By the title, one might think that I took a weekend and drove across New York State to visit Niagara falls as a weekend adventure. While that may happen in the future, that’s not what happened this weekend.  Janet’s school year ended on Friday, June 5th. On Saturday morning she packed up the mini-van, said goodbye to my parents and our son, and drove to St. Louis to await my arrival to drive the remainder of the trip. We chose to do it this way as it saved us a lot of time in the end. Our drive to New Hampshire was nearly identical to that of my trip with the cats two months earlier. One notable exception was our stop to see Niagara Falls.

This was not the first trip to Niagara Falls for either of us. I had been there twice with the Agape Players, and Janet had made yearly pilgrimages as a child. However, we’d never been there together so that made it really fun.  My secretary had recommended that we travel a little ways north and visit Niagara on the Lake. This turned out to be an excellent suggestion as it is one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever visited. The flowers were in full bloom and the town was pristine. The Victorian architecture made the whole main street look as though it were a doll house village. We only spent a couple of hours seeing the town, but I’d eagerly go back and spend a few days.

After Niagara on the Lake, we ventured back to the Canadian side of the falls. We were starved so the first order of business was to find a place to eat.  After lunch we strolled down toward the falls and were getting great views when Janet suggested we take the boat ride into the falls. I stared at her for a few moments wondering who she was and then said sure. There is really only one way to appreciate this force of nature and that is to be on a boat looking up at this wall of water. It is simply amazing!

I don’t know if I’d ever get tired of seeing Niagara. There’s something almost spiritual in seeing that much power in nature.  We continued our drive through New York and Vermont and into New Hampshire. The views were awesome, but not quite as memorable. The falls turned a moving trip into an extraordinary adventure.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller