Comin' Home

Thanks so much for going on virtual vacation with us for the past week or so. I have to say it was just about a perfect vacation. It was perfect in terms of weather, and when you throw in the great opportunities we had to meet people, eat at new places, have a safe journey, and make incredible memories, yep...it was perfect.

Thought I'd do the final wrap up today...a few random pictures you might not have seen in other posts, and some glimpses of our journey home {which, in true Shaffer fashion, took WAYYYYYY more time than it should have}.

No, Mom I didn't buy them. 

We LOVED this lamp. It was at the Cafe Moka Coffee Shop in Virginia Beach.  Coffee cup lamp!

No caption necessary.

After our day at Niagara Falls, ALL I wanted was ice cream. I had wanted it all week and that night, I needed ice cream. There were a little place not far from our hotel, but of course it was seasonal and apparently ice cream season ends before October. {Do NOT get me started.} So we asked unreliable Siri about it, and she swore to us there was a Coldstone a few blocks from the hotel. So though our feet were about to kill us, we ventured forth, on foot, to find Coldstone. This:

IS A STINKING CASINO!!!!!!!!!!!

I do not think I need to tell you my thoughts on walking all that way to find a casino. Ryan said he thought I was going to legitimately break down and cry right there.

I considered it.

When dogs leave you surprises on your camera....

When you ask to take a picture with the pumpkins, but aren't specific about where they should be in the photo:

You can't really hate it too much when this is your view outside your hotel window at Niagara Falls.

When you're driving home and your husband deviates from the interstate to go INTO downtown Cleveland in the thick of rush hour so you can get your Sonic fix....

When you try to take a picture of the last state sign as you go by at 60 miles an hour and realize the camera is on timer...and your husband slams on the brakes to try to give you a fighting chance of your scrapbook memory:

It worked. It represented how we we felt at that point.

And I think...I think...somebody missed us.

Correction. She missed HIM.

I paid for the absence for the next several days. HA!! :)

Niagara Falls in the Fall

You. Guys.

1. Thank you for being here as I am, yes, STILL talking about our vacation.

2. If you have never been to Niagara Falls in the Fall....GO.

The first time I went to Niagara Falls, I was two months old. My parents drove an old green Dodge van with carpeted walls and no seats in the back. My carrier rested on the engine between the two front seats.

Surprisingly, I don't remember that visit. Also surprisingly, that van has long since given up the ghost, and seat belt laws now prevent such extraordinary adventures.

The second time I went to Niagara Falls, I was somewhere in the neighborhood of a third grader with bangs splitting down the middle and teeth to match.

Ryan had never been to Niagara Falls. So we put it on our list. And I must say, it was a stunning, stunning visit.

Niagara is just about an hour and a half north of Letchworth, so that Thursday morning, we checked out of our hotel and headed that way. It was supposed to be a cold and rainy day, and we determined that was okay, because we were touring a waterfall. It seemed appropriate. But God had other plans, and the day turned into a gorgeous, gorgeous time. And the sun...the leaves...the power of the waterfall...we were overcome. Worship come to life in nature, for sure. I will try not to show you every. single. picture. we took. But I am not sure this is possible.

His first view of the Falls: 

 We took our chalkboards and after we did this photo, a really nice mom said to us, "You seem to know what you're doing. Can you take our family's picture? And can we use your chalkboards?" LOL! Made my whole day.

 The leaves. I can't even...

And then...I cannot even tell you the joy THIS brought to my soul:

A rainbow!!!! I never get to see rainbows and yet...there it was. Just for us. God is good!

Amazing. Just amazing.

It was nice enough that we were able to eat lunch outside that day - and because we were there on a weekday in the fall - it was just quiet and lovely.

We spent the afternoon testing out different views, including going down to the bottom of the American side of the falls. {We did not do the Cave of the Winds or the  Maid of the Mist mostly because it was windy and cold enough that we knew we'd get chilled to the bone by the water, and we were afraid of ruining our camera. And we are of the persuasion that if you can't take pictures, there's no point in doing it. HA!}

Started the afternoon with a broken travel tripod. Had to move to the big one for the rest of the time. 

He told me to flex. Not sure why. Also not sure how.

Back to the natural scenery:

In the late afternoon, we walked across the pedestrian bridge to enter Canada. The gentleman at the border lacked a wee bit of personality, but we got through okay. And while the view from the Canadian side was more complete than the American side, we weren't able to get as close...so it wasn't as overwhemlingly powerful. {I say that so you know we loved both sides for different reasons.}

 We had fun walking up and down that side. And Ryan scored the photo of the entire trip:

We climbed a RIDICULOUS hill and ate dinner at the first restaurant we found. Had an amazing waiter who took such good care of us.

And then? We enjoyed the lights:

We didn't want to be gone from our home and native land too long, so we crossed the bridge and came through security to get back in the States. The guy asked if we bought anything while we were gone. We told him we'd gotten a Christmas ornament and he shot back, "That's IT?" Sorry to disappoint you, Sir!

By the time we got back to our hotel room, we could no longer feel our feet. We had been on them ALL day and they hated us. In fact, mine hurt so much, I couldn't fall asleep!!

But what an amazing, unforgettable day. I loved it so much!!

Letchworth State Park

Thanks, everyone, for your unending patience in reading through the adventures of our vacation! We have just a couple more days to cover, and I think you'll find the photos particularly stunning!

I told you that originally, this vacation was just supposed to be a long weekend to Virginia Beach to visit our friends Mark and Lynnette. One reason we added the New York component to it was because one of our church friends told us about a state park in New York that she thought we would really like. It's called Letchworth State Park, and if you've not heard of it {we hadn't either!} - you are missing out! It's rated the #1 state park in the nation, and we quickly saw why. It is STUNNING.

It's hailed as the Grand Canyon of the east, since it has similar rock formations, but it's in a forest, not a desert, so it has gorgeous rock formations AND trees. And since we were there in the fall, those trees were amazing. It also has stunning waterfalls. We asked the nice lady in the Visitor's Center which trail we should hike if we only had time to hike one trail, and she recommended the one that would take us past all three big waterfalls. It was the best day.

We especially appreciated the beauty of the day, since it was supposed to be cloudy all day with a possibility of showers. IT was a cloudy morning, but the sun came out, it wasn't too hot, and we had a truly wonderful day hiking together. I'll pretty much let the pictures do the talking from here, but can I highly recommend that if you visit, you go in the fall so you can enjoy the amazing New York trees?

I have DOZENS more pictures, but you're probably tired of looking at them, so I'll stop. :) But seriously, this is a place you should put on your must-visit list if you've not been there. And if you have been there, go back. It's so worth it.

We just got some snacks to munch on throughout the day, so by about 4:00, we were pretty ready for a REAL meal. We went back to Mt. Morris, where our hotel was, and found a local restaurant for dinner. And yes. We ate with the senior citizen crowd. LOL!!!

The food was delicious, our waitress was wonderful, and we left with full bellies and tired feet. We were back in our hotel and resting by 6 p.m., and it was just the most wonderful evening. We'd been on the go so constantly throughout the vacation that it was nice to have a few hours to just sit. Our hotel offered complimentary coffee and cookies, so we enjoyed those, we visited the pool, we watched TV, and we had a great evening together.

The next morning, we packed up and drove about an hour and a half away for our last adventure of the trip: Niagara Falls!

Linking Up!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy November! Happy end of DST! It's a good, good day, isn't it??

* Last Sunday was a BEAUTIFUL fall day here in the Midwest, and I think our trees are extra pretty this year. I am enjoying the views around town! Ryan gave blood at the visiting blood bank after church - and that afternoon, we went to a viewing for my friend Carol, who died very unexpectedly last week. So very sad to say goodbye to someone so young! That evening, I started on our vacation scrapbook. MANY pages ahead of me.

* Monday morning, I took a friend to a doctor's appointment and then I came home and worked on a surprise for Ryan: I raked our entire backyard. Nine bags of leaves. {And you can't even tell any are missing off the tree yet. WAAAAHHH!!!} He had planned to work on it when he came home, but I wanted him to enjoy a night off, so I did it while he worked. And then for our reward, we went to IWU to get our annual fall treat: apple pie chai!

* Tuesday was a cold day here...a good day for staying inside, reading, and working on projects, which I did. Braeya helped me catch up on Bible study homework. :) That evening, Ryan and I went to the Goodwill to buy pieces for his Halloween costume, and then we hit the gym for the first real workout since the race. {Although we walked more miles on vacation than we did IN the race!}

* Wednesday was another cold, rainy, chill-you-to-the-bone kind of fall day, and after a while, I was feeling like I might be fighting something. No time for that! It's early, yet! I curled up on the couch to finish the novel I was reading, and turned on the fireplace and the diffuser. Felt MUCH better by the time Ryan got home. He had a good day too; they finished painting his new "office," and now I get to decorate it! :) YAY! We had soup for dinner that night, but we still haven't replaced our good six quart crock pot, so I had to cook it in the two smaller crock pots to make it all fit. Keep it classy, Bekah.

* Thursday, I hunkered down to work on a writing assignment I have for church. I was so thankful when I knocked out the entire draft before lunch! That was definitely God-led. There is still much tweaking to be done, but I'm thankful the base part is written! The whole thing bored Braeya Jo Jo, who just wanted to sleep. Ha! We braved the blustery day {again!} to go out to the gym after work, and I ran one of my best mile times in a long time. And then I killed my arms in the weight room. They still hate me.

* Friday seemed to become our Halloween! Ryan dressed up for work...bet you can't guess who he is! And after work, I surprised him with a jack-o-lantern pizza for our at-home date, and we carved pumpkins together! We had so much fun, and it was nice to be able to stay home for the evening after a cold and busy week!

* Ryan worked yesterday, so I spent the entire day writing. I really appreciated a day to more of that spelled out on screen! He came home mid-afternoon with Chinese takeout, and we ate at the senior citizen hour. LOL!! Since we don't really have trick-or-treaters around here, we headed out for moo-lattes at Dairy Queen and some shopping. It was a fun night! {And not snow covered like last Halloween!}