Wednesday - July 7

 What a big day for us and our little guests.....we remembered GG (Great Grandma and my Mom) who died 12 years ago today at the age of 90.   Mark and I were in Alaska at the time.    How much she would've enjoyed our 3 littles - Luke, Blair and Maeve.

We checked out of the hotel and off to Frankie's Donuts in Niagara Falls....This place got great reviews, but not the best and Grandpa knows his donuts.    Arrived at the state park around 9 and checked in with online tickets for the Maid of the Mist.    We were on the 2nd trip of the day and at 10:30, they were adding a 2nd boat.    Not the crowds we've seen previous visits but each of those times were later in the day.

Here we are...
Luke assessing the situation
Maid of the Mist

Got our blue ponchos and waited a short time to board the boat.   The kids wanted to be up front....whoaaa....that's where you really get wet, but they were laughing and had fun and then we did move to middle of boat.    The ride only lasts about 20 minutes and there's lots of squealing 
Ready for this big adventure
Ponchos are billowing out from the strong winds
Whew - we are wet and taking a little break from the wind and strong mist
Pretty rainbow
Pretty view from top of the falls
Flower child

We took the elevator to the top of walkway and got more pics of the falls.    Disappointed we couldn't go to the Canadian side - so many people who would've normally gone over to enjoy the views, shop, eat, etc.   And the big bridge that separates the US from Canada is closed to only essential traffic - no people walking and posing for pics at the middle of the bridge (like we did when Drew, Brady, Liam and Connor visited).

Last stop was the gift shop and bought some souvenirs.     From the time we left the  hotel and all morning, all they wanted to know was when are going to see Catrina......that was their main focus all day long.   We had a 4 1/2 hour trip back to Port Clinton.    The kiddos did well, but did ask a jillion times  "when are we going to get to Catrina".    We were keeping a close eye on the weather as severe storms were forecasted.    We were so hoping to get off the interstate before it hit.    The rain started  shortly before we got to Catrina and we waited a bit to unload our stuff.    They were just a tad excited to come onboard - needless to say, they were two happy kiddos exploring every little nook and cranny and unpacked their stuff.

Had a nice gentle rain and some thunder but more coming overnight and all day tomorrow.    We so lucked out as rain was to happen today, but didn't develop till we were almost home!

Grandpa picked up 2 pizzas from Sloopy's (our 1st Port Clinton pizza) - very good, but $29 for 2 medium pizzas with very few toppings?    Sure been noticing the higher prices for groceries, restaurants, drinks, etc.

The rain stopped and Grandpa took the kiddos for a walk around 7:30 to pick up the mail and see Flo and Big Red.    They've been sitting most of the day, so time to kick up their heels!

The kids were happy to see Flo but think Catrina is their favorite
Aunt Jemima
After showers, this one puts on a turban to help dry her long hair.  Quite a cute little turban!  I had never seen anything quite like this....Blair said "well, that's cause you have short hair"!!!

We are all ready to call it a day!    Till tomorrow!

Oh my....today we got the date for Drew's graduation from the University of Iowa
May 15, 2022
Wow...how can this be, but let the planning begin!









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