Let's talk tolls. There are a LOT of tolls between Milwaukee and New York. And the thing is, even if we knew this ahead of time, there really isn't a better way to go to Niagara Falls unless we wanted to add a few hours to our trip (or go through Canada, which unfortunately we can't do due to our kids not having passports). Thankfully our IPASS is accepted at all EZPASS tolls so we haven't had to have excessive amounts of cash on hand. Every time our IPASS replenishes, it adds $30 to the account. And it replenished 4 times before we were out of New York. I'll let you do that math.
We made it to Niagara Falls on a beautiful fall day, cloudy and cool, my favorite kind of day. Sunday morning dawned, promising to be another day of autumnal bliss. We drove 5 miles to Niagara Falls and first enjoyed the view from the observation deck. If you're afraid of heights, this is a bit frightening. I mostly stuck to the middle where I could see the falls safely without picturing ways in which I could trip and tumble off the edge.
After we returned to our trailer and donned some dry clothes, we packed up and headed out to Clifton Park, NY, just 15 minutes north of Albany. Our original plan was to stay at King of Kings Lutheran Church for the night and continue our way east the next day. However, after emailing the pastor, we discovered that there was another WELS family that is traveling the country and they were going to be there for a few days as well. So we decided to stay a day longer in order for our kids to meet and have time to play with this other family. It ended up raining for most of our stay, but our generous hosts allowed us the use of the church during the day, so our kids got to play inside.
Upon the recommendation of a fellow camper in Niagara Falls, we headed to the Albany Capitol one day. We were told the staircases reminded them of Hogwarts, so obviously I couldn't pass this up. The building was indeed magnificent and you only had to use a bit of imagination to picture the staircases in motion. The Western Staircase, also dubbed the Million Dollar Staircase, spans four stories and includes carvings of famous men such as Alexander Hamilton.
After seeing the capitol building we drove past the Schuyler Mansion only a mile or so away. This is the house where Philip Schuyler lived with his family, including Hamilton's wife, Eliza. Hamilton also visited and stayed at this home after he and Eliza were married. The house was only open on certain days for tours, none of which happened to be when we were in town. So I just walked the grounds and took pictures of the outside while the kids sat in the car.
We had to leave Clifton Park on Wednesday to continue our way towards Maine. The kids were sad to leave their new friends but they also call Wisconsin home, so I'm sure we'll see them again!
Next up on the blog: Old Orchard Beach and Portland, ME
We made it to Niagara Falls on a beautiful fall day, cloudy and cool, my favorite kind of day. Sunday morning dawned, promising to be another day of autumnal bliss. We drove 5 miles to Niagara Falls and first enjoyed the view from the observation deck. If you're afraid of heights, this is a bit frightening. I mostly stuck to the middle where I could see the falls safely without picturing ways in which I could trip and tumble off the edge.
We then headed down the elevator and onto the path to board the famed Maid of the Mist. The kids were excited at first and enjoyed the view from the river, pointing out ducks and seagulls they saw along the way. As we approached the falls, we began to get a bit wet and the kids wanted to retreat to the inner part of the boat. Then suddenly, we were being battered on all sides by what seemed to be a torrential downpour but was just the spray from the waterfall. We were wearing ponchos but every part of our body that wasn't covered by the ponchos was drenched. Gryffin and Ophelia started wailing. I moved them to the innermost part of the deck and put my back to the falls, trying to cover their bodies but it was basically futile. The wind was blowing the spray everywhere. Needless to say, when we disembarked, all the kids decided it was their least favorite thing we've done on the trip so far. From the ship, we headed up a steep path to view the falls one last time, this time from the safety of dry ground.
After we returned to our trailer and donned some dry clothes, we packed up and headed out to Clifton Park, NY, just 15 minutes north of Albany. Our original plan was to stay at King of Kings Lutheran Church for the night and continue our way east the next day. However, after emailing the pastor, we discovered that there was another WELS family that is traveling the country and they were going to be there for a few days as well. So we decided to stay a day longer in order for our kids to meet and have time to play with this other family. It ended up raining for most of our stay, but our generous hosts allowed us the use of the church during the day, so our kids got to play inside.
Upon the recommendation of a fellow camper in Niagara Falls, we headed to the Albany Capitol one day. We were told the staircases reminded them of Hogwarts, so obviously I couldn't pass this up. The building was indeed magnificent and you only had to use a bit of imagination to picture the staircases in motion. The Western Staircase, also dubbed the Million Dollar Staircase, spans four stories and includes carvings of famous men such as Alexander Hamilton.
After seeing the capitol building we drove past the Schuyler Mansion only a mile or so away. This is the house where Philip Schuyler lived with his family, including Hamilton's wife, Eliza. Hamilton also visited and stayed at this home after he and Eliza were married. The house was only open on certain days for tours, none of which happened to be when we were in town. So I just walked the grounds and took pictures of the outside while the kids sat in the car.
Wearing my Hamilton shirt, obviously
We had to leave Clifton Park on Wednesday to continue our way towards Maine. The kids were sad to leave their new friends but they also call Wisconsin home, so I'm sure we'll see them again!
Next up on the blog: Old Orchard Beach and Portland, ME
Comments
Post a Comment