Niagara & Ferndale

Time: Sept 1^st – 5^th 2016

Place: Niagara Falls, NY & Ferndale, MI

Company: Wife, Daughter, Brother, Sister-in-law

Highlights:

Prologue: This trip was originally meant for a visit to brother’s at Michigan. However, considering Niagara was a short drive away from Michigan, and also since Tontu hadn’t seen it, we planned the itinerary in such a way that we will spend a day at the Falls and rest at brother’s house. There were not too many variables to factor – the dates were pretty much finalized (Labor day weekend), there was no car to book and I wanted to use my points for the flight and stay (at Falls). So, the booking was not that big a deal.

Day 0: The flight was at 11:59 pm. So, packed the usual stuff, crossed out the check-list, left home at 8:30 pm, reached Travelodge at South SFO at 9:25 pm, parked the car, took the shuttle at 9:38 pm, and we were at the airport in 10 minutes. Had to request for seats to be together with a bunch of people but finally we were lucky to get it. Our first leg was to Chicago.

Day 1: One hour lay-over at Chicago, then a small jet to Buffalo. Reached at about 10 am, but had to wait till almost 12:30 for brother to pick us up. It was kept as a surprise to Tontu and she shrieked in joy seeing her aunt and uncle! We directly went to Howard Johnson (Closest to the Falls – that’s the name!), checked-in, relaxed and walked towards the Falls. On the way, we had a nice lunch at a Punjabi restaurant.

First stop was Maid of the Mist. Thankfully the long weekend crowd was yet to arrive, so we were spared with the long lines. And it was nice weather too. Tontu enjoyed the spraying of the Falls as the boat went close to the Falls. We also hiked close to the American Falls. Then we walked all the way to the Goat Island. Took in the lush scenery, sat on the lawn, had a light picnic and generally passed time.

Next adventure was Cave of the Winds. We adults enjoyed a lot but Tontu had enough of the water falling on her head! She barely could open her eyes! Surprisingly the water from the Falls was pretty warm. I hadn’t expected that. The ponchos are not really that useful. Our dress got wet anyways – and sun was setting too. So there was a chill in the air. By the time we came out, had some hot chocolate (not so great, by the way), it was already 7 pm. We wanted to watch the light show which starts at 8:30 pm. In order to kill time till then, my wife and I walked back to hotel, got the car and drove to the parking lot. Just as we walked back to the edge, the light show (if it can be called that) started.

It wasn’t all that impressive. It could have been made so, but all we saw was just constant lights glaring at the Falls. It wasn’t changing too quickly either. It didn’t seem like a show. It was just lights upon the Falls. After a while, we thought it better to call it quits. For less than 20 minutes of parking the car, we ended up paying $10 as parking fee! It would make sense to make the fee as time-based. Anyways, we stopped at the same Punjabi restaurant for dinner. It was delicious and we were ravenous! Totally worth the money. And then, that was it for the day.

Day 2: Took it easy. Nice fulfilling breakfast at HoJo. Left Niagara Falls at about 11 am, drove on I-90 for about 2-3 hrs and we planned to spend some time at Edgewater Park at Cleveland, just as a nice stopover for the kiddo. We were lucky that it happened to be an air-show day at Cleveland. So, many folks had come to this very park since it was free! Just as well for us! We parked the car and just then we were greeted to a spectacular air show by the US Navy. The sound boomed as the crafts dived and rose and made patterns and what-not. After munching ice cream, we went on our way. Stopped at a McD for fries and continued. Reached Ferndale at 8 pm. After a light dinner, retired for the night.

Day 3: Initially had planned for an outing like a zoo or temple (considering it was Ganesh Chaturthi). But then changed mind and made it as a chill-pill day. All day long stayed at home. Tontu enjoyed the company of her aunt and uncle. It was a perfect weather day to sit on the lawn, bask in the sunlight, play with sprinkler, etc. In the noon, saw a 1990 Kannada movie (Ananth Nag comedy) – maybe for the nth time! In the evening, went for a nice stroll on the downtown. One more round of sundae ice creams! And that’s it!

Day 4: Had Ganesh festival yummy feast. Packed, left home at noon, reached airport at 1:30 pm and passed time for about an hour. An emotional farewell. Especially Tontu since she didn’t want to go back home. An uneventful flight back home via Dallas. I guess this was the first time I was having a lay-over in Texas – a state that I was somehow always wanted to see or even stay. Anyways. No issues with baggage. Got the shuttle at the right time to car-park, drove back home, and reached safely at 10 pm. It was a ‘perfect-timing’ day all in all.

Epilogue:

1. This trip was important since it could possibly be our last trip to brother’s home in 

Ferndale, MI. If not, at least will surely be so for a long time. The last time we were here was in Jan 2012, right before I had an idea that I might leave East Coast permanently. And this time, it is right before I have an idea that I might leave West Coast permanently!

2. This trip was also very important since it was the recipient of award points redemption for both flights and hotels. The trip to Rio with American Airlines had given all three of us enough points to almost fly free one-way to BUF. And the many stays with Wyndham during past vacations provided us this stay at HoJo at an extremely reasonable price. But for this trip, I might have lost all these points considering the aforementioned idea.

3. In terms of counts – it was my fifth time at Niagara (Apr 2005, Sept 2005, Sept 2006, July 2009, Sept 2016) and fifth at Ferndale too (2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2016).

4. We created a record of sorts, with this trip (similar to the Rio trip). We were in three different states on the same day of three consecutive months (not including resident state):

• July 5^th 2016 – Alaska
• August 5^th 2016 – Colorado
• September 5^th 2016 – Michigan

5. Another interesting thing about this trip was that exactly 10 years ago, this very same Labor day, I took my parents to Buffalo airport in the act of showing them the great Falls. And bro had come to the airport to pick us all up. And now, 10 years later – exactly the same setting except that this time it was for my daughter. And she had the best time of all – got enough gifts and love from her uncle and aunt.

Footnote - This trip was for my daughter as well as for my brother and his wife, who have visited us almost every year since we arrived in US in 2011. An extremely pleasant and memorable trip of what could possibly be our last flight-based vacation in US….