"You'll Always Know Your Cow"

One of our stops on this trip has been to see the Erie Canal, and take a little boat ride on it.

Liz made up this amazing booklet for each of the kids on this trip. She got clip art from various places, pictures of things we were going to visit, and little blurbs that she put together so that the kids could read a bit about what we were going to do before we got there. She made sure that the stuff she wrote was age appropriate, as well as short enough to be interesting. Liz also left some blank pages for the kids to draw or paste souvenirs in. I was pretty impressed.

Liz also read a lot of stories with the kids before we left that dealt with where we were going. As well as rounded out her "priming" of them with a few multi-media presentations (songs and videos).

One of her songs that she was playing for them before we left was "The Erie Canal". Rather than just reciting to them when it was built, how long it was, who was Governor when it was built, etc., she really did a pretty good job of making this stuff interesting. We talked about locks, how they worked, the importance to river traffic to trade in the 1800's, etc.

When we got close to the canal, we were singing the song, and we realized that Buddy Boy had gotten one of the words wrong. We've all done this at one time or another (some of us more often than not), so it was no big thing. But he insisted for the longest time that his version was right, and he didn't want to change it.

The original chorus goes:

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge for we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor,
you'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

Well, Buddy Boy insisted the third line was:

And you'll always know your neighbor,
you'll always know your pal cow

Given that he still talks about wanting to be a farmer, I guess it's good to "always know your cow".

The song can be heard here.

When Did Niagra Falls Get So Tacky?

So, our first stop on our family vacation extravaganza this year was Niagara Falls. I have been there 2 or 3 times in the past, but not for at least a decade. And I don't think I've been on the Canada side of the falls for at least 30 years.

I was surprised both by how expensive everything was on the Canadian side of the falls, as well as how tacky. Now don't get me wrong. The falls themselves are beautiful (breathtaking, really), and the view from the Canadian side is better than from the US side. But I'm still left wondering whether if it was worth it to go, as the place left somewhat of a bad taste in our mouths.

This is what we expected (and got!):




The falls are a natural wonder, and the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride is worth it, as they get you right up close to the falls.



But the town is tacky to the nth degree



with Ripley's right next to Frankenstein, next to a horror show, next to a Rock and Roll Wax museum, tacky souvenir shop, etc. People smoking everywhere (not just the tourists, but a much greater percentage of the locals then I would have expected-I thought Canadians were supposed to be much more progressive. I guess they're just more "European" in this respect).

The hotel we stayed at was expensive, and looked like it had been built in the 1970's, with furniture updated once in the 1980's. The cleanliness was barely passable, the wi-fi didn't work in the room (only in the lobby, though they expressed surprise that it didn't work in the room-a night clerk said it never worked in our room). One of the mattresses creaked and was lumpier than our 25 year old sleeper sofa at home.

Food cost about 80% more, even after adjusting for the exchange rate (ham, mushroom, and cheese omelette at a Perkins restaurant- $8.49 in the states, $14.98 in Canada. Other stuff even more outrageous). You would think that the town would look really good, with the prices being charged. But other than some nice buildings right near the river, the rest of the town is rather shabby looking.

It took us almost 3 hours to clear Canadian customs, and we weren't even singled out for special inspection. The lines were just that long. Buddy Boy was waxing poetic in the back seat about what the customs agents might be looking for while we were waiting (bombs, explosives, and terrorists). Luckily, we persuaded him to clam up while we passed thru the line.

Even though the streets were packed, we were told that tourism is off this year due to the economy. The Canadian people were nicer than most tourist dependent townsfolk. I think I would be surly if I lived in a town where people tramped thru my front yard every day and asked stupid questions. One store clerk thanked me for being polite (and I wasn't even trying to be-I can't imagine what she has to put up with on a daily basis).

After a couple days of seeing the falls and the surrounding area, we were off to mid-southern Pennsylvania, where we spent the next few days. Fortunately, we got thru customs going back in about a half hour.

All in all, I still would go back to Niagara Falls and the Canadian side. It's just a shame that such a naturally beautiful place has been degraded by such a tacky town.

Where in the World...

Are we??

Who can figure out which state in the Continental U.S. we are in?

This is a contest. But as I am a cheapskate, on the road, and am figuring this out as I go along, I don't have anything to give away. So for the prize, for the first one to figure out where we are, I'll e-mail you some scenic views from our vacation (holiday).

Tonights clue is the picture up on top. If someone doesn't figure it out in 24 hours, I'll edit this post and add another clue.

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The first guess. The first guess!

OK, Do'C got it on the first try. We actually spent the first night of our vacation in Iowa, but with apologies to any Iowans out there, I didn't take any pics that first night (though the kids and I did find a family of toads outside the motel while Liz was checking in).

Our second night was spent in South Dakota (we didn't stay in Sturgis, we actually stayed a few miles down the road in Spearfish). But that didn't matter, as the annual Bike Rally in Sturgis draws 500,000 (!) people on their bikes (mainly Harley Davidson's) to South Dakota. Our first inkling that our vacation coincided with Bike Week was in trying to make reservations. Liz found that most motels (single rooms in 2 star nothing special places) were going for $300/night!!! I was like "What!! We're not talking New York City, this is South Dakota!" We soon found the reason, and eventually found a room for just over $200/night, which still hurt.

There have been Harleys everywhere!


And amazingly, the kids don't see anything abnormal with this. Today we saw the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD (it's a building that is covered in-you guessed it-corn! Quite a-maize-ing, actually),


As well as stopped at Wall Drug for "Free Ice Water!" as well as ice cream.


Tonight we've moved on. For a second prize (reward same as the first) this new location has unique geologic phenomena found in only 4 other places in the world. For the prize, name the place, AND the 4 other countries where these phenomena are found.

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Next clue.

Although there are a few scattered in other places, the 4 other countries that have significant concentrations of these geological phenomena that are located in the park we are visiting are Russia, New Zealand, Iceland, and Chile.


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Ding, ding, ding, ding!

We have our second winner! Niksmom is right. We saw Old Faithful erupt today (twice), as a matter of fact.