Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls
12/01/11
43 05.00 N 79 04.00 W

Don and I invited ourselves to Dick's apartment for breakfast, Fran cooks an amazing breakfast that only the Americans can do justice to and we enjoyed every mouthful ...  our hire car is a little embarrassing - it resembles a black jelly bean with its head cut off - I didn't know they made such small cars.  It is a two door vehicle and does have a back seat but we need to push the front seats back against the back seat in order to get our legs inside the cavity therefore the back seat is useless!!!  It looks a little ridiculous when next to a typical big American pick up truck. The tiny Fiat 500 drives very well and hugs the slippery freeway at 70mph surprisingly easily, of course for fuel economy and parking it makes the gas guzzling pickups look a bit ridiculous ! We both became quite attached to the little black bug - it would fit nicely on the back of our boat!!

We left Portsmouth in the rain which gradually became heavier and heavier for our first stop - the historical Church of St Lukes.  It is the oldest existing church of English foundation in America and the nation's only surviving Gothic building   "Old Brick Church" is dated to 1632.  Whilst I had visited St Lukes previously, I wanted Don to experience the peacefulness and serenity of the Church and its graveyards - unfortunately the Church was undergoing restoration and the colourful tarps, scaffolding, muddy men yelling and machinery noise did not support my claims of a little peace of heaven.  Don (still being allergic to rain) hid under the trees whilst I yelled and pointed encouraging him to see and feel the beauty surrounding us.



After leaving St Lukes we drove east toward the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley (remember Take Me Home Country Roads – John Denver !). Unfortunately were a couple weeks too late to see the spectacular fall (autumn) leaves – they were all pretty much lying on the ground now. However the views along the ridge top Skyline Drive were spectacular looking across to the Chesapeake on one side and down into the Shenandoah Valley on the other. There are many historic locations along this route from the Civil War and it was a shame to pass by all this history without stopping to do it justice.

Up early the following morning with 9 hrs of driving ahead of us we stoked up on free strong black coffee and we were off.   We headed northeast through West Virginia and then into Pennsylvania. After a few hours we found a McDonalds for breakfast - I can almost hear the sighs of disgust but their yogurt parfait and oatmeal are not too bad - anyway Americans are the most friendly people on this earth (or so I have found) and a local felt he needed to offer advice to the travelers and explained in great detail the route to Niagara Falls - apparently there had been an accident involving a black bear on a highway junction, the bear being injured but not killed, the highway patrol were out hunting for the bear and roads closed.

The weather continued to deteriorate as we drove into the higher elevations  of the Appalachian Mountains hail then sleet then snow.  I was checking out the buttons on the console of the car and pushed a button to see what would happen - a short time later my bottom became warm and continued to heat up until I could barely sit on the seat, I wondered if I had had some unmentionable accident and whether I should mention it to Don or not. I had discovered electrically heated seats ! - Ohh was it wonderful - from that time onwards my little button was continually pushed.  What an amazing invention - we definitely need this in Tasmania!!  I wonder if they have seat coolers for the hotter climates.

 As we drove then drove it became very clear which States put road maintenance high on the priority list and which think it is unnecessary - one road was a mere bumpy goat track.  Hail, snow and sleet accompanied us for the next four hours, but it was beautiful from the comfort of a heated car.

We arrived in Niagara Falls to a chilly 31 degrees Fahrenheit - for those who do not know how to convert just know it means freezing (literally)!!
We entered our room, put all the clothes we brought with us (not nearly enough – we had neglected to check on what temperatures to expect) on our backs and ventured out to find the falls in the dark.  We were not disappointed - they are magnificent and were lit up with colored lights - not my idea of beautifying a natural wonder but I am sure most people think it is pretty.  Apparently during the night and tourist “off season" up to 50% of the water is diverted to make electricity so what we were seeing was probably a fraction of the normal fall.  It was definitely “off season” we were the only ones wandering around by the falls at night and our 5 floor hotel only had 1 floor operational at this time of year.

We walked until we could no long feel our toes and fingers then stopped for dinner at TGI Fridays (an iconic USA chain restaurant). Waitresses in USA are generally unbelievably polite and friendly - sometimes to the extent that you feel like offering them a higher tip if they leave you alone to eat - this one was bubbly, friendly and helpful - such a thoughtful girl.  We were escorted to a booth which had sides taller than our standing height and seating for at least 8 people - I thought that was a little strange as there were many tables vacant which sat 2 or 4 people.  Her first comment to me was to give very detailed instructions to the ladies restroom - by now I was insulted.  After assuring her I did not need to use these facilities she left - I asked Don if my nose was on backwards or if I had hair like an electrified duster and he assured me in complete truth and honesty that I looked wonderful, pretty, attractive etc - I swear I will never allow him to get glasses.  Anyway the food was ordinary and the tip very small.

We spent the following day walking around the falls - they are amazing and I am so glad we made the effort to see them.  The sun peaked out for a while and the snow stopped - a perfect day.

Our trip home included Annapolis - a beautiful quaint port town on the Chesapeake where you could explore for days.  The US Naval Academy is housed in Annapolis down by the river - we spent many hours walking through their grounds and visiting the buildings - their museum alone would take days to do it justice. Once again is was enlightening to have such free and easy access to such an institution.

We stopped at historic Williamsburg during the return trip - Williamsburg is a tourist "must", an historic town with working stores, period costumes, horses and carriages etc - a wonderful place.