Jacuzzi sweeeeet! @ Niagara Falls

After our short time in Sault Sainte Marie (Michigan), we crossed the border to Ontario and began driving towards Niagara Falls.  I'd never been there, and Michael hadn't been since he was a teenager.

We arrived pretty late, getting into town at about 10:30 pm -- but we were surprised to see that the place was absolutely hopping.  People were everywhere.  Every business was open, loud music blared from stores, and outdoor eating areas were full.  We knew that the lights at the falls would be turned off at midnight, so we were working fast to park the car, find a room, and get down to the viewing platform in time.

I must have been pretty giddy about seeing the falls, because the lady at the Days Inn must have thought we were on our honeymoon:  we walked into our discounted room to see that she had given us a jacuzzi suite!  Yeah -- jacuzzi sweeeeeeet!  We made sure to thank her.

The falls are amazing!  We've been to Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil, so we've seen some super amazing falls... but Niagara still had the beauty and grace of a well-respected older woman.  (Like the Helen Mirren of waterfalls...?)  She was still very impressive!  We went back before checking out of the hotel, to see it in the daylight.  Lots more people around than there were at night, but still plenty of space to admire the falls.

Unfortunately, we had a problem to solve:  somewhere between Las Vegas and Niagara, one of our tires sprung a leak.  We didn't notice it until the Badlands National Park (South Dakota), when we thought the tire appeared low.  Then, we noticed in Sault Sainte Marie that it was certainly losing air, since it was half-way flat.  We drove across Ontario, stopping every 100 miles or so to top up the tire.  So, after only a day in Canada, we had to dip into New York to get to the nearest Firestone (we have a tire warranty as well as a number of other "lifetime" service plans with them).  The tire got a nail in the sidewall, which is an un-repairable injury.  So, they replaced the tire and sent us on our way.  We were pretty happy to have it fixed.  It's a good little car, our Focus!

So, with a tire fixed and Montreal still on the agenda, we knew we wanted to get back to Canada.  Did I mention that we're pretty tired?  Yeah... staying up late a few days in a row and getting up early to get on the road -- it all adds up.  Oh well.  We made it. We're in Brockville, Ontario for the night.  The border patrol was a little curious about our crossing twice in one day, but after several questions to establish we were not undesirable, he bid us good day and sent us back into the beautiful wilds of Southern Ontario.

It's beautiful here!  The "1,000 Islands" of the Lawrence River, the marshes and the low-lying fog... it's very picturesque.  We're hearing a lot of French on the radio already, and I can't wait to see Montreal!  I've been wanting to go there for quite a while.

Adieu!

Update for the past three weeks

It has been an eventful past three weeks.  Here are a few things we've been up to since the last time I updated our blog:

1. Sadly, we left the East Bay on June 30th, I driving the U-Haul and Brooke driving our car behind me.  We had breakfast at our favorite Cole Coffee in Rockridge in Oakland and then we got on the freeway and left town (for now).  I say, "for now," because I don't like to think it will be the last time I am there -- I'm sure it won't.  Will we live there again, I'm not sure.  The idea that you do something "once in a lifetime" doesn't sit well with us.  I don't really like that expression.  We had a great time in the Bay Area, but now it's time for other adventures and new chapters in our lives.  We'll definitely be back to visit our friends and will once again be sitting at Cole Coffee (if we can get a seat) drinking our favorite dark elixir.
   
2. We put our belongings into storage in Las Vegas.  Those things we decided to keep are boxed up and will be there for us when we decide what to do with them -- maybe ship them to some other location where we'll be living.  For now, though, they're not coming with us to Kazakhstan.  Our car is one of the things that will go in the storage bin (and take up the most space).  My mom will drive it now and then for us to keep it in working order, but we figured it would be cheaper to store it than to rent a car for the summer when we come back next year.
   
3. We visited Brooke's family in Salt Lake City for the 4th of July.  That was great.  Family, fireworks, barbecue, and just being able to catch up.
   
4. We went for two nights to Flagstaff to meet up with Brooke's uncle, aunt, and kids from Phoenix and Brooke's aunt, uncle, and cousins from Salt Lake.  They rented a cabin and we had a great time playing together in the woods (my introduction to motorsports!) and cooking and eating...before we had to leave to...
   
5. Attend a funeral in Southern California.  Actually, it was a double funeral for my Uncle Steve who passed away in May and my Grandma who passed away in June.  It was a nice time to reflect on how much these people meant to our family and to celebrate the memories that we had with them.
   
6. Take off across the United States and Canada on a ROAD TRIP!  Brooke and I really enjoy traveling together, obviously.  Last year, when we realized that we would probably be living overseas again, we decided that we needed to take a road trip across the US and Canada.  With so many places to go, we decided that it would be pretty cool to see some areas of the US we haven't been to yet.

• After the funeral we went back to Las Vegas for a couple of days.
• Then we set off up the I-15 through Nevada, Arizona, and Utah to the I-70 to Colorado.  This route is so beautiful.  The rocks and canyons are all different shades of orange and red.  It's definitely easy to stay alert.  In the middle of nowhere, we rescued a stranded motorist in Utah who ran out of gas and whose radiator was leaking all over the place.  We stayed the first night in Fruita, Colorado.
• The next day we continued the next day into the Rockies.  Amazing mountains!  The route passes famous ski resorts like Vail and Breckenridge and twists through narrow canyons.  We went to Rocky Mountain National Park and ended the day in Greeley, Colorado where we visited some of my former students whose parents moved their families to find work in the meatpacking business there.
• We continued on through Wyoming, Nebraska, and into South Dakota.
• The next day we saw the Crazy Horse Memorial and then went to Mount Rushmore (impressive).  We really enjoyed the rolling, mossy green hills of this area.  We continued after Mount Rushmore to Badlands National Park and then stopped in Murdo, only because we were tired.
• We continued on through South Dakota, into Minnesota, and then down into Iowa for the heck of it, and back up to Minnesota.  The corn fields were beautiful.  We entered Wisconsin and stayed for the night in Thorp.
• We both thought the farms of Wisconsin -- beautiful red barns, silos, cows, and lush green fields -- was a highlight of our trip so far.  It reminds me a lot of the polder in Flanders, which I love.  We continued on up into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  I was surprised at how dense the forest is!  We had lunch along Lake Michigan and then walked in the water in Lake Superior.  Now I'm writing from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan just across from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada where we'll continue our trip tomorrow.

That's a lot of stuff.  We'll be one the road for a couple more weeks visiting family and friends along the way before we head back to Las Vegas and then leave to Kazakhstan.