Niagara & Palmyra

The Family Fall Foliage Tour was a great time. It started out with some great tunes while driving across New Jersey. My excellent car dancing while driving induced a passing passenger to snap my picture with his camera phone. To whomever has my picture on their camera phone...I was dancing to the stellar tunes of Chocolate by Snow Patrol.

Our tour started at Niagara Falls where we were able to soak up some mist and majestic water falling over big tall cliffs. The newly nicknamed Flex (a.k.a. my youngest brother) took some stellar shots of the falls during the day and night. I think the highlight of the trip was the Maid of the Mist. We strapped on the attractive blue poncho and boarded the boat to chug deep into the mists of the Falls.



After our half day of Niagara fun including the worst Outback Steakhouse dinner ever; we jumped into the Saturn voiture to head to the lovely town of Pittsford, NY. Luckily the bad Outback meal was completely erased with a wonderful sojourn to the Cheesecake Factory. The 45 minutes wait was SO worth it. The next morning we woke up early to travel the quick 30 minutes to Palmyra. We first stopped at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center where we hiked to the top on the most beautiful fall day ever. Our next stop was the Smith Family Farm and the Sacred Grove. I think the Sacred Grove has to be the most glorious and tranquil place. Leaves were changing and the breeze was blowing. It was amazing. After the lunch stop at Subway we had the best and quickest tour of the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was first published. So appreciate the lovely senior sister from Glendale, Arizona. Quick tours always end up being the most informative and the best!

Last but not least was driving to Schnectady for some fun in the Residence Inn where apparently every person there enjoys a nice dinner at the local chain restaurant. Thankfully the last night of our tour ended with a wonderful trek to Target. Hooray for Target!

Other fantastic highlights were singing Carpenters hits with my Joani, deciding which grotesque fast food joint to patronize at the local rest stop, swapping music with the brother and sister, as well as the laughter, chatting and overall bonding between all of us kiddies with our mommy.