We didn’t have a huge window for a long summer vacation this year, so we decided we would do a 3 day jaunt up/back to Niagara Falls.
Our objectives were simple and two-fold.
- Ride the Maid of the Mist
- Go to Canada
It’s what you learn along the way that makes the family trips so much fun.
And it’s the little moments (both good and bad) that you create the memories that stick with all of us for the rest of our lives.
What’s going on in Canada?
As part of our ‘get in the Canada frame of mind” effort, we pulled up the Canadian anthem on YouTube and played it over the car speakers.
It was around that time that we learned that Paco thought the lyrics were:
“we stand on God for thee” instead of “we stand on guard for thee.”
Needless to say, we had some fun with this. Canadians being so dedicated to their country that they will trample God for it.
Also, he thought that it was “Bob keep our land, glorious and free” instead of “God keep our land.”
This led to a lot of speculation as to who exactly Bob is. Perhaps Canada’s gardener?
The Unexpected Twists
Nadia has had a bit of a string of bad luck recently. She had strep, then a viral infection of her chest. We had taken her to a few places 
Still, she was obviously sick and wheezing a bit.
We had a nebulizer and were using it.
However, the first night in the hotel was just brutal. Nadia was coughing violently, having a hard time breathing, and it was keeping the NFO and me up.
I was up from 2-5.30, but that’s nothing compared to the NFO who decided at 5am to take Nadia to the Williamsville hospital ER.
All’s well that ends well, but it was one of those nights where you think “great, I’m on vacation with the family, I’ll get to bed at a reasonable time, and be somewhat well rested” and instead turns into an all-nighter.
Ah, parenthood.
The kids ended up having a great attitude, making lemonade out of lemons (and that’s a life skill, isn’t it?) and we went to the pool in the morning.
We didn’t get to Niagara Falls until about 12.30pm, but it all worked.
Simple Expectations and Bonusville
My philosophy of travel with the family is very simple. Have ONE objective per day. Everything after that is bonus.
Monday was “Maid of the Mist” and then whatever.
Once we did that (and we all had a blast, getting soaked), we were in bonus land.
I had brought passports, so we walked across the Rainbow Bridge (kids enjoyed straddling the border) to Canada.
It gave us a chance to talk about different currencies, why Queen Elizabeth is on the money, kilometers vs. miles and immigration policy.
The approach is a major stress reliever for me. You don’t need to rush. You just do your thing and then can allow the rest of the day to unfold. I find it helps with keeping other people from whining too much as well.
And The Icing on the Cake
When we’re at home, we’re all not staying in the same room or same car for the same length of time. The intensity comes from the proximity and you see how we all work together to solve disagreements or partner.
You see how the kids take care of each other as they get to explore the hotel or go downstairs for the breakfast buffet.
You get to see that, for some reason, they think the show “Full House” is one of the funniest things they’ve ever seen. They laugh at the show and the NFO and I just laugh at their reactions.
You get to inhale the innocence of childhood through them, knowing that you don’t have it forever, but that it’s glorious while it’s here.
And you get to talk about “that time we went to Niagara Falls and Canada.”
Even if we had 14 hours of driving and a trip to the ER while we were there.
It’s all worth it.
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