Return To The Motherland

So this weekend we went back to Niagara Falls to visit my family. I picked Alison up at 2pm, then we got her son from school at 2:30 and hit the highway about 3pm. It was fine until we got to the Bronx where traffic hit a standstill. Once that cleared up, it rained. All the way there. We got into Niagara Falls at 11pm and I sleopt like crap that night.

We woke up the next morning and took Alison's kid to Fort George. I always loved the place as a kid and he's a bit of a history fanatic so we figured he'd get a kick out of it. He did... even if the redcoats spooked him a little bit (he ran from them yelling 'AHHHH BRITISH SOLIDERS!' when we first arrived. We got to take in a musket demonstration and check out almost all of the buildings. From there we hit a souvenier store that featured an anatomically correct moose statue and some Mounties outside. Photo ops were required. A quick trip to Wendy's and then the mall and we were at my mother's place mid-afternoon where we hung out until 9pm or so. It was great to see everyone again and to check out my brand new nephew. I also drank some wine and hung out with some dogs. Good times, those dogs. After that we hit the glow in the dark miniature golf course on Clifton Hill before going to bed around midnight.

Sunday we met my dad and then later my grandparents for coffee and lunch respectively. It was nice to see they're all doing well and everyone seemed in good spirits and good health, which always makes me happy. After lunch we hit the road. Got to the Fort Erie/Buffalo border around 3pm and parked the car across the street from the apt. around 9:30, making for a much shorter trip than the one we took on Friday night.

All in all it was a good trip. I would have liked to have seen Patrick and Brenden but that didn't happen due to, shall we say, scheduling conflicts. That said, it was still (and always is) worth the drive. Next time we'll hopefully have a little more time to spend. Hopefully this week will be nice and lazy. Last week was stressful and chaotic and kinda ugly, so a few days with nothing to do sound really good right now.

A few shots from the trip, in random order and sans descriptions....