Day 2 – 7/14/2012

Today we started our day by enjoying the small water park at the hotel we were staying at, the Americana.  Karen and I found the room to be relative small and dated, but the girls had a tremendous amount of fun at the water park.  We spent a little over an hour enjoying the two body slides and the two tube slides before we needed to check out.

After leaving the hotel we returned to the main tourist area, Clifton Hill, in Niagara Falls to see the Falls in the daylight and to take a trip on the Maid of the Mist.  The sun was quite warm, especially after we put on our blue ponchos, so we really enjoyed the temporary cooling of the mist from the Falls.

After our misty experience we took a break for lunch at a restaurant called Kelsey’s before heading back to the U.S.A.  Our next stop was Avon, OH (just west of Cleveland) to visit our good friends the Goliks.  Today we covered another 245 miles.

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Day 1 – 7/13/2012

Sorry for the delay in this post.  Our hotel in Niagara Falls had very limited wifi available.

Day 1 – 7/13/2012

Today we started off on our cross-country trip.  We managed to keep our packing to a very reasonable amount in the back of our minivan.  We will see if our “system” works over the next few weeks.

We covered 442 miles in our first day with our first stop in West Seneca, NY (just outside of Buffalo) to visit my grandfather who will be 90 next month.  We had a nice visit and dinner with him before heading to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.  Our girls were excited to make the trip into another country and use their new passports.  I am not sure what the girls had originally envisioned, but they were surprised that Canada, at least the region by Niagara Falls, looked a lot like the U.S. and the weather did not turn dramatically cooler when we crossed the border.

One of the funny things that happened today was as I was driving today Karen decided to take a little nap since she was up late last night with the last of the packing and house cleaning.  She brought along a face mask to be able to shut out the sunshine.  After she had dozed off I heard Lindsey yell, “Mom, Mom, Are you asleep?”  Really Lindsey?

This evening we enjoyed fireworks over the Falls.  It is amazing how the Canadian side has developed into a kiddie version of Las Vegas with all of the lights and attractions with mostly arcades instead of casinos, although there are casinos as well.   Kelsey and Lindsey enjoyed seeing the Falls at night.  After looking at the Falls Kelsey said, “I could watch the Falls forever.”

We had a very enjoyable start to our trip.

Greg

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7-13-12 and 7-14-12

Top 5 things to do in Niagara Falls, Canada

1.  See Niagara Falls!

Go with your camera ready and full battery because the falls are amazing!

2.  Go see the fireworks on Friday and Sunday nights!

It is hard to get pictures at this time of day but it is so cool to see. You definitely need to come back in the morning or afternoon!

3.  Go on The Maid of the Mist

The mist feels good on a hot day and you will never get a better view of the falls then from the boat!

4.  Walk around Clifton Hill

My mom and dad say it is like a kid los Vegas because it is filled with arcades and restaurants.it is a bright and interesting walk. Make sure you do it at night because the lights are amazing!

5.  Eat at Kelsey’s (especially if you have Kelsey with you!)

Pretty good food and a wonderful name! Make sure you check out his family friendly restaurant!

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7-13-12 (Ooo…Friday the 13th)

We left the house in the morning and drove about six hours to my great grandpa’s house in West Seneca, a town near Buffalo, New York.  We had an early dinner at Chang Garden, a Chinese restaurant.  We thought the food was okay, but it wasn’t fabulous.  Here is a picture of us with Great Grandpa:

Then, we drove the short distance to our hotel near Niagara Falls. Our hotel is in Canada.  This was the first time my sister and I have been out of the country.  Surprisingly, it didn’t suddenly get colder when we got into Canada!  The hotel is underwater themed.  When we got there was a really bad magician in the lobby doing a show for a bunch of little kids in pajamas (it was near their bedtimes).  The hotel is decorated to look like a pirate ship and there is even a water park!  We plan to go to the water park tomorrow morning.

After we checked in to the hotel, we walked down to the falls to watch fireworks.  We got there just in time.  After the fireworks we got to see the falls lit up.  At first it just looks like a big waterfall (which is what it is) but if you look closer with binoculars it is truly fantabulous.  I can’t wait to see even more of Niagara Falls tomorrow when we ride on the Maid of Mist, a boat that takes you close to the falls.  Here is a picture of the falls lit up at night:

Even though the fireworks and falls were pretty cool, we saw some really amazing things on the way there.  The whole neighborhood around Niagara Falls is all arcades, mini golf places, fun houses, scary houses, restaurants, or a creepy combination of more than one of these.  My parents say it is like Las Vegas but for kids (I wouldn’t know since I haven’t ever been to Las Vegas).  Everything is lit up and noisy and after a while you get a headache.  One cool thing we saw was a restaurant named after me!  It was called Kelsey’s!!!!  Here is a picture of me with “my” restaurant:      

Also, there was an upside down house.   It was really awesome!  The window boxes were growing upside down and the door was at the top.  The roof was stuck into the ground.  Even the lawn furniture was upside down!  I always thought that upside down houses only existed in Mrs. Pigglewiggle books but now I know you can really make your house upside down!  When I grow up I will own the only upside down house in West Hartford! Here is a picture of the upside down house:

The upside down house wasn’t the only building that wasn’t right side up.  There was also a building that looked like the Empire State building on its side.  It had King Kong on it so it looked like it was being pulled down by him.  There was even a taxi cab on the side of the building!  Here is a picture:

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The Genesis of Our Trip

Welcome to the Hammond Adventures blog.  The 2012 Hammond Family Cross-Country Trip all started with a desire and a goal back in 2009.  As part of a coaching program I was asked to think about setting goals for myself.  Looking at the ages of my daughters Kelsey and Lindsey I knew my time spent with them at home was limited and would pass quickly; soon they would be busy with their friends and activities.  Karen has talked about a cross-country trip she took with her family as a child and I have always wanted to drive and see the country myself.  This desire inspired me to set a 3 year goal to take our family on a cross-country trip.  On Friday, July 13, 2012, we will set off on a four week adventure.  I created this blog to record our family trip and experiences as we travel over 7,400 miles across the country and back.  We look forward to making some wonderful family memories and hope you enjoy seeing and reading about them.

Greg

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