Niagara Falls Road Trip
26 May – 10 June 2010
26 May – 10 June 2010
Wednesday 26 May, Thursday 27 May, Friday 28 May - We took a road trip from our home in Flower Mound, TX to Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada. We mostly drove interstate highways. The first day we drove to Memphis, TN; the second to Cincinnati, OH; the third to Niagara Falls. We decided to stay on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls because the views are better there. Similar attractions operate on both sides of the border.
We entered Canada at Buffalo, NY via the Peace Bridge and into Canada. We stopped at Immigration and used our “passport cards” as the Photo ID required for crossing. Then we paid the $5 toll at another booth. We drove along a nice highway through a wasteland and followed the signs to the city of Niagara Falls, Canada. We arrived at the Marriott Hotel about 3:30. We were assigned room 1023 which has a spectacular view of Niagara Falls, both the American and the Canadian. Because it was a sunny and bright day, we decided to make photos. We left the hotel and paid $5 to ride the Incline down to the river level. The area alongside the Niagara River is all a part of the park; the hotels are located atop a hill above the river. We walked through the Welcome Centre at Table Rock and then along the river making photos. It’s really spectacular with the millions of gallons of water pouring over the cliff’s edge at an extremely rapid rate. Mist rises above the tops of the falls themselves and the roar of the cascading water hitting the river below is constant. Rainbows arch completely across the scene.
At 9:00, the Illumination began. Colored lights shine on the cascading water slowly changing from red to blue to pink to green. It lasts about 3 hours. We walked back down the hill and waited for the fireworks to begin at 10:00. We had asked our waiter and the hostess at supper and they told us the grassy area between Edgewater Grill and the street was the best viewing spot. They were correct. The spectacular show only lasted about 5 minutes but was very colorful and enjoyable. The multi-colored and multi-stage fireworks lit up the black sky with the illuminated waterfalls in the background.
Saturday 29 May - At the Welcome Centre,we bought the combination ticket ($85.48). We decided to ride the Maid of the Mist boat on the river first. About a ten-minute walk took us to the entrance. We walked the maze which took us down concrete ramps through a building to the river level where we were given blue, plastic ponchos. They were made of dry cleaner bag type material and were biodegradable. We put them on and boarded the boat. [Two rides of the same name operate here; one on the US side and the other on the Canadian. Both are on the water at the same time.] We decided to stand on the covered main deck aft and were just above the flag. We enjoyed the ride and the taped tour commentary broadcast over a loudspeaker. We enjoyed fairly close up views of the US falls, including the Bridal Veil Falls which is a smaller waterfall beside the large one. Goat Island separates the US falls for the Canadian falls which are known as Horseshoe Falls; we sailed just as close to them. It amazed us to be in the mist and to be so close to the base of the cascading water. We also got a good view of the Rainbow Bridge. Upon disembarking, we put our ponchos in the recycle bin.
After riding the Maid of the Mist, we walked back to the Welcome Centre where we changed a couple of our attractions vouchers. We got tickets for Niagara’s Fury at 11:40. This was a 20 minute “Disney type” animated movie very briefly explaining how Niagara Falls were formed. We stood in a round room and watched the movie on a big screen before moving into another round room. Here we wore more blue plastic ponchos. A screen completely circled the top of the room and we “experienced” the breakup of the glaciers; going down the river and over the falls complete with snow and water showers. The floor also shook.No photos are allowed inside. Upon leaving, we recycled the blue ponchos in the bin provided. We cashed in our transportation vouchers and got the stickers for both today and tomorrow; that makes the Incline free.
We went into the Journey Behind the Falls at 2:00. We got yellow ponchos here. We rode an elevator down 135 meters to an observation deck cantilevered on the cliff face adjacent to the falls. This gave us an up-close-and-personal view. We then walked a tunnel bored into the rock underneath the falls and peered out through two portals at the wall of water cascading down before returning to the observation platform. We then rode the elevator back up to the top.
We next rode the Incline back up and walked through the Casino building. This also houses a food court, some shops, a performance hall, and a couple of hotels. We bought some ice cream and sat and enjoyed it before returning to the room. We computed for a while and watched the falls through our window; it’s like a huge HDTV screen. At times the plume of mist rises almost as high above the falls as we are.
Sunday 30 May - We left the room about 9:00 and walked across behind the Casino and then down the sidewalk to the park area. It was 9:30 or a few minutes after when we got to the bus stop. While we waited, we saw a mini parade: a police escort consisting of some cars and some motorcycles appeared with sirens blaring and lights flashing; next came a 1960 Pepto-Bismol-pink Cadillac convertible; then came several hundred motorcycles of all types, sizes, and configurations; last came two more police cars. We knew that bus operations began at 10:00 but didn’t realize they didn’t begin right there, so it was a few minutes after 10:00 when the first bus arrived. We rode 4.1 km north to the White Water Walk where we got out. We took an elevator down to the river level and walked a boardwalk alongside whitewater rapids in the Niagara River Gorge. It was cool, pleasant, and very interesting. We then rode the elevator back up to street level and waited for the next northbound bus.
Our next stop was the Butterfly Conservatory located inside the Botanical Gardens. Here we used our discount coupons and paid admission. We watched a brief video about butterflies and their life cycle before entering the conservatory itself. Planted as a tropical rain forest, it contains thousands of butterflies of various species. They literally flit everywhere and some even pause long enough for photos; we saw several using camouflage technique on various plants. We walked the paved pathway which wound through the area and made photos. Some areas contained feeding stations where some species lit. Blooming flowers also provided food. One cage contained tiny exotic, and poisonous, South American frogs: some blue; some orange. In another area were pupae in various stages, some with emerging butterflies. After spending quite a while enjoying the beauty, we left and took the next bus north to the turn-around at Queenston Heights Park. Here we got off and went to Queenston Restaurant where we enjoyed Sunday Brunch while seated at a table high above and overlooking the Niagara River. White boats darted across it. From this park we could see where the Niagara River emptied into Lake Ontario.
About 1:00, we took the bus to begin our journey southbound to the Falls. Our first stop was Whirlpool Aero Car. Here we used more discount coupons for tickets to ride inside a cable car across the huge whirlpool formed where the Niagara River makes a ninety-degree turn. It was a fascinating fifteen-minute ride and well worth the money. What an interesting perspective we received as we looked down on the swirling waters!
We had been hearing the driver’s radio report huge crowds at bus stops and being unable to accommodate all riders. The southbound bus we boarded here was crowded; we stood. We got off at the White Water Walk stop in front of the Buddhist Temple because we wanted to walk back to Souvenir City to visit Rossi Glass. We did the five-minute walk back down to the bus stop. We saw that the southbound bus wasn’t able to load all the people wanting on, so we crossed the street and waited for the northbound bus. When it arrived, many got off and we were able to board and get seats. As the bus stopped, more passengers got off than got on. By the time we reached the turn-around, we had moved up to the very front seats beside the driver. We enjoyed visiting with her as we rode the southbound route. According to her radio reports, extra buses were added and at least one was running in front of us. We picked up some passengers on the way back, but not many. It was about 4:00 when we got back to the Welcome Centre at Table Rock where we boarded this morning. We walked into and through the building and across to the Incline which we rode to the top. We were back inside the room about 4:30. The Falls Illumination began at 9:00. We left the hotel and took the Incline down to the park area which was much more crowded than Friday night. We made our way to the same spot where we saw the fireworks previously and waited for them to begin at 10:00. The show was just as good as it was on Friday night but the crowd was larger, noisier, and rowdier.
Monday 31 May (Memorial Day) – Note to self: do not plan a driving trip on Memorial Day in the future. We checked out; got the car from the valet; and began our day’s drive leaving the hotel at 8:00. We left Canada by a different route and took the Rainbow Bridge into Niagara Falls, NY. Immigration only took 9 minutes. We stopped and put in an address in Wellsboro, PA and let the GPS guide us. We went via Buffalo paying a one-dollar toll at a bridge. Then we used and map and the GPS to wind our way southeast through western New York. It was farming country filled with lots of small towns. Most of the towns looked to have been founded in the late-19th or early 20th century; some of the houses were well-kept and/or restored; others were not; many had at least one large rhododendron blooming in the yard. There seemed to be quite a bit of agriculture in the area and most of it was in grain or forage crops. Many of the huge, old barns and silos looked to have been constructed to house dairy cattle but we did not see any. For the most part, the area doesn’t look very prosperous. Tombstones in the cemeteries we passed indicated more prosperous times past as many were elaborate and massive. In Arcade, we caught the tail end of the Memorial Day Parade. Janet didn’t enjoy the winding and hilly roads. Then we dodged a couple of more Memorial Day Parades as we made our way into the Genesee River Valley country. The countryside is beautiful with rolling hills covered with trees; fields are large and the soil appears fertile. It surprised us that most of the churches we saw were Baptist. We continued south on 19 and crossed into Pennsylvania at 1040 with 12513 on the odometer. We changed drivers at Gold. We took highway 6 east and drove through beautiful mountainous countryside. The road twisted along and went up and down; life here looks more prosperous than it did in New York. We took the turn off for Wellsboro and soon entered the Borough of Wellsboro. Isn’t that a bit redundant? We decided to stop for lunch and gas. Memorial Day is a holiday and many businesses were closed. We bought gas and then we had to choose lunch between Pizza Hut and McDonald’s. There were no cars around the pizza place, so we chose McDonald’s. We then drove to Leonard Harrison Park at Pine Creek Gorge. Known as The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, this is a wilderness-type area along the river. We stopped at a scenic overlook and fought the flies to make some photos. The sign said the overlook was 1833 feet above the river below which we could see shining. Forested mountains formed the backdrop. Hiking and biking trails abound as well as camping areas. We saw many vehicles loaded with canoes and/or kayaks or bicycles.
For most of the way through New York and northern Pennsylvania, the roadsides were littered with deer carcasses; we had never seen so many killed by vehicles. We were amazed that there were no buzzards or other carrion eaters around. We had planned to continue east on highway 6 but changed and went south instead. The route took us down US 15 which was a divided highway running down a mountain valley; a roadway was constructed on each valley wall---one side northbound and the opposite southbound---with the deeper valley floor in the center. We hit some construction and lane closures just north of Williamsport which slowed us down to stop-and-go. We then connected with I-80 and then I-81 to head toward Scranton.
Tuesday 1 June – Our 43rd Wedding Anniversary – We headed south and east on I-81 and I-380. This area is somewhat mountainous and is part of the Poconos. We intersected with I-80 and headed toward New Jersey. The area where we entered was a part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. We enjoyed a beautiful and peaceful drive south along the Delaware River. We were interested to see the rural atmosphere with some farms and some facilities for recreational tourists. Somewhere south of Washington, we stopped to actually walk on New Jersey soil. That only leaves Oregon to be visited to make all 50 states. Shortly afterward, we paid a seventy-five cent toll over the bridge to reenter Pennsylvania. We were in beautiful Bucks County and enjoyed seeing all the estates and farms. The fields and meadows undulated into the distance. Huge farmsteads consisting of large houses dwarfed by massive barns and silos made the landscape picturesque. Some of the houses were fieldstone and appeared to originally be colonial with modern additions. This is an affluent area and we saw very few houses for sale. We changed drivers and set the GPS for Valley Forge National Historic Park. We chose the route that kept us off the freeways and through the towns and really enjoyed the drive. It was just about noon when we arrived at Valley Forge. We stopped at the Visitors’ Center where we watched an 18 minute film on the encampment there in 1877. Then we drove the park road stopping to make photos: Memorial Arch; Knox Headquarters; Washington’s Headquarters; reconstructed soldiers’ huts; Washington Memorial Chapel; Waterman’s grave.
National Memorial Arch
Knox's Quarters
Knox's Quarters
Washington's Headquarters Area
Washington's Headquarters Area
Washington's Headquarters Area
Reconstructed Soldiers' Huts
Reconstructed Soldiers' Huts
We then set the GPS for our hotel in Lancaster and drove through the village of Valley Forge itself. We ate lunch between 1:30 and 2:00 in Phoenixville. After lunch we continued the drive toward Lancaster. Once again we stayed off the freeways and drove through the towns. We really enjoyed the scenery and seeing the quaint houses with architecture that ran the gamut from colonial to Victorian to modern. We enjoyed the variations present in each different style. As we entered the Conestoga Valley and began to get closer to “Amish Country,” the farms got larger. Many acres were under cultivation. In some fields we saw teams pulling equipment; several buggies were on the roadway. Many of these were dairy farms and several had “Land O’ Lakes” signs at the entrance. It was easy to tell if some farms were Amish because there were no electrical lines running to the buildings. We continued our pleasant drive through places with names like New Holland; Eden; Leola until we reached our Lancaster hotel.We had reservations at Mazzi, an Italian restaurant in Leola.It was upscale and the servers well-trained. We enjoyed a delicious meal. The surroundings were elegant with rococo décor; classical music played in the background; excellence ambiance.Wednesday 2 June - We had decided to go out from Lancaster to the Amish/Mennonite towns because things there opened at 9:00, so we headed east to the village of Intercourse. We enjoyed the drive through the area and were soon parked in a lot capable of holding 200 vehicles. We first went to Liberty Pottery; next we went next door to Old Country Store. Then we walked through a several more shops on that main street before walking down the hill to Kitchen Kettle Village, a cluster of shops. We walked into and out of many but bought nothing except ice cream. We left Intercourse and headed back toward Lancaster. We drove into the central area where the architecture is row-house style. Some are duplexes or fourplexes. Most appear to have been built about 100 to 125 years ago. This area could use urban renewal. We got lost in the maze of one-way streets and didn’t really see any shops we wanted to stop and look into, so we decided to leave. Farms appear prosperous with hundreds of acres under cultivation; we saw many forage crops and lots of rolls of hay. Some areas seemed to specialize in truck farming; roadside stands sold vegetables and fruits—notably strawberries. Each farm and many of the houses had vegetable gardens. We went to Witmer Quilt Shop in New Holland where Emma, the owner, showed us dozens of quilts; they were beautiful and not as expensive as most we had seen; unfortunately for her, we didn’t want to buy anything. We were getting hungry and it was about 1:00, so we stopped at Homeplace in Leola for lunch.While we ate lunch, we talked about what to do next and decided to drive to Hershey. Janet drove the morning and I drove after lunch. The drive took about thirty minutes. We visited Hershey’s Chocolate World where we rode a Disney-type ride explaining their chocolate-making process; we had seen a TV biography of Hershey himself. After the ride we each received a small Hershey bar; we wandered through their on-site store. Who knew Hershey’s made so many chocolate candies in so many sizes, flavors, and types? We left Hershey at 3:30 and drove back toward the hotel but changed our minds and set the GPS for Ephrata. We arrived at Ten Thousand Villages in Ephrata at 4:45 and entered a very nice store filled with “Fair Trade Goods” from all over the world. The quality items were well-displayed and reasonably priced. By that time, it was 5:15 and we were tired enough to really go to the hotel this time. There are many churches in the area: Mennonite; United Methodist; Presbyterian; Evangelical Lutheran; Brethren; Pentecostal. We saw one large non-denominational “Worship Center” complete with school; it was new.
Thursday 3 June – We drove to Strasburg seeing more Amish/Mennonite farms. Today we saw a few more buggies than we have been seeing and one was a four-seater with four young ladies in it. One buggy contained a family with several children. Buggy horses are a different breed from plow horses---not as sturdy. We arrived at Eldreth Pottery just a few minutes before they opened at 9:00. Once inside, we admired the salt glazed stoneware and other pottery. We left there and drove a few short miles to Paradise where we visited the National Christmas Center, a collection of all types of Christmas memorabilia; we sat in rocking chairs on the porch until it opened at 10:00. We paid $22 to enter the museum and enjoyed looking at the displays which were topically arranged and began with a room depicting, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” One room contained “Christmas Around the World” and contained vignettes; another had “Woolworth’s” and was set as a store; another had trees decorated with ornaments while one room contained thousands of Santas. A series of scenes depicted the book Christmas at Tudor Hall. There was a toy train display and a huge scene called a “Christmas Garden.” There were even displays showing Christmas in Pennsylvania. Hundreds of nativity sets from all over the world were displayed in cabinets and on shelves and the self-guided tour ended with life size figures depicting the Christmas Story as told in the Gospel of Luke. There was a gift shop, of course, but it only contained imported ornaments. We left there and drove toward Gettysburg. We stopped at Perkins for lunch. We then drove to the Gettysburg Battlefield Park arriving about 1:30. We parked and entered the Visitors Center where we bought tickets ($19) to see the movie and the cyclorama and to visit the museum. Since we had an hour to wait for the movie, we visited the museum first; it was overrun with ill-mannered and ill-supervised school children which made the displays difficult to appreciate. After that we visited the Book Shop and paid $26.49 for the CD narration of the driving tour. Then we waited until time for the movie which was an excellent one narrated by Morgan Freeman about the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863; it was done for the History Channel. After the movie we rode an escalator up to see the cyclorama. It was painted by a Frenchman in the 1880s and depicts “Pickett’s Charge.” Lights and narration help it come to life. We then left the center and returned to the car to begin the driving tour. The park covers many acres and the tour is a long one with stops along the way; the narration lasts an hour and a half.We stopped at a few of the monuments and made a few photographs; the Gettysburg Foundation is working to restore the battlefield to its 1863 condition and is doing an excellent job. It was a great stop. We left the park at 4:15 and headed for Hagerstown, MD. An hour later we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line and entered Maryland; we spent the night in Hagerstown.
Eternal Light Peace Memorial
Pennsylvania MemorialSaturday 5 June – We decided to visit the Kentucky Artisan Center First because it opened at 8:00. It’s an excellent facility staffed by helpful and informed people. We looked at the quality handicrafts displayed and talked with the staff who gave us advice about the area. We plan to return after we look at shops in the town of Berea itself. Following the instructions given, we drove into town and went to Old Town where we parked and began to walk around the area. We went into several shops and looked at the items displayed. Some shops are actual studios operated by the artists themselves; others are shops which sell items handcrafted by Kentucky artisans. Most shops do not open until 10:00 but some open earlier. Before leaving the area, we went into all that were open. We decided to take the free trolley ride which took us into the Berea College Area. We were told the trolley had a circuit consisting of three stops---Old Town; Boone Tavern Hotel; Kentucky Artisan Center ---and that it was 30 to 40 minutes for a complete round; we never saw it again. We wandered around there and looked into many stores. We ate lunch at Boone Tavern Hotel. The day was sunny and warm---mid to high 80s---but with a nice breeze. We decided to walk the several blocks back to the car---probably about a mile. We expected the town to be crowded because it is a Saturday but there were not many people about at all. From there, we drove back to the hotel. Later we drove back into town and stopped at the Main Street Café for supper. We had an enjoyable and relaxing day in Berea.
Sunday 6 June & Monday 7 June - We drove from Berea, KY to Little Rock, Ar on Sunday and spent the night. We then drove home on Monday arriving about noon. The trip totaled 3764.5 miles.
