Day Two of Labor Day Vacay

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 the--I don't know how to describe it--walking excursion of the Cave of the Winds which takes you to the base of the Horseshoe Falls. You are handed rain ponchos and believe me, you will need it unless you want to get your clothes and entire body soaking wet. It is quite an exhilarating and visceral way to experience Niagara up close. It also made me re-evaluate my previously negative opinion of the U.S. side of the falls.

After our Goat Island excursion was over and we returned to the hotel, we celebrated Avery's 21st birthday at the DoubleTree restaurant. I certainly was feeling too tired from the day's activities to go schlepping around for a restaurant, so it was a relief when Avery decided the menu looked favorable. As it turns out, the hotel restaurant had excellent food. The only downside was the air conditioning seemed to be set at roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the live musical entertainment was terrible. Our wonderful waitress was kind enough to relocate us to the outside patio, where the evening temperature was around the mid-70s and we couldn't hear the bad music. (Hey, I respect anyone brave enough to put themselves out there and perform live, but this guy was rough).

A recurring theme of our trip was re-watching the final season of Breaking Bad on our Fire Stick (it was Nora's first time watching the show), so we retired to Avery and Nora's room and watched an episode before going to bed.

*Spell check doesn't recognize Yiddish.