Dining Out | The Beauty Around Us

Niagara Falls Two-Night Getaway: Prospect Point and Lewiston NY

The next day (Wednesday, May 10th) we got up at 6:00 am, showered and got dressed. At 7:00 am we went to breakfast. We enjoyed a complimentary hot breakfast in the lower level of our hotel, Comfort Inn The Pointe. Breakfast selections included scrambled eggs, sausage links, fried potatoes, waffles, pastries, tea, coffee, juices, and more.

After breakfast, we walked across Riverway to Niagara Falls State Park.

Niagara Falls State Park
We walked down to the Niagara River.

We went for a leisure walk along the Niagara River to Prospect Point, where we viewed the American Falls.

Niagara River Rapids

Niagara Falls State Park – Prospect Point

Leaving Niagara Falls State Park,
we admired the colorful tulips found at the entrance.

Later in the morning we drove to Lewiston NY, located about a 10-minute drive north of Niagara Falls.

Our first stop in Lewiston was at Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park. The park, which is officially named after former New York State Senator Earl Brydges, is generally referred to as Artpark. The park overlooks the Niagara Gorge, a 6.8 mi long canyon carved by the Niagara River along the Canada-United States border. We parked in the Artpark lower parking lot and walked towards the hill overlooking Niagara River. We didn’t have to pay for parking; however, a parking fee may apply if there is an Artpark event/concert taking place.

As we pulled into the parking lot, a large blue structure caught our attention. A nearby sign indicated that the blue structure is called Murmuration.

We couldn’t resist sitting underneath the the 2,350-square-foot structure.

Murmuration wasn’t the only thing of interest on that hillside.

We saw Brock’s Monument (a war memorial) across the Niagara River.
Brock’s Monument is located in Queenston CA.

When traveling from Niagara Falls CA to Niagara-on-the-Lake, we usually stop in Queenston to visit Brock’s Monument. This is the first time that we saw the monument from the United States.

Continuing our walk along the hillside we came across Percussion Garden.

Chime Sprouts
by Vanessa Lee Jackson, 2018

Bob struck the gongs, at my urging that he do so.

The final art installation that we saw was Emerald Grove, by Jesse Walp. This interactive exhibit is geared towards children.

See the platform in the far back of the photograph? There are stairs leading down the hillside from that platform.

If you look closely, you will see Bob
on the platform at the bottom of the stairs.

Emerald Grove
There are three of these large pod-like huts in Emerald Grove.
I like these two huts because they are connected by a bridge.
The huts are 15 feet tall.

Leaving Artpark, while walking back to our car, we admired a flower garden.

Our second stop in Lewiston was at the Orange Cat Cafe.

We purchased a mid-morning snack at the Orange Cat Cafe.
Bob ordered a double espresso and a cookie.
I ordered a hot tea and a banana nut muffin.

Orange Cat Cafe
Our mid-morning snack was delicious!

Our third stop in Lewiston was at the Freedom Crossing Monument, located along the Niagara River.

The Freedom Crossing Monument honors the courage of fugitive slaves
who sought a new life of freedom in Canada, as well as
the local volunteers who protected and helped them
on their journey across the Niagara River.

On our way back to our hotel we stopped briefly at Devil’s Hole State Park, located along the Niagara Scenic Parkway. The park overlooks the Devil’s Hole Rapids. A stone staircase leads down to the base of the gorge and the Devil’s Hole Trail. We chose not to hike but to enjoy, instead, yet another view of the Niagara River.

Devil’s Hole State Park
Niagara River, looking upstream toward the New York Power Authority

We returned to our hotel, Comfort Inn The Pointe, around 12:30 pm, where we relaxed for about 2 1/2 hours.

Around 3:00 pm we walked to the Seneca Niagara Casino.

We passed by this sculpture, while walking on Old Falls Street. The sculpture, created by Jesse Walp, is 26 feet tall.
It is meant to mimic the flow of Niagara Falls.

We allowed ourselves $20.00 each to play the slots. I turned my $20.00 into $96.00 playing a $0.25 slot machine. Bob turned his $20.00 into $70.24 playing a $0.01 slot machine. It is good to know when to stop playing and cash out. Unfortunately we don’t always stop at the right time. Thankfully we do not frequent casinos!

From the casino we walked to the Rainforest Cafe, where we ate dinner. I had never eaten at a Rainforest Cafe. We ordered coconut shrimp dinners. The service and food was good.

Soon after being seated a couple tigers scared me.
The tigers were on the right, next to our table.

I really enjoyed the sights and sounds at the Rainforest Cafe.

After dinner we returned to our hotel, where we stayed for rest of the afternoon and evening.

We returned home mid-morning on Thursday, May 11th. It was nice to just pack up and go away for a couple nights. We miss our kitty, Wickett, very much. Honestly, we miss both our kitties – Patches and Wickett. However, we do like the freedom not having a pet affords us. This is the first time in 12 years that we have not had to make arrangements for a cat sitter, before going on vacation. We didn’t have to worry, either, that a beloved cat was lonely or sick.

Niagara Falls Two-Night Getaway: Goat Island, Luna Island and Three Sisters Islands

We decided on May 5th to go to Niagara Falls NY for a two-night getaway. We made a hotel reservation at Comfort Inn The Point for May 9-11.

We departed home the morning of Tuesday, May 9th, en route Goat Island. Goat Island is a small island in the Niagara River, in Niagara Falls between the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. Goat Island is part of Niagara Falls State Park.

Upon arriving on Goat Island, we presented an Empire Pass at the automated gate, drove through the raised gate and parked our car. Our first destination was Terrapin Point. Terrapin Point is where you go on the American side of Niagara Falls when you want to see Horseshoe Falls up close. It was a short walk from where we parked to Terrapin Point.

Horseshoe Falls, up close and personal

Luna Island, located between the Bridal Veil Falls and American Falls, can be walked to from Goat Island.

Looking Down on Luna Island from Goat Island
We crossed over the pedestrian bridge to reach Luna Island.

Bridal Veil Falls
with Cave of the Winds boardwalk below,
as viewed from Luna Island

Bob took this picture of me on Luna Island.

We returned to Goat Island, via the pedestrian bridge, and followed a trail alongside the Niagara River to Goat Island Road.

We crossed over Goat Island Road and walked to Three Sisters Islands. Three Sisters Islands lie off the south shoreline of Goat Island. According to Wikipedia the islands are named after Celinda, Angelina, and Asenath Whitney — daughters of General Parkhurst Whitney of Niagara Falls. General Whitney was one of the more prominent early settlers of Niagara Falls. General Whitney’s daughters are believed to be the first settlers to visit the three small islands. Three footbridges connect Goat Island to Three Sisters Islands.

The Canadian Niagara Falls skyline was visible from this footbridge.

We saw a Canada Goose nest in an interesting place, while walking across this footbridge.

Canada Goose Nest

On the opposite side of this footbridge, we watched the Niagara River making its way to its descent over the Horseshoe Falls.

the Niagara River

We tried to check in at Comfort Inn The Pointe at 3:00 pm, an hour early. The majority of hotels that we have stayed in have allowed early check-in. Our room was not ready. The hotel clerk, though, did give us a parking pass for the hotel parking lot prior to check-in.

The hotel is within walking distance of Niagara Falls State Park, restaurants and the Seneca Niagara Casino. We walked to Hard Rock Cafe and ate a late lunch / early dinner. Bob ordered a salmon entree; I ordered chicken tenders and seasoned fries. Everything about dinner was excellent…the service, the ambiance, the food. Bob finished his meal. I could eat only half of my meal, so I carried out a box of food.

After we had eaten, I checked a few times to see if our hotel room was available. The hotel clerk told us that they could not call us, when our room was available, but we could call as often as we wanted to check on availability. Our room did not become available until 5:00 pm. We reserved a king bed suite. Our room was spacious. In addition to a king bed we have two nightstands, a 3-seat sofa with coffee table, two TVs, an armchair with ottoman and end table, a desk with chair, a microwave, a refrigerator, a coffee maker and a very large bathroom. There are three windows. Two windows look down Prospect Street toward Hard Rock Cafe. The third window has a view of Niagara Falls State Park and Niagara River rapids. We settled into our room and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening there.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Indigo Lake and Brandywine Falls

We vacationed the week of April 20 through April 27 in Ohio. Late morning on Tuesday, April 25th, we drove to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We made three stops in the park.

Our first stop was at the Beaver Marsh.

Our second stop was at Indigo Lake, which was a short drive from the Beaver Marsh. In all the years that we have been visiting Cuyahoga Valley National Park, this was our first time seeing this lake. We had seen the sign directing us there, but we never followed the signage. Originally the site of Gray’s Quarry, a gravel and sand pit, Indigo Lake came under the responsibilities of the National Park Service on December 27, 1974, with the creation of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. The pit was later filled with water by park service personnel to create what was subsequently called “Indigo Lake”, which remains in place sustained by a constant supply of water from several natural springs in the immediate area. The lake is a short walk from the parking lot.

Our third stop was at Brandywine Falls.

A boardwalk takes you to upper and lower observation platforms.

Boardwalk Leading Down to Lower Observation Platform
Brandywine Falls is visible at far left corner.

Brandywine Falls is 65 feet high.
It is one of Ohio’s highest waterfalls.

We climbed back up the stairs to the main boardwalk, turned left and walked to the upper falls observation platform. I didn’t take any picture there.

It was time for lunch, when we returned to our car from viewing Brandywine Falls. We ate lunch at Pat Dees Pub & Eatery in Northfield. Bob ordered a Reuben sandwich, and I ordered boneless chicken wings. Good service; good food.

After lunch we returned to our rental Hudson Airbnb.

We spent all day Wednesday, April 26th, at our Airbnb, with the exception of breakfast. We ate breakfast at Perkins Restaurant in Hudson. Bob ordered an omelet; I ordered a Belgian Waffle. Breakfast was delicious and quite filling.

We made our way back home from Hudson on Thursday, April 27th. We departed Hudson at 7:50 am. We ate breakfast at Bob Evans in Streetsboro. We returned home by 12:00 noon.

This blog post concludes our week-long vacation in Hudson OH.

Waterfalls

We vacationed for a week in Ohio. On Sunday, April 23rd, we visited a scenic overlook and saw three waterfalls.

At 6:30 am it was a chilly 36 degrees. It didn’t get much warmer later in the day.

We spent the morning sightseeing. We drove to Bedford Reservation, one of 18 nature preserves managed by Cleveland Metroparks. Bedford Reservation is located in the North Valley region of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The reservation features a deep gorge, which was carved out by Tinkers Creek.

Our first stop in Bedford Reservation was at Tinkers Creek Gorge Scenic Overlook.

From the overlook platform Tinkers Creek is visible.

Our second stop in Bedford Reservation was at Bridal Veil Falls. We parked in the Bridal Veil Falls parking lot and walked across Gorge Parkway to a trailhead.

It was a short walk down boardwalk steps
to reach Deerlick Creek.

We walked over a bridge and along Deerlick Creek to an overlook of the falls.

Our third stop in Bedford Reservation was at Great Falls of Tinkers Creek.

I LOVE this picture of Bob and me at Great Falls of Tinkers Creek.

From Great Falls of Tinkers Creek we drove northeast approximately 10 miles to the village of Chagrin Falls. Located at the heart of Chagrin Falls on North Main Street is a waterfall. From either side of Chagrin River there is a boardwalk that leads down to an observation platform from which to see the Chagrin Falls waterfall. We viewed the waterfall from both sides of the river.

After photographing the waterfall, we climbed back up to Main Street. We went inside the Chagrin Falls Popcorn Shop, where we bought a bag of popcorn, caramels, a small vanilla custard, a small dish of ice cream and an espresso.

From Chagrin Falls we returned to Hudson. We ate lunch at Yours Truly Restaurant. This restaurant was busy and noisy. We each ordered sandwiches, which were tasty.

After lunch we returned to our Hudson Airbnb rental, where we stayed rest of the afternoon and evening.

Cherry Lane Trail and Great Blue Herons

We vacationed for a week in Ohio. We visited F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm the morning of Friday, April 21st.

F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm is located approximately 12 miles southwest from our Hudson OH rental Airbnb, near Akron OH. Land owned by F.A. Seiberling was purchased by Summit Metro Parks in 1964 to become the Nature Realm. F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm is one of 16 parks managed by Summit Metro Parks.

There are three hiking trails available at F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm: Cherry Lane Trail, Fernwood Loop and Seneca Trail.

A trail map is located at the welcome kiosk.

We chose to hike the Cherry Lane Trail, an easy to navigate 0.6 mile loop trail. Along the trail are placards that identify trees and shrubs. We saw several wildflowers along the trail, as well as two ponds.

We crossed a bridge over Seneca Pond. The F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm Visitor Center
is located on the left, on the hillside.

We saw a turtle and a duck on Seneca Pond.

The highlight of Cherry Lane Trail is a 110-foot-long suspension bridge.

Bob took this picture of me on the suspension bridge.

The suspension bridge crosses over a 45-foot deep ravine.

Soon we came to Echo Pond.

After our hike, we stopped at the Visitor Center.

We are at the Visitor Center.
Aren’t the flowering trees beautiful!

The 10,000-square-foot visitors center includes seasonal exhibits, kids’s areas, live native animals, a naturalist-on-duty to help answer any nature or wildlife questions, and a gift shop. An art exhibit caught my eye, shortly after entering the visitor center.

This community artpiece contains over 300 “treehouses” made from recycled materials.

On our drive back to Hudson, we stopped at the Great Blue Heron Rookery in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Great Blue Heron Rookery at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

We ate lunch at Johnny’s Diner in Hudson. I like the diner’s 50s ambiance; the service and food was good as well. Bob ordered a chili dog with chips. I ordered a BLT with coleslaw. We shared a chocolate shake. Lunch was good.

After lunch we returned to our rental Airbnb where we stayed, for the most part, for rest of the day.

We ate leftovers for dinner, accompanied by broccoli and applesauce.

I acquired a few bug bites on my forehead and back of neck, while hiking in the morning. We drove to a nearby CVS and purchased Chiggerex. According to information about this product, Chiggerex was originally created for chiggers; however, it is an excellent remedy for all types of insect bites. The Chiggerex ointment worked quickly and well, better than any other remedy for insect bites that I have tried!

It started raining around 7:00 pm.

At 6:45 am the next morning (Saturday, April 22nd) it was still raining. There was quite a difference in temperature, too, from earlier in the week. The temperature reached 85 degrees on Thursday, and fell to 46 degrees on Saturday. We spent most of the day at our Airbnb rental, as it was a rainy and chilly day. One of our favorite restaurants in Hudson is The Brew Kettle. We ate dinner at The Brew Kettle that evening. Bob ordered Cajun Chicken Pasta. I ordered Chicken Parma-Que. Have you ever eaten barbecued spaghetti? Barbecued spaghetti is the “Que” part of Chicken Parma-Que. The spaghetti sauce is very reminiscent of BBQ sauce. Surprisingly, delicious! We had leftovers and brought them back to our Airbnb.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Beaver Marsh and Everett Covered Bridge

We vacationed for a week in Ohio.

We departed home on Thursday, April 20th, shortly after 8:00 am, en route Hudson OH. Shortly before 9:00 am we stopped at Mel’s Hometown Restaurant in Corry PA. We were back on the road again at 9:30 am, after a hearty breakfast. We arrived at Cuyahoga Valley National Park at approximately 12:30 pm.

Our first stop at Cuyahoga Valley National Park was at the Beaver Marsh. We parked at the Ira Trailhead and followed the short connecting path to the Towpath Trail and turned left. We headed north for 0.25 miles to reach the boardwalk. Shortly before reaching the boardwalk I discovered that I forgot to insert a memory card into my camera. I had my iPhone camera with me. The wildlife at Beaver Marsh is best photographed with a regular camera, preferably with a telescopic lens. For the most part I limited my photography to the landscape rather than to the wildlife.

Bob took this picture of me on the Beaver Marsh Boardwalk.

We saw several turtles, while at the Beaver Marsh.
These four turtles were close enough to photograph with my iPhone camera.

I turned around at the boardwalk and walked back to the Ira Trailhead.

Just south of the Beaver Marsh boardwalk is Lock 26.

Lock 26 is one of 44 locks that allowed boats on the Ohio & Erie Canal to stair-step up from Lake Erie to the Portage Summit in Akron. According to a marker at Lock 26, Charles and Susan Carter lived near Lock 26. Charles served as a canal boat captain and locktender. The family raised corn and hay on their 56-acre farm to feed their dairy cows. A short walk would take them to the former community of Ira, located near today’s Ira and Riverview roads. Though the community did not have any stores, taverns, or churches, it was a distribution point for dairy products. The Carters and other local farmers brought milk to the Hawkins Cheese Factory for processing. It was one of many in the region, which became known as ‘Cheesedom.’ From the community’s railroad depot, farmers shipped their cheese and fresh milk to urban areas.

As I was walking back to the trailhead, Bob continued walking north another 1 1/4 miles to Szalay’s Farm & Market. I drove from the Ira Trailhead to Szalay’s, where I picked up Bob.

Our second stop in Cuyahoga Valley National Park was at Everett Covered Bridge. It was a short walk from the trailhead to the bridge.

Crossing over Furnace Run, the Everett Covered Bridge is the only remaining covered bridge in Summit County. In the 19th century, it was one of over 2,000 covered bridges in Ohio.

Bob took this picture of me at Everett Covered Bridge.

Here is one last picture of the covered bridge, before we walked back to the trailhead.

We checked in Airbnb “Wildlife and Serenity in Hudson, Ohio” by 2:30 pm. Our hosts allowed for an earlier than 4:00 pm check in. We unpacked the car, settled into the Airbnb and relaxed.

We ate dinner at Fishers Cafe in Peninsula. We each ordered NY Strip Steak dinners that included 10 oz steaks, choice of potato and a salad. Dinner was delicious and filling. We each brought back to the Airbnb about half our steak.

Please stay tuned, as I have much more to share with you about our week-long vacation in Ohio!

An Overnight Getaway and Motorcycle Sale

On Thursday, March 30th, Bob placed an ad on Facebook Marketplace to sell his motorcycle. One day later Tomas, who lives in the Poconos, told Bob that he had cash and wanted to buy the motorcycle. Agreement was made to meet in Wellsboro PA to consummate the sale. Bob marked the motorcycle as “sale pending”.

We left home around noon on Thursday, April 6th, en route Wellsboro. We traveled with two vehicles. I drove the car, and Bob rode the motorcycle. We arrived in Wellsboro around 3:00 pm and checked into Sherwood Motel for the night. Bob wore chaps and a leather coat, but he said that the ride from Warren to Wellsboro was chilly. The temperature hovered in the low 50s. Thankfully there were only a few drops of rain during the ride to Wellsboro.

Shortly after checking in and getting settled in our room we walked the short distance (0.3 miles) to Timeless Destination, where we ate dinner. Timeless Destination is an Italian and all world cuisine restaurant. Bob ordered a Mushroom and Swiss Burger with salad and two beers. I ordered lasagna, which was accompanied with salad and bread. The restaurant wasn’t busy, most probably owing to the fact it was only 4:00 pm. The service was good; the food was delicious. I brought back to our hotel room half of my lasagna and some of the bread. Staying at Sherwood Motel earned us a 15% discount on our dinner order.

Back at Sherwood Motel we made use of the whirlpool tub, individually. It would be nice if the whirlpool bath was large enough for two people. Bob wasn’t impressed. He would rather make use of a hot tub. I would agree, but still found the whirlpool bath relaxing. Neither of us would want a whirlpool bath installed in our home.

This morning we walked across the street from Sherwood Motel and ate breakfast at Dunkin’ Donuts. After breakfast we returned to our room, where we relaxed for a few hours.

Around 10:40 am we met Tomas at Mountain Notary & Tag Service, which was located just around the corner from Sherwood Motel. Tomas gave Bob the agreed-upon cash to purchase the motorcycle. He, then, loaded the motorcycle into his trailer, while I counted the cash. After the motorcycle was loaded, Bob and Tomas went inside the notary & tag service building to effect the transfer of title. The sale and transfer of the motorcycle went smoothly. It surprised me that Tomas didn’t want to take the motorcycle for a test ride. Bob said Tomas didn’t have to, as he knows the motorcycle. Bob said Tomas was the perfect buyer.

The motorcycle Bob sold today was purchased new in April 2014. It is the first time since 1997 that Bob does not own a motorcycle.

From Mountain Notary & Tag Service we drove to Leonard Harrison State Park for a quick peek at Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon.

Leonard Harrison State Park
Pennsylvania Grand Canyon

Bob took this picture of me at Leonard Harrison State Park.

From Leonard Harrison State Park we made our way back home. We stopped for lunch at Kaytee’s Family Restaurant in Coudersport. We both ordered fish ‘n chips. We have eaten in this restaurant a few times over the years. The service and food never disappoint.

We returned home around 3:00 pm. It was a quick visit, but enjoyable and productive.

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