Boston to Indiana

It's September!  Where'd the summer go?  The nights are getting nippy, the trees are starting to change colors, kids are back in school, and we've started to drift south.

After leaving Boston we drove over to Seneca Falls, NY.  We camped out for a couple of nights at a very nice little camp called Camp in the Woods.  This is a family owned/operated RV campground now run by the 3rd generation of the Frankish family.  The night we arrived the camp was in the midst of a bonfire and corn roast to commemorate the end of their season.  We were invited to join in and met several of their annual campers and had some nice eats.  

Camp in the Woods, flares around the pond during the Corn Roast

The next day we popped up and headed into Geneva to meet a cousin of Heinz's dad.  Tom grew up in the area and gave us a wonderful tour of all the family landmarks.  We certainly hadn't planned on sucking up his entire day, but nine hours later we finally shook hands, exchanged hugs, and climbed back into our cars.  What a local historian!  Heinz and I had a blast learning about the area, the family, and the truths and myths of the Marsh clan.  

Seneca Falls Bank.

Frederick Marsh (great-great-grandfather) was bank president.  

In 1870 the bank accepted deposits of $1 and upward and paid interest of 6% semi-annually.

Heinz and Tom.  What a tour guide!

Trinity Episcopal Church, Seneca Falls.  

Lavinia Marsh (great-great-grandmother) played the organ here,

and forced all descendants to take piano lessons.

Following our whirlwind tour of Seneca Falls and Geneva, along with conversation that ranged from family stories to world politics, we said our goodbyes and headed off to Niagara Falls.  We camped at the Grand Island KOA, a very nice park as all the KOA's seem to be.

We've both been to the falls before, but it's been 43 years for Heinz and at least 20 for me, so this was a treat for us both.  We took my father's advice and booked ourselves on the Maid of the Mist boat tour, along with taking in the Cave of the Mists walk.  Heinz kept trying to figure out why the Canadian side was highly developed and the U.S. side had very few buildings along the cliffs.  Then we both had a "Duh" moment... the U.S. side has been a state park since 1885!  Words are inadeqate to describe the falls, so I'll let photos help tell the story.

American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls

American Falls and Bridal Falls

Length of brink:  1060 feet /323.08 meters

Height:  176 feet / 53.6 meters (due to rocks at the base actual fall is 70 feet/ 21.3 meters)

Volume of water: 150,000 U.S. Gallons / 567,811 Liters per second American and Bridal Veil Falls from the Cave of the Mists Walkway. Horseshoe Falls from the Maid of the Mist boat. Horseshoe Falls from the Maid of the Mist boat. Length of brink: 2600 feet / 792.4 meters Height: 167 feet / 50.9 meters Volume of water: 600,000 U.S. gallons / 2,271,247 liters per second Unfortunately we only had one day to spend at the falls because we had a appointment at the Fleetwood factory for a coach inspection.  So we're now in Decatur, Indiana at the Fleetwood American Eagle facility.  What a great bunch of people: knowledgeable, friendly, eager to share information about the coach, and willing to go the extra mile to make sure their customers are satisfied.   Our friends of the day (held over from Maine):  There were four in total, and all were probably not as thrilled with our relationship as we were :)