Niagara Falls

On Friday, June 27, we left Williamsport around 4pm and headed for Niagara Falls.  We planned this trip on the weekend so Greg could go with us.  We stopped in Buffalo for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory as I was having a craving!  We shared meals, drank water, and got out of there for $73 even with 3 desserts.  :)  We made it to our hotel around 9:30pm.  During the summer, there are fireworks over the falls on Friday and Sunday evenings.  I didn't realize that when I made the initial plans, but it turned out to be perfect.  We walked onto the observation bridge right as the fireworks started.  They were so beautiful as were the lights on the falls which are on every night.

 

The next morning we bought subs at a local grocery store for a picnic lunch and headed back to the park.  Niagara Falls is in Niagara Falls State Park.  You pay $8-10 to park in one of their lots, but that is all you actually HAVE to pay.  You could park on the street outside of the park and walk in if you could find a place.  We bought the Discovery Pass which allowed us to experience five attractions in the park.  The two main things were the Maid of the Mist boat ride and the Cave of the Winds.  Doing these two things separately would have cost the same as each pass, so we figured everything else was a bonus.

 

Look at that gorgeous rainbow in the background!

 We did The Cave of the Winds first.  This attraction wasn't really cave-like except that you took an elevator down into the rock.  After that you walked out on this contraption of stairs and bridges which they rebuild every single spring due to the wear and tear of the ice over the winter.

You were given these lovely ponchos and sandals to keep dry.  Yeah, right!

Look how close we were to the falls!

See the sign?  It says Hurricane Deck.  I elected to stay one deck lower and take pictures!

One season, four hurricanes hit Florida. We NEVER got this wet!

On our way to the trolley, we passed this statue of Tesla.  Carys and Landon both had to have their pictures taken with it!

We got to ride the trolley around the park all day as part of the pass.

 

So we rode over to the Maid of the Mist next.  These are the two most popular attractions, so we opted to do them first before it got too crowded.

The boat ride was incredible.  You rode right up to the falls.  At a certain point, you can't really see anything, though!

 A truly incredible sight!  "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls."  Psalm 42

The American Rapids from the trolley

We also went into the aquarium and the Gorge Discovery Center.  I'd heard how small and awful the aquarium was, but Carys enjoyed it thoroughly, especially the sea lions.

Carys wanted Greg to take her picture with every stuffed animal in the aquarium gift shop. 

Chase decided to get in on the action, except she was trying to imitate the expression on each animal's face.  It was hilarious!

 

We went into the Gorge Discovery Center simply to wait for the next trolley to the parking lot.  I made these people pose, but only Greg looks very happy about it!  I think they were making those faces on purpose. :) 

We were exhausted by the time we headed home, but it was worth it!  We made it back to Williamsport by about 7:00 that evening.

Philadelphia: Eastern State Penitentiary

Thursday afternoon, June 26, we toured the Eastern State Penitentiary. Chase really wanted to do a nighttime ghost tour, but it didn't fit into our schedule (and it would have freaked Carys out anyway). Apparently, the do a huge haunted house in the fall for anyone in the area who's into that sort of thing.

Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin. Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, this was the world’s first true “penitentiary,” a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts. The price of admission included an audio tour which was full of many interesting details about the prison. You can listen to the tour here.

Here are the kids outside the prison.

The audio tour told you where to stop and look at accompanying displays.

All the prisoners were in solitary confinement, and silence was required at all times.  This was later found to be cruel and unusual punishment and the practice was ended.

Carys had a scavenger hunt to do.  The cells were pretty creepy inside, even in the daytime.

At least you had your own bathroom!  :)

Though the prison is "in ruins", you can still walk around most of it, including up these stairs to the second floor.

The stairs led to this bridge.

Look at the neat architecture of this place!  Really worth a visit the next time you're in the Philadelphia area.

Philadelphia: Independence Mall

On Thursday morning, we headed for Philadelphia just 30 minutes from Valley Forge. We spent the morning seeing the free sights in the Independence Mall area. When I was in junior high, my family visited Philadelphia. At that time, the Liberty Bell was outside under a pavilion. Now a building has been built around it.

I love this verse from Leviticus which is inscribed on the bell.

Here it is! The Liberty Bell was made for the Pennsylvania State House long before the Declaration of Independence was signed.  The old State House bell was first called the "Liberty Bell" by a group trying to outlaw slavery.

 

It was extremely difficult to get a picture of the kids with the bell.  There was a large group of Chinese-speaking people there at the same time, and they were very organized at pushing their way to the front and taking pictures of one another.  This is as good as I was able to do!

We also toured Independence Hall and Congress Hall.  Everything else in this area cost money to see, and we didn't want to spend the money here.  

This is the outside of Independence Hall (the old Pennsylvania State House) where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed.

 

This is the room where the signing took place.  The chair with the rising sun is almost the only original thing in the room.

 

This is Congress Hall where Congress met prior to the capital being moved to Washington, D.C.

We walked six blocks to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch.  That sounded like a much shorter walk than it was.  This was a really neat place to eat.  It was like a warehouse of food stands.  Fun!  

After lunch, we drove over to the Eastern State Penitentiary.  More on that in the next post!

Valley Forge

Around noon on Wednesday, June 25, we left Williamsport for the eastern side of Pennsylvania.  That afternoon we toured Valley Forge.  We followed the cell phone tour through the park.  It was really neat and FREE! Valley Forge National Historical Park is nationally significant as the site of the 1777-78 winter encampment of the Continental Army under General George Washington. No battle actually took place here.

I don't think Chase wanted to pose as George in this little tiny figurine!

Carys likes to pose everywhere!

 
Landon is always the one to read all the information.

 
The above pictures are the United States National Memorial Arch, erected to commemorate the arrival of General George Washington and his Continental Army into Valley Forge. It is a simplified version of the Triumphal Arch of Titus in Rome (A.D. 81) which marked the capture of Jerusalem by Emperor Titus in A.D. 70.

I thought it was neat that the names of all the main generals are listed inside the arch.

This is the carillon of the Washington Memorial Chapel which is still an active Episcopal church today.

 I wanted to get more pictures of the church, but the battery on my camera died!  We headed to our hotel (free with my Hilton Honors points!) and then to the King of Prussia mall for dinner.  It's the second largest mall in the U.S.  We could never see it all, but we enjoyed a couple of hours there anyway. 

Pennsylvania Trip

We were blessed this summer when Greg received a contract position to work as the superintendent for a company in Ocala that was building an office addition to a hospital in Williamsport, PA. Though it is not a permanent position and therefore doesn't include health insurance, the money was good as well as the opportunity to make contacts in the construction world. So, he took the job. He worked for a week in their office here and then left on the Tuesday after Memorial Day for PA. He flies home every other weekend. He's staying in an extended-stay type of hotel which has a small kitchen (refrigerator, microwave, stove top, and dishwasher - I'd trade the dishwasher for an oven any day). This has allowed him to save almost all of his per diem. We decided to use the opportunity to take a trip to the area. After the craziness of his job situation this spring, we certainly did NOT expect to be able to take a vacation this summer. But sometimes God gives us more than we can ask or even imagine. :) So, we left on Friday, June 20, and headed for North Carolina. We spent the weekend with the Miskiewicz's and enjoyed our time there as we always do. Then on Monday, June 23, we left there for Williamsport. Greg was so excited to show us around. It's a nice town of slightly more than 20,000 residents. The mountains all around are beautiful. We enjoyed his guided tour as well. We ate at a local Asian buffet Tuesday night and got two of the strangest fortune cookie fortunes ever!

Where has the month gone? I posted last on May 9, and it's already June 13. It's just flown by.  The week after we got back, Greg got an offer for a contract position as a construction superintendent in Pennsylvania where a local Ocala company is adding a 4-story office building onto a hospital.  After thinking about it and talking to a few people he respects, he decided to take it.  He started Monday, May 19, and worked a week in their office here.  He left for Pennsylvania on the Tuesday after Memorial Day.  He will be there 6-10 weeks, but he flies home every other weekend.  He was home last weekend.  Instead of flying home this weekend, we're going to head his way.  We're going to see friends in NC on the way up, stay a week and visit Philadelphia, Gettysburg and Niagara Falls, then visit friends in VA and SC on the way back.  It should be a fun trip, but I'm used to having more time for planning.  I have to get my act together this weekend!