Day Nine - Annville, Pennsylvania

This one should probably be titled "Niagara Falls" since that is where we spent the large majority of the day. :)

We woke up freezing cold...absolutely freezing. The radiator in the cabin was essentially worthless and there was a crack in the door big enough to let mice walk through (none that we saw, thank goodness). I swear I would have been warmer in the tent. Fortunately, the showers had hot water, so by 9:30 we were showered, thawed, and on the road to the Falls.

We parked in a free lot a little ways from the Falls, and then paid $2 each for all day passes on the Trolley. If you ever go, I definitely recommend it. They circle continuously all day, and the guides and entertaining, informative and helpful. We also packed a backpack with waters, gloves, snacks, cameras, etc. But I would definitely recommend bringing a towel for nexttime.

We decided to make our first stop the Maid of the Mist boat ride. After purchasing our tickets, we went out on the Observation Tower / Deck. Being that high above the water made me a little weak-kneed, but the view was worth it. Then it was an elevator ride down to the river, to get our ponchos and wait in line to board the boat. Everyone who got off the boat was shaking water off of their ponchos, but that didn't deter us. :) It also helped that the guide on the Trolley mentioned that there had not been a single accident on a Maid of the Mist boat since they began running tours in 1846. The views from the top of the observation deck in each direction were stunning.

We managed to get a spot near the front and the edge near the American side of the Falls. I try to use capitalization sparingly, but WHAT A RIDE! We were soaking wet (it because very clear why they call it "Maid of the Mist"), but it was more than worth it for how close it took us to the Falls. The wind rushing off of the base of the Falls was intense. This first picture is the observation deck, where we started.

After that, we wandered through the gift shop in an effort to dry off and heat up a bit. There are three different waterfalls that compose Niagara Falls; Bridal Veil Falls, the American Falls, and Horseshoe Falls (also known as the Canadian Falls). Our second stop was Bridal Veil Falls, where we ate a small breakfast (surrounded by birds) at a cafe, and wandered around the lookout points.

From there, we bought our tickets for the Cave of the Winds tour, where we were issued a new poncho, and a pair of pretty nifty sandals. The Cave of the Winds was carved out by the backsplash of the water at the base of the Falls. Each year, a crew removes and rebuilds the wooden walkway down to the base of Bridal Veil Falls because the ice that comes down from the Great Lakes would destroy the walkways. Again, we took an elevator down to the base of the Falls, where we began our trek on a series of walkways and stairways leading to the Falls. The final deck, the Hurricane Deck, is optional, but how do you say no to a name like that? Never having experienced a hurricane, I can only imagine that that is what they feel like. As you walk up the stairs to the Hurricane Deck, water is rushing down the stairs in a torrent, it was seriously like walking up a river. The deck allows you to be within ten feet of the Falls. It was the most exhilarating thing I have experienced in awhile. Regardless of the soaking spray, I didn't want to leave, but Jess was waiting at the lower deck, and we had other things to see.

We boarded the Trolley again and headed up to the crest line of Horseshoe Falls (aptly named for the horseshoe shape that they are in). From there, we were able to stand near the crest and watch the water rushing over the edge. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water a second rush over those Falls, you cannot imagine how impressive it is.

Continuing on on the Trolley, we learned that upon her safe (and relatively undamaged) arrival at the base of the Falls, 63 year old Anne Edson Taylor (the first person to go over the Falls in a barrel) exclaimed to the crowd that "no-one should ever try that again." Clearly that was not the most effective deterrent, as 15 or so people have done so since (I believe 8 have survived). The guide also told us of a seven-year-old boy who was swept away by the current and went over the Falls wearing only his swimsuit and a life jacket. A Maid of the Mist boat pulled him from the water at the base...miraculously he survived. On our trip across the upper Niagara River, the guides informed us that on a scale of A-F (A being easy, F being impossible) and a scale of 1-5 (1 being a good chance of survival, 5 being "it was nice knowing you"), the American rapids were the only rapids to be rated an F-6. And no, that 6 was not a typo. No-one has ever survived the American Rapids. One guide described falling into the American rapids by saying t hat "you had about 30 seconds to get the last pictures you would ever take" and the other (farther upstream from the Falls) described it  by saying you had three minutes to figure out a way out of the water. See, I told you the Trolley guides were informative. :)

That was pretty much it for the trip to Niagara. I hate to use cliches (but I guess they are cliches for a reason), but during the whole experience all I could feel was this childlike wonder for the whole thing. The Falls are so imposing and majestic, it really is hard to define. By the time we got back in the car at 3:00 or so, my jaw hurt from grinning so much.

Before leaving Niagara Falls (the town), we found a t-shirt vendor on the street that looked promising, so we found a parking spot closer to town. We needed an atm, and the closest one was in the Hard Rock Cafe, so inside we went. Jess had never been inside one, so we decided to sit down and have something to eat. Upon looking at the menu, we decided on sharing a brownie (with the works) and each getting a drink (in collectable glasses, of course). Being October, their signature drinks were pink (Breast Cancer Awareness). I had some sort of delicious martini, that came with a small bag of pop rocks. Yes, it was as much fun to drink as it sounds like it would be. :)

We were pretty panicked on our way back to the car, having forgotten that we had parked in a one hour parking zone. We must have made it in time, because there were no tickets waiting on the windshield for us.

From there, it was pretty much a straight shot to Annville, Pennsylvania, with the exception of a few gas stops and bathroom breaks. Today was my day to drive (rare, but it does happen), so I was rocking out to my IPod while Jess napped. I passed throught this town in upstate New York - Mount Morris I believe it was called. It was the most perfect-looking town I had ever seen. I hope I remembered the name right, because I wanted to Google it later. :)

Oh, and I forgot to mention, people don't know how to drive in this state (this state being New York). It was like driving in LA, but with two lanes for each direction instead of six. We were almost run off of the road leaving Niagara Falls (city). Then we were tailed by a commercial van. And finally we were followed by a car that insisted on driving in the center of two lanes of traffic, in an effort to see the best was to speed through all of the cars and semis. All of this was on a major interstate, going with the flow of traffic - not slower than the posted speed limit. I should also mention that I (in my minimal road rage), did my best to keep said car behind me for a few miles. Petty - yes, but it definitely made me feel better. I was successful, and felt validated when I finally let the car pass - to discover that it was a middle aged man driving. Somehow I expect this kind of behavior from people my age (we're immature, reckless...etc.) but certainly not a "grown-up"

Anyways, it was past 7:00 by the time we started looking for a place for dinner, which -of course- was about the time we hit an area of no restaurants or fast food joints whatsoever. We eventually found ourselves in a town, and a sign for Sheetz popped out from the side of the road. Having been directed to this made-to-order fast food restaurant from my friend Allison (a native Pennsylvanian), we stopped and enjoyed food that we ordered from a touch-screen. There looked to be a large variety of food, but my mind had been on a egg and bacon sandwich since I saw a Subway early this afternoon. The food was cheap, the bacon was decent (always important), and the timing was impeccable.

After what seemed like an incredibly long day, we arrived in Annville at 9:30 and caught up with Kates and her friends for the rest of the night. We will be getting up decently early tomorrow, to go and tour Philadelphia while Kates has to go to class (man, sure feels good to be finished with that, at least temporarily).