Day 2 - Niagra to Amherst, Ohio

Today had half the amount of travel and twice the amount of fun. We got up before 7 and started to pack up camp. The instant tent doesn't break down quite as fast as it sets up, but it's still impressively easy to do. We packed up the campsite and had a quick breakfast of yogurt and cheerios. OK, it wasn't the eggs we usually have, but it was quick and easy.

Off we went to start the day with a quick boat ride on the Maid of the Mist. As it turned out, the Brennans had the same idea so we met at the ticket booth and took the boat ride together. It's hard to explain the feeling you have when you are standing there on the deck of the boat listening to the thundering sound of thousands of gallons of water crashing down right in front of your boat. It is so loud that you can't even hear the person standing next to you. It was mesmerizing and beautiful.

view from the boat

After the boat ride we went up to the observation deck overlooking the falls and then took a walk down to the edge to feel the spray and listen to the water rushing over the edge. It's amazing how long you can stand there and watch water rushing by. Fortunately, we knew there was a long ride ahead so it helped to motivate us to move along. But, before we left we decided it would be "education" to watch a film about what we thought was going to be the history behind Niagra Falls. Instead it was a film about a collection of people who went over the falls either by choice or by accident. It was a little disturbing watching this film and Sharon and I both realized we may have just earned the mother-of-the-year award. Perhaps next time we should pay more attention to the title of the film "Legends of the Falls"!

  

Well, after some ice cream for lunch we took off to Ohio. Fairly uneventful ride; no questionable intersections to try and confuse us. We did learn our lesson after yesterday ;-) Just so you guys know, we did choose to skip the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, against my better judgement. We arrived in Amherst and decided we couldn't go to the Witherow house without something to offer. We had to stop at Walgreen's to get a journal for one of the kids and some other odds and ends. When we were there we realized that the Walgreen's in Ohio not only sell the typical stuff, but they also sell alchohol; who knew?!?!?! So, we bought a bottle of wine and some dessert and headed off to the Witherow's for the night.

When we pulled in I thought this was it for the night. Maybe some dinner, get the kids to bed early, update the blog. Just a typical quiet night was in order, right?!? Nope, instead we decided to go over to lake Erie for an after dinner visit. It started out as just some fun on the beach and turned into a sunset swim for the kids. They were delighted and had a wonderful time. The water was surprisingly warm and the waves were awesome!

 Well, so much for early to bed. It's 10pm and we still haven't gotten them to bed. Tomorrow is a long ride so I guess they can try to catch up on sleep then.

More tomorrow....