Homeward Bound by Way of Niagara Falls
Our family vacation this fall break was more about the journey than the destination, although we stopped at some amazing places. If you missed the first half of our trip, you can read more here. Thankfully when we left Boston, we didn't leave our family as they traveled with us to our next destination!
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DAY 6: Traveling to Niagara Falls
My parents always dreamed of going to Niagara Falls for their 40th anniversary. Sadly, my dad passed away suddenly during their 36th year of marriage. This weekend marked the 11th anniversary of his passing, and finally my mom was getting to see the destination of her dreams.
Monday morning, we woke up early again excited to get on the road. I had the little girls in the car with me and we had fun listening to The Princess Test and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Since it is apple picking season, we found an orchard along the way to stop and pick apples. Jason had never been apple picking, so he was thrilled to go.
Because of our long stop, we didn't make it to Niagara Falls before dark, so we had to patiently wait another day to see the falls. We found a hotel deal on Groupon which made our stay affordable. The deal gave us some vouchers the restaurant in the hotel: Denny's. We were pleasantly surprised by the great service and fresh food. After a quick swim, we all went to bed eager for the morning fun.
DAY 7: Niagara Falls
Our hotel was within walking distance of the falls, so we geared up to go view the falls and find our way to the Maid of the Mist to get a better view of the falls.
The view was breathtaking and we were all overwhelmed by its majesty.
Since we didn't all have passports, we just stayed on the American side of the falls. We must be easy to please, because we were in awe of the view we had and enjoyed the beautiful views of the rapids and the falls from the American side.
DAY 8: Back to Nashville
Somehow I kept getting thrown off by my map skills and the way they translated the time change. I thought it was a little over 11 hours from Niagara Falls to Nashville, but it was actually 12 because the GPS factored in the hour saved by going west. This was probably the hardest leg of the drive for my husband and I, but the kids slept most of the way, so they didn't mind! We tried to listen to Billy Budd, Sailor which is our next book for Challenge I, but both my son and I fell asleep. We should have listened on the way there!
Thankfully we were warmly welcomed by family and enjoyed an evening catching up again. It is such a blessing to see them all.
DAY 9: Making it All the Way Home
The final leg of the trip was the easiest to wake up for since we felt like we were an hour ahead. We went back to our audio books to make the journey more enjoyable. We listened to Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart, the beginning of Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue, and we finally finished Mary Slessor.
Trip summary:
4,000 miles
14 states
8 audio books
Best trip ever!
Betsy Strauss is an unexpected homeschooler, mother of three, who is in a relationship with a sweet man for life. She loves reading books, drinking coffee, and learning anything with her kids.