Traveling

The drive I took up to see Niagara Falls in person, for the first time in my life was wonderful. My week-shy-of-11 year old son loved the trip, too. While on the road, I felt real and free. It was quite a relief to me.

Niagara Falls isn't the hot point of destination it probably was when my parents were young. The town seems desolate and struggling. The horseshoe falls are gorgeous and inspiring. They are power and it's terrifying to imagine being unaware of it as you float down the river - long before we had it all mapped out. The vapor cloud rising high into the sky was lovely. The sound was calming. Most of the tourists that were there weren't American. I don't think the ones speaking English were, either. Pretty sure they came over to see the other side, because they were talking about how the view is better in Canada.

It was cold, the restaurant was closed, so we drove for a while, trying to find food. I didn't want to go back on the toll road right away. I took Buffalo Avenue/River Road for a while. The entire region is mostly industry and some family parks along the river. Even the marinas look empty now. It was kinda depressing, actually. All that great real estate, and it appears no one can live there, anymore. There was no business. There were no signs to any businesses. Just a bunch of Trump signs in yards. Something about that struck me as very stereotypical. I got off the road and back on the toll road just to avoid thinking too hard about it. This was my vacation, after all.

We stopped at a service area and ate crap food. We stopped in a pleasant hotel. I could tell they were struggling, but they were immaculately clean, had everything we needed, offered continental breakfast, staff was nice, and better than others in the $65 range I've ever tried. I'll keep America's Best in mind for next time. (This was the first non-Supernatural-reminiscent skeevy motel I saw on the road.)

I wanted to stop along Lake Erie, but after agreeing to it, when we were in Cleveland, he decided all he wanted was to go straight home. We turned around, and drove on home. The only snag in driving I had was when Siri detoured us around one mess in Columbus right into another. The second mess had just begun, so I can't really fault her for it. I got out of it quicker than I thought I would, though. Otherwise, the driving was easy and restored my love of it.

There is still nothing like traveling to help me navigate the down times in life. It will be something I must keep handy as I struggle through these days of being ensconced in a "nothingness" feeling.