Welcome back! Here is Part II to our day adventure that started with going to Lake Erie in Erie, PA which you can access here. After a few hours of laying on the beach and exploring the peninsula we decided that we wanted more adventure.
Like we said in the last post, we contemplated driving to Cleveland, Ohio but decided that was too far, and too much of a commitment for the day. So what did we do? Naturally, we decided to drive to Niagara Falls, even farther than Cleveland (obviously, we're the most logical people ever).
Deciding (finally!) our course for the afternoon, we jumped into action. Cassandra grabbed her trusty iPhone to map out the best route, Nadya took stock of supplies in the backseat, and Stacey pillaged the closest gas station for snacks. We needed a car charger since our phones were all dying, we needed gas, and most importantly, Nadya and Stacey needed Diet Coke (no worries, we broke the nasty addiction by now)(or so Nadya thinks...hehehe). There was a quick pee break, and then we were off! Blasting some Taylor Swift for our T-Swift power hour, we were all bundles of excitement driving our way to the glorious state of New York.
At this point, our sunburns were starting to set in and we finally got a visual on our red, blistering skin when we stopped to use the bathroom and stretch our legs. Laughing our way out of the building, we got back into the car and sped our way to the border of New York state, still shocked and excited by the turn of events our day took. We got to the final bridge before we entered the national park and our excitement skyrocketed. Nadya had never been to Niagara Falls and until this day, it never felt like something she wanted to do (a tourist attraction) but there she was, smiling like a 10 year-old going to Disney World for the first time. Finally we got to a parking spot and we started our trek towards the Falls.
If you've been to another country, it's really easy to just cross over a boundary or land by plane on different soil but something that is incredibly hard to describe is the feeling you get when you're standing on one side of a gorgeous waterfall and look into the horizon and into a different country. The Falls are breathtaking. We arrived around sunset and we got to watch the sun fall over Toronto and reflect into the rushing waters of Niagara Falls.
Standing over the falls, watching the water rush over rocks and cascade down, Cassandra recalled being able to walk under the falls in a tour called "Cave of the Winds" and we decided to do that. Nadya and Cass paid for Stacey's ticket, as an early birthday present. We posed for our obligatory photo (which we regrettably did not shell out the money to purchase), and boarded an elevator to get down to the ground level of the falls. We perfectly played the part of tourists, rocking these non slip sandals they give out and yellow ponchos so we didn't get wet. Talk about surreal.
We walked up and down the boardwalks they have set up (the red walkways in one of the photos below), having a blast. In the picture above, we are on the Hurricane Deck where you get to stand right next to the Falls and it was amazing. The feeling the water spraying on your face, while your feet are pummeled by the water from the falls is indescribable. It's so easy to overlook little things in life, but when you get splashed by the water, tiny drops of water come together to create something as beautiful and powerful as those falls. Pardon the emotional crap, but sometimes it's the most random things that can help put things in perspective.
One of the things we had on our summer bucket list was a spontaneous road trip and it really shaped our friendship from that point on. While we were already really great friends, this trip and the spontaneity that accompanied it, brought out a characteristic in all of us that we don't really think we had known about before and had us craving more trips like this. It's one thing to plan a trip with friends and either have a ton of fun or have it fail completely, but this trip was something each of us will cherish for the rest of our friendship and our lives because of its random nature and the laughs and stories that sprouted from it. 10/10 would recommend doing this.
Below, you can find all the pictures we took from that afternoon, including Nadya's feet since she was the only one still wearing the shoes.
Be sure to keep a look out for our next post about a weekend adventure to West Virginia! As always, thanks for reading.
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