Today was pretty uneventful for these two intrepid travelers. That doesn’t mean you should stop reading this post, it just means that you’ll be able to check your Instagram feed sooner than normal. Suffice it to say, it was mostly a day of traveling across New York State again, this time from east to west. But first we got to spend some more quality time with Aunt Lois and her good friend, Susan, at their apartment in Lenox, Mass.
Jim, Susan, Lisa and Aunt Lois
In what seems to be a trend, meals with Aunt Lois turn into 2 or 3-hour affairs, so breakfast soon ran into lunchtime. We think Aunt Lois was delighted to see that she made an appearance on our blog, but she did ask if she gave her consent. Too late, Aunt Lois. You’re already an internet sensation!
Lois shares quilt depicting her school in India 
Any family resemblance?
We finally hit the road with no destination in mind. We really didn’t know where we were going to stay tonight. We pulled out the atlas and it looked like we could drive through the rest of Massachusetts and then through New York. What’s at the end of NY? Niagara Falls… Here we come!
Firehouse in Lenox, Mass. 
White-knuckle driving during a wind advisory
For most of our trip home, we’ll be traveling along Interstate 90, the same freeway that goes through CDA. It starts in Boston and goes all the way to Seattle. Through much of Mass and NY, it’s a toll road. It cost us $12.85 to drive through NY. We could have done it a free way (Get it? Freeway?) but it would have been much slower and we really didn’t have anything to see along the way. The trees are still in winter mode and there is snow on the ground in some places. The toll roads have great “service plazas” that are rest stops like we know them, but with a gas station, a fastfood joint or two, a gift shop and restrooms. Much like an airport terminal. They are about every 20 miles or so. The weather was pretty windy today, gusts up to 55mph, so we took turns driving to give each other a break. We don’t know how the semi’s deal with wind like this!
Bridge into Niagara Falls 
View of the Falls and icedam from the U.S. side
All day long, Lisa kept saying “Niagra Fawls” like the Bronx cabbie in “Scrooged.” We had both been to Niagara Falls as kids, but it was much different than we remembered it. It is definitely off-season here (our nice Sheraton was only $70) and most of the viewpoints were closed due to ice and wind. We were able to get some upper views of the Falls, but we realized the best photo ops were on the Canadian side, so we grabbed our passports and headed over to the other side of the river. For those who have traveled to Canada with the Lyons know that it is always an adventure and we are sure we are on “the list” again to get searched the next time with go to Ainsworth. However, the views of the Falls were worth it!
Note the ice build up in front of the Falls 
“Niagara Fawls” 
Do you like the American Falls…? 
Or the Horsehoe Falls better?
The sun set right after we got to the Canadian side, so we took a few more pictures and headed back to the States. It made our trip an international one, even if it was for about 30 minutes.
Back at the hotel, we got a free all-you-can-eat buffet dinner at the casino. Why does everyone keep trying to feed us? We had salad… in addition to about four different desserts. Casino food is nothing like Bistro Zinc in Lenox, but it was free and we were hungry. Tomorrow we keep heading west, perhaps as far as Chicago. We’ll see what we find along the way.
Now you can go check your Instagram feed.
The Rambling Retiree 
My dad was born in Brookline.My grandparents lived on the 4th floor of a brownstone with no elevator. We visited them every year. My mom’s parents were in Hartford, Conn. I know Boston well, always stay in the city at the Back Bay Sheraton.One time I went with BillNash and the 8th graders to Wash. Philadelphia and DC. Have fun on your return trip. I will look forward to hearing what you discover and where you stop over. Love u.
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