Buffalo and the Falls

We were at Panera Bread, when the idea for this trip was born. Elvi discovered that Ethan had two days off from school, when he looked at his school homework board ( www.evgschool.org/Homework%20Boards/Mizrak%20Homework%20Board.htm) . Elvi had a $400 airticket available and told us we should use it and go somewhere withen the continental US. We toyed with the idea of going to Orlando to Sea World, Hawaii, even California. Elvi got a brainwave, "What about the Niagara Falls, you always wanted to go and I never did? This is the perfect time." So he booked us a hotel in downtown Buffalo. Now we were decided, there was no going back. The air ticket voucher had some fine print that didn't allow us to use the tickets for this trip, so we booked Amtrak tickets. I read some blogs online and checked out some library books to get a sense of what to expect. Can't go unprepared with a seven year old, that expects you know everything that's going to happen.

So off we went, my son and I, on our first vacation without dad. We both felt the melancholy of someone important missing, but decided to not let it shadow the trip completely.

The Amtrak route was facinating! It was right along the Hudson river and then turned right at Albany, onto the banks of the Mohawk river and maybe we'd have a glimpse of the Erie Canal, who knows. As the Amtrak edged out of Penn Station, we saw Edgewater in the distance. We waved goodbye to dad. We followed an imaginary Half Moon along with Henry Hudson as the train skirted the Hudson River. We were discovering America like he did! (http://hudsonriver.com/history/halfmoon.htm)

Ethan took lots of video of the scenery with his new camera, to show dad on his return. He, captured the views and I, him and his enchantment with all things new. The first part of the Amtrak journey was great. We read books and had a marvelous chat in the dining car over our pizza. But then the engineer ran a red flag and the train was stopped for investigations. We waited 3 hours not knowing what our fate would be. Would we be parked out here in the wilderness for what seemed an eternity or would we be rescued. They transferred us from 63 Maple Leaf to another train. Ethan was all tears and was missing dad a whole lot more now!!! Still he hadn't lost his wanderlust entirely. He wanted to head straight for the falls. I on the other hand had just enough energy to crash the moment we had hot baths at our hotel.

(Ethan's Nature film from the Amtrak. Click to Play)

We headed out for the falls the next morning. Ethan was thrilled. The bus took 20 minutes to get there from downtown Buffalo and it winded through the city so we got a glimpse of the fort and some interesting buldings. The Art Deco City Hall which our shuttle driver told us was the tallest in the country was right outside our window and we were at the edge of Lake Erie. We got to the visitors center and met students from Malaysia who were there to visit too. Ethan had an agenda, so I just went with the flow. This was his trip. We headed straight for the American Falls for our first viewing of the great Niagara Falls. Ethan kept saying "Dad doesn't know what he's missing!!!" "I know, darling, I know".

(Click picture)

(Click to play video of the American Falls)

The Falls were spectacular. They looked smaller than I expected (especially after my viewing of the free movie on YouTube "Niagara Falls: Raging rapids"), just an example, of how expectations can ruin your pleasure. Ethan who is generally not the touristy sort, tends to stop to smell the flowers and play in the mud...but this time he wanted to do all the touristy things. So we went to the Aquarium of Niagara where he took a picture of the dolomite rock which held the top escarpment of the falls so firm while the river raged over it. He saw the sea lion show and blew kisses to them in plenty, and then the crowning glory, we did the gorge trip. An elevator took us to the gorge by the Bridal falls and that's where we saw the most beautiful sight. A rainbow straddling the river below created from the synergy of the mist and the abundant sunshine. This sight brought tears! Streaming tears. Was this possible! This amazing beauty! It brought feelings of longing. A longing to capture this beauty for prosterity in some way. To share it with everyone I loved. Wish I could paint, write an opera, a beautiful poem, something!!! Anything to capture this absolute marvel! Astride the gorge, the misty rainbow bridges the real and hazy, geological landscapes of the brain wither away, as beauty takes over. A line must do for now, till a Wordsworthian urge hits...

(The Rainbow joining the Canadian and American Side. Click to Play)

Ethan wanted to stay to see the falls illuminated by night, but I was nervous. The bus had passed through unkempt neighborhoods on the way and I knew that, that wasn't a good idea. We headed back to our hotel where Ethan slept like an angel, while I packed to go home. Back on the Amtrak, we had a beautiful journey. We saw places this time; Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, etc ( http://tickets.amtrak.com/secure/content/routeatlas/index.html?urlroute=31) since it was night, we couldn't see much else. We headed for the dining car to get some dinner. The chief took a liking to Ethan and gave him a goodie bag, that the Canadian Train ( VIA ) gave out to the kids on board (they were lying around for some reason). There were beautiful paper trains to build up and a booklet in french (to my delight) about the wildlife on the route.

The best moment was, of course, the joy of seeing Ethan run to his dad's arms. The best moments can never be captured. They are too real. As real as the 'Velveteen Rabbit' came to be. It's hard to get back to the humdrum of daily living, now. It takes a while to sink in. We don't live at the falls. Still for now, our wanderlust is quenched...if only for a short while...

(Click on this picture for a better look)