Adventure to Niagara Falls
I love traveling. Whether it is 30 minutes away or 20 hours away, I’m down. I love the feeling of not knowing what will happen on the way to and when I reach my destination. I will occasionally do research if the trip is large enough, i.e. Quebec City, Canada. However, when it comes to spur of the moment trips, there’s not much research.
Last winter, it was so cold that Mercyhurst University decided to cancel classes. The first time in a very long time this had been done due to Erie’s never-ending, bitter winters. In other words, we are supposed to be used to it by now. However, the wind chill reached well into sub-zero temperatures. If I remember correctly, the canceled day was to have a wind chill of -30 degrees Fahrenheit. So, instead of staying-in like good children, we decided to take a road trip to Niagara Falls. At night. Yes, the night before the canceled school-day. It was not one of our better ideas.
We drove for two-and-a-half hours into New York. It was snowing, so the drive took a little longer than it normally would have. I don’t remember the drive up that well, so I believe I slept for most of it. We left around 9 p.m. My bedtime is normally 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. so this was already going to throw my sleeping schedule into a tailspin. We reached Niagara Falls around 11 p.m. The temperatures were well below freezing at this time.
We had to walk about two or three blocks from the parking lot to the falls. Three of my friends who decided to come along (still not sure why) went through waist-high snow while my boyfriend and I chose the path well-worn. I would like to note that none of us were wearing proper snow gear other than coats, hats and boots. So, we were all wearing jeans. It was so cold that there able to dust the snow off, but they still felt the chill of walking through that much snow.
When we reached the falls, everything was dark except for the few lamps lining the sidewalk. We could only hear the falls, which was ominous enough. Then, there was a strange man randomly following us. Thankfully, my boyfriend is in the military and knows how to defend himself. We did not need his self-defense, but we stayed aware of his presence. Honestly, it scared me a lot. I wished that we had not ventured so far from home on such a cold, dark night.
We stayed around the falls for only about an hour. We noticed that our one friend went back to the car before the rest of us. When we got back to her, she informed us, with a few tears in her eyes, that she might have frostbite. What an end to a trip. Someone should have seen this coming, but in our frenzy to do something exciting, we neglected safety hazards accompanying the frigid temperatures.
We got back in the car and headed home, making a quick stop at a Perkins known for having not having the best health and safety record; just one more thing to add to the pile. This does not deter me from taking adventures and traveling; however, I learned that doing proper research, no matter where we are headed, is important. From traffic all the way to what the destination holds is important to planning trips, including the 30 minute trip to the grocery store. There might be an accident or rush hour has traffic backed-up past your exit.
