Eastern Seaboard Vacation 1
For our second trip of the summer season, Darwin and I decided to go to Cape Cod and Boston.
Actually, =he= decided to go to Boston. I said we should also visit Cape Cod/Provincetown while we're out there, since P-Town is a Big Gay Mecca. He agreed.
We drove it, and decided rather than do a single 15-hour drive, we'd break it in half. I pushed to stop at Niagara Falls, since neither of us has been there. Darwin wasn't enthusiastic, but finally went along with it. Our plan was to stop there for a few hours, then continue a little farther west and overnight in Rochester, New York.
After many hours of driving, we hit the town of Niagara Falls, and we were both startled and disappointed. The town was seedy, run-down, and just . . . crappy. Abandoned houses, boarded-up businesses, long lines of dull strip malls. This was the city in charge of a world-famous natural wonder?
It took some finagling, but we got to the national park with the falls in it. In this section things were rather better kept up. We stopped at a visitor's center to get basic information, then drove across the river to the island. The river splits around the island, you see, and creates two sets of falls on either side of it. It cost only $10 to park, a pleasant surprise. We were expecting either a stiff parking fee or orders to park far away and take an annoying shuttle bus.
The island itself was an unexpected wonder. Photos of the falls always concentrate on the waterfalls, but never on the surroundings. The island is resplendent with trails that take you past stunning little rapids and delightful tiny waterfalls that ring the island. I was surprised at how shallow the river is--between knee and ankle deep in most places. But make no mistake--if you set foot in that river, it would sweep you away in an instant. Flocks of water birds sit in the river paddling like mad to stay in place. A big bunch of them sat on warily a shelf of rocks just upstream from the main event as if saying, "Nope nope nope! We saw what happened to Fred, and this is as close as we're getting." We spent considerable time wandering the island, holding hands and enjoying the loveliness.
And, of course, we saw the Falls. Both sets. Incredible and thunderous and amazing. I took lots of photos, but everyone has seen similar ones, so I won't put them here. (This blog's format makes photos a pain to post anyway.) Far, far, far below we could see tour boats filled with raincoated tourists edging close to the falls, but we didn't indulge. Darwin said he was very glad we stopped.
Oh--and there was History. You can see the old power plants and the site of the cabin built by the first white inhabitant of the area. He became a hermit and spent his days painting in the early 1800s.
We decided to get a late supper at the park's restaurant. The service was lackluster, but the food was wonderful. And the view was spectacular.
At last, we climbed back into the car and wound our way to Rochester, where we checked into a motel for the night, pleased with our trip so far.
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Actually, =he= decided to go to Boston. I said we should also visit Cape Cod/Provincetown while we're out there, since P-Town is a Big Gay Mecca. He agreed.
We drove it, and decided rather than do a single 15-hour drive, we'd break it in half. I pushed to stop at Niagara Falls, since neither of us has been there. Darwin wasn't enthusiastic, but finally went along with it. Our plan was to stop there for a few hours, then continue a little farther west and overnight in Rochester, New York.
After many hours of driving, we hit the town of Niagara Falls, and we were both startled and disappointed. The town was seedy, run-down, and just . . . crappy. Abandoned houses, boarded-up businesses, long lines of dull strip malls. This was the city in charge of a world-famous natural wonder?
It took some finagling, but we got to the national park with the falls in it. In this section things were rather better kept up. We stopped at a visitor's center to get basic information, then drove across the river to the island. The river splits around the island, you see, and creates two sets of falls on either side of it. It cost only $10 to park, a pleasant surprise. We were expecting either a stiff parking fee or orders to park far away and take an annoying shuttle bus.
The island itself was an unexpected wonder. Photos of the falls always concentrate on the waterfalls, but never on the surroundings. The island is resplendent with trails that take you past stunning little rapids and delightful tiny waterfalls that ring the island. I was surprised at how shallow the river is--between knee and ankle deep in most places. But make no mistake--if you set foot in that river, it would sweep you away in an instant. Flocks of water birds sit in the river paddling like mad to stay in place. A big bunch of them sat on warily a shelf of rocks just upstream from the main event as if saying, "Nope nope nope! We saw what happened to Fred, and this is as close as we're getting." We spent considerable time wandering the island, holding hands and enjoying the loveliness.
And, of course, we saw the Falls. Both sets. Incredible and thunderous and amazing. I took lots of photos, but everyone has seen similar ones, so I won't put them here. (This blog's format makes photos a pain to post anyway.) Far, far, far below we could see tour boats filled with raincoated tourists edging close to the falls, but we didn't indulge. Darwin said he was very glad we stopped.
Oh--and there was History. You can see the old power plants and the site of the cabin built by the first white inhabitant of the area. He became a hermit and spent his days painting in the early 1800s.
We decided to get a late supper at the park's restaurant. The service was lackluster, but the food was wonderful. And the view was spectacular.
At last, we climbed back into the car and wound our way to Rochester, where we checked into a motel for the night, pleased with our trip so far.
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