Let It Snow!

All of the snow the mid-Atlantic/East Coast has been having brought back memories of our trip to Niagara Falls in April 2007. We originally post-poned our trip that April because of a snow storm (albeit not as great as the ones we've been having recently) only for the Falls to have ice caps on them when we did arrive.

I never traveled to Canada before so this trip was a first for me. Our long weekend vacation started with an early morning eight hour drive through New York to the Canadian border right beyond Buffalo, after becoming lost for a bit. I will say one of my favorite differences between the U.S. and Canada was the use of the metric system - something that didn't go over to well in America and something I didn't learn well in elementary school as a result. Once we passed the border, Joe quickly converted our rental car's interior systems to metric in order to make it easier to adhere to the correct speed limit. But, not realizing this change, I quickly became confused because of the outside temperature noted in the car. The transition from Fahrenheit to Celcius made me think it was much colder than it actually was.

Although I ended up very sick toward the end of this trip because of the high altitude and extremely cold air, Niagara Falls, The Great Gorge, Lake Ontario and Niagara-on-the-Lake were absolutely wonderful!

Below are some great pictures...notice the ice caps...by day and night!

One of the Great Lakes - Lake Ontario

My cousin, Jenn, suggested we visit Niagara-on-the-Lake and it was definitely one of my favorite spots. We stopped several times during our drive alongside the Niagara River to Lake Ontario....I loved snapping pictures of the current and the force of the water! (Yes, I'm a dork sometimes, but I love learning something new or historical on a trip).

My grandparents even honeymooned here (so I've heard)...and I can understand why...it's only eight hours away and there's so much to do and see!

The Gorge...the best part

Now back to our winter storm...part 3!

Casting Away in Cape May

In writing my last post, I realized that technically we went to Cape May for Sheena's Wedding in May 2009 - making it our last vacation or pseudo vacation since we stayed the night. (I have not included some of our Jersey Shore gatherings as of yet because there are so many, which happens when you have family that heads down there every weekend).

Sheena and Dustin becoming Mr. and Mrs.

It was beautiful even with the slight onset of rain the day before.

After Sheena and Dustin's wedding at the Victorian Hotel Alcott, Joe and I enjoyed the following day in Historic Cape May. Our first adventure was joining the thousands of visitors that climb the Cape May Lighthouse each year, which was also my first time. Although I've been to Cape May before, I never ventured toward the lighthouse. I passed it once on a dolphin boat tour several years ago, but never made it that close on land let along up its mast. The latter could be the result of my slight fear of heights. I walked up the steps very slowly and couldn't look down, but I learned alot about the history along the way.

One of the highlights of reaching the top was being interviewed by a New Jersey Tourism company for a video blog of why we decided to visit the lighthouse. The other highlight was the view of the Atlantic - see below.

And after I survived my fears with my natural hair color still in-tact (highlights and all at the time), Joe and I snapped a picture at the bottom to commemorate our visit.

Reliving the Past Decade

Since we are merely just a month into the beginning of 2010 and a new decade, I decided it's the perfect time to reminisce on the last 10 years...in spurts of course. It's seems like a daunting task to cover in one blog, so I plan on separating it into several posts.

Let me begin with saying that the last TEN years of my life spans from 17 to 27-years-old, which includes several milestones (as many experience) - the end of high school, college and grad school, the beginning of working and the development of new relationships along the way. But the one thing I've loved most during all of this time is traveling. And as I write these words, I'm realizing I haven't traveled enough this past year, but have had my fair share in the last ten.

Here's the most recent:

Clearwater, FL - March 2009

The beautiful sunset on the beach off of Frenchy's Rockaway Grill and the view from our room.

This was our second trip to Clearwater to enjoy Spring Training and catch our Phillies in action.

Olivia!

Liv and I attempted to take a picture of ourselves this weekend...it didn't go so well, but she liked the red hue!