Last weekend Brandon and I went to Niagara Falls with my mother. We were very lucky to be invited by my mom as a quick getaway from our daily life, expenses paid. It was definitely a much needed and appreciated break. Of course, we’ve all been to Niagara Falls before- being such a major Canadian attraction in our home province, but this was the first time Brandon and I went there together. We did the typical midway stuff: 4D moving theatre, Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum, Niagara SkyWheel, mirror maze- where the woman running it thought I was a child!
My mother insisted we go on the SkyWheel- which is basically a large enclosed ferris wheel that overlooks the midway and the falls. We were happy to do this one attraction she was so sure she wanted to do, even with her fear of heights and ferris wheels in general. I double checked with her at least twice that it truly was something she wanted to do. After insisting it was, we bought our ridiculously overpriced tickets and entered the little pod we were to ride around and around in. The automated voice told us what all the buttons were for and while “he” was talking my mother was Barker babe-ing, ensuring to show us what each button did.
However, her tune changed as soon as it started moving. Immediately her face went white and she gripped the seat with a death grip I can only recall seeing as a child when we were in trouble. The brave woman from before was gone and now replaced by a nearly panicked mother. This of course, made the ride that much more fun for Brandon and I. Who knew we’d get a show with the ticket price? She peeped her eyes open every now and then to take a look at the view, but otherwise her eyes remained pretty tightly squeezed shut. The funniest part (only because she too was laughing) was that each time we made it to the bottom she thought that was the end of the ride, but we’d go around another time. Six excruciating go rounds before she was allowed to leave her capsule of terror. Unfortunately, the photos taken don’t really represent her fear as well as we hoped- but we did get a decent one of us (taken ourselves because my mother was otherwise preoccupied). Actually, you can see Brandon looking at my mom in this picture- that may be what his smile is about too.
Following that experience, and calming ourselves from laughter, we headed back to the bus which would take us to our car. The bus we grabbed took us on a roundabout tour of the area picking up and dropping off passengers as we went. It also drove into MarineLand. I’m not a fan of places like Marine Land which house wild animals (in this case specifically whales, dolphins and other marine animals) for the sole reason of human entertainment. Living in cramped quarters, miniscule compared to their wide-open natural ocean habitat, these animals are “trained” to do tricks using sticks, discipline and farmed fish as reward. None of this is healthy for the animal, but as humans we ignore these things and instead impose our own entertainment purposes above another living animals’ welfare. I had heard there was a protest happening that weekend, and so as we drove in we saw all the concerned people with their signs trying to convince people not to go into the park. I'm not sure if the protest was working, but the parking lot did seem rather sparse. I would have like to have joined them, but we had places to be. That, and I was stuck on the bus anyway.
When looking at the map Brandon spotted Fort Erie. Not the place- but the actual fort. History was calling his name, and admittedly I wasn't super excited about it at first. But then we started driving through St. Catherine's and into small towns near Fort Erie (the town) and we fell in love. With a small place called Stevensville. So small, so cute, so pretty...so inexpensive. We loved it! And of course the actual fort is right nearby. So that made it all the more pleasing for Brandon. And I have to confess, the fort was quite interesting and pretty. The tour was really interesting and informative, telling me information about the War of 1812 I never knew before. That isn't saying much though, I don't know many details about history in general. I mean, I know the basics: 2 countries are mad at each other and begin fighting, which then escalates to eventually include other countries thus becoming larger (history-making) wars. But that's about the extent of it. I took classes like English, Creative Writing, Modern Literature etc.
Anywhoozle, we fell in love with this little town. So much so, when we saw some houses for sale I employed my savvy MLS skills and checked out prices. Exactly in our house hunting price range! It was meant to be! So, new location plan: we're headed to Stevensville... in a year. After we save more money for our down payment, that is. We're very excited that we can afford a decent home on some good sized land, perhaps even enough for my dear horse, Sophie.
See you soon, Stevensville!
