Freedom and Liberty Tour

As a child I vacationed on Cape Cod nearly every summer. I know that the southern beaches have whiter sand and warmer water, but I have so many wonderful memories of the rugged, sparsely populated beaches of the Cape Cod National Seashore and of the Bay, that I cannot help but be partial to them.

The last time we vacationed on Cape Cod I was pregnant with Bute5, who just celebrated his 7th birthday. My aunt had organized a family reunion for my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. I think some of what appeals to me about returning to a familiar vacation spot is the sense of continuity it provides. My aunt and my grandfather have passed away since that summer and yet returning to Cape Cod stirs many powerful memories of family time spent there.



The one big drawback to Cape Cod is that it is really, really far from Ohio. Since we were already going to be on the road we decided to add some sightseeing to break up the trip. Boston's Freedom Trail as well as Lexington and Concord were a must. Then we decided to add Fort Ticonderoga, the site of the Americans' first real victory in the Revolutionary War. Since we already had the American history theme going, we decided to add a stop in New York City on our return trip to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the 9/11 memorial, dubbing the trip our Freedom and Liberty Tour.

Our first stop today was at Niagara Falls. It was the one stop which really didn't seem to fit our patriotic theme, and yet interestingly enough, it really seemed to fascinate the kids that the were seeing a foreign country. We could not actually cross into Canada because we do not have passports, but they were all really intrigued with observing the Canadian flag flying above the American on the opposite shore, and the announcements in French on the boat ride. I think it is really good to be reminded that the way of life we are used to is not the only one. While staring across the Niagara River is hardly the equivalent of a Grand Tour, I feel like it was at least a beginning of raising an awareness of a wider world.



I had recalled Niagara Falls as rather garish and commercialized. I don't knew whether it has improved in the last 25 years, or if my experience was different this time because we were limited to the American side. I found the State Park to be beautiful, uncrowded and very well set up. We viewed the falls from every possible angle walked through the gardens set up to represent the Great Lakes (we had to stand in some bushes to find Columbus) and picnicked on Goat Island. Perfect, cool sunny weather made for a wonderful start to our trip!



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Location:Niagara Falls, NY