Craig & Jennifer's Vacation!!

Craig and I had the most wonderful and adventurous vacation! Let's just start out by saying that over the years we have come to the realization that we are not the type of vacation-goers that like to take it easy! We always say that we are going to relax on our trips, but we tend to end up cramming all we can into a short period of time :) Maybe the key is staying away from locations where there is a lot of activity and sites to see. So needless to say...we need a vacation from our vacation! But don't let me fool you...we had the best time ever and are so glad we did it all! And we did get to enjoy a little downtime with each other here and there in the process. Natalie and the dogs stayed with Craig's parents in Illinois, so Craig and I were left on our own to reconnect, be flirtatious, and just be alone together! It was so nice...

Our trip was just over one week long - lasting from early morning of May 29th until late evening June 5th. The main portion of our vacation was spent in Niagara Falls (Canada) and around Boston. We also spent a quick day in New York City. It was a whirlwind of a week! Can you believe we traveled through a total of TWELVE states plus Canada?!? Of course, we didn't stop at every one of those states, but we can say we've been there! We figure we put about 3200 miles on the car roundtrip. Not to mention all the walking we did at our destinations - I'd estimate maybe 15 miles...Craig would say I'm exaggerating and put it closer at 10 miles or less...haha!

Was it hard to leave little Nattie for a whole week? The hardest days for me were the couple of days leading up to the trip and then the final day coming back from the trip. The actual day that we left wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the days in between were so busy that I didn't have much time to be sad. But every once in awhile we'd see a tiny fair-skinned, red-headed girl and think of our baby :) Or Craig and I would be doing something together and stop and say "Natalie would really enjoy this". Leaving her was bearable because we knew she would be having the time of her life at Grandma and Grandpa Essington's house and that they would be giving her the best care possible.

Did we get any good snapshots of our trip?? Of course!! Anyone who knows me is fully aware of the obsession I have with taking pictures! We captured many, many memories of our journey...most on digital camera and some with waterproof disposable cameras. But I must stress that no matter how good the photo came out...NOTHING compares to what we actually saw with our own eyes. Or for that matter, what we experienced through our other senses. Especially Niagara Falls...it is just spectacular, magnificent, and almost unbelievable in a way! To browse our collection of vacation pictures go to our photo album page at

http://photos.yahoo.com/jennifer_essington

and click on the album that is entitled "Vacation Snapshots". There are quite a few of them...but don't scan too quickly or you may miss some good ones!! :)

Anyway...so what did we do this whole time in the car?? We each took turns driving. We listened to a lot of music, and of course Craig couldn't resist listening to talk radio (Rush Limbaugh, etc)...my husband is a talk radio nut! Craig also brought his laptop so he played computer games and looked up trip info. I brought many books with me to read and also some cross-stitching projects...I quickly realized that cross-stitching while riding in a car is too difficult!

Our last U.S. city before hitting Canada was Detroit. From Detroit we took the Ambassador Bridge over the border into Windsor, Ontario Canada! The border checkpoint into Canada didn't take too long...they just asked for our drivers licenses and asked a few questions. We had brought copies of our birth certificates just in case, but they never asked for them. We kept driving until we made it to Hamilton, Ontario where we stayed at the Ramada Plaza hotel. The lady at the desk told us about a cute little Irish pub called Slainte which was within walking distance. So we strolled over there and had some dinner while listening to a guy play his guitar. It was also interesting to hear the locals speak in such a stereo-typical Canadian way...like when someone would say "Eh?" at the end of a sentence! Some of our other observations about Canada??...people there seem pretty friendly and for some reason the roadsides just appear to be cleaner.

We kept seeing these places called Tim Horton's all over!...no joke, there are more Tim Horton's in Ontario than there are McDonalds in any given U.S. city! (at least it seems that way!) So Craig and I had to see what all the hype was about and check one out. It's basically a chain of donut shops, but they also sell sandwiches and such. What's really great is that a combo meal consists of a sandwich, drink, and a donut...so you can literally have breakfast and lunch in one sitting!...can't beat that...haha!

Now on to Niagara Falls! Craig had been to Niagara Falls once during a trip his senior year of high school, but this was my first time and I was excited! Craig was also thrilled to see it again...he thought he'd have a much better appreciation for it as an adult. Niagara Falls is actually two large waterfalls...and "large" is an understatement! There is the Horseshoe Falls which is physically on the Candadian side and then there is the American Falls which is physically on the United States side. You can see both waterfalls from each country's side, but I am guessing that Canada probably has the better view. And of course each country's side has their own activities and tours you can participate in. For our particular trip we stuck to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. We parked the car and walked over to the railings next to the Horseshoe Falls...WOW! There are no words good enough to describe it! It is just so massive and powerful! It sounds like thunder and when the wind blows a certain way you feel the mist. It would be so easy to just gaze at it for hours on end. And honestly...I don't know how anyone could visit something like it and not believe that it was created by the hands of God. The American Falls is also very beautiful! It was across the gorge from where we were standing. It has a different look to it than Horseshoe Falls...because there is less mist you can see the water crash down onto the rocks below. It also has a small separate waterfall next to it appropriately called Bridal Veil.

Craig and I had some time to kill before we could check into the hotel, so we were eager to dive right in and start our Niagara Falls adventures! We started with the Journey Behind the Falls tour. During this tour you get to actually walk under and right next to the Horseshoe Falls! We walked through a dark and damp tunnel underneath the falls...we could hear the water booming above us. Every so often you come to a porthole where you could see the water. The end of the tunnel takes you right next to waterfall...you almost feel as if you could touch it if you leaned far enough! You are also able to take some stairs up to a balcony for a different view. And as with most of the Niagara Falls tours...they provide you with a poncho...but you still get pretty wet! It is well worth a little wetness, though!

Next, we took a ride on the Maid of the Mist! This was probably one of my favorite parts of our whole trip. You board a boat that has two decks for viewing...you can go to either deck at your leisure. The boat takes you as close as is safely possible to the base of each waterfall! In my opinion, being at the bottom looking up really shows you the true splendor of the falls. The best part was when we got to the base of Horseshoe Falls. They paused the boat right there for the longest time...there you are right in the middle of this wall of crashing water surrounding you on three sides...and over the speaker you hear the tour guide announce in a big booming voice "THIS IS NIAGARA FALLS!" A chill just runs through your whole body and you just wish that that particular moment would stay etched in your mind forever.

Now it was time to check into our room that we'd be staying in for the next two nights. Before we even started this trip I had asked Craig to do the majority of the planning. In past trips, I've always kind of felt I've taken the lead in deciding what activities to do or where to stay...I'm more of a "planner" so it's just sort of ended up that way. So this time I wanted Craig to surprise me a bit, and whatever didn't get planned out we'd just play by ear. Surprise me he did!! My wonderful husband got us a gorgeous room on the 37th floor of the Embassy Suites at Niagara Falls! We had our own jacuzzi and an amazing view of Horseshoe Falls. We also received a basket with wine glasses, bottle of local wine, chocolates, and a cute teddy bear. I am still in awe knowing that Craig put so much time, thought, and effort into doing something so special for us!

In the evening we ventured to the downtown "toursity" area. We browsed the giftshops and other stores. It was pretty late when dinner time rolled around...but our hotel's restaurant, The Keg, was still serving. Our hotel package came with $40 off a meal there, so no question we'd at least eat there once! From the window of the restaurant we could see that the waterfall had been illuminated...though kind of hard to tell with so much mist going on! I was bummed to hear that the restaurant was out of prime rib for the night (my fave), but cheered up when I looked out the window again to see fireworks over the falls! Craig and I were shocked to see fireworks, because usually they only do them during the weekend...come to find out that they do them on Memorial Day as well...yay!

Tuesday, May 31 ~ I had some trouble sleeping the first night, so I was awake as the sun was rising. Looked out the window and the waterfall looked so breathtaking with all the different colors of the sky, the mist, and the moon. So I snapped a few pictures. When Craig woke up he made a comment about how the water was "still running"....about just how funny it is that for some odd reason you expect to look out the window and see that someone had turned off the waterfall or something! It just keeps going and going and it's hard to believe it's real.

Craig and I went downstairs for the hotel's complimentary breakfast buffet...we had to fuel up for another big day! Our journey for this day started with a JetBoat tour! We had a hard time with the directions and ended up missing our scheduled tour. But there were no worries as the tour staff allowed us to catch the next one. We weren't too sure what we'd be in for when we realized we'd be sharing a boat with a group of high school students...I guess Craig and aren't TOO old yet because it turned out to be a good time...haha! Everyone going on the boat got fitted with gear...layer upon layer of clothing and even water boots. We were told that the purpose wasn't necessarily to keep us dry, but more to keep us from freezing to death. And that was the truth! The JetBoat was so awesome!! It takes you through Niagara Falls Great Gorge while the tour guide feeds your brain with all kinds of information about the area. Then you do a bunch of sharp turns in the boat and water just sprays everywhere...it is wild! Then the best part is that you enter these exremely fast moving rapids. They are considered "Class 5 rapids" which from what we were told are the fastest rapids that we could legally ride in. Rapids range in classes from 1-6. So that was pretty exciting to say we'd been in a vessel traveling through those kinds of waters! We got absolutely pounded with water and it was cold! We had water in the boat up to our waists...and as promised, even with all the layers of gear we were drenched! For a brief second you felt like you were in the middle of that movie "The Perfect Storm". What is neat is that they have someone up above taking pictures of your actual boat, so we were able to purchase photos of the experience (plus we had our disposable cameras). So be sure to look for the JetBoat pictures in our online photo album! :)

Our last big tour of Niagara Falls ended with the White Water Walk. We weren't originally going to participate in this, but we changed out minds last minute and are so glad we did! Basically, an elevator takes you down to a hiking trail at the base of the gorge. From there you get to walk right alongside the raging rapids! Once again, just such a mighty spectacle of nature! These rapids are the Class 6 rapids that we weren't allowed to go through on the JetBoat. And standing right next to them we could now fully see why!

In the early evening we attended the Managers Reception at the hotel. Free cocktails and snacks were provided as we relaxed at our table. Before dinner, we wanted to go back down to the waterfalls and take a few more pictures since we knew we'd be leaving Niagara Falls the next day. We had done so much walking already and were going to use a pass we had for a shuttle, but realized we couldn't find the pass. So we were a bit grumpy as we started walking. Little did we know what was in store for us! As we walked we saw the incredible sight of a rainbow over the Horseshoe Falls! Now, if we would have taken the shuttle we wouldn't have had just the right angle to see this view! So of course I am convinced that The Lord had that planned for us all along! As we walked further we also were able to get a glimpse of a rainbow over the American Falls as well.

For dinner we ate at a restaurant across the street from the hotel called Copacabana. Craig wanted to try it because it's a Brazilian steakhouse and he had heard some good things about the taste of the meat...why did I want to try it?...well, I wanted to try something new and wanted to say I ate a restaurant that happened to share the same name as one of my favorite Barry Manilow songs...yes, I am strange!! Sorry. The meat was very good and so was the salad bar. And it was refreshing to sit outside and people-watch.

Wednesday, June 1 ~ Once again, we had a yummy breakfast at the hotel! Then we packed up the van and had to say goodbye to our wonderful room. But before leaving Niagara Falls and Canada, Craig wanted to stop by the IMAX theatre first to see The Falls Movie. It was really quite interesting and they also had actual barrels on display that people had used in the past to go over the falls with. The barrels were a little creepy though...being the claustrophobic individual that I am!

After the movie we drove over what is named The Rainbow Bridge to cross the border back into the United States. That brought us into the state of New York. Our route took us around parts of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany. We stopped here and there for snacks such as french fries and Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. Certain areas of New York state are very pretty...the Adirondacks are great with lush green hills and winding roads...which make it fun to drive as well. We also saw some really huge windmills!

Soon we found ourselves in Boston, Massachusetts for the next big leg of our trip! We stayed in the Hampton Inn just North of Boston in Revere. The hotel is only a few years old, so it was a very up-to-date and cozy place to stay. We flipped through the hotel guide for some suggestions of a place to eat dinner. Came across a place called Royal Roast Beef & Seafood that sounded good. After driving around quite awhile, we finally found the place. Very casual which is what we wanted, and they offered lobster rolls which is something we wanted to try. Yum! Craig and I were once again amused just sitting enjoying our food and listening to people speaking with their "Boston accents". We also had a fun time driving around looking at the houses in the area...so many cute houses with lots of character!

Thursday, June 2 ~ Craig and I had the complimentary breakfast at the hotel...very nice. We then took advantage of the hotel shuttle and got off at the subway station. We figured that using the subway would be a lot easier than trying to drive and park around Boston all day. Plus, I had never taken a subway and wanted to experience it. It sure was a fast way to travel...but I'll take my car over the subway any day! As a matter of fact, I'll take my small town in Iowa over a big city any day...I love visiting big cities, but living there is just not something I would enjoy.

Craig and I walked to the Boston Common which is the oldest public park in America. There were lots of neat statues (including the Soldiers/Sailors Monument), flowers, and even a momma swan nesting near the water. We found the spot where they had maps for the Freedom Trail. Quoting the brochure: "The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile path that leads to 16 of the country's most significant historical landmarks." We walked to most but not every one of these landmarks. It's a cool setup because the entire trail is marked by this red brick path, so you just follow it around. We saw the Massachusetts State House with it's gold dome and Park Street Church where the hymn "America" was first sung. We visited Granary Burying Ground where John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and Ben Franklin's parents are buried. We saw King's Chapel which was the first Anglican Church, and we also walked by the First Public School in the United States. Saw the Old South Meeting House where crucial meetings once took place that led up to the Revolution and also the Old State House which is Boston's oldest standing public building. We toured Paul Revere's house and Old North Church. We also went onboard the main deck of the USS Constitution - Old Ironsides. Some other sites we saw that weren't directly on the trail were The Irish Famine Memorial and the New England Holocaust Memorial which are very beautiful.

The USS Constitution is actually across the Charles River in Charlestown, so they have a path you can follow over the Charlestown Bridge to get there by foot. To get back over to Boston we opted to take a ferryboat instead...that gave us a break and some nice views from the water! From there we hopped back on the Subway and took it over to the campus of Harvard University. We walked around for a bit there...saw Widener Library and another cool building which I later found out was called Memorial Hall.

Friday, June 3 ~ After sleeping in a little, Craig and I had breakfast at the hotel and then prepared a small bag for our big day ahead! We were on our way to Gloucester for a whale watch cruise! There are a few different companies you can tour with...we chose Seven Seas Whale Watch. It was a really nice ship with plenty of viewing areas, an enclosed galley where you can purchase snacks and drinks, and staff that kept us very well informed throughout the whole trip. It was neat seeing all the fishing boats docked in the harbor with the seagulls flying around. The boat slowly left the dock and we were able to see a couple lighthouses. I have always had a fascination with lighthouses, so that alone was thrilling to me! Once we were out of Cape Ann the boat took on a fairly good speed at around 20 mph...it got pretty chilly and windy, but still an awesome ride! The boat slows down a little once it reaches certain spots where there are usually whales and other marine life to be found. There is a gal onboard whose profession is researching and observing whales, so she stands at the top of the boat and looks out for the animals. When she spots one the boat races close enough to get a better view but not so close as to disturb the wildlife. We were fortunate enough to see a mother Fin Whale with her calf swimming at her side! I guess Fin Whales are one of the largest and most abundant whales in that area, but it is rare to see a momma and baby together. We were able to see them blow water at the surface many times and even got to see their backsides and fins. It's hard to get pictures of the whales, but I did manage to snap one...so be on the lookout for it in the album! We were hoping to see even more whales or maybe even some dolphins on the trip, but were still satisfied with what we did get to see. Nature is so unpredictable! What a great experience...being out on a boat in the Atlantic Ocean on the lookout for whales!

The cruise lasted about 3.5-4 hours. Afterwards we drove through Gloucester and stopped to see the Fisherman's Memorial statue. There is a small, sandy beach area right there as well. So Craig and I spent a fair amount of time collecting a few shells and sea glass. We had asked a few of the locals where to eat dinner. We got a couple ideas and decided on a restaurant called LobstaLand. We had made up our minds to go all out and each ordered the baked stuffed lobster...it was stuffed with all kinds of scallops and shrimp. You would think that seafood would be cheaper being right there next to the ocean and boats...not the case! But we were ok with that.

Saturday, June 4 ~ We had breakfast at the hotel, packed our bags, and started the third and final big adventure of our trip....New York City! On our route there we went around places like Providence, Rhode Island and New Haven, Connecticut. We stopped at a McDonalds for lunch just inside Mystic, Connecticut. I was excited because Mystic was the town that they based the 80's movie "Mystic Pizza" on...okay, yes I know I get excited over stupid stuff...and no, we didn't actually stay long there or anything like that...just let me have my fun ok?

We made it to New York City! We weren't sure when we started this trip if we would actually have the time, money, or energy to make it to New York City...but we did it anyway. We only spent one afternoon there...by no means enough time to see everything...but hey, it's better than nothing! Saw the George Washington and Brooklyn Bridges. Drove by Central Park...didn't actually have time to go through any part of Central Park, but cool anyway. Saw a tiny bit of the Empire State Building. We drove our beloved family minivan right through Times Square...talk about craziness!! Bumper to bumper traffic, people everywhere, big signs and lights...it sure was exciting, but I was kind of glad to just be driving through...I would have so much anxiety if I had to live there! We drove past The Late Show building in the blink of an eye but I did snap a great photo of it! Craig got his picture taken next to the statue of the bronze Wall Street Bull. We found a parking spot next to Trinity Church and walked over to Battery Park. The Sphere statue that used to be standing in the World Trade Center Plaza is now on display there as a type of memorial. We also got to stand at one edge of Battery Park and see the Statue of Liberty! To my surprise, it didn't look as big as I had always pictured it...but still wonderful to get to see! We found our way over to the World Trade Center Site. That was definitely something we wanted to make sure and see before leaving New York City. They have the area surrounded by gates, but you still get a pretty clear view. They have timelines and other memorabilia posted there. Also within the gates is the cross made of steel beams that was left standing when the tragedy happened. You also see many surrounding buildings that are still in the repair stages. It was very humbling. Craig and I made one more stop at a park to see the sunset over New York before heading out of the city.

We drove into a small town called Basking Ridge in New Jersey. We seriously thought we had entered "The Twighlight Zone"! The town seemed very peaceful and quiet and everyone we ran across was super smiley. We pulled into this strip mall to get a coffee at the Starbucks, and all the people walking along the mall were very neatly dressed. We affectionately renamed the town "Preppyville". :) We took our chances and pulled into an extremely nice looking Courtyard Marriott hotel which we assumed would be way too pricey...but we scored an excellent room with an equally excellent rate! We stayed in for the night and ordered a brick oven pizza from a local restaurant.

Sunday, June 5 ~ Craig and I got up really early and loaded up the van. We were starting to get anxious to get home...as much fun as we were having, we couldn't wait to see Natalie and to also sleep in our own bed! So we drove straight back to Illinois - only making stops to grab a bite to eat or use the restroom. We went through New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. There was a neat looking train bridge somewhere around the town of Harrisburg. We made a slight error in driving somewhere around Hagerstown and ended up out of our way and into Maryland...Maryland was not a state we were supposed to drive through...but now we can claim we've been there! From Maryland we went through a bit of West Virginia, followed by Ohio, and Indiana. We finally got close to Champaign, Illinois and time just started to drag by...it was getting darker and we hoped we wouldn't miss Natalie due to bedtime. But before long we were back in good ole' Normal, Illinois and pulling into Craig's parents' driveway. We left all our luggage in the car and raced in to the house to greet Craig's parents and our baby girl!

Surprisingly, Natalie was shy to see us at first. She hid behind Grandpa Essington's leg trying to comprehend the situation. But we were quick to pick her up and give her lots of hugs and kisses. After a few minutes she started to realize that her MaMa and DaDa were back and she gave us many hugs and kisses in return! It's amazing how different she looked to us just after only a week...she looked so grown up! The grandparents updated us on all the fun things they did with Natalie during the week...the park, the zoo, the children's museum, playing in the backyard, and even taking a day trip to see Nattie's Great-Grandma and Grandpa Essington. Craig's mom made sure to take plenty of pictures for me!