We got up Thursday morning and started the day with a hearty breakfast at Denny's and then we were off to Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls is the oldest national park established in 1885. In fact Napoleon Bonaparte's brother and his American wife spent their honeymoon at Niagara Falls and this is how the tradition started as reported in the website: niagrafallsstatepark.com
Oh my! What a full day we had and by the time we were ready to drive back to Megan's we had but over 9 miles on her pedometer! I was so ignorant about Niagara Falls before arriving and did not realize that it consisted of two different falls, the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls which is on the Canadian side of the border. Megan and I walked across the bridge into Canada and spent an hour or so walking all around and then returned and went on the Maid of the Mist boat ride. We wore the blue ponchos they hand out but we were still plenty wet by time we finished the ride, but oh, what an amazing ride! To see the power of the falls from that perspective was amazing! Then Megan took me up the steps which are right next to the Bridal Vail Falls which is a section of the American Falls. Oh my goodness! That is when my pants got soaked to my mid thigh and tennis shoes were swimming in water! Megan routinely takes her guests on this trek and I told her she would be smart to just wear a swim suit! However exploring the area was not finished and by the time we had seen all there was to see the clothes were dry and tennis shoes were not slushing. That evening Megan took me to the original restaurant that started serving the Buffalo wings called Duff's and the food was excellent. What a wonderful day and Megan was an exceptional host! Thank you Megan!
Friday morning after breakfast with Megan at IHOP it was off to Vermont! About seven hours later I arrived in Rutland, Vermont, to the home of Frank and Colleen D'Auria. We were all in the Navy together in Bremerton. Frank was a Navy dentist and Colleen and I were Navy nurses. I did see Frank and Colleen for a brief two hour visit the first part of the year but had not seen them for almost 30 years previous to that. Needless to say I have enjoyed immensely the time spent in Vermont. Not only have I seen beautiful scenery and intersting places but best of all spent time reconnecting with dear friends!
On Saturday Colleen took me to the Farmers Market in Rutland. It was a delicious mix of culinary temptations along with a few crafty temptations. One could find everything from baked goods to cheeses to fruits and vegtables and local organic meats. So many temptations and we just don't talk about the calorie count! However, the Farmers Market is not the only thing that Rutland had to offer. The murals were quite fun as you can see below. Rutland has also been referred to as the Marble City and just driving around one understands from where the name came. Marble is everywhere! Churches and banks one might expect, but it was a hoot to see sidewalks, curbs and foundations made out of marble!
Colleen and Frank treated me to a play on Saturday evening! We attended the musical, "Les Miserables" which was performed by community theater and Grace Congregational Church. The performance took place in the renovated Paramont Theatre which was brought back to original grandeur, including gold leaf accents.
The performance was exceptional for a community theater and seeing such a beautifully rextored building was "icing on the cake"!
On Sunday morning we attended 7:30 AM mass at St. Peter's Catholic Church where Frank and Colleen attend. Frank plays the organ for this mass and it is not just any organ, but a beautiful pipe organ that was built around 1870 with updates through the years. It currently has 26 conventional ranks, 8 electronic ranks and over 1300 pipes. The sound is amazing! Colleen also assists with the service by being "leader of song". Following the service Colleen took me to the Vermont Country Store which is in Weston, Vermont. Oh my, talk about a kid in a candy store, I was having a sinfully good time. It reminded very much of when my cousin, Jeff, and I went to Lehman's Hardware in Ohio. If I ever visited Vermont this had to be one of my stops so Colleen made me very happy on this day! After wondering through the store our stomachs beckoned us to the Bryant House which is on the same property. The food was scrumptious and I highly recommend this restaurant if you are in the area. When we arrived home that evening, Frank had made us a wonderful dinner.
On Monday Colleen took me to breakfast at Sugar & Spice. It is an sugar shack where the maple sap is boiled down into syrup. Of course it was not working this time of year but it is a functioning sugar shack in season. See the pictures at end of blog. Then it was onto Quechee Gorge. This is a very scenic gorge in Vermont PLUS they had a pressed penny! How much better can life get! Then it was onto King Arthur Flour! Oh my goodness what fun was that! I can now say I have been to both King Arthur Flour in Vermont AND Bob's Red Mill in Portland, Oregon. Life is complete!! King Arthur Flour had all kinds of tempting flours, mixes, gadgets, spices, etc!
I can not thank Colleen and Frank enough for the wonderful time in Vermont! There is so much I did not see that this must be a destination again, sometime in the future! But, as with all my previous stops along the way, the best part of this stop was just having the time to reconnect with dear friends from long ago! Life is good!
This is a look at the American Fall in the foreground and Horseshoe Falls in the background. You can see the spray mist up into the air from Horseshoe falls. This spray can be viewed from miles away. AMAZING!
The left picture of me is with American Falls in background. Center picture is Megan next to beautiful flowers on the Canadian side. Far right picture is view of falls from the Canadian side.
Below is view of Horseshoe Falls. Notice the spray/mist which can be visible from miles away.
Picture on left is taken thru a zip lock bag in which Megan placed her phone when we went on Maid of the Mist boat ride. This kid has obviously had some experience with this boat ride before! Next picture is of us on Rainbow Bridge which crosses into Canada. We are standing at the boundry line of the US and Canada.
The pressed penny for Rainbow Bridge which is in the background.
Pressed penny for Niagra Falls with both falls in background.
A selfie in front of the famous Duffs original wings restaurant. Great food!
The four murals below are in Rutland, Vermont. I especially like the last one with little boy looking through the arch. The butterflies look so realistic!
Rutland is called the Marble City though Proctor a few miles away is where the mine was. In Proctor and Rutland you find everything made of marble! Below are a couple pictures of the churches made from marble but there are many more!
Ever see a marble bank or fire station? Go to Vermont!
This was a beautifuf mable bridge.
Below are two pictures of the Vermont Country Store!
Yes! Quechee Gorge pressed penny.
The Howe Scale Company was located in Rutland and they made scales of all sizes and shipped them all over the country, but they were closed several years ago.
Just kidding Colleen!
Colleen and Frank's beautiful home.
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