<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
He asked why were crossing the border. I was thinking, duh \u2013 aren\u2019t the falls splashing right behind you? Now, I didn\u2019t voice my opinion, but I have a really hard time with seriousness. I tend to laugh \u2013 at the most inopportune times! He wanted to know where we were from and when we said Louisiana, a strange look crossed his face.<\/p>\n
He then wanted to know if we had food \u2013 no on that one. We left it all in Manhattan. He asked if we had weapons and Hubby and I exchanged looks. Hubby was thinking he had a pocketknife and I was thinking about the sawed off broomstick I had. We looked at him and then back at each other. Hubby finally told him he had a pocketknife. By this time, I am barely holding it together. After asking if we were transporting liquor, he gave us directions to the Falls and sent us on our way.<\/p>\n
We drove along the river towards Niagara Falls. It was beautiful. The school of Horticulture maintains the gardens and they were gorgeous, even for this time of year. There is a very nice welcome center with shops and restaurants right there, literally, where the water falls. We parked and began our walk. There are nice walkways along the river and you can view the Falls from afar or close up. We spent a couple of hours doing just that. You can see by the pictures just how close to the Falls you can get. We were within three feet of the edge, just watching the water go over. It was truly amazing to see.<\/p>\n
Once we had taken a gazillion pictures, we headed back across the border. Once again, we were stopped for passport inspection. The US Border Patrol takes their job seriously as well. He took our passports and examined them and examined us, and began his questioning. He could not get a reading on our license plate so he asked the state. Why does Louisiana garner such strange looks? Is there something we don\u2019t know? Once again, he is so serious, and I want to burst out laughing. He begins his questioning. Why are we here? Why are we so far from home? Do we have any liquor? Do we have any weapons? By this time, I am staring out the window trying to remain serious. THEN, I hear my name. I looked over and he says, \u201cMs. Donna, would you remove your glasses?\u201d<\/p>\n
I am so used to wearing sunglasses that most times I forget I have them on. At that moment, I realized that in my passport picture, I have blonde hair, and here I sat, with red hair and sunglasses! I started feeling like a fugitive trying to cross the border \u2013 and you know what that means \u2013 I was about to start laughing! I was thinking, oh my goodness, I am going to laugh, and he is going to ask me to step out of the car and I\u2019ll be cuffed and detained at the border \u2013 because I was laughing and giving the impression that I was hiding something! I slowly turned toward him, and with the biggest, stupidest grin on my face, removed my sunglasses. He then looked at me, looked at the picture, looked at me, and after the longest second, closed the passports and handed them back to us. I think every scenario of every movie involving a border crossing went through my mind.<\/p>\n
After all that, I still do not have any stamps on my passport! I\u2019ve been in and out of Canada on different occasions and have yet to have my passport stamped. I want a stamp saying I have been out of the country!<\/p>\n
After some more driving around, Hubby and I found the Niagara Falls Park on the U.S. side. I quickly concluded that one side is not better or prettier than the other side. They are completely different and actually, in my opinion, cannot be compared.<\/p>\n
The Canadian side offers astounding views of the Falls, but the United States side offers a serene park setting. If you wish to view the Falls, you do need to venture out on the elevated walkway that is located in the park, but you can still view the American Falls and Niagara Falls up close.<\/p>\n
The park offers walking trails and the chance to visit three little islands that are connected by stone bridges. There are also benches for sitting and viewing along the trails. You can even picnic in the park. I hope that my pictures will show you that one side is as beautiful and majestic as the other is. Altogether, we spent the entire day at Niagara Falls and had a wonderful time.<\/p>\n
Hubby, of course, had to venture down to the water \u201cto touch\u201d. He even tried to get me to go with him. We all know what would have happened \u2013 Lucy would somehow have ended up going over the Falls. Hubby finally cupped his hands, filled them with the Niagara River, and brought it to me to feel how cold it was. He\u2019s so sweet!<\/p>\n
After a long day at the Falls, and an evening spent tasting their local brews, we called it a day. The twp day trip home, surprisingly enough, seemed to go by rather quickly \u2013 or so I thought \u2013 until Hubby informed me I kept falling asleep. I honestly did not think I slept much, but maybe I did.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Louisiana was not without its adventures either. We found out on the drive home that Calypso had created some of her own chaos. The day we left, someone was driving by on the highway and noticed a water gusher in our front yard. That person called another person, who called another person, who called another, until finally someone called Hubby\u2019s brother, who then left work, turned off the water, repaired the damage, and turned the water back on.<\/p>\n
Hubby has all of the water faucets wrapped with insulation and taped up with duct tape and electrical tape (he means business). There are four or five down our long driveway. Calypso decided that she was going to chew and pull the insulation off the faucet at the end of the driveway. With all of the wrapping and tape, it would take a human with a sharp knife to unwrap the faucet \u2013 which is why it stays wrapped all year! Not so for Calypso, the mighty dog! Judging from the insulation and tape that I had to gather from around the yard upon our return leads me to believe that next time I need a sharp knife, I will just call Calypso. Anything eye level is fair game to her.<\/p>\n
I hope she outgrows her chewing stage SOON! Hubby had to tie old paint cans around the taillights on his utility trailer. I was summoned quite early one morning by an angry Hubby to see where Calypso had left teeth marks on a taillight along with chips along the bottom (this is a brand new utility trailer.) The smile was there, but I didn\u2019t dare laugh! My life and Calypso\u2019s were at stake (remember me in serious situations.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 We\u2019ve come, we\u2019ve gone, and we\u2019ve returned; and I am forced to confess that …<\/p>\n
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