The girls were interested in the wooden stocks that were used for punishment. Clare and Erin each put their faces and hands in them. The wooden upper piece held them in place.
“Mom, you do it,” Clare said.
“Yeah, Mom, it's fun,” Erin exclaimed.
“Okay, I'll try it.” I placed my neck into the spot for the head. It wasn't too bad until I tried to put both wrists in their dug out spots. The position was so uncomfortable that I could only put one hand in its place.
“Let's lock her in there,” Clare said as she closed the upper piece over my head and one hand. “Ha ha.”
How quickly they turn on you. “Get me out of here,” I said. “Now.” Clare lifted the wooden piece up and my head and hand were free.
Clare went running over to Paul. “Did you get a picture?”
“No, I didn't. I wasn't quick enough.”
“Thank God,” I said. Two years earlier, as I catapulted out of the waterslide, my picture had been snapped. The sad little photograph was our children's favorite item to bring to “show and tell.” From now on, I'd have to look around for cameras before doing anything.
Rain started about four in the afternoon just as we were getting ready to leave for the water park. It showed little sign of letting up, so we went for an early dinner. We ate at a leisurely pace, hoping the rain had stopped, but we came out of the restaurant to cloudy skies. As the rain pelted our car, thunder rumbled like a timpani drum, and lightning sprinted across the sky.
We drove back to the hotel. The girls were disappointed. Every so often they looked out the window hoping the rain had stopped. About seven o'clock, the rain slowed to a fine mist, and we decided to go to the park. The girls hustled around the almost empty park and flew down as many slides as they could. This continued until we heard the intercom signaling the closing of the park.
The next morning we drove along the western edge of Washington, D. C. and then north towards Pennsylvania. A short distance over the border, we arrived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where the battle of Gettysburg took place in 1863. Around the town were interesting little novelty shops. I noticed a wonderful Irish shop near the hotel so I asked Anne if she wanted to come shopping with me.
“I'll buy you a Claddaugh ring for your birthday,” I said. I had worn a Claddaugh ring from the time of my 27th birthday. The girls knew the rings had to be given to you by someone else. Mine had been given to me by Paul. The famous design has hands that stand for friendship, a crown that stands for loyalty, and a heart that stands for love.
“Really?”
“Really. Let's look at what they have.”
Anne zeroed in on the ring display. She tried on sev¬eral silver rings until she found the perfect fit.
“We'll take it,” I said. I paid the woman behind the counter.
“Thanks, Mom,” Anne said. She looked down at her finger as we walked.
“You're welcome.”
We stopped in the Visitor Information Center to find out our options for touring the battlefield. There were licensed guides available or a car tape which gave an audio tour. We settled on the car tape which proved to be a good choice. The tape offered background on the battle and told the driver where to turn. It was a fascinating way to learn about the three day battle. Also, the audience was truly captive which helped our children keep their interest.
We stopped the tape many times and got out to walk around. Again, we were amazed by the size and scope of the battlefield. Over 40 miles of roads and 5,700 acres of fields are within the grounds. Looking out on the quiet green fields as we had at Yorktown, it was hard to imagine that 51,000 people had died there.
We saw Little Round Top and the spot where the ill-fated Picket's Charge took place. We stood in front of the Minnesota memorial and read inscriptions on some of the other monuments found there. After we finished the driving tour, we visited the Battle of Gettysburg Information Center to look at the uniforms, muskets, and other Civil War memorabilia.
We had one more stop to make before going back to the hotel. The girls wanted to see it too, so we heard no complaints as we drove towards the graveyard where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. I could picture our sixteenth president standing at the podium delivering his speech.
“This is where Lincoln gave his famous speech, girls,” I said.
“Which one was that?” Clare asked.
“Let's see. Maybe it was the Gettysburg Address since we're in Gettysburg,” Anne said.
“Oh, yeah.”
All of us stood behind the podium and looked out at the graveyard. I'm sure Lincoln had a sad, heavy heart as he walked through the freshly dug graveyard. We all did, almost 130 years after the battle. It was an eerie place.
The next day we had a full day of driving as we drove north towards Niagara Falls, our last stop on our family vacation. We were in for a treat though, as we drove through the Appalachian Mountains. The mountains reminded me of the Bighorns in Wyoming. I exclaimed as I had in the Bighorns at the splendor before us.
“I had no idea the Appalachians were so gorgeous,” I said.
“They're really beautiful,” Paul agreed.
We could hear the Falls bellowing before we saw them. The windows were rolled down and our necks were craned as we tried to see Niagara. We drove across the bridge that spanned the Niagara River and we had a full view of the Horseshoe Falls.
“I see it.”
“I do too.”
“Let me see.”
“Look at all that water.”
“Where does it go?”
“It's so loud.”
It was indeed loud as Niagara literally roared its power. We had to check in at the hotel before going down to the Falls. The girls were so excited that they didn't seem to care where they would be sleeping, or with whom.
“Hurry up.”
“Let's go.”
“Yeah, let's go.”
Our hotel was on the Canadian side right next to the Horseshoe Falls. We walked down the steps and over to the rail where people stood. The rail was about three feet high, and if I had bent over at the waist, I could have touched the water. There, Niagara plunged 173 feet in a gushing water flow of 212,000 cubic feet per second. I thought the rail should have been at least chest high, so I stepped back a foot or two. I pictured myself going over and landing with a thud on the rocks below. Even Cary Grant couldn't have saved me!
“Cool. This is really cool,” Anne said with a gigantic smile. She hung on tightly to Colleen as they peered over the rail.
“It is cool,” I said. I guess it took one of God's creations to wow our teenage daughter. We stood mesmerized by the sound, the sight, and the smell of the 6,600 tons of water per second cascading into spray and mist. We looked across the river and saw the American Falls as well as the Bridal Veil Falls.
We spent the next day seeing the Falls from every angle. We walked in a tunnel under the Falls, looked out on the wall of water, and listened to the low-pitched creaking. We donned our blue slickers and took a Maid of the Mist boat tour. We drove over on the United States to gaze at the Horseshoe Falls from the American side, and we went back to Canada to gaze at the American Falls.
Newlyweds and older couples strolled arm and arm. Parents pushed their children in strollers or held their hands, while pointing at the Falls. Wherever anyone walked, their eyes were drawn to the magnificent, magical Niagara Falls.
Paul wanted to take a helicopter ride over Niagara to see it from the air. The six of us crammed into the machine and put on headphones. As we lifted off, a tape told us about the Niagara River, the Falls, and the geology of the region.
It would have been really interesting but I was, what only can be described as, terrified. As I watched the pilot, I noticed his hands and feet were moving constantly to keep the helicopter straight and steady. I hoped he had had very good training when he went to helicopter school.
“I like this, don't you, Clare?” Erin asked.
“The liftoff was
cool when we went straight up in the air.”
“You could barely feel us lift off,” Anne said. “It was gentle.”
We flew up the Niagara River on our way to the Falls. It was quite a view but I wished I was on solid ground. When we got closer to the Falls, the pilot turned the helicopter sideways so that the ground looked diagonal. We hovered over the Horseshoe Falls for what seemed to be forever. As the pilot turned again, the water became diagonal.
“Look, there's the Bridal Veil,” Colleen exclaimed. “Dad, take more pictures.”
“I will,” Paul said. Paul was busy with the video camera trying to capture every view.
I closed my eyes and prayed it would be over soon. We flew back down the river on our way to the helicopter pad. When we landed, I felt like kissing the ground.
Anne didn't turn on the TV that night. “What was your favorite part of today, Dad?”
“The helicopter, I think.”
“Erin, what was yours?” Anne asked.
“I liked walking underneath the Falls. It was groaning.”
“Colleen?”
“I loved the Bridal Veil.”
“Clare?”
“I loved the Maid of the Mist. That was cool even though we kept getting sprayed in the face.”
“Mom, what'd you like best?”
“I bet it was the helicopter,” Erin said.
“Yeah, you weren't hanging on too tight,” Clare said. Clare clenched her hands on the arms of the chair.
“Well, it wasn't the helicopter. And you're lucky I wasn't hanging onto you. I just like the Horseshoe Falls. That's my favorite.”
“Anne, what did you like?” Paul asked.
“I can't pick.”
“You have to,” Clare said.
“I loved the Maid of the Mist, going underneath, the helicopter, all the different Falls. I loved it all.”
That night we went up to a room near the top of the hotel where we could watch a laser light show over the Falls. It was spectacular.
In the morning, we went down to the Falls again before we left for the Buffalo airport.
“Goodbye, Niagara Falls,” Clare said as we drove over the bridge.
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Anne just stared at the water, not wanting to leave. She had a smile on her face, maybe committing the scene to memory like I was doing. She couldn't get enough of Niagara.
The plane we flew back to the Twin Cities was smaller than the one we had taken two weeks before. Everything was fine until we hit turbulence. The wind tossed us back and forth, up and down, like a paper airplane. Paul and I grabbed each other's hands and squeezed. Over the intercom the pilot said that the turbulence would be continuing for awhile. I hung onto Paul on my right side and gripped the armrest on my left. My heart palpitated in what I was sure were irreglar heartbeats.
“This is great. It's just like a rollercoaster,” Colleen said gleefully.
“This is fun,” Erin, our speed demon, agreed.
I decided then and there to honor that old adage, “If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.” WHEEE!
Warning!: Family Vacations May Be Hazardous to Your Health Page 11
