Sweet Creek Falls and Florence, Oregon (travel and Day 1)

Flying to the Vegas area has always been one of my favorite flights because of all the scenery along the way. I stay glued to my window while flying over deserts, canyons, and other captivating terrains I can't even name. I hadn't gone above Utah until this flight and oh my goodness was it gorgeous on my way to Oregon.

On my first full day in Oregon, my friends Vidur, Rachel and I set out for Florence, a coastal city about 60 miles from their home in Eugene. They've only been in the state for a few months but from my experience are already expert tour guides, and had planned a stop on the way at Sweet Creek Falls to break up the drive.

We stopped and hiked around a bit, first mistakenly in the wrong direction, then we turned back and found the top of the falls, and finally made it to the bottom. The water was SO cold.. I would have told you it was an ice bath from the feel of it if I hadn't been able to see that there wasn't any ice in the water! We waded around for a bit and their dog Finley even tried it out.

I was amazed that despite riding in the front seat, the mountain roads we drove on got me carsick! We quickly discovered that that must be the case for many visitors of the area because the gas station we stopped at was out of Dramamine. We went down the street to a convenience store and they were out of the non-drowsy kind I insist on.. but had the regular kind, so I bought that. Once we reached Florence, we found a grocery store and checked yet again for non-drowsy Dramamine... totally out! They didn't even have the regular kind. I was a bit fascinated while we drove up to the grocery store--there were HUGE sand dunes behind it! As though it was built at the start of a massive desert.

On our way to our first destination in Florence, we stopped at a scenic overlook for a gorgeous view of the coast, dunes, and we got to PICK BLACKBERRIES! I was SO excited, not sure why picking fruit (like my apple picking in 2019) fascinates me.. but it does!

After our quick roadside stop, we drove over to Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint for some even more gorgeous views and (drumroll please)... more blackberry picking along the way! There was a nice concrete trail along the cliff that was built in the 1920s to replace a wooden boardwalk. Once we got to the top, the lighthouse was understandably short, being on a cliff, and what a stunning view. The Fresnel lens of the Heceta Head lighthouse is the largest English lens of its type and brightest light on the Oregon Coast, seen as far as 21 miles at sea.

Once we were done taking pictures and taking in the gorgeous view, we headed back down with a quick stop at the gift shop. Our next destination was Sea Lion Caves, America's largest sea cave, and one of the largest in the world having a floor that covers two acres and height as high as 125 feet.

Unfortunately, the sea lions aren't there this time of year, but it was still fascinating to see. The cave was created by fractures in molten rock from volcanoes twenty-five million years ago.

From there we found a busy downtown Florence with a long wait at the restaurant where we had planned to grab dinner, so we tried another place. After dinner, I was elated when we decided to go see the dunes I had quietly been wishing we would see since spotting them behind the grocery store. We followed a random "dunes" sign and were oh so happy with what we found. We climbed wayyyy up the dunes to reveal a gorgeous beach sunset on the other side. Rachel and Vidur stayed put but I had to run down the dunes to see the view of it all from the water.

Once the sun went down, we headed back to Eugene where I would try Crumbl Cookies for the first time--YUM!

Niagara Falls (Day 2 and travel)

The next day we made the drive to Niagara Falls. I was surprised that there wasn't a whole lot to be seen from the American side. We didn't spend a long time looking around before deciding it was time to go to the other side.

Thanks to my sister going to our apartment, retrieving it and overnighting it to me... I had my passport!  The boats weren't running from the American side of the falls so we crossed Rainbow International Bridge to make our way to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. I ended up buying a ticket to go on the famed Maiden of the Mist on my own--you can't go to Niagara and NOT do that! As you can see in the pictures, a ticket comes with a 100% necessary poncho so you don't get drenched by the falls when the boat gets close!

While seeing the falls from both sides is fabulous, the boat view probably tops it all. We got to see all three falls up close: American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe Falls (AKA Canadian Falls).

There's a lot to see over on the Canadian side and since it was close to December, there were lots of Christmas decorations up already. We spent a good bit of time wandering the visitor's center, waiting for it to get dark to see the falls lit up. During that time I discovered there was a floral showhoue nearby that had an Annual Poinsettia Show going on with over 1,400 poinsettias on display. We walked in the cold over til we found the garden which I thought was well worth it.

While there, we were also able to see the Life on Display exhibit of miniature estates and cottages around Ontario that Niagara Parks purchased in 2011 and put on display only a few years ago.

It was about a 4 mile walk back just to get to the Rainbow Bridge, but to me, worth it. The Poinsettia show was gorgeous and the view of the falls by night was amazing. They light up the falls with the lights change colors--plus there was a fireworks display on the American side, so it was perfect to view it from the Canadian side.

When we returned to the US and drove back to the B&B, I had to grab some pictures of the cute Christmas decorations. They finished putting up this first tree while we were out during the day. It's a rare place that has more Christmas decorations than my parents.

The next day we loaded up the car while the first snowfall of the season hit. Since it was the first, the roads were not quite ready for the ice and it was a pretty scary five and a half hour drive home with sliding on ice followed by hydroplaning when we got far enough south that it wasn't yet freezing. But thankfully, we made it safely, dropped the car off in Queens and took a Lyft back to the apartment in Manhattan.

Mt. Morris, New York (Travel and Day 1)

For Thanksgiving this year I really wanted to go on a road trip somewhere. After debating going to Martha's Vinyard, Cape Cod, and a few other places, we decided to head upstate to Niagara Falls. I've always wanted to visit the falls so I was so excited to make this trip.

We stayed an hour and a half from Niagara in Mt. Morris, New York at a cute place called Allegiance Bed and Breakfast and had Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant in town.

Our first full day in Mt. Morris, we went to nearby Letchworth State Park and hiked around. It was really a beautiful park. The waterfalls we saw were fascinating, it looked like their base was made of slate.

The Upper Falls of the park was the most beautiful, with a bridge added into the scenery. It was cold enough that the falls were beginning to freeze and you could see the rock turning white with frost.

The Genesee river runs through the park and is what creates the falls. Over 100,000 years ago, the river eroded creating the valley seen below from the Gardeau Overlook.

We also spent some time stopping by a thrift store--always a must for me. I was excited to find a nice pre-lit Christmas tree for our apartment and some other Christmas decorations.

On the way back to the B&B we stopped by a creamery near the B&B and bought cheese and a snack stick to try.