Day 10 - heading home...

On day 10 we started home.  My Aunt and Uncle have a place in Chitaugua, NY so we stopped in to see their place and to have lunch with them.  Then we drove some more before stopping for the night.   

Aunt Betty showing Reece the books in the Chitaugua bookstore.

 This is a cottage at Chitaugua Institute where Thomas Edison used to stay.

 This is the biggest house at Chitaugua Institute.  It used to be the owner's home but now is owned by another wealthy family.

 This bridge is called, "Thunder Bridge" because when you ride a bike over the bridge it makes a loud rumbling noise.  My Uncle Sid (who is very funny) told my girls a troll lived under this bridge.  Reece was not sure whether to believe him or not.  We had to check it out.

Driving over the New River Gorge.  It was a beautiful night in the mountains.

Day 9 in Toronto, Canada...

On Day 9 we headed up to Toronto, Canada.  We toured the city, went up in the tallest observation tower in the world (CN Tower), played on a neat bridge and had a good lunch.  We finished our day by heading back to Buffalo and eating at an amazing wings place called, Duffs.  It was by far the best wings I have EVER had, even better than Anchor Bar.  And we had dessert at our favorite custard place, Anderson's Custard.  

This is a view from the CN Tower

 We could not get over how huge Toronto is, much larger than Atlanta.  There were buildings as far as you could see. 

This is a view of the financial district (all the big buildings to the right).

There was a glass floor in the tower that you could stand on and look down 113 stories.  The girls thought this was very fun and enjoyed walking on the small metal beams in between the glass.  When you walked on the metal beams it felt like you were walking a tight rope with nothing underneath you.  It really freaked me out and the girls thought it was very funny.

 Regan is dragging me out onto the glass window because I did not want to go.

 Reece and Riley decided to show me it was not scary by doing handstands while they looked straight down.

 This is a view of the tower from the ground.

 This was a neat "wave bridge."  The girls LOVED this bridge and played about 30 minutes on it and then we had to come back later in the day to play on it again.  You could run up and down it and slide down on the wood sides.

Tony caught me trying to run up the slope.  It was very difficult, it is steeper than it looks in this photo.

 So, I caught Tony running down and he almost busted on his behind.

 The girls figured out the wood sidings were very smooth and slick.  They enjoyed sliding down them.

 Roger's Baseball Stadium

 The best wings ever are located in this hole in the wall restaurant!!!!

 Anderson's Custard - Yum!

 The girls enjoying their Anderson's Custard.

It was a pretty night!

Day 8 in Niagara Falls...

On Day 8 we saw the Niagara River Rapids, the town of Niagara on the Lake, Lake Ontario, Welland Lockes, IMAX theatre of Niagara Falls, The Dare Devils museum of Niagara Falls, swam in our hotel pool and saw the Falls at night with the lights.  It was a fun and busy day. 

In front of class 6 rapids at Niagara River.

Very rough rapids!

The girls at Lake Ontario. 

When we were walking in the town of Niagara on the Lake we saw the girls holding hands.  This is a rare occasion and I thought it was so sweet. 

A view of the town, Niagara on the Lake, it had great shops and places to eat.

This was a neat cafe with beautiful flowers. 

Fort Niagara in the distance.

We got to see Welland Lockes.  I have never seen a locke before and never really understood the concept (since I am a visual learner) so it was so neat to finally see one and how it operates.  I was fascinated by the whole process as you can see with all the photos but the kids....well not so much.  They were bored after about 10 minutes.  This photo is of the locke filling up so a boat can depart.

The large barger in the distance is what we watched go through the locke.

Here the walls of the locke are closing so water can be added.

Four small boats were in the locke now while it is filling up with water.

And now the locke is full and the 4 boats are about to depart.

A pretty shot of the American Falls.

This is Regan standing in front of the barrel that a female teacher used to go over the falls.  This teacher was the first person to go over the falls in a barrel that survived! 

Regan disappeared....

The Falls at night...

This is in the heavily commercialized area of Niagara on the Canada side.  Regan wanted to get her photo taken with the talking King Tut.

This is the big Ferris Wheel on the Canada side.  We did not go on it but thought it was pretty at night.

Day 7 in Niagara Falls, NY...

After we left Grandma and Grandpa's we headed up to Niagara Falls.  We stopped on the way to see where Tony was born and the house he lived in as a baby.  Then, we did the "Cave of the Winds" tour and the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride in Niagara and we also viewed the Falls from the American side on Goat Island.  We finished off our day at the "Anchor Bar and Grill - Home of the Original Buffalo Wings- in Buffalo for dinner.  And went and saw where Tony lived when he was a toddler.  It was a very fun day and we had great weather.

 Here is the cottage Tony lived in as a baby.  

 Getting ready for our "Cave of the Winds" tour.

 "Cave of the Winds" walks you right up to the Falls and you get pretty wet.  It was amazing to see the Falls so close and to see the power of the rushing water over the Falls.  Breathtaking!!!

 I am at the top of this deck, "Hurricane Deck" getting drenched.  The girls did not want to join me up here.  This deck is right below the "Bridle Veil Falls."

The girls on Goat Island with the "Horseshoe Falls" behind them.

 Looking down on the "Bridal Veil Falls" and "Cave of the Winds."  There was a beautiful rainbow in the mist of the Falls. 

 A view of the American Falls going over....

A pretty view of Niagara River before the Falls.

 Getting ready to ride the "Maid of the Mist"

A view of the American Falls from the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride.

Anchor Bar and Grill

This was the house Tony lived in as a toddler.