Road Trip USA: Niagara Falls

Wednesday morning we made the 2  hour drive from Palmyra to Niagara Falls. Two-hour drives feel pretty "normal" at this point. Upon arriving, we headed straight to see the falls. I'd been to Niagara Falls briefly once before, but it's still impressive to see the power of nature.

We decided to pay for tickets to ride the Maid of the Mist boats. One little girl was not happy about that decision; she was terrified about going into the "smoke" and water. 

Notwithstanding her protests, we donned our blue Maid-of-the-Mist ponchos and boarded our boat.

If we thought the views of the falls were impressive from the observation points, they were nothing compared to the views from the river down below! In fact, from the look-out points, you can only see a small section of the main falls. Once we got around the American Falls, we could see the full, horse-shoe shaped Niagara Falls, and it's breathtaking.

It's also drenching. The mist and spray is so heavy, most of us retreated to the center of the boat for a little respite. Others of us (mostly Thane) enjoyed getting soaked.

At the end of the 30-minute ride, Nellie commented, "I liked the birds, but I did not like the water." For my part, I absolutely loved it. But, the kids were done with being wet after the ride and refused to take a short (but wet) hike up to see the falls closer.

On our way out of the visitor's center, I stopped at the Information Desk to see if there was a chance/movement to make Niagara Falls a National Park instead of a State Park. The answer was a resounding, emphatic, and New York accented, "NO!" Apparently they are quite proud of having the oldest state park in the nation. As we turned to walk away, however, one of the employees pulled out a handful of Jr Ranger badges for the kids. We had no idea they'd have Jr Ranger badges there! It was an unexpected bonus.

You see, while all the kids have enjoyed earning and collecting Jr Ranger badges on this trip, Thane and Graham have become a bit obsessed. The Jr Ranger badges have become their primary source of entertainment in their third row traveling spots. Whenever they get a new badge, all their other badges "age" one year. After getting a new badge, they tell all their old badges how old they are now. They also have nicknames for each badge, like "Nachos Trace" for Natches Trace and "Archie" for Arches, and "Spagetti'sBurger" for Gettysburg. Most recently, they've been making up songs to remember the order in which they got their badges.

So, when we made a potty stop on our way to our hotel in Maumee, Ohio, I wasn't too surprised to find Graham with most of his badges pinned to his shirt begging me to take a picture.

We got to our hotel with enough time for the kids to swim. When we started our trip, Nellie thought she was a baby spider monkey; even though she was wearing her life vest, she would cling tightly to Aubree or an adult. Well over halfway through the trip, she finally realized her life vest will keep her safe. Hurrah! Now she will swim on her own, which is more fun for everyone.