Like little kids at Christmas, their eyes get glazed over and they start making a list of all the things they want to buy while they are there. Things that you can't buy anywhere else in the country. What you ask would these items be? Pretzels. Cheese steaks. Rolls. Yes I know what you are thinking, but I humor them. They are so cute when they get excited!
They also get to shop at their favorite store. Wegmans Grocery Store. We weren't expected to arrive into our campground until the next day so we took our time in Pennsylvania. Most importantly at Wegmans. I tried to surprise Joe and Tina and asked the manager about boon docking in Wegmans parking lot! Unfortunately that was not to be. So we finished our shopping and were in hunt of a Home Depot. Why? The temperature had dropped and we only had heat in one end of the camper;( So we needed to buy a portable heater for the front.
We ended up boon docking on the New York Interstate. Yes on the Interstate. As soon as we drove through the toll both we pulled off to the side of the road, along with several other big trucks. We were lulled to sleep by the constant rumbling of motor vehicles and trucks driving by us through the night.
We awoke to a dreary cold day. It was a driving day so that wasn't so bad. Driving through Western New York was beautiful. We passed some great old farms and farm stands selling pumpkins! Hard to believe fall was here already! This summer went by so fast........
We set up our camp, did laundry and decided to check out the downtown.
It looked like we were on the ocean, not Lake Ontario!
While driving around we came upon the National Shrine Basilica “Our Lady of Fatima”. We took a self guided tour of the grounds and the chapel. It was amazing. Started in 1954 with a donation of 15 acres of land, the Barnabite Fathers, from Italy, conceived the idea to have a devotional center in honor of Our Lady of Fatima. Welcoming people to come and be refreshed.
Besides the shrines and the Temple, there was an Avenue of the Saints with over 130 life size statues representing the saints from every race and walk of life.
By the time we made it back to camp it was getting dark and the wind coming off of Lake Ontario was brutally cold. So needless to say Tina, Gabe and I watched Joey through the camper window while he cooked our dinner on the grill. We couldn’t not watch him and talk to him through the window, that would have been rude and thoughtless.
The next day we were headed to Niagara Falls, on the US side and then crossing over the boarder into Canada. We had our passports with us on this trip for the possibility of crossing the boarder! We weren't sure where we were going to end up!
Originally we were going to drive the camper across and stay on the Canada side. But we had our handgun with us, which would of been an issue. Canada doesn't allow you to have guns, regardless if it is legal. We weren't going to take that chance. Plus we had our cat. Gabe had the fear of being told that cats weren't allowed to cross into the country and we would have to leave him:( No matter what research we found on the contrary, Gabe was to nervous. So ultimately we decided to just drive the car across.
Everyone knows about Niagara Falls. About the grandeur of it. The awe of the water falls. And of course the Maid of the Mist ferry ride. You could see it from the United States and from Canada.
To say it wasn't what we expected would be an understatement.
On our way there we drove through Little Italy, passed some really cool old buildings and saw the homeless people waiting to get into the local coffee shop.....
We found a metered parking spot a short walk to the entrance of the park. Thankfully it was on the road so we didn't have to pay the parking fee up to $15.00 per car in the car lots.
First thing we see as we round the corner.......A big eye sore:(
An old hotel looking building that they converted into a shopping mecca, complete with cafeteria down stairs with fast food stations and souvenir stores scattered through out on the second floor. That was it, reminded me of a discount store in the city.
This was great to see!
The prices were higher than you would normally see in stores,
but to have items made in the America you have to pay
more. Its worth it to keep the work here.
There were souviner tables set up along the entire block heading to the park entrance.....I felt like I was in Cozumel and just got off of the cruise ship.....people pushing for you to buy their cheap knock offs.
There were tour buses everywhere. We were surrounded by more non english speaking people than any where we have been on our trip through the entire United States!
There was a small welcome center, over crowded with tourist and not so clean, we quickly walked through it to get to the other side.
The rush of water was amazing......it flowed by us and towards the falls.....
Doesn't seem right that you have to pay to get a good vantage point to see the falls here in the United States when it is free in Canada!
It was time to head across the boarder to Canada.....
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