Another long day in the books! Honestly, my favorite thing about this trip so far has been how much longer my days feel vs. when I’m working at home – I could’ve sworn Binghampton was a week ago when it was literally yesterday! I started my day with the same continental breakfast of champions, and then it was off to Niagara Falls!!!
I was VERY excited to go here because I love waterfalls and also one of my favorite TV episodes EVER was partially filmed here (Pam & Jim’s wedding episode in “The Office”). Overall it was great but I certainly faced a few pitfalls. The first was parking – the main two lots were full but I was NOT about to pay $30 to park in town!!! So I drove around for a while and then when I was justtt about to cave on the $30 option, I did some quick googling and found another free lot within the state park that was near the aquarium. Very proud of myself for being frugal and ending up in the free lot instead of paying (I know it doesn’t seem like much, but this parking ordeal took me an extra 30 minutes – an older version of me would’ve immediately folded on the $30 parking).
The parking lot was a half mile from the actual falls so I got a STUNNING view of Canada + the water (probably my favorite view of the day). Then I headed over to the actual falls and boy was it busy! Probably because it was a weekend and also such a nice day out. However, as I discovered at Watkins Glen yesterday, other people = very annoying. I decided to forgo the “Maid in the Mist” boat ride because a) it was crowded and b) I want to save that for when I visit Niagara Falls with my (currently nonexistent and potentially never-will-exist) fiancé in order to emulate some of the magic of Jim & Pam’s relationship. So instead, I meandered around the different falls and took in all of the lovely views, including rainbows!! Then of course I went to the gift shop and secured a magnet + shot glass (both of which were very cool, which justified the expenditure).
I spent a good 1.5-2 hours at the park before heading back to the car and mentally preparing myself for a 2.5 hour drive to my next stop – Erie, PA! I have decided to avoid highways as much as possible on this trip because yesterday I saw the aftermath of a deer-related accident involving a minivan and a truck – I think everyone was okay but the deer was sadly not and that was on a big major highway. Of course, if it adds an extra hour or something, I’ll do the highway, but I like the state roads anyway as they tend to be more scenic. So I ventured on the state roads all the way to Erie, catching glimpses of the lake in question which was very exciting as I’ve never seen any of the Great Lakes before. I listened to “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” by Bad Bunny which was straight fire. I didn’t really understand any of the lyrics but the instrumentals were great and I love Bad Bunny’s voice/cadence so it was a very enjoyable experience.
Once I got to Erie, I went straight to Presque Isle to get a lay of the land. It was much bigger than I thought but very peaceful and cute. I stopped at the lighthouse and decided to head to the beach since it was still early in the evening. I honestly couldn’t believe I was standing at the shore of a lake!!!! It literally looks like the ocean, the only differences are the smell of the water and the type of sand on the beach. I stood there for a good 10 minutes just letting the wind blow around me and marveling at this giant lake – there’s a lot of peace to be found in just letting yourself be somewhere without having to get to the next place (I believe this is what meditation is all about…I feel sorry for all the years I disparaged meditating and said I hated it!). Then I headed into town for my first solo meal at a restaurant!!!
I was quite nervous, but I got there around 5pm so it was thankfully pretty empty. I went to “Shoreline Bar & Grille” which was a cute restaurant facing Presque Isle Bay. I sat outside and baked in the sun although the breeze off the water made it a bit more tolerable. I read my book and got a whiskey sour made with local liquor and splurged on some salmon, potatoes, and asparagus. Honestly, the meal was more expensive than I intended but it was very yummy and nutritious so it’s all good. The waitress, named Kayla, was also super nice and overall the solo dining experience was quite pleasant!
I walked along the pier after dinner and sat on a bench for a bit to contemplate life. Then I checked into my hotel and now here I am! Get hype for tomorrow because I’m going to a state I haven’t been to before!!!