I have the classic tourist photo of me at Niagara Falls when I was barely walking. It's one of those posed photos in a barrel with newsprint surrounding it about going over the falls in a barrel. I have no memory of it.  The only other idea of Niagara Falls comes from the original Super Man movie where Clark Kent and Lois Lane are covering a story at Niagara Falls.  Job and I had decided on the detour to the falls since weren't that far away and it would fit nicely into our schedule.  We followed the signs to the parking area and paid our money.  Following all the other tourists we wandered over to the wide flat expanse of the river.  Flowing smoothly along.  continuing on we crossed the bridge to the islands meeting groups of tourists wearing blue and orange plastic ponchos.  At the overlooks between the falls we made the decision to take the Maid of the Mist boat tour rather than the Cave of the Winds walking tour of the falls.  Back across the bridges we purchased our tickets and got into line for the boat tour.  We took the elevator down, stepped out and stood in line for our blue poncho.  I placed my rain jacket on my camera bag and put my poncho over myself and the backpack with my camera in front.  Stepping onto the boat I asked a crew member where the best spot for phots was.  At the front of the boat on the bottom.  Yep, it sure was.  We made our way there while others climbed to the top level or waited inside.  The boat slowly pulled away as the engines kicked in pushing us to the middle of the river and towards the first set of falls called the American Falls.  Lush green vegetation covered the edges as large boulders were partially shrouded by mist at the bottom.  We slowly pass this  view.  It didn't look so big from the bottom as it did from the top although it is still a 70 to 110 foot drop.  Next we passed Bridal Veil Falls which is the smallest of the three falls which can be viewed closer when taking the Cave of the Wind tour.  Our boat slid passed Bridal Veil Falls, the roar of the water drowning out any other noise.  We watched the Canadian boat make its way into the center of Horseshoe Falls and slowly spin around exiting just as it came in.  Our turn.  The mist became more like a drenching down pour rather than mist as our boat motored to the middle, slowly spinning so we could take in the full view of the falls.  Sunglasses were useless as a steady stream of water cascaded down our faces and soaking everything not covered by the poncho and even swirling underneath soaking the edges of our shirts.  It was pure power and force.  If there were rocks at the bottom they were obscured by the water rising into the air almost going right back up to the top of the falls only to tumble down again.  The boat now had spun 180 degrees, catching the current it drifted downriver only needing power to cross the side to moor up.  Smiles covered everyone's' face as we disembarked and the new passengers eagerly boarded.  There was a short trail to climb to view the falls closer from the bottom but it didn't go all the way up.  We turned, waited for the elevator and content to have made this detour on our trip across the USA.

Pirate Hideout in Waterford, New York was our next stop on our tour.  






One other note, the bathrooms were not well marked.  

From Southwest Harbor, we drove east along Highway 1.  The car over flowing with luggage and two years worth of belongings sped down the highway as 80s music flowed from the speakers.  Only that night's hotel was planned and the date that our trip had to end.  Everything else was wide open.  Before us lay the twisting road dotted with little towns and white Maine houses.  As we neared the Penobscot River, a large structure dominated the skyline.  So out of place in the woods and rivers of Maine. As we drove across the bridge and under the towers, we made the spur of the moment decision to check it out.  Wait Fort Knox?  I thought that was in Kentucky and it is and it's also a historical site in Maine. Grouped together with the Penobscot Observatory it made a perfect stopping point along the way. With our mask in hand we made our way to the entrance of the towers discovering that we would be riding the elevator with just us.  Standing in line, we noticed that the camera display not only showed the ground floor, the observation deck and also the the elevators.  As we stepped into the elevator a gleam came into Job's eye.  The doors shut and he began this thing that he called dancing.  It ended with him shaking his booty at the camera.  The elevator doors opened and the attendant saying nothing, just smiled at Job.  We then headed towards Fort Knox to check it out.  It was built in the mid 1800s and named after Major General Henry Knox, the first Secretary of War.  We wandered through tunnels and down dark damp stairs turning this way and that until we arrived in the center.  One side of the fort had views of the adjacent river bank and hills while the other had rooms dedicated to bunks, kitchens and officer rooms.  As in typical Job fashion, he decided to try his monkey/Tarzan yell to see if anyone would echo him back.  Nope, just him though he did get some people to stop and look around.  A visit anywhere will not be typical with him.

There are events that a family shares; those secret inside jokes.  Sometimes it is the whole family in on the joke, sometimes it is just a few members.  The Rockland Lighthouse will be one of those memories.  We first visited this light house on an icy cold December day in 2019.  Fast forward to 2021 and we were back at this lighthouse.  This time though we were on a move out of Maine instead of into Maine. We wove our way through the neighborhood realizing that the walk would be a bit longer than last time as cars had lined the street.  Though breezy, the wind didn't bite like it had that icy cold December afternoon.  The causeway that commanded all of our attention last time barely made an impression as we dodged people instead of ice.  We quickly made our way to the lighthouse and around it weaving through people, trying to stay out of their photos and take ones of our own.  A few people were fishing and crab traps were set in the shallow waters.  A sailboat was anchored at the lighthouse taking on passengers for a tour around the harbor. Such a different experience in the summer compared to that winter afternoon.  Though I did prefer the winter afternoon more.  




 

It was early afternoon when we decided to for a hike up Beehive in Acadia.  Three young men and I opened the car doors and piled out at the trailhead.  Of the three guys, two of them had hiked Beehive and one had never even hiked at all.  This was his first introduction.  We started up the rocky trail towards the granite dome.  It wasn't long after starting when we reached the base of the dome. We started the scramble upwards while cell phones quickly went into my pack. Stone stairs led us upwards to iron bars placed on the edge so we could continue upwards.  After traversing the iron bars, we had reached the iron rungs placed so that we could continue the climb to the top.  Standing on my tippy toes, I stretched out my arms to grab the rung so I could haul myself up.  Any shorter and I would have needed a boost.  Once on top, we found a stop to sit and enjoy the views of the Gulf of Maine that stretched out before us.  Islands dotted the horizon and the guys named the different ones that they had patrolled.  The sun started to sink creating beautiful golden light but curtailing our hike so that we could only make it down before darkness truly set in.