Niagara Falls and Diversity

This past week, Emily, myself, and Emily's Aunt Kay made our much awaited trip to Niagara Falls where we had a fabulous time despite my having contracted a poison ivy rash before we left. We settled in to our hotel about ten minutes from the downtown area and opted to take a tour with Gray Line Niagara Falls on our first full day. Our tour guide, Larry D. The Legend, led us on an informative journey to see the whirl pool which is the only spot of water in the Northern hemisphere where the water moves counter clockwise, Through the Cave of the Winds where Emily and Aunt Kay felt the force of the hurricane deck, and onto the Maid of the Mist where we got up close and personal with the American and Canadian falls.

We picked an opportune week to visit as the gulls were nesting, and we were able to see chicks just a few inches away from the path we strode upon.

On our own one evening, we took a jaunt to the lights. I found the casino on the Canadian side fascinating as well and admired the constantly changing colors of the building lights.

We managed to slip in a stop at a chocolate factory where we watched two ladies make chocolate suckers and we sampled some delicious ice-cream.

On our last day we did a little antiquing in a town forty minutes away and when we returned we explored down town Niagara where you never know what you might find around the next  corner.

And as we toured all the wonderful spots, we spent time chatting with a mother and daughter from England, a mother who was visiting with her two daughters, one of whom was born in Japan, and her two parents who were visiting from Cuba. We passed many Asian families on vacation just like us, and we saw many Indian families enjoying the plethora of Indian restaurants dotting the area.

This diversity of people is what lead me to pick the book A Different Pond out of my review stack when we arrived home. A Different Pond is the story of an early morning fishing trip and the bond between a son and father. A Vietnamese Family who moved to America after the Vietnam War, they are poor, and not only must the father and mother hold down multiple jobs, the father must fish to provide food for the family. I found this story touching not only because it shows a family much different than the one I experienced growing up, but also because it seemed to me to be the authors way of honoring his parents who were also Vietnamese refugees.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by Literacy Musings Mondays for more great blogs as well as my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.