Our Friends From Indiana Return For Another Adventure

Watkins Glen, NY (83 degrees,occasional thunderstorms

Our friends from Indiana, Jackie & Kenzie, decided to visit us again.  You might remember that they came to visit last summer when we were camphosts at Sheridan Lake National Forest (near Mt. Rushmore) last summer. 

http://Visit with friends from Indiana

Visit with friends from Indiana continued

Visit with friends from Indiana continued

This time they drove to see us and we’ve called this Jackie and Kenzie’s Big Road Adventure.  They stayed in one of the cute cabins at our campground.  Kenzie really liked sleeping in the bunk bed and enjoyed the front porch swing.  She is now 4 1/2 years old and is so much taller. Her vocabulary has grown tremendously.  She has such a sweet, happy disposition and our visit together was delightful. 

We were able to get a few days off and showed them some of our favorite places.  No visit would be complete without visiting the Glen and the wonderful waterfalls.  We’ve finally had some rain and the falls are flowing so much better now.  It’s a lot of stairs to climb but worth the effort.

Watkins Glen State Park

We enjoyed some fun meals together and ate outside on the picnic table.  That’s always a treat.  A roadside stand provided us with some delicious corn for dinner. It was yummy. 

Kenzie loved the corn on the cob and brats

Kenzie requested a campfire  and we just had to roast some marshmallows. 

Kenzie loved all the activities at the KOA and especially enjoyed the pool and jumping pillow. 

Putt Putt Golf Coarse

Movie in the woods

Jackie and Kenzie also went to the Corning Glass Museum and paid a little extra to make a glass night light and picture frame.  They also enjoyed the Hot Glass demonstration. 

One afternoon we went on a boat sightseeing tour of Seneca Lake and learned a lot about salt mining that has been taking place beneath the waters since the 1800’s. 

Seneca Lake

Driving around the lake is always fun and Kenzie had fun running on the grass at Belhurst’s Castle in Geneva.  .

Belhurst Castle (me, Kenzie, & Jackie)

The time sure went by quickly and there wasn’t very much time for naps.  They are on their way home now with a stop at Niagara Falls.  Please come visit us again soon! 

Exploring the Roar–Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, NY (82 degrees, bright blue skies)

We made a very quick decision and decided to spend a couple of days in Niagara Falls.  The weather was perfect and we had a couple of days off.  It’s been crazy, hectic, and  somewhat stressful recently working at the campground.  July is a busy time for any workamper and with just a little planning and a few phone calls we were off to see the magnificent waterfalls. 

It’s about a three hour drive from Watkins Glen and since we had such a short amount of time off we decided to stay at a bed and breakfast rather than take the motorhome.  The Rainbow House B&B is located on the American side and was highly recommended in our Frommers guidebook.  They had only one room left - the honeymoon suite.  Hmnnnn…sounds perfect and it was reasonably priced.  My parents  spent their honeymoon in Niagara Falls in the early 50’s. 

Rainbow House B&B

The B&B was very nice and the owner has been actively involved with welcoming guests since the early 70’s.  She even has a small wedding chapel. 

Our parents took us here as kids but neither of us remembered much about it.  We had the best time exploring both sides (American and Canadian).  The highlight for us was the Cave of the Winds tour ($11/person) offered by the State Park on the American side.  After putting on a provided raincoat and sandals we were whisked down a elevator to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls.  We walked out onto the Hurricane Deck and were pelted with water and thunderous sound of the falls crashing all around us. 

I loved it! 

We explored the State Park (oldest in the country) and there is a  trolley ($2/per person) that takes you all around with unlimited stops.  It’s a big park and admission is free. 

We saw where the crazy Nik Wallenda crossed directly over the falls on a tight rope from the American to the Canadian side.  The Horseshoe falls is huge and over 675,000 gallons of water go over it every second. 

Horseshow Falls

Later in the day we walked across the Rainbow Bridge and crossed the border into Canada.  This side offers the best views of the falls. 

View of both falls from the Rainbow Bridge

Horseshoe Falls

American Falls

We stayed late in the evening to see the falls illuminated at night. 

Horseshoe Falls

American Falls

The next morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the B&B and went back to the State Park to ride the Maid of the Mist ($14/person).  We had both taken this boat trip as children but it  was fun to go again.  The boat takes you by the American Falls and then heads right for the center of the Horseshoe Falls and stays there for what seems like forever.  What a thrill to see the falls from the base. 

American Falls (view from Maid of the Mist)

Heading to Horseshoe Falls

Afterwards John got a cool picture of me with a rainbow and said that I was his “pot of gold”.  He is my #1 fan.  :)

The owner of the B&B encouraged us to also stop at the Three Sisters Islands.  There are bridges crossing over to each island.  The upper rapids rush quickly past on their way to the Horseshoe Falls.   It would be a great place for a picnic.  

Our visit was refresing in so many ways.  Be sure to add this location to your "to do" list.