Looks like I’ve gotten pretty far behind in recapping our monthly hikes – here it is November, and I haven’t even told you about September’s hike yet! But not to worry – we’re still doing the hikes (I have a great one for October, which I’ll share next week) – I just have to find a free day to post about them.
We waited until the end of the month for our September explorations, because we had a special guest in town – my best friend, Rebecca! Rebecca’s major program at our college was celebrating its centennial and was hosting a big conference, and she wanted to attend and do some networking, but the flights from Virginia (where she lives) to Ithaca were prohibitively expensive. But I suggested she look at flight options in and out of Buffalo, because it’s a bigger airport and might have better deals and more options, and then she could use us as a crash pad on her way to and from Ithaca. I was right about the ticket prices – Rebecca scored a reasonably priced fare, and I scored a couple of evenings and an entire day with my best friend! She spent all of Sunday with us after the conference and flew home on the following Monday morning. I wanted to show her the best that Buffalo has to offer, and I knew a hike had to be part of it, because Rebecca is just as avid a hiker as Steve and I are. When she specifically requested to see Niagara Falls, I planned an outing for us to Niagara Falls State Park.
So, I’m sorry to say, the view was kind of a disappointment. We went to the main viewing platform right by the Top of the Falls restaurant, and the entire span was blocked by chain-link fence and construction vehicles. We could barely see anything. Rebecca climbed on top of a partition and said she got a good view, but I couldn’t climb because I was wearing this guy…
Something super strange – I texted my friend Zan, who was also hosting visitors from Virginia that weekend – her sister Elissa, brother-in-law, and nephew – and told her to skip the Falls because the view was a bummer. They decided to risk it and go the next day anyway, and Zan reported back that the view was just fine. Maybe the construction was only on the day we were there? I don’t know, but I’m glad that Zan and her family had a better experience than we did!
Not that we had a bad experience. Rebecca insisted that she saw what she wanted and that the Falls were plenty majestic, so I’m really glad that she wasn’t disappointed.
After viewing the Falls – what we could see, anyway – we headed into the park along a nice paved trail. Upriver from the Falls, there were plenty of cool rapids.
Reminded me a little bit of Great Falls when you walk upriver into Riverbend Park, although the waters here were wider and more dramatic. It was pretty cool to see.
There was also a pretty view of the City of Niagara Falls.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, no, it wasn’t just Rebecca, me, and Nugget on the hike. Steve and Peanut were with us as well. We attempted a family picture, but as usual, half of the family refused to look at the camera. Oh, well! We never quite get it, but it doesn’t stop me from trying. Someday I’ll catch them both cooperating at the same time.
Bye, Niagara Falls! I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, we refueled with Yotam Ottolenghi’s autumn souffle after the hike.
Winning.
Have you ever been to Niagara Falls?
Decomposia – Dee, to her friends, if she had friends – is the Princess of the Underworld, and being Princess of the Underworld is a tough job, y’all. Dee’s father, King Wulfrun, is beyond useless, and Dee finds herself running the kingdom all by her lonesome. She spends her days juggling piles of paperwork, solving everyone else’s problems, and never finding time to eat. But all that changes when the palace chef quits – driven out, finally, by the king’s obnoxiously faddy dietary demands – and Dee has to hire a new chef, on the double. Enter Count Spatula, a vampire with a sweet tooth and a heart of gold. Count Spatula discovers that poor overworked Dee hasn’t had time for even a cup of tea in who knows how long, and he makes it his mission to make sure the princess is well fed. Soon the Count’s whimsical desserts are winning over crotchety foreign dignitaries, and Dee herself is a new woman. Of course, King Wulfrun is horrified when he discovers that his daughter has been fraternizing with a vampire chef – but is the king really motivated by his daughter’s welfare, or is he just worried that with everything changing in the palace, he’s going to have to get off his lazy duff and actually govern his kingdom?
In a nondescript back alley, down the street from a pub called “The Fox and Hounds,” there is a small iron door. It’s not there for everyone, nor does it appear anytime you might look for it. You can only find the door once every nine years, on the Saturday before Halloween. That’s when someone special – someone with a gift – will be invited into Slade House, to wander the gardens and view the wonders inside and out. But what really happens in the house? As the publisher’s blurb perfectly put it: “For those who find out, it’s already too late.”
covered in flour 