Niagara Falls road trip! Part 2

After leaving Ithaca (previous post), we headed towards Niagara Falls, travelling through New York's Finger Lakes region.

Before the trip, I hadn't even known why it was called the "Finger Lakes region."  It's because the area has a bunch of narrow oval lakes, shaped kinda like fingers.

The area is now becoming a famous wine growing area, apparently.  It seems like we passed a sign for a different vineyard every 10 minutes.

We drove past the town of Canandaiuga.  If we go past again, I definitely want to stop by the Sonnenberg Gardens.  I have a soft spot for historic homes and botanical gardens.

NIAGARA FALLS:  Day 1

We reached Niagara Falls, NY, around 3:30 in the afternoon.  We decided our first stop should be the visitor's center.  The thing that surprised us most was that the downtown seemed largely abandoned.  When I think of downtowns, I think of crowded spaces, cars parallel parked along the street, making them narrower, lots of stoplights/signs, lots of one-way streets, lots of pedestrians.  Even in small towns--like here, in University Town, or in Ithaca, or my hometown--and definitely in the downtowns of larger cities, the downtown area followed this general pattern.  Niagara Falls, NY was nothing like that.  It didn't help that the visitor's center was right across the street from a boarded up hotel (click to enlarge):

(courtesy of Wikipedia commons)

We were able to pull up into a space just a block away from the visitor center.  We were one of two cars on the street.  We were wondering if the visitor's center was even open.  It was brand new--the ceiling was unfinished, with missing ceiling tiles, and there was no decor, just plain white floors and walls.  And besides three ladies behind the desk, my husband and I were the only ones there.  There was just one, small, shelf with pamphlets.  Of course, all the maps and such were only for Niagara Falls, NY.  Any area maps for Niagara Falls, ON (Ontario, Canada), were non-existent.

I asked one of the ladies at the desk where the Cave of the Winds (one of the attractions on the NY side) was.   She gave unclear directions and was unable to tell me travel time/distance  (isn't it the point of a visitor information center to know these things?) but did tell me that one of the elevators to the Cave of the Winds was broken, and that the wait in line was about 3 hours.

I was hoping to get across by border by 6 o'clock, so we decided to go first thing in the morning, instead of that evening.  Since we had some time before then, we decided to walk down to the Falls.

It was confusing, since the visitor's center was not shown on the map that I had been given, nor was the map to scale (it was a cartoony park map).  It was also confusing because there was no one around.  No one.  It was alike we were in a ghost town.  Besides the shuttered hotel, we walked past an abandoned shopping center.  We found the intersection where the park should have been, according to the map, but we didn't see an entrance.  We DID see a large 9 story building that had "Gateway to the Falls" in large neon letters--like you would see at a car dealership.  We were skeptical:  it looked like an abandoned office building.  The sides were entirely glass, and did look very nice at first glance.  However, through the glass on the sides, we could see on the upper floors had exposed wiring and parts of the ceiling was falling down.  We didn't know what else to do, so we went in.  It was shelves of cheap souvenirs and a food court.  But at least this was the first place we had been that had a bit of a crowd.

The stairs to the second floor was cordoned off, and there were cardboard cutouts of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe at the top of the steps.  There were signs that said "Observation Tower: Free!", so we got into the elevator for the top floor.  We stepped out onto a bare linoleum space with a few wooden park benches and pay binoculars along the one side.  It was humid and had a strange smell.  My husband said: "It smells like  pee."   We went over to the window to look out, and AH! there was the entrance to the park--it was behind the building!  We quickly went back downstairs and out to the park.

So this was where everyone was!  Surprisingly, there was no admission to the park.  We were able to walk right through the Niagara Falls Park Visitors Center (which was different from the Niagara Falls (city) Visitor's Center, where we were just at) and out the other side to see the water.

Here's a picture of the rapids (for all photos, click to enlarge):

Leading to the American Falls (the skyline in the distance is Niagara Falls, ON):

The drop-off, up close:

It was just awesome.

We were there for a little while.  My husband bought me fruit flavored Dippin' Dots (strange tasting when they were solid, as it melted, the flavors mixed to a nice fruit punch), and we went back to the car, and headed across the border.

It was an easy crossing, fairly quick.  But once we were across the border, it was like night and day.  Niagara Falls, ON was like Disneyland.  The streets were lined with all sorts of shops and restaurants, and there were plenty of people.  As you can see from the skyline in the previous pictures, there was no shortage of hotels and attractions on the ON side.

Our hotel was easy to find.  Check-in was efficient.  Our room was wonderful.  We didn't quite have a "fallsview" room--our room overlooked the rapids and the city, but it was a nice view, nonetheless.  The front desk even called up as we were starting to unpack to make sure we were satisfied with our room.   We stayed at the Doubletree Resort and Spa.  Expedia gave it their "Insider's Select 2010" award.  It definitely lived up to its reputation.

We had reserved a dinner table at a Fallsview restaurant: The Keg at the Embassy Suites.  It was for 8:30pm--they illumiate the Falls starting at 9pm in the summer, and I wanted to catch that moment.  We showered, put on dinner clothes, then walked the few blocks to the Embassy Suites.  I wanted to be extra sure we got a window seat, so we got there early, at 8pm.  To our surprise (it was the week after the 4th of the July--normally one of the busiest weeks of the tourist season), we were seated right away, and at a table next to the window.

This was my view:

That's right...I was seated directly across from the Horseshoe Falls.

There was also the view of the American Falls:

Now see that square glass building with the banners on the side, just left of middle?   Let's zoom in:

And zoom again:

This was the "Gateway to the Falls" that we had gone into earlier--the one with the observation deck that smelled like pee.  Notice the random blackened windows.  Also notice behind it, to the right, the empty parking garage of the shuttered mall.  

But...back to dinner.   Since it was only 8, and we had to have our dinner last to 9, until the lights came on we took our time, ordering everything from appetizer to dessert.

Appetizer: Fried calamari.  (No pic)  It was very lightly breaded (a good thing), and came with two little dishes one of spicy red sauce (Sriracha/Rooster Sauce based?) and one of a ginger sauce.  Yum.

Salad:  Cesar salad, with a fresh lemon wedge!

Entree:  Prime rib, with au jus and horseradish, baked potato, and sautéed mushrooms and broccoli.

It's supposedly Medium Well--they do say that you're supposed to tell by temperature, not by color--but I'm not so sure.  It didn't taste bloody, so I didn't complain.  I quite enjoyed it.  My husband had sirloin steak, which he liked as well.  

Desserts: Brownie sundae (me) and Creme brulee (him)

I had to take half of that brownie home.  

We stayed until after 9:30, I think. I spent most of that entire meal looking out the window.   I don't have pics of the Falls lit up--there was too much glare from the indoor lights on the window.  It was nice, though, watching the colors change. 

There was a lady, going from table to table, carrying a basket of roses.  My husband bought me one.  I thought it was absolutely sweet of him.

We took a short stroll around the hotel area, and saw a raccoon digging around in the grass along the sidewalk.  On the way back, there was a pirate, on stilts, making balloon animals, in front of a seafood restaurant.  We saw a gang of Mennonites.   

It was a fine day.

Niagara Falls road trip! Part 1

A week after I finished my summer class, my husband came to see me, and we went on Summer Road trip 2010!

NEW YORK:  Corning and Ithaca

I felt a little bad because I planned every day in advance: I reserved the hotels ahead of time, picked the restaurants, printed out the routes.  I didn't want to become a micro-manager.  But it all ended all right, and I think, let us be more relaxed for the actual vacation.

It began on a Saturday afternoon. I packed a snack--I even planned the snack: baby carrots, prunes, a lunch cup of mixed fruit--and headed to pick up my husband from the Capitol Airport.  Then it was to the mall in Capitol City to buy him a new pair of shoes (no sales tax on clothing and shoes in my state!).  The store was really neat--specializing in comfort shoes--the saleslady looked like she was a high school student, but she was very friendly and knowledgeable.  And, I got my feet digitally analyzed!

The next day, I finally got to take my husband to the church here, and introduce him to the people I knew.  Sunday was July 4th--so we grabbed my throw blanket, bought some sub sandwiches, and went to the university to sit, have a picnic dinner, and watch the fireworks.

Monday began our trip to Corning, NY.  I had been to the Glass Museum a couple of years before, when my brother had graduated from Cornell, in Ithaca, NY.  I wanted to show the museum to my husband.  They had a new collection from the last time I had visited.  I enjoyed the new collection more than the previous time.  I got a good refresher, and my husband, I think, got a better appreciation of how glass is made.  I would *still* go back again.  Oh, and the Steuben glassware talked about in the TV show Archer on FX--that's made in Corning, NY (and also owned by Corning Inc.).

That night, we stayed in Ithaca, NY, about a 45 min drive away from Corning.  The evening was a little disappointing.

There aren't many places to stay in Ithaca.  I had booked at a Best Western, with a chance to get a queen bed, or a double bed.  When we got there, there were only rooms with double beds available.  It was an older hotel, a little rough around the edges, but comfortable enough.

We had dinner at the Moosewood Cafe.  It was one of the first vegetarian restaurants to open in the 1970's, and I've cooked a couple of recipes from their cookbooks in the past, which I enjoyed.  I was looking forward to going to the place that started it all.  We had a good meal.  But it wasn't anything special, either.  The service was slow.  There were no free refills on anything besides water.  My husband had a Caribbean rice and beans dish.  I had a curry.  It was a little bland for a curry.  The portions were on the smaller side considering the prices.  Both of us cleared our plates.  My husband said he liked the meal, and that it was filling, but that best part was the bread basket (it IS local fresh baked bread).  It wasn't a bad experience, but it was a so-so experience.  I wouldn't recommend a special trip to go there.  I'll just stick to their cookbooks.

I couldn't sleep for part of the night.  I ended up spending a couple of hours surfing the web on my iPhone.

The next day was much better.  We had breakfast at the hotel.  We then drove/walked around the Cornell area of Ithaca a little, and took pictures of the bridges and gorges and waterfalls.

Unfortunately, all I have at the moment is this pic of one of the smaller waterfalls.  This year, there were 6 suicides at Cornell with students jumping off bridges.  The city/school has therefore put tall chain-link fencing around all the bridges.  My camera wouldn't fit through the holes of the chain link to take photos of the larger waterfalls.  My husband has a pocket-sized camera though, and so we did take some photos of the more spectacular falls.  (Though, for your enjoyment, here's a link to Cascadilla Falls)  I just don't have access to them at the moment, since his camera is now back with him in Metro.  

We then visited the Cayuga Nature Center, just outside Ithaca, and their 6 story tree house!  And yes, we took the stairs to the very top.

The nature center also had some live animals--turtles, snakes and lizards indoors.  Outdoors, there some hawks, some peacocks, and a fox.  There were baby peacocks the day we visited.  It was fun seeing them follow their mother around the pen.  

Then, it was to Taughannock Falls, just down the road from the nature center.  The falls are taller by 33 feet than Niagara:

Then before leaving to get back on the road, we lunched at another Ithaca-area hotspot, the Glenwood Pines.  They're known for their Pinesbuger:  A cheeseburger served on french bread, dressed with Thousand Island dressing (instead of mayo or ketchup):

I would say that it was the Best Cheeseburger I Ever Ate.  

Thus started the custom for the rest of the trip, of me sitting in restaurant, next to window on my right side, overlooking the water.  Glenwood Pines feels like it was a converted double-wide.  However, it has a nice patio in the back, and it overlooks Lake Cayuga.  

On to Niagara Falls!

And now I start writing...

I see this as the second phase of my school career:  I will begin to write my dissertation.

Yesterday I was in my office, one of my classmates--we came into the program the same year--came to chat.  One observation: Can you believe that we've been here 3 years already?   I cannot.  The first year here in University Town...it was probably my worst year ever (which brings to mind the last time I said that about a year, my 7th grade year, which at the end, I thought that I wouldn't wish my 7th grade year on my worst enemy....heh, funny how one keeps tracks of years).   I was assured that it would would all pass quickly by my officemate at the time, a girl about to graduate.   Well, they say that the years pass quickly, and it's the hours and the days that last forever.  It was the beginning of my path towards depression.  

The second year was alright.  In fact, I can't really think of anything good or bad to say about it.  One of my friends got married, in the local courthouse, and they had a simple reception at their house afterwards, with food from their favorite Indian restaurant.  They had a magnum of some sort of sparking wine chilling on their porch, an Asti, I think--as I gift, I had brought a bottle of Veuve-Clicquot.  Towards the end of the dinner, they toasted with my stuff.  I wonder now, thinking of it again, if it was rude of me to bring it.  Towards the end of that year, I began to accept that I would be here for the long term, as in really, really accept it.  My depression bottomed out around that time.

And summer before my third year began.  It was a very quiet summer, mostly.  There were trips to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  I had family visit me in University Town for the first time.  I watched the movie Julie and Julia.  I can't remember if I watched it with my husband in person, or if we watched it him at his theater, and me at mine.  I want to say that we watched it together.  In the movie, the protagonist, Julie, takes up blogging.  My husband suggested that I do the same, to give me something to do in University Town.   And so, this blog started.

I think that this blog did keep me sane this year.  School wasn't bad this year.  In the fall, I had two classes that I very much enjoyed.  The first classes the entire time I've been here that I can say that I actually enjoyed.  The spring was hard.  Tough classes, but it kept my mind engaged, and they were both classes that I wanted to take.  Then of course, there was the summer class that I taught!  It was an adventure every day.  I laughed, I cried, and now, it's done, I feel like king of the hill.  And in the winter, when I normally go crazy...I cooked, I photographed, and I blogged.  

So here I am.  Last week I returned from a trip to Niagara Falls.  And now, I'm working on writing my dissertation.

I was on the phone with my husband today.  We joked that in old cartoons and TV shows, the wife would wail "I'm going to go my mother's!"   I pointed out that I would just get on the plane and go back to University Town.  It used to hurt me that I lived here by myself.  It doesn't hurt so much any more.

The penny remains.