Day 4

"But the most beautiful things in life are not things. They're people, and places, and memories, and pictures. They're feelings and moments and smiles and laughter." - Anonymous

After a very decent night's sleep and a MUCH better breakfast than the day before, we walked back to Niagara State Park to see the falls during the day. We were not disappointed. Went on the Maid of the Mist boat tour (I recommend the top deck and a spot that you can grab the side - the boat rocks... a lot). If you don't want the entire front of your shirt soaked, wear the hood portion of the poncho lol.

We took in the amazing views and did the short hike up the side of the falls after the boat tour.

And then we did a whole lot of nothing. Went out for lunch at "Good Tymes South", a local establishment, and checked in to our new fancy hotel across from the airport. Worth the extra money. We have a Junior Suite with two separate areas to fit all of us. And the pool was completely ours for three hours straight.

                                                     
Ordered entirely too much pizza for dinner - something I don't think I've ever said before. We even have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Leftover. Pizza. Something new on every trip lol. It was a needed down day: Grandma and Abe leave early tomorrow, and the rest of us are venturing into the wild for the next three nights. In theory. One night of nothing seemed to be just what we needed. I was able to do some laundry and get organized for the next few days with a Plan A, B, and C.

Today's Totals:
34 miles
$394

Today's Song: Lil Nas X - "Old Town Road" See this kid for why that is the song today:

Today's Lessons:
1. We may miss making jokes about box wine and butt wipes, as Grandma will be taking them with her. Butt wipes: Not just for butts.
2. Sometimes it takes a day of nothing to get in some great, much needed conversations.
3. The falls were a completely different experience during the day.

Tomorrow we part ways with some of our group, and the rest of our journey continues into Vermont. We are hoping the weather cooperates so we are able to do some fun activities on our list. We won't be seeing another hotel until Sunday night... Be prepared for some camping food pics and hopefully some wilderness adventures. 🎈

Day 3

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." - J.R.R. Tolkien

I attempted an alarm this morning... and after several snooze taps, several being about 8, we started moving. Slowly. Some a little more slowly than others. Breakfast was lacking - the included meal with the room didn't include much aside from frozen waffles that you had to toast yourself. That on top of the pool being down? Not a great choice for a hotel, but choices were limited. And hey, I got one room for free. We packed up and headed back into Cuyahoga Valley to do the Ledges Hike.
Lots of wandering off the path on this one! Even Grandma wandered with us 😁

We headed to Niagara Falls after our hike - not a terrible drive. Driving times have been manageable, and the kids have been content as a result. We checked into a MUCH better hotel, got adjoining rooms (which has worked out great so far).

The boys headed to the pool, Charlie and I went to do a workout, and Hayden finished watching another Tarantino movie (Inglorious Basterds). We were intending on Rainforest Cafe for dinner, but a 30-40 min wait at 7p wasn't happening, so we walked over to the Hard Rock instead. After one hilarious meal (See lesson #1), we walked to the Falls to see the night view. And despite numerous protests about the rain coming, we stayed for the fireworks, and only got slightly rained on. Worth it. 

Today's Totals:
277 miles
$481 (ouch, but planned for it)
1 State Park

Today's Song: per Hayden request, BROCKHAMPTON - "SWIM"

Today's Lessons:
1. Grandma tried to turn water into wine at dinner. We are not allowed back at Hard Rock Cafe as a result. Please feel free to consult this woman for the whole story:

2. 7 yr olds will tell the truth - whether you want them to or not.
3. After numerous attempts at packing/repacking over the last few days, I have finally found the best tetris formation for all of our stuff - AND I can see out of the back of the car now.

Tomorrow we will be going back to the falls for some daytime viewing and then headed to Buffalo for the night - close to the airport because Grandma and Abel will be headed there VERY early Thursday morning for their flight. At some point I'm going to worry about the lack of reservations for the rest of the trip, but probably not until tomorrow😅🎈

Day 2

"We can never have enough of nature."- Henry David Thoreau

Let's see if I'm still thinking that by the last day of this trip, haha!

Today I woke up at 5am because I heard the wind change and thought for sure we were about to get rained on, with all of our tent windows open. Luckily, there was no rain headed our way. For awhile. By the time I woke up for real (7:30) my weather app showed rain in 45 min. With hotels in line for the next few nights, I did not have any desire to pack up wet tents/gear in the rain. Thankfully, the kids are now professionals and we had both tents, all gear, and the car completely repacked and ready to go before the rain hit. 👍

We made our way to Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio - a mere 4.5 hr drive. Once there, we grabbed all of the food we were going to have for breakfast and grilled it up for lunch at the park. Lunch being at 3 with the time change.

We then took a gorgeous hike around Brandywine Falls - about 1.4 miles (not too long). We didn't wander off too much for this one, but if we hike tomorrow, I think that will be on our agenda. The kids were itching to rock climb, despite the warnings not to 😳

After the hike we went to the hotel, where I was informed the pool was down. Devastated kids. Hayden and I snuck off while everyone was showering to go get Frosty's to make up for the lack of a pool. The rest of the night was spent relaxing and cooking dinner - walking tacos per Abel request. Looking like an early evening for all of us, which makes me wonder how much sleeping actually went on last night...

(Here we see Hayden in his natural habitat)

Today's Totals:
$197 - a little much for today, but we booked 2 hotel rooms instead of 1, and this includes toll/gas cost.
335 miles
1 National Park

Today's Song: Talking Heads - "Road to Nowhere", because we all laughed when it came on.

Today's Lessons:
1. When properly motivated, the kids can move fast. I'm storing this for future reference.
2. Even if you can't see a stoplight because of a truck that's in front of you, don't assume the light is green - even if that truck goes through it.
3. Double check the amount of gas left in a tank before cooking.

Tomorrow we should be able to get in a hike - a little bit longer of one, but it sounds promising, assuming the weather will hold out (less promising). We then head to Niagara Falls for a couple of nights - looking forward to it! 🎈