A Quick Stop at Niagara Falls

As we drove back to Chicago, we thought we'd take a few hours to check out Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls is broken out in to four separate regions, but we opted to just visit the actual Falls--American Falls and Horseshoe Falls.

First we took a trolley around the State Park, which was pretty lame, particularly when our driver decided to get off and chat with drivers of other trolleys for 13 minutes. And it probably would have been a longer stop had Matt not gotten off and given a silent 30-yard glare at the state employees.

We then headed on over to a boat ride to get up close and personal to the Falls. First on the Observation Tower:



A quick pic of the Rainbow Bridge which connects New York, USA to Ontario, Canada:



And then on the Maid of the Mist boat tour:
(see video below)



Our journey was complete after a visit to the souvenir shop for a tree ornament (my choice) and a magnet (Matt's choice):

Road Trip

We headed Eastbound toward New England to visit Matt's family on Wednesday.

Matt and I debated the best strategy to conquer this thousand-mile journey with two five-year olds.

We opted to start our drive only a couple hours before the kids' bedtime, which allowed us to cover almost 500 miles without needing to give much attention to the kids.

About an hour away from Erie Pennsylvania we called a couple of hotels and chose to rest for a few hours at a Marriot TownePlace Suites. The kids woke up as we carried them to the room, and they started to explore and enjoy the hotel room equipped with a galley kitchen.

Our son proceeded to ask at least a dozen questions, including if the refrigerator had a butter dish, before they drifted off to sleep, looking mighty cozy with their fluffy white pillows and down comforter. It was actually a really nice room, very clean, nicely decorated, and comfortable. Too bad we were there for less than nine hours to enjoy it!

Then we were off on the road again, with next 5o0 miles not as quiet as the first. (see video below)