Today was like a roller coaster of emotions and events! We
began in Kirtland OH, visiting the church history sites there. It’s much
smaller than Nauvoo, but full of stories and miracles. We were in a small group
and the sister missionary who guided us took plenty of time to point out all
the interesting details. We also walked up the hill and visited the Kirtland
temple, now owned by the Community of Christ church. They give tours and have a
great visitor’s center too. I enjoyed being inside a historical building that
I’ve seen so often seen in pictures.
We left Kirtland around three and stopped in town for lunch
before getting on the road again. Once I knew we were going to be driving for a
few hours I called my sister Amber, to check in with her about meeting up in
Philadelphia next week. She also had some terrible news about Poopsie Woopsie
to share with me. He’s been staying there with the Berry’s and Arnell’s while
we’ve been away. I felt bad that she was the one who drew the short straw and
had to tell me that my little Bunny Foo-Foo died a couple days ago. I couldn’t
believe it, and it still doesn’t seem like it can really be true. Five months
ago, a random stranger standing in line in front of me at Pets Mart gave Bunny
Love to me the day before Easter. Admittedly I didn’t want another pet, and
tried to give him away. But once we finally decided to keep him he quickly
became my favorite thing ever. When I heard the news about his tragic death I began
sobbing in the car (I hardly ever get emotional, but I’ve done the ugly cry
twice this week and I don’t want to do it again for at least two years), so we
had to pull over and tell the kids what happened. The whole thing was just
miserable, and I was glad when we finally got ourselves together and kept driving.
We were all still somber when we pulled into Niagara Falls
two hours later. We’d planned on doing the Cave of Winds, but there was a crazy
loooong line. It appeared that several tour busses had arrived just before we
did. The forecast said the weather tomorrow morning would be stormy though, so
we figured we’d better wait in the line tonight and crossed our fingers it
would be worth it. None of us knew what to expect, we just heard it was
awesome. And it was! The long wait was totally worth it. The line had several
places to sit, and exceptional people watching. All walks of life, ages,
clothing styles, and at least a dozen languages seemed to be represented zigzagging
through the queue, yet we were all united by our bright blue and white foam
sandals stamped with the Cave of Winds logo. Plus we waited alongside the edge
of the falls and had a beautiful view of the Canadian skyline and a picture
perfect sunset.
When it was finally our turn for the main attraction we were
all excited. Full disclosure; there’s no actual cave. Why they named it the
Cave if Winds, I dunno. An elevator descends seventeen stories into a long
tunnel. It spits you out at the base of the falls where there are ramps,
walkways, platforms, and staircases that curve around next to and under the
falls. It was amazing! We wandered around down there as long as we wanted, getting
completely soaked (despite the disposable poncho they provide). Clara was a
little frightened by the thunderous noise, thick mist and gallons of water
spewing from the falls in every direction. She tried to steer clear of the
torrential downpour as much as possible, but eventually she too wanted the
‘full experience’ and bravely planted herself under the falls. The whole
experience was so, so fun.
After we made it back up to the top and recycled our ponchos
we walked out onto ‘Luna Island’ for a view from the top. By now it was dark,
and we watched them illuminate the falls with colorful lights. Eventually we
checked into our hotel, physically and emotionally spent. Thankfully it was
close by!
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