brainsplotch

This is the final installment of this electrifying series. So we woke up relatively early on Monday, September 5 (actual Labor Day) and headed on the road back to Niagara Falls. We had all filled out the online ArriveCAN app on our phones to get into Canada. After my last horrifying adventure with the Canadian border (in pre-pandemic 2019--I believe I wrote about it here), I was concerned about getting beyond the border without a hassle. In fact, I felt a bit anxious about it the entire drive to Niagara Falls. As usually happens when I worry about something, the actual source of the anxiety ends up being completely uneventful, and in this case the Niagara Falls Canadian border patrol guard was a perfectly polite and kindly fellow who let us in with a smile. Nora was excited because it was her first time in Canada and she was able to add another stamp to her passport. Despite overcast skies, misty rain, and a chill in the air, the Canadian falls were delightful and worthy of multiple ph...

I meant to write yesterday about Day Three of our Labor Day Vacay.  So we fought traffic and much larger crowds on September 3 to view the falls from the city of Niagara Falls, NY (and not Goat Island). The first stop--after thankfully finding a parking spot in one of Niagara Falls' massive parking ramps--was Starbuck's. I must emphasize how much all four of us love Starbuck's. Yes, I know it is a giant monstrous corporate coffee chain, and I'm not necessarily proud of my devotion, but the product is consistently good. So we stopped there, as we did often on this vacation, and I got my iced brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso and was ready to face the hordes. The view of the falls was as equally impressive as it was from Goat Island. Niagara Falls reminds us of how small and insignificant we are as humans--at least that is my theory. There is something awe-inspiring to witness this enormous cascade of water tumbling 170 feet. The sheer power, danger, and beauty of the n...

So after I putzed* around Progressive Field taking pictures from every conceivable angle and location, we checked out of our hotel (Hilton Garden Inn) and hit the road for Niagara Falls, New York. (Initially, there was some concern about whether we should attempt to venture to the Canadian falls, considering one of our travelers is a German citizen and we weren't sure how difficult that would be to get through the border. Spoiler alert: it was fine. We saw Niagara Falls from the Canadian side on the drive home). We arrived at our hotel (Double Tree on Buffalo Avenue & 4th Street), which was along the Niagara River, in the early afternoon. Thankfully, we were able to check in early and get all our luggage and perishable food up into our rooms. Seeing that we could easily walk from the hotel to Goat Island, we set off.  The weather was bright, sunny and warm--but not uncomfortably warm. We saw the falls from the observation areas of Goat Island and then on a whim decided to go on...