We were told at the range of across the river, a British cannon could hit a man sized target. A ship would be easy pickin’s.
I went inside most of the building for a quick second, the powder room, what served as a barracks, and the French Castle. I had been wondering about water supply when I was walking up to the castle. Right inside, in the back was a stone well. I didn’t think it made sense to have to leave the safety of the fort to get water. I was later to learn that this well is supposed to be haunted. There was supposedly a quarrel of two French soldiers in days long forgotten, over a woman, I think. One killed the other, chopped his head off and threw it down this well. The deceased’s ghost did not like that and is said to have hung around and comes out of the well at night. I don’t know that I buy it. No matter how peeved I get I am not likely to contaminate my own drinking water, and I don’t see my fellow soldiers idly watching by.
The highlight of this tour was a musket firing demonstration. The guy doing the demonstration was also top notch. He took great pains to explain how the gun worked, the hazards and pitfalls to firing the gun, and the loading and firing.
I have seen a few of these in the past, and this fellow did the best job. When showed loading, he explained why, when after tearing open the powder/ball load, and pouring the powder down the barrel, he crammed the ball and paper down the musket. I had assumed it was expediency. But, there is a practical reason. Leaving the paper around the ball, seals it better when rammed down the barrel. That seal prevents the powder and ball from pouring out the end should the barrel be tipped down. Because an unloaded musket then becomes a club and not useful beyond a few feet.
I had heard the term Fog of War before, and did know that it originated from all the smoke produced on a battlefield before the use of smokeless powder. What I did not know, but should have figured out is that all of those brightly colored uniforms from the 18th century an back were to distinguish friend from foe on the battlefield. I knew the uniform colors had the use, but the brightness did not register. Anyway, very cool, and we all started when he fired the gun.
We left about 1 PM, even though I would have been happy to explore the fort a little more. But, we had 3 PM tickets on the Lockport Erie Canal and Locks cruise, and we needed to get lunch. I had scouted out a place for us to eat in Lockport. It is a local institution called Reid’s. Burgers, hot dogs, and shakes. No indoor dining, but lots of shaded picnic tables out back.
We arrived about 1:15 and the place was busy. But, there were still open tables and the high school kids manning the place moved it along quickly. I think it is almost a right of passage in Lockport to work here.
Before we got our food a guy with a pit bull puppy on a leash got out of his car. Margo’s face lit up and she immediately asked if she could pet him. The puppy was energetic and bouncing all over. The guy was OK with Margo and I petting him, but he was concerned the puppy was going to hurt us. People who have not been around pit bull puppies might not know that their little puppy nails are still pretty sharp, and that they nip when they lick. They just get excited. It doesn’t hurt, but people and their prejudices against the breed jump to the wrong conclusion. The little guy was adorable and ate up all the attention he was getting. We did not do his behavioral training any good, as we let him dance, bounce, lick all he wanted. We thanked him and both commented on how he acted like Enzo, when he was young.
The food was good. We each had a single, fries and a drink. I went back for a chocolate shake. It was good, and we enjoyed sitting in the shade and having a nice picnic style meal.
Then it was time to head into town. It was about a five minute drive to Lockport Eric Canal Cruises. The place is also a venue for get togethers. They had their dining area set up for a wedding reception. It looked really nice. I wonder if a cruise on the canal is part of the package?
We checked in and got our boarding pass. I had already prepaid for the tickets. They with at least half an hour to go, we looked around the gift shop. I had my heart set on a book about the canal and figured this would be the place. They had some books, but nothing really on the history of the canal. I was very disappointed. I did end up learning quite a bit about the canal from the captain of the ship. He gave a running narration, filled with information and bad jokes.
First the canal connects the Hudson River, above Troy, NY, with the Niagara River, at Buffalo, NY, and Lake Erie. Hence the name, Erie Canal. Lake Ontario was already open, via several ports to trade. So why was the Erie Canal needed? Because the Niagara Falls and the Appalachian Mountains closed off routes to trade in the western US. In 1817, when construction on the canal began, the western US was Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, ect.
These states produced a lot of agricultural goods that could not get sent east. The Appalachian’s, small compared to the Rockies here in Colorado, are heavily forested, and impassable for large wagons, even were there are paths cut. But, in upstate NY there was a natural break in the mountains, which was cut by the Mohawk River. The Mohawk River while very useful for moving freight had several drawbacks. Not the least of which was it did not give access to Lake Erie.
So in 1817, and continuing until 1825, New York state began to connect the dots, digging out a canal building locks, and aquifers. To me it is impressive that they got this done in only eight years. There were no engineering schools in the US back then, and the guys doing this were solving problems either as they came up, or not long before a solution had to be. They had no steam powered equipment. It was shovels, hand drills, and black powder. The land was forested and those had to be cleared. They had 560 feet in elevation to work through. They created 83 locks and 18 aqueducts. An aqueduct is man-made river, which in this case, was used to cross another river. I would have liked to have seen that. They also had to find a local source of hydraulic cement, cement which would harden under water. If they had to import that, the cost of the project would go through the roof. They over came all of this including a set of five locks, in Lockport, which climbed the Niagara Escarpment, of 50 feet.
Ok. Enough history. We boarded and listened the captain tell us a little bit about the canal. Width and length, and a little bit about the ship, which was in the film Mystic Pizza, starring Julia Roberts. The captain said they took the crew out for a ride on the boat, and it was on that occasion Julia Roberts proposed to him. He turned her down, preferring to remain a bachelor. We were getting a taste for the kind of jokes to expect.
I was expecting to cruise for some distance before encountering the locks. But, if I had time to do more research, I would have discovered that the town owed its entire existence to the canal, and its locations. The canal surveyors had determined this was the spot to create the Flight of Five Locks, a staircase of five locks, each raising a vessel 10 feet. These were designed to tackle the Niagara Escarpment. An escarpment is steep slope that separates two relatively flat stretches of land or water. As our captain put it, it is hard to get these boats to jump up even one foot, let alone 50.
We were on top of Locks #34 and #35 in just a few minutes. The original Flight of Five Locks has been replaced with just two locks, that each raise a ship (or even a canoe, they are allowed) up 25 feet. We must have been heading west, as we were taking the lock elevator up. The boat was steered into the lock, which has swinging doors on each end, and massive concrete walls on the sides. You could see the water line way up and you knew that was how high you were going to go.
You can’t see where the water comes from, you just see the sides roiling as it comes in. The videos I have watched of other lock systems say that small doors, at the bottom of the high water lock open and let the water in. Once the water levels equalize the big doors open and a whole new short waterway appears. Lock 35 is right after 34, and we need to go through that one to get to the final level needed to reach Lake Erie.
We repeated the same maneuver and rose another 25 feet. This time when the doors opened it was like when the Wizard of Oz changes from black and white to color. Your view had been two gray walls and a set of dark, leaky doors in front of you. Once they open you are greeted with an urban riverscape dominated by a bridge, which you pass under in just a few minutes.
This bridge, known as the Big Bridge is 399 feet, not long, but wide. It is the widest bridge, over open water in the world, when it was built. I saw am aerial view, and there is road that runs diagonal across it, with a parking lot on one side of that diagonal. It also has a road running along one edge, using it as a traditional bridge.
From there the canal opened up to a green trees along the sides. We cruised for at least 30 minutes in this direction, learning things along the way. The most interesting thing that I learned was that the canal is drained every November. Upstate New York winters are too tough on the canal. Frozen water expands and breaks things. So every November it drains into the Hudson River and ever April it fills up from the Niagara River. They do both over the course of several weeks, so it does not screw with the wild life too much.
People do fish in the canal. The water looks filthy, but the captain told us, that was due to runoff, and that if you took a glassful and let it sit for the silt to settle it would be pretty clear. There are several municipalities along the canal that use it for drinking water. I forgot to ask what those towns did in the winter, but maybe they melt snow.
We turned around, went back to the locks, taking the elevator down. The captain said they can tell back at their dock when these locks open letting eastbound traffic through, as it raises their water level about two feet. We drove past our dock and continued along this way until we got to a wide spot in the canal. These were created every 15 miles. They were a place to change animals. In 1825 neither internal combustion or steam engines existed. We had mule power back then. All along the whole canal was a path for the animals the pull their load, the barges, up or down the canal. 15 miles was the expected work life for the animals for the day.
We turned around and were back at our dock in maybe 10 minutes. It was fun and informative. I am glad we took this. If Canada had been open, we would have spent the day and part of the night on that side. But, their loss is Youngstown and Lockport’s gain.
It was a 30 minute drive back to the hotel and time for dinner. I had spent a lot of time on my feet again today and my hip was doing OK. I don’t know why, but the weight bearing part is fine. It is not a 100%, but it really only aches a little. It is getting into and out of the car, or even a chair that causes pain. It is the sore, stiff feeling you get when you sit too long. I take a few steps and I am fine.
We had dinner on Old Falls Road at Mario’s Pizza. We were looking for an empty place to sit. There are many tables with umbrellas along the street for the many kiosks and vendors. We were thinking of walking across the street when this couple, about our age, invited us to sit with them. Why not?
Their story was that they had been traveling the US from Seattle to here for the last five weeks. We talked with them for a while hearing about going to Montana, Mt Rushmore, Chicago, Philly, Boston, and others I imagine. It was really cool, as we had been to most of the same places and we swapped stories. They left to get settled in, and we finished up and went back to our room
It has to have been around 6 PM and I noticed a Wax Museum. We had not really sat through much telling of the history of this town, so I talked Margo into it. She was not really that interested, she has puppy fever at the moment. She really wants a mini-daschund puppy and she bounces from website to website looking at them.
I enjoyed it, learning a bit about the area. I picked up the Haunted Well story here, and learned about a boy who went over Horseshoe Falls when the boat he was riding in developed engine trouble and was swamped. He lived, thanks through a life vest he had one, and God’s intervention, no doubt. The owner and pilot of the boat died. His older sister, who was with him was pulled out of the water pretty close to the edge.
We finally got our ice cream at a kiosk called Bryce’s. I would have preferred hard ice cream. Bryce’s was soft serve, but it was really good, so I got over it pretty quickly. I had chocolate. Margo had Blue Goo, which was cotton candy flavored. Then it was off to the room to pack.
Margo was not thrilled with the idea, but I wanted to see the falls lit up. They have what they call Illuminations, each evening. But, I drug her down to the guardrails by Maid of the Mist. It was packed. We did get to see it, and once it was dark, it had been worth the effort, but really the crowds did spoil it somewhat. We ran into our traveling couple, and let them have our spot, so they could at least get a quick pic. Then they headed to find a better view spot.
We walked back and Margo who had been complaining a little about her stomach now was nearly in tears. We had taken the long route out of the park, because it looks different in the dark. So we sat down, and she was telling me what was wrong, when I saw movement in the bushes. I called this to her attention, and then a patch of light struck one just right. Skunks, at least four of them. We caught a whiff, not strong, just a second later, and decided our break time was over. Margo did not like my suggest of finding a kid to go investigate for us. But, it did cheer her up for a second. It had been our last real vacation day. Margo had gotten us mostly packed, and we played cards until midnight. Then off to bed.
Day Four--Sunday, July 25, 2021
It had not been a good night for Margo. She was undecided if she had a food borne illness or maybe a reaction to the peanuts she had had as a snack. She had never been allergic to peanuts before, but it was the second time in the last few days that something like this had happened after eating a peanut product. Whatever it was she was up and down all night, throwing up and miserable. I don’t think she got a ton of sleep.
We were packed, checked out, and on the road, to Buffalo, by 10 AM. Going home today. As I have said many times, this is the worse day of vacation; the trip home. I had hoped that the one final planned thing was going to take the edge off of the depression of going home, at stop at the Anchor Bar for an early lunch.
With Margo’s tummy trouble I almost skipped it, but the alternative was to go the airport, and sit and eat there. Might as well have some historic food. I forgot to mention, The Anchor Bar is credited as being the place were Buffalo Wings were first created. That is disputed in some circles. But if you answer “Anchor Bar, in Buffalo”, to the trivia question, Where were Buffalo Wings created?” Your are going to get the ding, ding, ding.
We got there at 10:30 AM. They don’t open until 11 AM. By the time they did open there were three parties waiting to be served. Margo wanted nothing to do with food, but she gamely sat at the table and nibbled on a single fry, while I went through my plate of wings. I have never been a fan, but these were really good. They were deep fried and had a bit of a crunch to them. I got the mild sauce and without the normal fire, these had a nice savory taste to them. I don’t like blue cheese dressing. They make theirs in house and I liked that, too. I wish Margo could have enjoyed it, too.
We returned the rental car, with a noticeable ding in the bottom panel. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I am pretty sure it was not there when we picked the car up. I was about to point it out to the guy doing the walk around, but he gave that side a nod, handed Margo a receipt and was gone. I guess I will get a call in the next month.
If not for that, then for highway tolls. I forgot to research tolls on this trip and what to do about them. We crossed and recrossed a bridge that I was certain was a toll bridge, but I did not see the camera. They usually, at the rental counter, hit you up for some sort of advance fee to handle tolls. They did not, in this case. So, I don’t know what will happen.
Like our trip in, our trip back had a layover. This time it was at Midway-Chicago. We flew in their the time we visited Chicago about 15 years ago. It was as busy as DIA was when we left on Thursday. You expected this as it was Sunday, but the Thursday very AM traffic back in Denver had been a bit of shock. And, or as had been the case on the prior two flights, and the prior three airports, masks were mandatory. I hate these damn things. They represent everything that is wrong with America right now. We are mandated to do something that is more political than medical, and all in the interest in pretending to do something, rather than actually doing something. It represents cowardess over courage, and politics over science. Those in power, and I mean Democrats, have to be seen doing something. Now that the damage to economy was blatent, they can’s shut things down again, so lets make sure everyone wears a filter, that is not capable of filtering more that 5% of the viruses. Grrrrr. Rant over. I can’t help myself.
We had a two hour lay over in Chicago. I got some work done on this and then we boarded. The flight into Denver I worked on this blog some. It seemed a lot tighter with the tray down that I remember. We had someone between us on both of these legs, but they were quiet, so it was not terrible.
Touch down in Denver was about 7:25 PM, on schedule, but it took over an hour to get home. We had a long wait for our shuttle after picking up our single piece of luggage. Their was a shuttle out there when we first walked out, but it was full, and left even before we got to the island. But, we made it safe and sound.
It had been another fun trip. I enjoyed everything except Margo getting sick, but as she pointed out, at least it was mostly at night, and we got to enjoy the day. By the time we landed in Denver, Margo was feeling much better. She was still leery of food, but the worse was over.
Our next trip is in just shy of three weeks. We are going to Las Vegas. In August. I’ll explain that in that blog. Fun on the surface of the sun.
We were packed, checked out, and on the road, to Buffalo, by 10 AM. Going home today. As I have said many times, this is the worse day of vacation; the trip home. I had hoped that the one final planned thing was going to take the edge off of the depression of going home, at stop at the Anchor Bar for an early lunch.
With Margo’s tummy trouble I almost skipped it, but the alternative was to go the airport, and sit and eat there. Might as well have some historic food. I forgot to mention, The Anchor Bar is credited as being the place were Buffalo Wings were first created. That is disputed in some circles. But if you answer “Anchor Bar, in Buffalo”, to the trivia question, Where were Buffalo Wings created?” Your are going to get the ding, ding, ding.
We got there at 10:30 AM. They don’t open until 11 AM. By the time they did open there were three parties waiting to be served. Margo wanted nothing to do with food, but she gamely sat at the table and nibbled on a single fry, while I went through my plate of wings. I have never been a fan, but these were really good. They were deep fried and had a bit of a crunch to them. I got the mild sauce and without the normal fire, these had a nice savory taste to them. I don’t like blue cheese dressing. They make theirs in house and I liked that, too. I wish Margo could have enjoyed it, too.
We returned the rental car, with a noticeable ding in the bottom panel. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I am pretty sure it was not there when we picked the car up. I was about to point it out to the guy doing the walk around, but he gave that side a nod, handed Margo a receipt and was gone. I guess I will get a call in the next month.
If not for that, then for highway tolls. I forgot to research tolls on this trip and what to do about them. We crossed and recrossed a bridge that I was certain was a toll bridge, but I did not see the camera. They usually, at the rental counter, hit you up for some sort of advance fee to handle tolls. They did not, in this case. So, I don’t know what will happen.
Like our trip in, our trip back had a layover. This time it was at Midway-Chicago. We flew in their the time we visited Chicago about 15 years ago. It was as busy as DIA was when we left on Thursday. You expected this as it was Sunday, but the Thursday very AM traffic back in Denver had been a bit of shock. And, or as had been the case on the prior two flights, and the prior three airports, masks were mandatory. I hate these damn things. They represent everything that is wrong with America right now. We are mandated to do something that is more political than medical, and all in the interest in pretending to do something, rather than actually doing something. It represents cowardess over courage, and politics over science. Those in power, and I mean Democrats, have to be seen doing something. Now that the damage to economy was blatent, they can’s shut things down again, so lets make sure everyone wears a filter, that is not capable of filtering more that 5% of the viruses. Grrrrr. Rant over. I can’t help myself.
We had a two hour lay over in Chicago. I got some work done on this and then we boarded. The flight into Denver I worked on this blog some. It seemed a lot tighter with the tray down that I remember. We had someone between us on both of these legs, but they were quiet, so it was not terrible.
Touch down in Denver was about 7:25 PM, on schedule, but it took over an hour to get home. We had a long wait for our shuttle after picking up our single piece of luggage. Their was a shuttle out there when we first walked out, but it was full, and left even before we got to the island. But, we made it safe and sound.
It had been another fun trip. I enjoyed everything except Margo getting sick, but as she pointed out, at least it was mostly at night, and we got to enjoy the day. By the time we landed in Denver, Margo was feeling much better. She was still leery of food, but the worse was over.
Our next trip is in just shy of three weeks. We are going to Las Vegas. In August. I’ll explain that in that blog. Fun on the surface of the sun.