Niagara Falls

This was our last stop before we went home. We were all way excited for this stop. We got there too late to do anything besides get dinner and go swimming. Can we talk about hotel swimming pools for a minute? Why oh why are they freezing cold? I'm pretty sure the water that was filling the hotel pool was coming straight from the falls themselves. It truly was freezing. It's awful to feel like seeing a floating ice chunk with a penguin on top of it wouldn't be too big of a shock due to the water of the pool. All I'm saying is that the pool should not have been as cold as it was and our kids shouldn't have wanted to stay as long as they did in the frigid waters.

Enough about that! The next morning we were off to see the amazing water falls!

I love that little B is waving! I am sure that he had just finished saying hi. Him saying hi and waving at the same time is like saying water and fall when you're at Niagara falls, they go hand in hand!

This was our second attempt at having a family picture. The first lady that did it stood at an angle that made it so our family covered the falls. Thankfully lady number two was able to get us and the falls behind us. To see this in person is amazing! As you are driving towards the city, you can see the mist from the falls on the

freeway.

  The first thing we did was called Cave of the Winds. We had to wear sandals that they provided, then got in the elevator and down we went. The elevator man told us that in the 1920's guys dug out the same shafts the elevators use today to get to the bottom. They didn't want to risk doing damage to the falls so they didn't use dynamite. Using pickaxes and shovels they went down 175 to get to the bottom. Crazy! Anyway, we got to the bottom , were given poncho's and set free! We could go get right next to the falls to feel the wind and the water.

I just love this picture! It wasn't staged. B was holding little B's hand. M went and held his other hand. K wanted to join in and went and held M's hand. Truly, I love it! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I just love this group of people! They are my favorite people in the whole wide world!

This is on one of the lower decks. We didn't know how the camera would do getting too close. It's a pretty sweet shot if you ask me!

 I think we had gone a little higher to take this picture. Once in awhile the wind would blow a mist our direction. Little B didn't know what to think about the whole thing, but the other two loved it!

We wanted to get a picture of the sign but the wind and the mist make it too hard to read. It says hurricane deck on the sign. The wind and the water on this deck was crazy! B said that little B did ok, he didn't complain too much, but he didn't love it. So when I got up there from taking the picture, I took the little one and moved to a side that was more calm.

B is in the light blue, M is in the pink and K in the little one in front looking down. You can't tell from the picture, but the wind on hurricane deck could blow you around if you let it. The water would spray you from all sides. The poncho's helped a little. but we all got wet from the water.

When it was my turn to go over there, I was going to put my arms up when what felt like a tidal wave hit the back of my legs. The water was FA-REEZING! The capris I was wearing got wet to above my knees. It was so awesome to be down there and feel the power coming off of these waterfalls! M, K and I walked back to B. He wanted to go again, so I took the little one and watched while he went back with the other two.

While they were on the hurricane deck I felt little B start to slump. He was asleep before they got back. I was holding him so his head was on my shoulder. I was worried about his face being in the plastic of my poncho. I laid him down in my arms but then he would get sprayed with the mist on his face and his face would scrunch up. I tried covering him as best I could without risk of suffocation by a poncho. It must have been a combination of total exhaustion and the sound of the water that put him to sleep because he never sleeps on me. He won't even rest his head on my shoulder. People would laugh and point to the baby that had fallen asleep at the base of Niagara Falls.

We had to get a picture of the sandals they made us wear. They didn't have little B's size, so he just wore his own. We got to keep them once we were done. The kiddos have loved being able to wear their Niagara Falls sandals.

I couldn't be in this picture because I was crying. This was taken right after we had looked for our camera for an hour.Thankfully B had his phone and we were still able to get this awesome picture with both the falls behind them.

We went on a boat called the Maid of the Mist. The boat takes you close to the falls so you can feel the mist from them. Both B and I were really glad that we had done cave of the winds because that one was way cooler than this one. Don't get me wrong, this one was still really cool, but we didn't get as close to the falls as we did with cave of the winds and the mist was cool, but we didn't even get wet.

This one is called American Falls. Isn't it amazing?!

This is Horseshoe falls. Both of the falls are beautiful and we loved seeing and feeling them!

I'm tellin' ya, the falls have the magic touch! Cool rainbow behind us right?!

I am so glad that we went to Niagara Falls and that we got to see them. They are truly amazing! One more question that I have. When we were there we saw a lot of Amish folk. I don't know a whole lot about them. I honestly don't know if being Amish is a religion or a culture or both. But, they don't have modern conveniences right? My question is, how do they get to these amazing places? How do they get to Niagara Falls? Did they walk? Did they drive their horse and buggy? I'm not making fun, I am just really curious as to how they get places. 

Anyhow, our family vacation was so fun and I loved every minute minus the minutes that K was lost and the minutes/hours that the camera was missing. I also didn't totally love being held hostage to the car seat and seat belt, but it was much better than I thought it would be. That is for sure a tender mercy from Heavenly Father.

This fire hydrant was on the side of the road. When we saw it we knew we needed to have K take a picture with it. He LOVED that it was painted like a minion. This may have been one of the trips highlights for him. We left Niagara falls and drove half way home. We thought half way would be Pittsburgh, PA. We were wrong. Half way was none other than middle of no where West Virginia! Oh my word I can't explain how much I have wanted to go to West Virginia and see a real live hillbilly. We had to get gasoline and I went into the station to ask where I could find one. It was late at night and the guy said,"follow the sound of the banjo's and you'll find them." I started laughing and he said,"I'm being serious." It was too late to hear banjos. He told me he could give us driving directions, but it was too late. The next morning as we started the rest of the drive home, I kept my eyes locked on the hills to see if I could see one. We saw a lot of smoke coming from the trees. I am convinced that it was coming from the hillbillies making their moonshine or cooking their vermin! I think the reason they are called the smokey mountains is because of all the smoke coming up from the hillbillies! I longed to see a real one, but this is the closest I got,

  When I saw this magnet I had to buy it. Every time I see it, it fills me with such happiness! Our trip was wonderful and amazing and we wish we could have seen a hillbilly! Maybe next time!