The drive to Niagara Falls / Day 1

We got off to a very early start on Sunday morning when we headed out to Niagara Falls. After carefully watching the weather all week I realized that Sunday was going to be our only day without rain so we needed to get there in plenty of time to do all of our outdoor stuff. We aimed for 6:00 a.m. and for once actually left before our scheduled departure time. We pulled out of our driveway at about 5:50 a.m. It's roughly a six hour drive but of course we had to stop multiple times for gas and food so it really ended up being more like 8 1/2 hours.

We drove about an hour before stopping in Western Mass for breakfast at Denny's. The service was quick and we were back on the road in under 30 minutes. We then stopped for lunch a few hours later in New York. We were incredibly happy to find an Arby's since Lincoln and I both love it but we don't really have them around us. We had no trouble getting over the Canadian border and we were at our hotel shortly after 2:30 p.m.

Part of our reasoning (read: justification) for taking this trip was as a "warm-up" for our drive to Iowa this July. The last (and only) time we drove to Iowa was two summers ago and the kids did great. Jake would have been two then. I think we're discovering that four is going to be a whole lot harder. First of all, he's harder to keep entertained. Second of all, he can't sit still. Third of all, THE KID NEVER SHUTS UP!!!!!!!!!! Man alive is he a talker. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. About NOTHING. And if he's not talking, which would be never, he's humming, clucking, singing, laughing, or making some other random noise with his mouth. (Yes, I did say clucking.) It definitely has given us insight into what we're going to need to do in order to survive the long drive to Iowa. Duct tape is the first thing that comes to mind. Drugging him is number 2. Maxing out our credit cards in order to fly is next in line.

We all managed to survive and arrived at our hotel in one piece. We are staying at the Marriott Fallsview and booked the Kids Love Niagara Falls package. It comes with two nights, a $75 voucher for dinner in the hotel restaurant, free breakfast each morning, four tickets to an IMAX movie about Niagara Falls, four tickets to the Sky Wheel, and 20 arcade tokens all for $400. We had originally booked a room with two queen beds and a fireplace which would have put us somewhere on floors 21-23. When we checked in though they told us there was a leak on the upper floors and that the water would be shut off on Monday from 12 noon to 5 p.m. We could choose to stay up there or they would put us in a suite on a lower floor. Both rooms have great views of the Falls. We ended up with a suite on the 9th floor and it has definitely been a better deal. While the fireplace would have been nice we now have a living room with french doors that close. Last night while the kids slept in the bedroom Lincoln and I watched TV in the living room. Right now I'm typing away while Lincoln reads on the bed and the kids are watching a movie in the living room. Oh yeah, that was the other thing that came with the room.....a free movie, popcorn, and gummy bears.

After we got checked in yesterday we headed over to the Sky Wheel. It's a large ferris wheel on steroids with climate controlled, entirely enclosed gondolas with a great view of the Falls. After that we did a little shopping and played some mini-golf. After a little more strolling around and shopping we headed back for dinner. We ate at The Keg on the 9th floor of the neighboring hotel and had a wonderful dinner overlooking the Falls.

It was a wonderful first day.