Mike arrives at 7:30 with his two crewmates. I am thankful they’re running behind since we have to put away everything, and I mean everything. The Welland Canal is supposed to be extremely rough, so I don’t want Mike to be dealing with Honey Bunches of Oats and TJ’s Takis flying about, followed by cheeky swimsuits and sunhats. Mike seems excited to drive the boat, and Wm gives him a quick tutorial on the joystick and helm buttons.
We hop off with our overnight bags, bid Fine Time adieu, and cross our fingers that the random captain from an online directory delivers her safely on the other side. They pull away and oddly stop in the middle of the moored sailboats. Wm makes the wise decision to turn away and hop into Mike’s Chevy Volt. The boat is in Mike’s hands now, hope they’re capable ones.
We drive up the hill into the middle of Youngstown, a classic Americana Main Street, flags lining the way, (can this place get any cuter?) and stop at a diner for breakfast. Next door, there’s a window display of a variety of old mannequins. It’s unclear what they’re selling, there’s a naked baby and a Can Can girl kicking up her skirts amongst many others. I try to get M&M to pose for shots with said creepies, but they call me out for being a stalker.
Classic, delicious breakfast and on we roll to Fort Niagara, a very impressive spot we know nothing about. It is unfortunately closed but we learn it was built in 1726 to protect the French interests in North America. That explains the beautiful French chateau feel.
The fort is surrounded by a lovely park. We drive around a bit, checking out historic officer’s quarters and the admiral’s house, sadly in disrepair. We stop for a pic along the waterside and decide to roll down the grassy hill for some active entertainment. It’s a blast until we stand up with the spins and regret the classic breakfast so recently eaten.
Back in the car to head to the Falls. We drive through the town of Niagara Falls -a little down on its luck but we see some beautiful old houses. Arriving at the Falls, we immediately head to the Horseshoe Falls. The Falls are enormously impressive, a huge rainbow hovers above the whitewater, and a mist continuously sprays the air. It’s pretty incredible.
Wm and I reminisce being there 13 years prior for Trevor and Wende’s wedding and riding the Maid of the Mists directly into the Falls (or pretty damn close). We pose for some cheesy shots and make the children delightfully nauseous. This time, we decide to do the Cave of the Mists tour which puts you at the base of the American Falls. We watch an educational video on how Olmsted reclaimed the Falls from being a toxic dumping ground and how Tesla harnessed the water’s endless power. Then, we donned some ridiculous water sandals, got into a tiny elevator, and headed down. At the bottom, we are given some flattering yellow ponchos and directed toward the stairs for the Falls. We hike up into the spray which sporadically turns into direct hits of water. The water’s loud, all-encompassing, and a total blast.
We pile back into the Volt, soaking wet with grins plastered on our faces and shirts on our backs. Quick changes in the car and we meet Trevor and Wende for lunch in downtown Buffalo. So fun to catch up with them and have some laughs. Trev invites us over later to see the house and say hi to the kids.
We check into our hotel and immediately crash into a nap. It feels good to be in big beds. We then shower up and head out for a stroll along the canal. There’s another cute market, and the air near the water feels crisp and cool. It has been surprisingly hot in Buffalo.
Back into the car we go to check out T’s house. I do some bad navigating so we see some of the more interesting parts of Buffalo. We have a lovely sit by the pool- Van and Ella show off their skillfully engineered laundry basket boat, and Mason and Meade fill T in on our nephew Whit’s burgeoning rap career.
We turn down Trev’s offer for grilled hot dogs (big mistake) to go meet Mike for his impending 7:00 arrival. Or so we thought. Fast forward to some Uber Eats and Wm departing to meet Mike when he finally rolls in at midnight. He was put into the locks with two sailboats which creep along at 5mph. There are 8 locks total on the canal, and he has to wait for the sailboats at each one. We don’t really understand this until well into the night. Mike has been sending videos of their progress but not exactly ETA details.
The schedule is not ideal but it’s a lot worse for Mike and his crew who have an hour and a half drive left to go. We are just thrilled the Canada Plan has worked, and our journey is back on track.
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