Teenage Mutant Backseat Dancers - 11/18 UPDATE! P25 - Leaving on a jet plane

[pkondz]

I'm so sorry I've been absent.

Bad kitty! Bad!

I have surgery tomorrow morning on my right shoulder. I have a calcified tendon and bursitis. Had a cortisone shot which only helped a little bit and not for very long. So my first surgery will be had.

By the time I saw this, you're probably already done.
Hope all went well.
Let us know (when you can) how you're doing.

They want me there at 5:30am!!! Obviously they don't know me. Is anyone even awake at that hour?

Yup.
Me.

I'm frequently up and getting ready to go to work already or...
I'm at work, counting the hours until I get off.

Hysterical beginning to the last chapter. Of course it's completely false but funny all the same.

Glad you liked it.

And yes, I will admit to writing a falsehood.

I wrote that the drive would be nine hours long going through Cleveland.
I didn't include the stop at Rubin's which would actually make the drive
nine hours and six minutes.

Mea culpa.


The rest is all absolutely true.

It was confusing if we should shake hands or hug? It was funny "Hug, shake, hug, shake, ok fine. HUG!

Might've been confusing for you.
I had made up my mind as soon as I knew I was going to meet you.

Not a hugger?

Too bad.

My DSS Kenny can be hilarious at times. When he even talks. Elle was so quiet throughout the whole meal! Dee was more talkative.

That's pretty typical of Elle.
She's gotta warm up to people before she'll open up... and even then,
she probably won't.

And then there was the whole "Separate checks", "No, I'm paying for everyone", "Are you sure?", "Yes just makes it easier" Yeah, right you sneaky devil!

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Probably administered the anesthetic a little early, huh?

Ponzi forget to mention the present he gave me - a bunch of Wonderbars. Of course I only got one, gave one to my DM and DSS had the rest. Pretty sure DH didn't get one.

Why am I not surprised a teenager scarfed down the lot?

All in all it was a great DIS meet. And my first one ever! Hope you come back this way. Cleveland isn't far and not at all out of the way!

It was fun, wasn't it?
Seriously don't know when we'd be back that way again.
If Ruby and I make the drive east, I'll be sure and go that way again.
I'd like her to see the Christmas Story House, too.

 

[orangecats2]

I survived!

 

[mmeb144]

I survived!

Yay! And still can type, if it's short.

 

[Thumper_Man]

You'll shoot your eye out, you'll shoot your eye out!

 

[pkondz]

I survived!

And she lived to tell the tale!
Glad to hear it.

Yay! And still can type, if it's short.

They shortened her arm???!!!

You'll shoot your eye out, you'll shoot your eye out!

Oh no! It was the classic, mother BB-gun block!

 

[orangecats2]

Yay! And still can type, if it's short.

Exactly.

 

[Thumper_Man]

I survived!

Glad to hear you survived. Unlike poor Ralphie. His daddy was going to kill him you know. At least that's what Randy and Elle said hiding under the sink.

I can never for the life of me imagine why Ponzi was going to kill poor Ralphie. I mean after all, that bully had it coming to him.

 

[pkondz]

I can never for the life of me imagine why Ponzi was going to kill poor Ralphie. I mean after all, that bully had it coming to him.

He's just misunderstood.
He's just a poor simple minded lad.


I might be talking about Bunny Boy... :

 

[Thumper_Man]

He's just misunderstood.
He's just a poor simple minded lad.


I might be talking about Bunny Boy... :

Yeah, I never really could understand Bugs Bunny myself. That boy is one wascally wabbit.

 

[MHSweb79]

Just de-lurking to say this report has been de-lightful. I really miss keeping up with Nebo & Smidgy's trip reports and I can tell you his "retirement" has really put a damper on my work day. Now I have to actually, you know, WORK.

Sadly, I have never been to any kind of DIS meet. Just the other day I accidentally found my link to the RI DIS'er thread, only to check it out and discover that they were planning another meet. Which happened. Last Sunday. Arrgh!

I will be at Disney from 9/17-9/23 for my (ok, OUR) 30th anniversary if anyone else will be there. DH is not a DIS-er but he's tolerant, as evidenced by his willingness to don the matching T-shirts (albeit with a few eye-rolls, but we take what we can get.)

 

[pkondz]

Yeah, I never really could understand Bugs Bunny myself. That boy is one wascally wabbit.

Just de-lurking to say this report has been de-lightful.

Hey! Long time no type!
Nice to see you again!

I really miss keeping up with Nebo & Smidgy's trip reports and I can tell you his "retirement" has really put a damper on my work day. Now I have to actually, you know, WORK.

Yeah. I hear ya.
It's just not the same without the big lug around.

Sadly, I have never been to any kind of DIS meet. Just the other day I accidentally found my link to the RI DIS'er thread, only to check it out and discover that they were planning another meet. Which happened. Last Sunday. Arrgh!

But of course. That's the way these things always go.
If you want to do something, you'll always find out too late or it's scheduled when you can't make it.

On the flip side, if it's something you don't want to do...
You'll be able to go and you have to think of a convincing lie to get out of it.

I will be at Disney from 9/17-9/23 for my (ok, OUR) 30th anniversary if anyone else will be there. DH is not a DIS-er but he's tolerant, as evidenced by his willingness to don the matching T-shirts (albeit with a few eye-rolls, but we take what we can get.)

I prefer cinnamon rolls, but if eye rolls are what you get...

And yes. Totally jealous that you're going down. And so soon!

 

[pkondz]

Falls in Summertime




So today was July 4th and we're touring Niagara Falls!

July 4th is also Independence Day!
What's Independence Day, you ask?

For my Canadian readers, who may not be familiar with it...
It's like Canada's July 1st, except it's on the 4th.

So we're celebrating Independence Day... by not being in the States and missing it completely.


Whoa.... dudes...
I'm having a wicked deja vu right now.

Awesome.


The previous night, as you may recall, had been a late one.
Didn't stop me from getting up early, mind you.

It might... might have had something to do with an inappropriately named sofa bed.
As a sofa, it left much to be desired, and as a bed... it was atrocious.

In any event, I was up sometime around seven or eight in the morning.
The wicked wonders were still sleeping snug in their bed,
While thoughts of revenge entered my head.


But I let them sleep. I had promised them they could sleep in today.

In their nice, cozy, comfortable... nevermind.


I got myself ready and headed down to breakfast.
While I did take pictures of the dining room, it was fairly non-descript.
I neglected to take pictures of the food area.

Oh, well. You'll just have to muddle along best you can.
They did, however, have scrambled eggs.
Ding! Winner!


After brekkie, I checked on Google for the nearest grocery store.
I wanted to stock up on bottled water and healthier snacks.

Yeah, it's vacation, so chips and chocolate should be staples.
But I promised Dee's mom that I'd try to get Dee to eat at least a little healthy.
I didn't want to break that promise.
Because while I had absolutely no problem lying to her,
("Oh, absolutely! Nothing but good healthy, wholesome food every day!")
I figured Dee would rat me out.
If she ever did find out I'd fed garbage to her daughter for ten straight days,
she'd probably beat me with a stick.

A big stick.


She's much tougher than I am, so I'm pretty sure she could do it.
Maybe I could outrun her.

Maybe.



Google tells me that the nearest grocery store is about half a mile away...
Post Foods Corporation.
Yeah... no.
Unless I want to see if I can buy a carful of cereal.

But there is another grocery store, right next to it.

Makes sense.
Cuts down on shipping when you can just walk the cereal boxes over.


I had a quick detour in mind that I wanted to go to first,
and while it wasn't strictly on the way, it wasn't that far off it either.



So once again, I set off for Clifton St. About half a mile away.

Niagara Falls is a study in contrasts.
On the one hand, you have the natural beauty of the Falls,
on the other, you have things like this:



I still have no idea what it was supposed to be.
I mean other than the obvious "house on its head".

I continued to sashay past the house, around the corner onto Clifton,
up a couple of blocks to...
Clare's Harley Davidson at the Falls.

Souvenir time!

Some people collect Disney memorabilia, I collect Harley Davidson T-shirts and poker chips.

The T-shirts are fairly self-explanatory, the poker chips less so.

Every Harley store has their own poker chips bearing the name of the store and the city/town.
They're only a buck or two, so they make for cheap souvies.

And I'm going to nip something in the bud right now.
While others love collecting items from anywhere, I only want poker chips from places I've actually been.
So if anyone asks, I can say, "Yes, I've been there."

I.e. If you were thinking, "Hey! I can get ponzi a poker chip from _____."
While I appreciate the thought, it's not what I'm after.


Zebra domes however.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
Feel free to ship as many and as often as you like!


Finding a shirt at the Harley store was not an easy task.
This is how it usually goes.
Find a shirt I like, grab my size, go.

Here it was, "Well, the front's nice, but I hate the back."
Or, "I like the back, but not the front."
And when I finally would find a suitable shirt... they wouldn't have my size.
It wasn't a big deal. If I find a shirt, great, if not... no biggie.
But the poker chip is a must have.

After circumnavigating the store twice, I found a shirt I liked in my size.
I grabbed the shirt, a poker chip, paid for my wares and set out again.


The grocery store was about another half mile away.
I backtracked up Clifton, past the main drag, (I could've sworn he was a she!),
eventually spotting the Post Food Corp, which, yup, was a cereal factory.
It was getting hotter out, and I was starting to sweat when I arrived at my destination.

Which turned out to not be a grocery store.
The sign out front seemed to indicate that at one time it had been a restaurant.

Oh, I suppose hundreds of years ago it could've been a grocery store, but it sure wasn't now.
Now it was a whole lot of nuthin'.


I had passed a Days Inn a block back, so I walked back to it.
I sashayed in like I owned the place, or at least like I was a paying guest.
I confidently marched up to the front desk where there was not one, not two,
but three able bodied, bright young souls.
"Excuse me." I started. "Can you tell me where the nearest grocery store is?"

All three looked questioningly at each other.
I just asked for a grocery store, not the meaning of life, but they seemed stumped.

One of the quicker ones asked me, "What do you need to get?"


I thought it was odd that he'd ask me that.
I mean 'Grocery store' seemed fairly self-explanatory.

I really, really wanted to say, "I need to fill my Viagra prescription and pick up a case of prophylactics."
I restrained myself.

Yes. My mouth has gotten me into trouble from time to time.
As I've gotten older, my restraint has improved.

Either that, or my reflexes have slowed down to the point where
they can be overridden before irreversible harm has been done.


Either way, what I said was, "Bottled water, granola bars, stuff like that."

The three... I'm not gonna say "Stooges"... but I want to... conferred.
"You can go to the Shoppers Drug Mart."

Yes, that would do. Where is it?
"I'll show you on the map. <points> Right here."

Of course.
About a mile away.
Or... about half a mile past my hotel... in the complete opposite direction I'd gone.


I stepped back out of the hotel, and darned if it hadn't gotten hotter yet.

The sun was beating down with nary a cloud in sight.

I started to wonder if I would collapse first from thirst, or heat stroke.
And while I was wearing a hat, I hadn't put on any sunscreen and was starting to worry about that too.

At least the last part took care of itself at the next street corner.

While it was hot, and sunny, there was also a bit of a breeze.
A mom was telling her kid that he had to have sunscreen on.

(Guess I could've used my own mom that morning!)

She promptly took out her spray can of sunscreen and set about spraying her offspring.
Or I should say, "attempted" to spray her offspring.
Although now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure she thought she was accomplishing her goal.
In any event, she liberally sprayed sunscreen in the general direction of her child,
and the wind swept it away without a drop hitting the kid.

I merely stood downwind.

Problem solved.


With skin protected, I sashayed off in the direction indicated by the hotel staff,
and prayed that I wouldn't find an abandoned peep show where the Shoppers was supposed to be.

An unabandoned peep show would've been okay.
Provided I could get something to drink!
Boy I was thirsty!

I might've been a little over heated.


Although I guess it's possible that I asked a passing Bedouin on camelback for a drink.
The ingrate just laughed and kept gallumping along.
I hope he falls off his hump.


At long last I arrived at the Shoppers Drug Mart.
I don't know if I was happy or sad to not find a working peep show.

But I do know that air conditioning is a wonderful thing.


I stocked up on bottled water, granola bars, etc.
And a bottle of Coke for moi.

Ahhhh... Beautiful amber elixir, how I love thee!

Of course now I had to walk the half mile back to the hotel with four hundred pounds of water.

Where's a camel when you need one?


Back at the hotel, I was pleased to see the duo of doom were up and ready to go.
We had places to go! Things to see!

I suggested sun screen.
I am nothing if not conscientious.


To get to our first stop, we would, once again, travel down Clifton St.
We stopped at the Guinness World Records museum for a photo op with Mr. Wadlow.
If you don't know, he was (d. 1940) the world's tallest person.
8'11.1''



The sign notwithstanding, I suspect that is not Wadlow's chair.
Looks like it might be too big, even for him.
Not to mention that it looks pretty new for a sixty five year old piece of furniture.

At the foot of Clifton St. are Falls Ave. and the Niagara Pkwy. which runs adjacent to the Niagara river.

People flock to this area to see the Falls.
We were no exception.



Canadian Falls



American Falls




Many of you may be familiar with the "Maid of the Mist".
It's a company that employs ships to take tourists right up to the Falls.
Each ship is also named "Maid of the Mist" with a following number.
The company's been in operation since 1846.


I first saw the falls when I was about ten years old.
I really, reallllly wanted to go on the Maid of the Mist.
But, for whatever reason, we didn't go.

About twenty years ago, Ruby and I visited the Falls...
And I don't think it even occurred to either of us to go.
Probably since it was autumn and cold.

Later, I visited with Elle when she was five and again with Kay about four or five years ago.

Didn't go on the boat.


But this time! This time we're going to do it!!!!


Except technically you can't anymore.
At least not from this side of the river.

The last Maid of the Mist sailed from the Canadian side in October of 2013.
They lost the contract, that they'd held for 167 years, to Hornblower Cruises.

So while we were going to go on a boat to the base of the Falls,
I did have a twinge of regret that I never got to ride on the Maid of the Mist.


We got to the Hornblower ticket office and got in line.
There weren't that many people ahead of us, but the line crrraaawwwwlllled.
Eventually we got our tickets and we went to get in line to get on the boat.

I spotted a line and figured out that it was the line for the boat.
The line stretched back from the main entrance...
Out onto the pathway...
Past the pathway and down to the street...
Curved left and continued down the sidewalk for a hundred yards or so...
Curved left again back towards the river walk...
Hit the river walk and followed that for a while...
Which is where we got in line.



I have never seen such a long line.
At least one where you didn't have to snake back and forth.
It was longer than the line we were in the previous year for the Eiffel Tower!
And that one took at least an hour!

I told Elle and Dee to go amuse themselves while I stood in line.
I'd text Elle when I was getting close to the entrance.
I estimated that would be about a week from Tuesday.


I gave the girls the camera and they headed down the river walk.





And of course, the obligatory selfie of which all teens MUST* partake.
*It's a rule. Hey! At least they didn't do "duckfaces".



While the girls were off enjoying themselves,
a gentleman from the cruise company walked by repeating these words:
"Don't worry, the line will move quickly. Each boat holds four hundred people."

Yeah, right.
Sure.
Did you see how long that line was?


And then the line moved.
Everyone set off at a brisk pace.
In seconds I was through the park and marching swiftly along the sidewalk.

Uh.... I better text Elle to come back.
Now.


I texted Elle and told her to hurry.
No reply.


The line kept racing along.
I was already off the sidewalk heading towards the main entrance.
Desperately I texted Elle again. "Where R U?"
No reply.

For whatever reason, I didn't have Dee's phone number.

All of a sudden, I hear my name being called.
It's one of the other dancer's mom.
After saying our hellos, I ask her if she might have Dee's cell number.
"No." She says, "But my daughter might, I'll text her."

By this time, I have to reluctantly step out of line as I am in danger of being swept inside the main entrance.

A couple of minutes later, Elle and Dee show up.

"Did you get my text?" I ask.
"Yes." Says Elle.
"Why didn't you answer it?" I demanded.
"Because your text said to hurry, so we ran back." She replied.

I suppose I can't fault her logic.


In any event, we had no choice but to return to the back of the line.
Which was right back to where it was when I first got in it!

I told the girls not to worry, and sure enough,
we were inside waiting for an elevator to take us down to the river bank in no time.



Once down at the bottom, we donned ponchos and prepared to board.

Don't they look stylish in their oh-so-chic ponchos?



Once on board, we found a spot by a rail, the ship's horn blew and we were off!

Passing by the American Falls.



At this point, we were still a little ways away from the Canadian Falls.
The girls were preoccupied with a rather handsome young man who was standing nearby.



We got closer to the American Falls and we started to get a little wet.
The girls lost interest in the handsome young man
when they saw that he thought he was too cool to wear a poncho.



In this next shot, you can clearly see the separation between the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls.
The American and Bridal Veil Falls spans a distance of 1,100 feet,
with a height of 182 feet.
But rock at the base of these falls limits the uninterrupted height of the falls to 70 feet.
If you look closely, you can see tourists at the top of the Falls on Luna island
(a small island which separates the two falls)
as well as on the walkways below the Bridal Veil Falls.



One last look as we make our way to the Canadian Falls.



We turned our attention to the approaching Canadian Falls.
Spanning 2,200 feet in a horseshoe shape (Which is why it's also called Horseshoe Falls),
and falling a distance of 173 feet.





When we got to the base of the Falls, I was overwhelmed by the immensity of it all.
Within 180 degrees of view, a giant wall of water crashed down all around you.
The noise was terrifying and at the same time, humbling.
I might've been embarrassed at the fact that I was standing like a fool
with my mouth agape and head swiveling back and forth,
except everyone else was doing the same.
I was so in awe, that I completely forgot to take pictures.

And if we thought the little bit of mist we had before was wet...
This was WET!



This was absolutely a huge highlight of the trip for me.
After having seen the Falls on four previous occasions,
this boat ride just blew me away.

If you're ever thinking of going, I cannot stress how you must,
absolutely MUST take a cruise to the base of the Falls.

And just to give you a better idea of just where you go,
here's a pic that I took a little later that afternoon.




>>>... continued next post ... >>>

 

[pkondz]

Falls in Summertime

>>>... continued from previous post ... >>>


After our cruise, we had a bit of spare time,
so I suggested going to see if we could do Journey Behind the Falls.

The girls had arranged to have dinner with some of the other dancers on the team,
so we had a limited amount of time to spare.


The entrance and ticket office for Journey was located in a building adjacent to the Falls,
about a mile away.

The river walk along the Niagara Pkwy was packed with tourists
and it was no easy feat fighting our way through the crowds.

After our long, difficult walk, we arrived at our destination with Elle feeling sick/dizzy.

I suspected that she might be a little dehydrated so I sat her down and got both girls something to drink.
She perked right back up again after a few minutes.

While she was resting, I went to inquire about tickets and tour times.


I'm going to segue here into a little story that happened to me just a couple of days ago.
We got Kay's school schedule the other day, and one of her courses wasn't listed.
I called the school and was told I'd have to come in person to make any changes.
Considering I had already made all the arrangements and been assured all was well last June,
I wasn't overly thrilled.
Then again, considering some of the past interactions I've had with this school,
I wasn't overly surprised, either.
But, it is what it is. And it wasn't worth getting worked up about.
So I went.

I went straight to the office and asked the secretary for info.
She told me to see "Mr. Johnson. Do you know where Student Services is?"

Um. No.

"Down the hall, turn right, first door on your left, ask for Mr. Johnson."

I followed directions and saw a line that extended into the hallway.
I peeked into the room and saw a young girl with her mother and two older girls standing in line.

I was just about to ask the girls if they were waiting for Mr. Johnson when they abruptly left.
Okay. That means there's only the mother/daughter ahead of me.

The sign on the door said "Raldison".
Hmmm....

I've always encouraged the girls "not to be sheep".
Just because "everyone else" is doing something, doesn't make it the best or only course.

So instead of standing in line, I popped my head in the door and said,
"Excuse me Ms. Raldison, sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for Mr. Johnson?"
"Oh! No problem." She replied. "He's just past that door and around the corner in his office."

Awesome.

I passed the door, rounded the corner and found the office.
He was occupied with another parent at the moment, but I was in the right place now.

A minute later, the mother/daughter duo that had been waiting in line, joined me.

When Mr. Johnson was done with his meeting, he indicated that it was my turn.
I declined and deferred to the mother/daughter explaining that in reality,
they had been waiting longer than I had, albeit in the wrong spot.


Why am I telling you all this?
I guess I'm trying to give you a sense that while I may not follow the herd all the time,
I'm also not going to try and be a jerk about it.


So what has this got to do with Niagara Falls tickets and tours?
I'm glad you asked!


There were four ticket windows available for tickets.
Each window had a permanent row of dividers in front of it.
At this particular time of day, there were three windows being manned,
but only a handful of people buying tickets.

Obviously, the first person or persons had lined up at divider, awaiting their turn.
Then another person or persons came up.
Instead of picking another divider, they lined up behind the first two.
Another person or persons showed up and they lined up behind the first three or four.

I immediately saw what was going on and marched up to the front of an unoccupied divider.
I had no problem with motioning the earlier arrivals ahead of me,
but I didn't feel like being a sheep, either.

We were all patiently waiting our turn when I overheard some comments
that were obviously directed at me.
I love it when people use their:
"I'm-going-to-talk-softly-but-loud-enough-so-he-knows-I'm-talking-about-him" voice.

"Well we just got in line."
"Us too. We saw a line and didn't want to cut in front."

When the person in front of me finished helping a guest and nodded to me, I stepped forward.
I felt bad.
I really did.
I was even a little ashamed that I'd gotten ahead of the stupid people.

Don't worry, though.
By the time I'd taken the last of the two steps up to the window, I was over it.

Hey, if you want to assume the worst and make snide comments,
I'll be more than happy to fulfill your expectations.


I asked when the next available tour was and was told it was much later in the afternoon.
Too late for us as it turned out.
Okay. We'll just have to try our luck tomorrow.

I went back to the girls and told them we were out of luck for the day.
Elle was feeling better by now and we decided to head back to the hotel and relax for a bit.
By the time we made the mile and a half trek back to the hotel, Dee was saying that her feet were sore.


These two very fit, athletic dancers were pooped after their bit of walking.

I, was perfectly fine.


Sometimes, I impress even myself.
Which is good, 'cause there ain't no one else out there that I'm impressing!


After a couple of hours of doing nothing.... which was wonderful,
we made the short walk over to the Hard Rock restaurant.
We were meeting two other dance teammates and at least one other set of parents.

We were seated right away and ordered drinks.
Elle or Dee sent a text and told me that the others would be a few minutes,
so I headed over to the gift shop and picked out a T-shirt.
Gotta continue the trend I started in Europe.

Shortly after, Maureen and her folks with Leigh-Anne in tow arrived.
I knew darned well that when all the girls get together they hardly eat.
"Oh, just some water for me. Maybe a cracker."

I ordered an appetizer platter and told the waitress to plunk it down in front of the girls.

Ever seen piranhas attack an animal carcass?


After dinner, Elle informed me that since we still had passes to the Wax Museum, they all wanted to go.
Maureen's folks said it was okay, and said to give 'em a shout when we were done.
Leigh-Anne's Dad was already on his way, but when he got there,
she asked if she could stay and he let her.

We walked down, one more time, to Clifton St.
Well, they walked ahead.
I sashayed.



We got to Clifton St and it was bustling as usual.
Sorry about the condition of the picture,
I used my iPod and it cut some of the cars up when it did its thing.



When we got to the wax museum, I decided to give Maureen my pass and pay for Leigh-Anne's ticket.
I figured that it wouldn't be on par with Mme. Tussaud's so I didn't mind skipping it.

Tell me if I made a right or wrong decision to skip this.
Here are some photos to help you make up your mind.
We'll make a game of it.
I'll post the photos and you guess who they are.

Ready? (answers at the end)

a.


b.


c.


d.


e.


f.


g.


h.


Okay. Done?
And now... The answers!!!

a. An emaciated Clark Gable,
with Bob Hope (No points since the sign's in the picture.
Bonus points if you thought he was Jack Nicholson anyway)
and Tom Selleck.

b. A very masculine Jennifer Lawrence and odd Josh Hutcherson from the Hunger Games.

c. Prince Charming (I presume) dressed up as Snow White with deformed dwarves.

d. More dead than undead looking Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart from Twilight.
Although the Kristen Stewart figure is totally bereft of any expression whatsoever...
So they got that right.

e. A strong jawed Judy Garland female impersonator dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

f. A random female head on Marilyn Monroe's body with a ridiculous Robert Redford.

g. No points if you guessed Julia Roberts... the one wax figure that looks life-like.
But I defy anyone to tell me they guessed a completely improbable Brad Pitt
(on the right... in case you're wondering)
and an equally unbelievable George Clooney.

h. A totally ghastly Michael Jackson.
Although, to be fair, he might look like this right now. <shudder>


When the girls were done, we wandered back towards the Falls.
Every Friday and Saturday, there are fireworks over the Falls.
It being the 4th of July, tonight they should be especially good.
We found a patch of grass and settled in to wait.



While we were waiting, we could catch glimpses of fireworks going off across the river in Niagara Falls, NY.
Also, farther down the river, more fireworks were going on.
I think they were from Lewiston.


What can I say about the fireworks?
They were okay.
Nothing spectacular.
I have to admit to being a little disappointed.
While I enjoyed them (they're fireworks, how can you not?) I was expecting a much bigger show.
The first rockets were launched around ten and the show was over
twenty-thirty minutes later.
The fireworks across the river had started about ten minutes earlier and ended about the same time.
But the ones in Lewiston had started fifteen minutes earlier and were still going on!

I suppose that the Falls fireworks were launched from Canada and were probably amazing on July 1st.

Oh, well. Like I said, they weren't bad... just not great.


We joined the throng of slightly disappointed fireworks viewers who were making their way away from the river.
Most seemed to be heading to Clifton St, as were we.

We jostled our way through the horde on Clifton and escaped relatively unscathed.

It put a smile on my face when, after we exited Clifton and had more room,
the girls marched arm in arm back to our hotel.



Thankfully, neither Leigh-Anne nor Maureen asked to sleep over.
I'm sure I would've folded like a cheap suit and let them.

I did however have to drive them each to their respective hotels.

When I finally got back to our room, the girls were already in bed.
<sigh> Oh, to have an actual bed to sleep in!
I contorted myself into my torture-rack, uh... I mean sofa-bed and drifted off into a fitful sleep.


Tomorrow, we dance!

(And by "we", I mean "they")

 

[Backstage_Gal]

What a great update, Ponzi, i really enjoyed it. I never had a great desire to see the falls, but after your pictures, it might be something I want to do someday, especially the boat tour.
Why in the world didn't you take the car to a grocery store though? You enjoy sashaying carrying tons of bottled water and a coke?
Looking forward to the dancing update. Thanks for posting!

 

[RGirl]

Great update!

I have totally been the “beneficiary” of spray sunscreen in line at Disney parks many times. I like your positive spin on it!

The Grocery Store Death March, however, did not sound pleasant. I just kept thinking, “But he’s going to have to carry all that water back! ”

LOVE the pics from the boat - just beautiful. I didn’t know Maid of the Mist was no longer operating on the Canada side. That’s kind of sad.

Gah! The Sheep Line thing! This always drives me crazy - people just WANT to line up behind someone. And they want you to do the same.

The wax figures were just, well, scary.

 

[jedijill]

Another great update!

The Falls look amazing....putting them on the someday bucket list.

Add me to those who wonder why you didn't drive to the store. Water is heavy!

Jill in CO

 

[Backstage_Gal]

PS: Totally forgot to comment on the wax museum pics. I never in a million years would have guessed Julia Roberts. And you said she was the easiest to figure out? And Michael Jackson was just ghastly! Or ghostly.

 

[pkondz]

What a great update, Ponzi, i really enjoyed it.

Thanks Marita!

I never had a great desire to see the falls, but after your pictures, it might be something I want to do someday, especially the boat tour.

It really is something to see.
If it's not on your bucket list... it probably should be!

Why in the world didn't you take the car to a grocery store though? You enjoy sashaying carrying tons of bottled water and a coke?
Looking forward to the dancing update. Thanks for posting!

It was a beautiful morning, so I didn't mind the walk.
There's zero parking anywhere near the Falls.
Well, there's parking, but you have to pay for it.
And the nearest parking for Clifton St was pretty close to our hotel.
Since my first stop was the Harley store on Clifton, I had to walk anyway.
And according to Google, the "grocery" store wasn't too far away.
So, I walked.

Now why didn't I grab the car when I walked by it as I passed the hotel going in the other direction?

I have no idea.

I think by then I was having a severe case of get-it-done-itis and nothing was going to stop me!
Not even doing it easily with the car!

I still think that Bedouin could've given me a lift, though.

Great update!

Thanks, Roni!

I have totally been the “beneficiary” of spray sunscreen in line at Disney parks many times. I like your positive spin on it!

My motto is: Why be prepared when someone else can do it for you?

The Grocery Store Death March, however, did not sound pleasant. I just kept thinking, “But he’s going to have to carry all that water back! ”

Ha! That just shows what little you know!

Water bottles? Ha!
I'm a MAN!
You know what that means???

It means I was stupid, that's what!

LOVE the pics from the boat - just beautiful. I didn’t know Maid of the Mist was no longer operating on the Canada side. That’s kind of sad.

Yeah, it is, isn't it?
I mean everyone knows about the Maid of the Mist.
It's iconic!
But, I guess dollars are dollars and Hornblower had the better bid.
Apparently, according to the article I read, keeping Maid over Hornblower
would've cost Niagara Parks (Canadian side) hundreds of thousands of dollars
over the course of the next contract.

But until I read about it after I got back home,
I had no idea that this was Hornblower's innaugural season.
Heck, I hadn't known that Maid of the Mist was gone until I got there!

Gah! The Sheep Line thing! This always drives me crazy - people just WANT to line up behind someone. And they want you to do the same.

My favourite is a couple of spots in town I use regularly.
There's two left turn lanes at an intersection.
Everyone lines up in the right-most lane because afterwards, eventually, they'll turn right.
This means that after the first four-five cars get through, the rest have to wait for the next light.
I get in the left-most lane, go through the light, wait for a space, then move over to make the right turn.
Everyone else is still waiting, in the right-most lane, for the next light.
I've seen lines of twenty cars, all in that lane, waiting for the next light.

Why?

Because... baaaaa.

The wax figures were just, well, scary.

I never saw them with my own eyes...
And for that I will be forever grateful.

Another great update!

Thanks Jill!

The Falls look amazing....putting them on the someday bucket list.

Atta girl.
Besides, they're not that far away.
At least, I consider anything you can drive to in North America as not far.

Let me put it this way, anything that you could conceivably say,
"Hey! Let's jump in the car and go to ______".

Okay, maybe with a little pre-planning.... or not!

Add me to those who wonder why you didn't drive to the store. Water is heavy!

All right! All right!
So I had a car.
So I could've driven there.
So sue me!!!

PS: Totally forgot to comment on the wax museum pics. I never in a million years would have guessed Julia Roberts. And you said she was the easiest to figure out? And Michael Jackson was just ghastly! Or ghostly.

Really?
Hmmm.... Have you seen Ocean's Eleven? (2001 version)
'Cause that's what those figures were based on, and I thought she looked fairly similar.

The others?

They really should consider replacing that MJ, though.
Really.

 

[smidgy]

your "line" story makes me think of lines at the quick service eateries at Disney. each register has 2 lines, one on either side. the Cm will help the person to their right, then they will help the person to their left, and so on.

invariably there is a line with no one on one side. all the "sheeple" line up behind the others.... now, since we know better, we go right on the vacant side and get helped next. and boy! do we get looks.

jsut so you don't think we're bad, we used to try to tell people "go ahead in front of us on this side" but mostly we just get weird looks.

(we get weird looks anyway... lol)

 

[smidgy]

great update and great pictures! we were there once in 2003. skipped disney that year. went to the falls and hit Cedar point on the way back, meeting up with our son Jeremy and his girlfriend (now wife). this was the spring before we remarried.

we did the maid of the mist (I still have my official spoon holder, which I use as a tea cozy; can't beleive I haven't broken it!). we did the tour of the bridal falls. but we never made it to the canadian side. I wanted to do that tour where you walk behind the falls, the one Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton take in the old movie Niagra.

the falls are beautiful.. now if I could see the Grand canyon, I'd be happy. oh, and Germany