Well, we are officially moved into our new suite in Albany and ready for the next 4 months here. We LOVE our new place! From the moment we first came to visit to moving in, we were treated like VIP (which we have come to see is how they treat all of their guests). They truly excel at customer service. In addition to the way they treat their guests, the place also has an indoor pool & hot tub, sport court with basketball hoops, outdoor patio area with a gas fire pit, incredible breakfast buffet every morning, and dinner is included Monday through Wednesday every week! In just the first few days, we felt more at home than we have in the first two months of traveling.
Just a few days after moving in, we headed out for a weekend trip to the Pittsburgh, PA area for Memorial Day Weekend. Every year on the same weekend, all of my wife’s cousins on her Father’s side have a big family reunion. It’s always been so far away from where she has lived in FL and GA that she has not been to see most of that family since she was a little kid. We got there Saturday night and spent the entire day Sunday getting to meet family members she hasn’t seen in years. The kids spent most of the time in the pool and had so much fun meeting everyone; and they certainly got plenty of attention from all of the family that had never met them.
On Memorial Day, we headed out from Pittsburgh to Niagara Falls, Ontario. The kids were so excited to travel to another country for the first time (even if we were only a few minutes from the U.S.). We started out the visit by walking along the Falls Walkway and getting an up-close view of the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Horseshoe Falls. It was a beautiful walkway with great photo opportunities.
At the end of our walk, we came to the Journey Behind the Falls tourist attraction, and we just couldn’t resist. Though the pictures didn’t come out great underground, it was very cool to get to stand behind the rushing water under Horseshoe Falls. Standing mere feet from the side of the falls on the lower observation deck, watching the water rush over the side and feeling the mist from the falls was an incredible experience.
Later that afternoon, we got to take a ride on the SkyWheel and get some great aerial views of the falls and the area. Being from Florida, we thought it was funny how much the whole Clifton Hill area near the falls looked exactly like the Kissimmee area in Florida.
That night we stayed in the Sheraton on the Falls hotel, and I have to say we will probably never stay anywhere else on future visits to the falls. The view from our room was absolutely amazing, and we were treated to a front row seat for the fireworks show that night as well.
The next morning we hopped aboard the Hornblower (the Canadian version of the Maid of the Mist), for a very exciting close encounter with the falls. It was awesome to get so close to the falls on the water and really get a sense of the power of the rushing water.
After our excursion with Niagara Cruises, we checked out and headed back to the States. On the way home, in Buffalo, we made a quick pitstop at the Anchor Bar, the birthplace of the Buffalo Chicken Wing to try the original. Later, on the same drive home, we got a chance to rendezvous with a long-time friend of ours from Florida who was visiting her family in the Syracuse area. Laurie Finger is such an incredible woman and great friend and it was so wonderful to get to see and catch up with her.
After an incredible and memorable weekend, we made it back home Tuesday evening for some much needed rest. The boys loved every part of the trip, and said it was their favorite part of our travels so far. The next day we got to have some fun at a local park that the boys love. John Boyd Thatcher State Park has incredible views of the Albany area and a pretty cool mini-zipline feature the kids love to play on (and is pretty fun for daddy & mommy too).
View of Albany area from John Boyd Thatcher State Park
Finally, last night was a tough night. Kaden was playing around a bit in the hotel room before bed and fell from the couch and hit his head against the corner of a picture frame on the side table – what are the odds?! He got a little gash on his head and needed 5 staples. He freaked out a little at first, but then after calming down, he was a champ the whole time. He kept in good spirits and was really charming all of the nurses and the PA who did his staples. He was so tough! This was the first time we have had any health issues since going on Medi-share, so we are not looking forward to getting the bill for this one. Looks like paying off debt will have to go on the back burner yet again, but what really matters is that it was not more serious and he is doing great now.
Well, the boys have really embraced the travel lifestyle we have taken on since leaving Georgia. They still miss home sometimes, but recently have expressed so much appreciation and excitement for getting to travel to the places we have and get to see the things we have seen.
We have no travel plans for the month of June and are looking forward to just exploring the local area a little more this month and enjoying some more relaxation time on Ashley’s days off. Our next big trip will be a trip home for the whole family in July, and we are already excited about getting to do some double dates and spend time with some great friends.
The Traveling StarNurse 