July 24- Lake Placid and then to Oswego, New York
Today was great. We drove to the olympic area of Lake Placid and got to see junior athletes training for the louge using whelled sleds. Then we proceeded to the ski jumping center where we saw freestyle skiers (the ones that do the tricks) practicing into a pool. We took the ski lift and elevator to the top of the ski jump to view the entire area. Lake Placid is the only winter olympic venue where you can see all event areas at one time. The only downer of the day was learning that the bobsled was not open the day we were there. They offer summer rides most days starting about 1/3 of the way from the bottom. We drove to Oswego after Lake Placid. The Oswego RV park was right on Lake Ontario so we had a beautiful view of the sunset.
July 25 – Oswego to Niagra
Today we spent a few hours playing in Lake Ontario at the RV park. The kids decided to "wade" in the lake, but that quickly turned into swimming in the lake when Levi slipped and got drenched from head to toe. We drove the 4 hours to Niagra and decided to see the US side of the falls prior to crossing the border. The US side is a state park so it isn’t full of tourist traps. The national CBS morning show was doing a remote spot at Niagra on July 26. I happened to run into the producer and we talked for 5 minutes or so. When she heard about our trip she "promised" to put me on the front row of the spectators if we showed up on July 26 at 6:15 am. The family voted and agreed that sleep was more important than a remote possibility at getting on national TV. I imagine that we weren’t the only ones promised a front row spot. The only downer was that it was a long hike from the parking lot to the falls and Brandon’s little legs got worn out. After seeing the falls I took Brandon and Bailey back to the RV. That is the only bummer of walking so much. Brandon’s legs get tired (we have a stroller that is primarily for Bailey). However, we are always surprised how long his little legs can swim in the pool…… We partly wonder if his "tired" legs are truly tired. Sheri and the boys walked down to an area where they could go down closer to American Falls, which is right next to Horseshoe Falls (both together are considered Niagra Falls). We crossed the border into Canada with no trouble at mile 3064. The KOA here at Niagra on the Canadian side is right on a strip with other hotels with access to the public bus system.
July 26 – Niagra
Today we spent all day on the Canadian side of Niagra. Unlike the US side, they have a little city with plenty of tourist traps and hotels, etc. We stayed away from all of the non-Niagra River associated attractions. We first boarded the "Maid of the Mist’ boat tour that takes you close up to the falls. You get pretty wet with the mist, but they issue you a poncho prior to boarding. We then went to the largest whirlpool in the world. They have an aerial tram that crosses the whirlpool so we decided to do it. Just as I was getting ready to buy tickets a man approached me and offered me 5 free tickets. He was with a tour group and they had purchased a block of tickets with some left over. What a blessing! We arrived back at the campsite around 4 pm. After dinner the kids wore themselves out in the pool for 2 hours. Tomorrow we have to get an early start because the campsite didn’t take reservations for Friday only. It’s first come first served. The campsite is in Ontario and about a 30-minute drive from the border near Detroit.
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