The weekend, and my entire vacation, is officially at an end. Let's recount what i did after leaving New York City. Well, the next day, my mom and I split ways after checking out. She took a shuttle to JFK. I took the subway to Port Authority. I felt like I was going to get lost in the station, namely because the ticket boot for the Shortline was on the 2nd floor, and the boarding area was on the 3rd floor. After I got to the third floor, I didn't know which bus was going to Ithaca, so I asked. Then I finally boarded after putting my bag under the bus.
The bus ride was long. We took the Lincoln Tunnel and eventually exited New York, I believe, into New Jersey, and maybe one point into Pennsylvania. We made stops, and I was confused, not knowing if I ever had to change buses or not. I was in and out of sleep, and the ride was cold and long. The air conditioning was turned on way too high for my taste. Good thing I had my new "New York" sweater over me as a blanket. However, it did not help me much.
Eventually, we did get into Ithaca. However, there was much traffic, so we passed by all the Cornell stops first. Cornell University is gorgeous to say the last. Ithaca itself is hilly as can be with trees and waterfalls for as far as the eye can see. The town is beautiful, and the views off of the hills are sweeping and amazing. Anyway, we ended up at the downtown terminal. First thing I needed to do was go the bathroom. So, I enter the bathroom and it is very tiny and small, dark, and smelly. There's a condom dispenser, you know, just in case. Anyway, I waited for about 5 minutes and then Dustin appears at the doorway.
Then, I met his friend Larissa and we are off to Wegman's for some dinner. The food, like always, is great. All food is good to me! After some brief dinner and talking, we headed to Ithaca College, as the two needed to take a quiz at their Center for Health Sciences Computer Lab. I just stayed on the computer next to them for about an hour. After that, we headed to the Circle Apartments, where I wrote my last journal entry, and where Dustin lives on campus.
After we came in, we left again to play Texas Hold Em with his friends. Again, I was scared out of my mind to play with all these people, but Dustin said he wanted me to play and he'd buy me in. So, $5 dollars, so long, or so I thought. After about 2-3 hours, it ended up that I got second place, and Dustin won. Amazing right? I literally learned how to play 2 Tuesdays ago! Anyway, then we left there and back to Dustin's place. We watched Food Network and talked until his roommate Jorge wanted to play some Smash Brothers. Then, his roommate Dave (I think) wanted to play too, so we played for awhile more, until we got so sleepy we had to stop.
Anyway, the next morning, woke up and got ready to leave and Dustin came back from class. Then, we were on the road again to Niagra Falls, New York! The drive was about 3:30 hours long. We ended up stopping for food and ate some great Fudrucker's. Then, I picked up some Day Quil for the drive and for later, along with some shampoo.
After some time, we arrived in Niagra, but we could not check into the apartment. Taler was picking up Devin at the Buffalo Airport. So then, we just ended up driving around. We drove near the post office, then we were going to see the "Welcome Center" which ended up being right where we were and also empty. Then, we ended up at the Niagra Aquarium, where we stopped so that I could go to the restroom. The lady inside almost did not let me use the restroom, but I guess she was nice, so she let me. Then, I saw the sea lions being fed. Then, we just drove back to the hostel and waited until 4pm to check in.
We both felt kind of weird by the hostel. The lady at the front seemed sort of off to us, and the building was and old Georgian style home. It's what you'd see in some old horror movie with strange characters and wierd crazy people. Anyway, it was not like that. We eventually got into the room and sat around and waited for the arrival of Taler and Devin. We finally heard them walking up the stairs and I had a smile on my face, waiting to see them for months!
I did not remember Taler's voice at all! Anyway, we all said hello again, and then we decided to walk to eat, but since everyone was so indecisive, we ended up walking more than we should have. We finally decided on Just Pizza for some subs or pizza. From there, We were then off to the falls, this time by car, and to see the illumination. We walked around, took lots of pictures, and took some pictures that we call "incriminating" pictures. Anyway, we walk around and saw the beauty that is Niagara Falls. We mostly saw the American Falls, until we walked more to see the Horseshoe Falls as well! Taler and Dustin decided to roll down a hill, and then we joined them in laying on the wet grass to take a picture.
After that, we headed to Denny's for some late night dessert and loads of games of Flash! We all could not really eat all our dessert, but it was good. We all compared our IDs, and at the end of the night, I realized I lost mine! Anyway, we left there and back to the hostel we went. We decided to go into the side room to play cards. But, we could not enter the main room without the motion detector sensing us and yelling "YOU ARE TRESPASSING"! Anyway, we played war, speed, stupid pick up games (Oh Taler!), and Black Jack. Eventually, we all headed upstairs and went to bed.
The next day, we knew we would have a long day. We decided to get some breakfast at Tim Horton's. From there, we parked at the aquarium and got our Niagara Discovery Passes for $30. we decided to do the Maid of the Mist boat tour first. The boat ride was awesome and majestic to say the least. The mist hitting your face and your blue poncho made for a one of a kind experience. From there, we took many pictures on the observation deck. Then, we decided to watch the Niagara Falls film in the theater. Then, we walked back to the Aquarium to check that out. The aquarium will never be at the same standard to the Birch Aquarium!
Anyway, we ended up driving to the Cave of the Winds, because the stupid trolley system is messed up, and too many people try to get on it. Anyway, we ended up driving there, and bypassed the horrendous line. Then we suited up in our ponchos and put on our souvenir sandals (I broke one of mine, but fixed it in haste). We waited in line and took the elevator down. Then, we waited in the long lines and boardwalks to go near the falls. You could just feel the mist from afar, but you do not "feel the falls" until you board the "Hurricane Deck", which almost touches one of the falls. The mist and wind blows the water around until it comes pounding down on you! We did it once, but then had to go back, but this time, with Taler's instructions, to NOT wear ponchos. It was the greatest idea ever, as we received many stares and had so much fun getting soaked together. We had so many group hugs under those falls, Niagara Falls will never be the same as it was with the 4 of us there.
Anyway, we left there, dripping wet! We boarded the elevator, trying not to get everyone else soaked. Then, we drove home and showered or changed our clothes. Then, we headed out for a nice dinner north of Niagara in a town called Lewiston, NY (I believe).
We ate at the Brickyard, which was a great BBQ place. However, we all got full of our drinks or our appetizer stuff that we all shared. So, we only tasted our food before taking it home. It was such a great place, and I will highly recommend people going there, since the food is so tasty. I will have to write a Yelp entry on that place. Anyway, we drove back, but stopped at the falls again to take one final look before our weekend together was over.
After that, we went to the Denny's to check for my ID, but the waitress/hostess seemed very angry about something, especially that she was working alone and stuff. Anyway, she seemed bitchy and everyone seemed like they did not know what was going on. Everything about it seemed so sketchy, so we finally left back to the hostel. We all went to our beds, and just, practically knocked out.
This morning, Taler left at about 8:00AM. It was sad to see her leave, since leaving each other is not fun at all. We all gave her long hugs goodbye for now, until next time we meet again.
We all checked out and then headed to Tim Horton's. Then, we drove around the Niagara area, but it was very sketchy looking, so we headed towards Buffalo, which was also very sketchy, Basically no businesses last in that town apparently, as we saw "For Lease" and "For Rent" signs everywhere. Then, we towards Downtown, and then Dustin ended up driving to an imaginary outlet mall, another mall that was not really a mall, and drove through a marathon thing that was about to begin. I blame it on Tom Tom, the navigation system, who should know this stuff! That was quite the morning adventure. After that, we just drove to the airport.
From there, we parked, and we all checked in eventually. Then, Dustin said his goodbye as he is now driving home to Ithaca. We gave him long hugs and we went through security. Then, I'm not with Devin at AirTran Gate 14. I'm waiting here, so I don't have to wait alone, as well as the fact that I'm about 5 hours early to my flight/boarding. Anyway, that is all that there is to recount for the trip through New York. I will write a final reflection upon my stay here in New York and everything when I get back to Los Angeles or San Diego!
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