Kayla and I in Niagara Falls, Canada
Riding Maid of the Mist into the water fall!
Here's the whole gang at Niagara Falls
What an absolutely fun day it was today! We got into Buffalo, New York this morning after a nice long night train; some kids sleep well, some kids don't sleep at all. We took a bus to Niagara Falls and put our bags in the hotel (but way too early to check into the hotel). We walked (of course) to the falls and the surrounding sites. We took a boat right into the middle of the water falls and everyone got so wet! It was wonderful and breath taking and so exhilarating! Then, to get even closer to the huge water falls, we took an elevator to the bottom of the falls and walked on wooded walkways built right next to the water falls. The kids actually got to almost stand under the falls. They were absolutely soaked! It was great fun!
Kayla and I shared an oatmeal from Starbucks for breakfast, then had a hamburger from a stand for lunch at the water fall. Dinner was a pizza and chicken wings party at the swim pool at the hotel. Everyone was famished and ate like horses, but the pizza kept coming and coming until everyone was full. But the day is not over yet! We met in the lobby at 8:00 for those of us who could go to Canada. The kids from Africa and South America could not go without special visas. Most of the kids from Europe went. The ones from Japan were too tired. I was a bit nervous about going over without my passport to reenter, but I had called the border and they said I could use my military ID. So I went with Kayla. As you leave the US side, a sign says "If you go through this turnstile, you will be leaving the USA and may not reenter without proper ID such as....". It didn't say military ID alone would be OK, but the guy on the phone did, so I went anyway, hoping for the best and that some nice guy would let us back into our lovely country. We were only there for a couple of hours, but it was so much fun and very busy. July 1st is Canada's July 4th, so there was fireworks, and lots of people. The streets were lit up with all kinds of fun places to visit and shop and see. It was a real visual treat and a very fun two hours. We went to Planet Hollywood, the Hershey Store, Coca Cola Store, the Harley Davidson Store, a DQ for ice cream, and then just took some crazy fun photos.
We needed to get back to the hotel for our 11:00 deadline, so we left at 10:30. We didn't get a very nice border agent and he wasn't happy at all that Kayla and I didn't have our passports. Our Military ID didn't show our place of birth....but all ended well as I was able to convince him we were truly Americans. After quizzing Kayla and I separately about where and when we were born and what our names were, and who Kayla's parents were, he said they cannot deny Americans into their own country, so we were free to enter the United States of America. Next time I will bring my passport just to make things easier. I am very glad Kayla got the experience of going to Canada. In fact, she is having lots of new experiences and making some great memories. She is starting to hang out with me a bit more, but is still doing her best hanging out with these older kids. She is learning a lot, and this has been a wonderful experience for us both.
Tomorrow we are boarding another all-day train to Boston. We leave about 8:40 AM and get to Boston about 9 PM. We are staying at a hostel there in Boston for the 4th of July. We will be having breakfast (cereal and bananas), lunch (soup and nutella on bread) and dinner (same as lunch) on the train. I look forward to reading more of my book on the train tomorrow. I am half way through Clive Cussler's "Inca Gold". Until tomorrow....
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