To Niagara Falls! Thomas and some of his friends have been doing a environmental science class where they briefly discussed hydroelectric power, but that was enough for us moms to jump at the chance to take the kids to Niagara Falls for a fabulous field trip. It was a whirlwind 2 day, 1 night trip but even in that short amount of time the kids learned so much more than they ever could have from just reading about the falls and the power plant in a book.
Our first look at the falls. Both Thomas and Ros said it wasn’t as big as they thought it would be. I didn’t realize that the falls were split by Goat Island.
This is Niagara Falls but the mist in the back is from the Horseshoe Falls.
After our 6 hour drive we took a little break at the falls to play some Frisbee and eat our lunches. It was a beautiful, warm day who would have thought it would be like that in March. When we made the reservations we were worried about snow.
We even got to see a rainbow at the falls.
When did Thomas get so much bigger than me?
Thomas and friends doing OHIO. After we left the observation area of Niagara Falls, we walked across the bridge to Goat Island.
We are lucky to have such a great group of friends! These kids are amazing, they are so not like the stereotypical teenager that everyone worries about. They are sweet, kind, polite and a joy to be around.
Thomas’ favorite part of the hike was the side trek to Three Sisters Islands. These rocky formations were originally all under water so the rocks have been worn smooth. It was a great place to just sit and listen to the river.
But it was an even better place to climb around and explore. Of course, I was always in the background yelling for Thomas to get away from the water, which he ignored. We were upstream from the falls for heavens sake, so if you slip in over the falls you go.
Ironically he got in trouble from a park ranger for climbing down to the water on the shallow, calm side of the rocks.
But it was perfectly ok for him to sit on the edge of the rocks by the deep rapids. What is wrong with these people?
After we exhausted ourselves exploring the state park we headed to our hotel to finally check in. We ate a quick snack and the kids were off to the pool. While they were swimming I took one of the other moms across the street to check out the casino. As part of our Groupon Deal each adult got a $25 voucher to use at the casino. Both Laura and I left the casino with a little bit of winnings from our free money.
Then we were back to the falls to see it lit up. It was very pretty but it was so cold outside once the sun went down and it took a ridiculously long time for the colors to change, at least 15 minutes for each color.
We just stuck around for the pink, white, back to pink then orange. By this time it was 9:30 and the kids were hungry again, I guess the snack we had before just didn’t cut it for dinner. We also got vouchers for the TGI Fridays at the hotel so Laura took the kids to eat while I took Tracie and her mom to the Casino so they could use their free money. I seem to be the only person in our group that gambles so I was the tour guide for this part of our trip. Tracie was the big winner leaving with almost $60, which she generously used the next morning to buy everyone breakfast. After 2 trips to the casino I managed to stay $20 ahead which I planned to use the next morning at the casino while everyone else was asleep.
After all of our morning dalliances while most the kids were still asleep (Laura and Ros walked back to the falls, as did Tracie and I returned to the casino) we fed the kids, checked out our hotel and were off. First stop the Daredevil museum, which was closed. So we got a pic in front of the sign and headed to our next stop…
The Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant, this was a homeschool field trip after all.
We had a very entertaining and informative tour of the power plant, then we watched a 20 min movie that explained again how the water was diverted from the falls and showed how the plant was built (all in only 3 years.) Then we were left to explore the facility…
and the observation deck
This is the Canadian power plant right across the gorge.
After our time at the power plant we were ready to head home. It was a great trip with a great group of friends. And we decided that our next big homeschool field trip would be to Williamsburg in the fall!
You explained this so well, Sheila. I love your pics; my favorites are the the group of them holding hands and the one of you and Thomas. Thanks for making the trip so good. 🙂
ah, the days of homeschool field trips! looks like you had a blast!
You’re back — and not just from Niagara. You’re the only one I know who can include gambling with a homeschool field trip. Just another reason I love you.