Lucky Day!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Lucky Day!

This morning came way too early. The alarm clock screamed for attention and then off to the showers. I came back for my umbrella and I wondered if it wasn’t raining when Tom went to the shower room because his was still in the trailer. It was warm, at least warmer than we usually found in the morning. I wore my flannel shirt and fleece vest only because it was handy. I certainly didn’t need it. The wind was a bit fresh. I put the umbrella down because the wind wanted to blow it inside out. It was raining harder when I came out the of the shower house, so I used it without any problem with the wind.

We headed off to Denny’s for breakfast. We found a place to park very easily and were seated right away. The waitress was able to make substitutions we wanted in the menu item that we ordered. By the time we were ready to leave there were quite a few people waiting to be seated.

We were an hour early to go right to the church, so we went back to the trailer for about an hour. Then off to church, which “The Man” found readily when we could find the correct roads that “he” wanted us to use. [A note for all of the new people reading this blog and for those who have forgotten: “The Man” is the name of the navigator we use for our vehicles. It came from the name that our grandson gave to the navigator that his parents use for their vehicles when he was much younger. His parents use a feminine voice on their navigator and he calls, or used to call it “The Lady.” We use a masculine voice so we call it “The Man.”]

St. Paul’s Church is in a racially mixed neighborhood, and we thought that this congregation would be too. I was getting excited about worshiping with them. When we arrived we saw Caucasians entering the church. When we entered the church we were greeted warmly. One woman finally said that Tom must be the one who emailed the church, and we guess that she was the one who responded to that e-mail. Lots of people welcomed us. Lots of people made it a point to seek us out to Pass the Peace and welcome us. Still more found us after worship to welcome us and invite us for the coffee hour. But this was not a racially mixed congregation. But the pastor announced that the Forum topic today and the next few weeks was the purpose of St. Paul’s Church. Hopefully they will be discussing the possibility of reaching out to the neighborhood.

Back to the trailer to change our clothes, eat lunch and, for me, to doze for a while until it was time to walk to the tour office to board a bus for a tour of the American and Bridal Veil Falls. This was another four-hour tour on top of the one yesterday.  We had wondered whether we really needed to go on this one today. After our ride on the Maid of the Mist and the visit to the Cave of the Winds we decided it was.

The elevator takes you down 180 ft. to get on the Maid of the Mist which takes you right up, personal with the Horseshoe Falls. We were given souvenir raincoats (ponchos) to wear to keep us sort of dry. We were told to tie a knot in the bottom of the poncho to keep it from billowing up like a balloon. It worked. The rush of the winds and the mist from the pounding falls tried it’s best to get us wet. They succeeded most of the time, but the poncho did not billow if you tied the knot properly.

A trip to the Cave of the Winds is a climb down some wooden scaffolding and then up along the Bridal Falls. To take this trip we were not only given the obligatory raincoat/poncho but also sandals to assure the best footing on the steps and platforms. The water cascaded along the rocks under you as well as beside you. At one point the water from the falls came over the railings of the scaffolding. I just had to go and stand on that part of the platform so that my feet would get wet by the water.
The Hurricane Deck was the top-most platform before going right up to  the Bridal Veil Falls. Then the trip down some of the steps and up the ramp to the elevator that takes you up to the top. And the best part - you get to keep your raincoat and sandals!  ;o)

About the scaffolding: this is what the platforms and steps for the Cave of the Winds trip is built on. Each November when the park closes this scaffolding is taken down, or it would be taken down by the ice in the winter months. Then in the Spring, before the season opens again, it is rebuilt. I wonder who in their right minds would climb on those rocks so close to the falls.

You get to see a lot more things like the rapids, the whirlpool and Terrapin Point. And we have experienced that the bus driver/tour leaders make a big difference in how you get to see the attractions and the information you get about them and the area. Yesterday’s bus driver and tour leader was born in another part of the state of NY and came here some 35 years ago. Today’s bus driver and tour leader was born in Niagara Falls, NY and grew up here. She could tell us about the factories that grew up in the area and did or left the area and for what reasons. She showed us where her father had a meat market on a street where parades where held and how on cold days they could sit in the window of the upstairs room and view the parade in the warmth. Yesterday’s bus driver and tour leader knew the facts, but today’s bus driver and tour leader provided the color.

We got home a little after 6pm and had finished dinner by 7pm, thank you Smart Ones and a trailer with a microwave. We had noticed the sky was clouding over before we left the park but it didn’t let down its water until just after 7pm. It’s a good thing that our drying rack was under the awning or our towels would have gotten even wetter than they were.

Now is computer time and working on pictures. I hope to get into bed very, very soon. All in all, we were very lucky today.