After driving about a hundred hours and seeing a zillion corn fields, last Thursday we finally reached our destination.  The one spot we started planning the entire trip around and the place Edie had been telling everyone about for weeks—the big waterfall. You know it as Niagara Falls.

Our original plan was to get an early start and head into Canada first thing the next morning.  Since we had paid an arm and a leg for the kids’ passports, we were going to make sure they spent some quality time there.  Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans, and Friday morning we woke to clouds and pouring rain outside.  Normally, I wouldn’t let a little bit of rain slow down the pace of our vacation, but I’d never vacationed with an eight-month-old before and somehow didn’t think Roark would be up for it.

So instead, we spent the morning in the RV piddling around.   I stayed inside checking email and catching up from internet withdrawals while Ken and Edie played outside splashing in mud puddles.  While I worried about the rain ruining our day and possibly throwing off the schedule of our entire trip, Edie was outside having the time of her life running in the rain.

Miraculously about the time we hosed Edie off and finished eating lunch, the sun appeared and brought the blue skies with it.  Ken and I quickly loaded everyone up, and just like that, we were back on schedule.

We first went to the American side of the falls.  We had read somewhere that this was the better side for the Maid of the Mist boat ride, and it just seemed like the best place to start.  If you ever come to Niagara Falls, you have to ride this boat.  It takes you right up to the bottom of the falls.  In fact, you are actually so close that they supply souvenir ponchos so you don’t get completely soaked from the spray.  However, don’t be misled.  I use the word “souvenir” lightly here.  We chunked ours on the way out.

As I stood there on the boat watching who knows how many gallons of water pour down with a power unlike anything I’ve ever seen, I was amazed that this little boat could maneuver at the bottom.  I think that should be the eighth wonder of the world.  Of course to a three-year-old, this is not as exciting as a huge mud puddle waiting to be stomped in, but this stop wasn’t really for her anyway.

After the boat ride, we said good-bye to the U.S. and headed over the border to America Jr. There wasn’t too much to crossing over the border.  It was so exciting that both of the kids slept through it.  Ken and I drove around aimlessly for a while trying to figure out what to do.  As any parent can attest to, you don’t dare wake sleeping children.  So Ken had the brilliant idea of finding a nearby park and just relaxing.  So while the kids slept in the car, we layed in the grass and talked about nothing important, the way we used to before we were parents and had to push kids on swings while at the park.

Niagara Falls August 2009

Niagara Falls August 2009

There are very few areas where I would admit that the Canadians have us beat, but the truth is they definitely have the better view of the falls.  They know this too because the Canadian side is much more geared towards tourists and trying to get their money.  This is normally a huge turn-off for Ken, but he has never been to a tourist trap with Edie.  As she walked the strip filled with touristy places like Ripley’s Believe it or Not and the Rainforest Café, she was all eyes and wasn’t thinking about the waterfall anymore.

We stuck around until evening to see the falls lit up with different colored lights.  As we walked around, I listened to my sweet husband discuss the ins and outs and how you would go about lighting such a huge landmark.  That happens sometimes when you bring a lighting/video guy with you on your vacation, and I have learned to appreciate it.   The falls at night really are spectacular and worth hanging around to see, even if you don’t have a lighting tour guide on your trip with you.

When the day was finally over, we had walked about fifty miles, ventured into a foreign country, and saw what we came to see.  All in all, it really was a full day and totally worth driving across the country for.