Christmas in November
John took off work early and we headed out to Hagerstown to pick up the fuselage kit for the RV-9A that we’re building. (Well, actually he’s doing most of the building but I help sometimes.) We left it in the crate overnight and unpacked it this morning.
We got everything inside and John is downstairs unwrapping and inventorying all of the parts. It was cool to see recognizable parts for once. Some of the options we ordered included steps and pedals for both sides.
Niagara Falls
We decided to go to Niagara Falls this past weekend with Neil and Pam. Since their RV-8 is faster than our Cessna, we flew up on Friday night and stayed over. I’m glad we did. The flight up was a hair under 3 hours, and it was 5:30 by the time we picked up the rental car, checked into the hotel and were ready to find some food. The weather was gorgeous!!
We walked over to Goat Island to eat at the Top of the Falls Restaurant and stopped to view the Rainbow Falls and Horseshoe falls along the way. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed for the season — it would have been nice for them to say so on their website. There was a food court and a Hard Rock Cafe on the American side, but we decided to go explore Canada instead.
We had dinner at a place called The Secret Garden, which was surrounded by beautiful gardens. Dinner was simple — a bacon cheeseburger for John and fish ‘n chips for me, but it was enjoyable. After dinner we walked along walkway and watched the colored lights shining on the Falls. The last fireworks show of the season was scheduled for 10pm and we had some time to kill, so we rode the Sky Wheel and played a round of Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf.
We watched the fireworks from the Rainbow Bridge on the way back to the American side, and then stopped into the hotel bar for a drink. On the way back up to our room, my right foot was giving me some trouble. It was no better the next morning when we set out for breakfast (we split a gyro) and then to pick Neil and Pam up at the airport. The four of us headed over to Goat Island so they could see the Falls, and then we walked back over to the Canadian side.
By this point my foot was hurting pretty badly and I had trouble negotiating steps, so Neil, Pam and John explored the gardens next to The Secret Garden while I hung out on a park bench. John took some pictures for me and then we crossed the street so that I could take some pictures of the Rainbow Falls while we were waiting for Neil and Pam to rejoin us. I had wanted to walk down for daytime shots of the Horseshoe falls, but realized that I just wasn’t going to make it. And with that we packed it in and headed back to the airport.
We didn’t realize it at the time, but a friend of ours was following us most of the way back from New York to Frederick. We didn’t recognize the tail number, but as he got closer, we recognized his voice when he was talking to New York Center. He landed just a few minutes ahead of us (John canceled our IFR plan so that Bruce could go ahead since his plane was faster) so we stopped by the hangar to say “hi”.
So, it turns out that I didn’t break my foot, but I do have some sort of soft tissue injury. We still have no clue how I did it. I’m on orders to rest it for 5 to 7 days. I hope it heals fast, because this recliner is getting old fast.
