Rest of trip and HOME! (With House Update)

We were driving and driving we 3 little kids and me about 18 weeks pregnant for that long is NOT fun! We made more stops on the way back.

First day we did Casa Larga Vineyard, Aquarium of Niagara, and Niagara Falls. It was a "short" travel day (only about 6 hours) and then we did more touristy stuff. Fun but does not get us home.

The next day was NOT fun! We drove 12+ hours... I was hurting and Isabelle was DONE! (About an hour before we got to Robert's parents on the way up she VERY clearly declared, "Down! NOW!" and we were about there again!) But we made it from Buffalo area, stopped for a LATE lunch in Columbus, Ohio. We then went to Target for a "walking break." We got the kids a small toy, a couple CDs, snacks of sliced apples and grapes, and benedryll! Joseph and Isabelle had been coughing, sneezing, and not sleeping well at night and I had left it at home. :( We were hoping to go to the Columbus Zoo, but it was too late in the day by the time we got there and they do not open until 10 and we wanted to make progress and not stay there for 2 nights. So we drove on instead... We made it to St. Louis! Yes Buffalo, NY to St. Louis, Missouri IN ONE DAY!

We were thinking of stopping at the St. Louis Zoo in the morning since they open an hour earlier and our hotel was about 1 mile away! We woke up and checked the weather... Not good. Cold, and rain coming in... Okay we head on home. Everyone was getting tired and cranky after a couple hours. LOVE our smart phones! Start searching for something in area to do... See sign, check it out Meremac Caverns, just off highway. Kids have not done caves yet - 60 degrees, and underground. Open year-round. There we go. Everyone can walk, see something new, and we get a break from the van! (Sorry no pictures. Not even cell ones as cell phones were going dead; left them and let them charge.) I got postcards so if you want to see some let me know. :)

Lunch and back on the road... We finally got home at 9:30 PM. Another long day, but at least we had a break for a while.


Next day we went to check out the house. We had gotten a call during the week saying they were hoping to have the slab down by the time we got home...

No luck in that - STILL NOT DONE a week later. :(

But they did have the footing done!

View facing front of house.

Looking at the side of the house. The break in footing is where the garage will be.

Niagara Falls State Park

None of us had ever been to Niagara Falls so we were not sure what exactly to expect. We knew there was an "American" side and a "Canadian" side of the falls. We were not about to cross the border though! I am the only one that has ever had a passport and mine is expired (I used it in 1999 to go to England).

We got there parked and could not find clear directions on where to go. There were beautiful gardens and then we saw a Visitor Center. Went in and asked. Went down stairs and out the door and there we were - Good Choice to go ask!

There is a LONG path long the river leading to the American Falls.

Can you tell the water is moving FAST?!? It sounds like it too!

Looking over at Canada - Yes it really is THAT close! Took these as we were walking to the American Falls.

Now to the American Falls themselves...

Just past the falls...

The haze that you see is actually water spray still happening! It sprays EVERYWHERE!

The boats you see are the tour boats that are dry docked for winter. They take the boats very close to the American Falls during the summer "tourist" season. The "Crow's Nest" Observation Deck was also closed, as well as a walking trail that goes VERY CLOSE to the American Falls, while we were there.

More pictures from around the American Falls. If you look closely you can see the Horseshoe Falls in the background of these. (toward upper center)

 Looking downstream from the Falls. Just absolutely Beautiful!!!

Some information signs. One is much like in the previous post at the zoo. You can call in and get information about the area! SO LOVE THIS!!! The kids and I can (or ANYONE) can call in and get the information. We will probably do some more of this when we are looking at the pictures or as we are studying more about the area again later. :)

We then discovered that we could take a walking trail over to the Horseshoe Falls (typically considered the "Canadian" Falls) and remain on US soil! You bet we did it!

There are actually several islands that make up the Niagara Falls area. Wish I could find the trail guide so I could scan it and show you! We had to cross two bridges to and go on two SMALL islands to get to the Horseshoe Fall - well that and another good walk! These are of the river as we were crossing the bridges.

This is what you can see coming toward the Horseshoe Falls.

And we made it to Horseshoe Falls! (American side of course.) Oh and look at the flow rate of the water!!! AMAZING. We talked to Katherine about how much it was and she could not believe it! She said "That would be like a TON of milk cartons! EVERY SECOND!"

Huge drop with buildings in Canada in background. Remembered I had my better zoom lens so got it out to play some. :)

Looking upstream from Horseshoe Falls. 

On my cell phone I got pictures of the kids getting sprayed by the water. The spray was a lot more over at Horseshoe Falls! I had to step back after a couple pictures to clean my water and camera from the water. I did not really care to go get soaked. It was cool and starting to get dark so we headed back.

The stopped and played in some leaves while I finished talking pictures (and took a picture for a tourist couple). Then we headed on our way again. They kept seeing little squirrels all over and I got this picture of one.

At this point it was getting too dark to get pictures of the Falls, but it was beautiful at dusk!

If you get the chance to go it is worth it, but I highly recommend good walking shoes. If you have a choice summer is the best time to go. We spent a lot more time there than we thought it would be, but it was really nice. Going in summer and doing the optional tours would be cool, but if you do plan on it taking most of a day! During higher tourist times they have more "snack" stands (which we could not have done anyway) and of course more things to do. It is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, all year!

Aquarium of Niagara

We wanted to make more stops on the way home and had talked about stopping at Niagara Falls so we were looking to see what was in the area that we could do with the kids. We found that there is an aquarium very close to Niagara Falls State Park (btw that post will be next!).

On the walkway to go into the aquarium is a Harbor Seal area.

After we got in the kids see penguins! They have wanted to see penguins, but our zoo no longer has them (at least for now).

Katherine comparing her height to an Emperor Penguin.

This aquarium had Humbolt Penguins.

One very cool thing they had (that I wish our zoo would do) is they had an Audiocast where you could just use your cell phone and get more information on the animals! You can actually call this number and be able to hear the presentation! Go ahead and try it and learn more about the Humbolt Penguins.

Katherine identified this fish herself (before we got to the sign!). It is a Dragon Fish. She also asked that I take a picture of it for her. So here you go!

Poison Arrow Dart Frogs - The aquarium had 3 varieties. I also learned that in captivity they are NOT poisonous. Talked to the kids about why they would be highly poisonous in the wild and not captivity... They got the correct answer very quick - diet!

Green Poison Dart Frog

Bumblebee Poison Dart Frog

This is from the second story seal viewing area. It made me nervous to have the kids up there, especially Isabelle! It was a sunk in area right over the water, that only had 2 rails keeping you from going over. Isabelle kept wanting to climb to get to the water! We moved on quickly to the other displays.

They had several presentations on anatomy and lifecycle of different animals. (I have a lobster and life cycle of a leopard frog if anyone needs them!) The kids loved the sea lion skeleton and asked that I get pictures of it.

On to next adventure - Niagara Falls State Park!

Visit to Cider Mill and Winery in New York

Sorry for those wanting pictures of the Family Farm. I have gotten TONS of pictures in the past and did not think to get some this time, until after we left. But I did get some other cool places!

On the last full day we were there we went to the Cider Mill. We went in to see the pressing and I took pictures - only to realize a few minutes later that my SD card WAS NOT IN THE CAMERA! OH NO!!! I was so bummed! Then I remembered it was in my laptop - which was in the VAN! Ran and got the SD card (well as much as I can run pregnant with asthma! LOL) but the press had broken and they were still working on it.

There is an absolutely beautiful waterfall behind the mill - which is the main thing that I remembered from going before (when Katherine was about the age Isabelle is now!).

Kids at Waterfall. Joseph and Isabelle were not so sure about the waterfall. Liked looking at it but did not want to go close enough to railing where I could get a good picture. Joseph finally did though.

This is what is left after pressing the apples.

Interesting information about apples! See we learn where ever we go! :)

The next day we did a tour of Casa Large Winery (and Robert did a tasting). We talked about the similarities and differences between making apple juice and cider vs. Grape Juice and Wine. Oh and learned how red grape juice and wine get their color! After pressing the juice out it is the same color as those from green grapes. They add the skins back into the mixture and let it set there (usually about a week) and it gets the coloring from the skins! Sorry no pictures from winery. :( They gave the kids and I samples of the grape juice. So wish I could have bought some of their juice! They had bottles from a coop, but theirs tasted SO MUCH sweeter.

Robert has wanted to go to Casa Larga for so long now so glad we were driving and could go. (Robert, his dad, and I also toured a few smaller wineries closer to where his family lives earlier in the week - I was designated driver for a little bit.)