Niagra Falls

The first stop of our summer vacation was Niagra Falls, NY. The last time we were here we were on the Canadian side, only had 3 kids, and had to wear our winter gear:

Summertime temps, complete family of six, and the US side made it even better this time around. 😉

We checked into our hotel, then headed right across the street to catch the fireworks that were being set off in honor of the country reaching 70% vaccination.

We walked all around the state park and enjoyed seeing the falls at night.

After a good night’s sleep for the kids (Ben and I each shared a bed with a child…which we all know results in a good sleep only for said child),

we headed out to ride on The Maid of the Mist. The day was absolutely beautiful.

The kids LOVED this. We were right up next to the falls, getting covered in wind and rain, and just in awe of their power and beauty.

We then decided to take things one step further and walk right next to the falls.

This was not Tessa’s favorite part.

Our shoes were soaking wet since you walk through the water (they give you complimentary sandals but we didn’t mind getting our shoes wet…and also the sandals were ugly). I did stand off to the side with Tessa, but Ben and the bigger kids went to a spot where you could reach out and touch the falls. It was really cool, and maybe slightly unnerving, to be so close to them.