Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tell me a Story

Ever so often the boys ask me to put down the book from the library and tell them a story.
" A story from your childhood mom.  Not the one of Aunt Miss falling from the Hayloft, or the one of Aunt Miss falling into the Crick.  Something new mom."
What they don't realize is that everyday I share with them a new story or a new adventure.  This weekend was a perfect example.  On Sunday I surprised all of my boys and took them up to Niagara Falls.  We went to Marine Land where I always wanted to go as a kid and never had the chance, but now I share it with my boys.  But I can tell them the stories of how when I first started looking into Colleges, Grandpa and I rode the Goldwing all the way over to Long Island and visited a school so I could grow up to be a Marine Biologist.  Or how my Cousin Sandy showed me the house where the writer of Hair lived, well that was actually a different trip but it all blends together.  By the way we had the privileged to see a 12 hour Beluga Whale Calf, it was adorable.
After Marine Land we went for a little adventure, we were not lost I swear, and drove around the upper area of Niagara Falls.  We eventually parked at the base of the Skylon Tower, it happened to be one of the cheapest places to park.  We walked down through the wood path where as a kid I use to walk with my parents, to avoid the expensive parking.  At the end of the steep path is a beautiful rose garden, you did not even have to bend down to smell them.  The air was rich with their scents and your eyes were overloaded with all of the colors.  It was a little piece of heaven.  We walked along the falls and I shared with them how everytime we came to the falls we always had a picnic and then we purchased some fudge from the main building next to the falls.
After the walk  we did the one thing  I have not done in probably 30 years, wow I am getting old or time really does fly by.  We rode the trolly ride up the hill  to Stanley Ave from the falls.  What a thrill it was for me to still see it operating.  It is located directly across from the Table Rock Welcome Center and it only cost $2.50 per person to ride.  You get a wonderful view of the falls and it is such a relaxing ride compared to hiking back up the mountain.  I shared with the boys how I use to do this once and a while with my parents because not too far away was where you could park for free or really inexpensively.  Times have changed though because now where you could park stands a Casino and many hotels and restaurants.  Not only did this adventure to Niagara Falls provide the boys a new memory, but it reawakened for me many old and happy memory's for me.
What amazed me still is that at the end of the day as I was kissing the boys good night I still heard:
"Mom tell us a story of your childhood."
http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/14805/beluga.jpg