Niagara Falls/Toronto: Days 2-3

Friday morning, we woke up a little before 7am, which felt like sleeping in compared to how early we had to wake up for the train the day before! We had seen a Belgian waffle stand right outside our hotel and decided that would make a delicious breakfast. Much to our chagrin, we discovered it doesn't actually open up until 4pm. Luckily, there was an IHOP Restaurant inside our hotel, so I ended up getting my waffle after all. :) The reason for this early breakfast was that we had a goal to be on the first Maid of the Mist boat tour of the morning at 9am - we would be picking up our rental car at noon and needed to fit two showers in between - so while we weren't exactly in a time crunch, getting on a boat that left 30 minutes or an hour later just didn't work for me!

I wasn't sure what to expect - after all, this is a very popular tourist attraction and there were certainly no shortage of tourists in town. But of course we walked up to the ticket booth nearly an hour before it opened and discovered we were the only ones there. We sat down where we could keep an eye on the ticketing booth. At some point, we decided it was time to actually stand at the booth. We were very clearly first in line. A large group of people showed up approximately 10 minutes before the ticket booth was going to open (approximately quarter 'til 9) and just blew right past us. This was totally annoying, as it was so clear we were there and waiting in line. For some reason, everyone started lining up at the booth to the far left, and no one went to any of the other lines...except me. I went to the entrance of the second ticket booth where there was no one. I'm still not sure exactly why everyone crowded into one line, but all the ticket lines open up at the same time, so my mom and I were the first ones through that second line (and all the lines for that matter), leaving the rude group in our dust. We were racing down the ramp and managed to get into the elevator and get it closed with the large group hot on our heels. Their missing the elevator put us a good 15 or 20 seconds ahead of them, and it was probably the most satisfying moment of the entire day. We walked (okay, speed-walked) through a small garage where we were handed huge blue ponchos, and were easily first in line at the gate to the boat.

The line of jerks has formed behind us:


The mist was intense down here now that we were actually at water level, so we wasted no time getting into our new, fashionable outer layers:

They had us wait for another ten or fifteen minutes before finally opening up the gate. We had scoped out exactly where we wanted to be - at the mast of the boat on the lower level - so made a beeline for it. The upper level seemed to be the most popular place to try and get a spot, but I'm not really sure why - plus, those people were the last ones off the boat when we did get back to the dock. Anyways, we got our spot with no problem and braced ourselves for what was already a very windy, water-spraying ride! I was able to get a few pictures from the water, but the mist was so overwhelming at times that I decided not to worry so much about getting the photos and to just try and take it all in. We first rode past the American Falls, where the Bridal Falls (to the right) were pointed out to us:

We then made the short ride over to the Horseshoe Falls, where the wind and mist picked up even more. We were SO close to the roaring falls at this time - it made it difficult to hear the loudspeaker on the boat that was trying to provide us with information about the falls. I did catch them tell us that four of the five Great Lakes empty into the Niagara River at this location [it would not be until we could get back onto the internet in the U.S. that my mom and I would finally end the question this piece of trivia raised - what ARE the five Great Lakes? It took us all weekend to resolve it (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario)]. The boat petered around in front of the Horseshoe Falls for a while letting everyone take in the full scope of what was crashing to the rocks in front of us. When the wind would change direction, it was impossible to look straight at the waterfall. It was so much fun! We were also incredibly close to the rainbow now ( it was only a few feet in front of us) which was remarkable because rainbows always seem to fade away when you get this close to them. Another thing that really stood out to me about the falls was how turquoise the water was as it went over the cliff - I don't think any of my photos really captured the gorgeous shade of blue the water was right before it dive-bombed.


Something else we had a great view of from the boat were some of the other attractions around the falls: Cave of the Winds (American side) and Journey Behind the Falls (Canadian side). I've heard Journey Behind the Falls is cool because you literally walk through a cave that runs behind the waterfall, but again, it's one of those things where you have to ask yourself "How many different angles do I need to see this from?" We clearly had done the most famous and popular of the falls tours, and I really didn't have much of a desire to do any of the others. The others appeared to get a little bit closer to the actual falling water, but tons of falling water rushing over rickety wooden staircases aren't exactly my idea of controlled fun. The ride in total lasted 30 minutes, but it seemed much quicker than that. I thought it was so worth it, and I feel like I really got to see something special that a lot of people will never even see in their lifetime.

We peeled the ponchos off of us, and I was pleasantly surprised to see I really hadn't gotten that wet. It was quite a poncho, hanging all the way down to my ankles. Really just the bottoms of my legs and my feet were wet, so I was definitely happy I'd worn shorts and flip flops. We headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up and then walked (much further than it looked on the map, but in reality was less than a mile) to the Enterprise on Stanley Avenue. We got a black Dodge Avenger (I was really dreading getting some kind of embarrassing, yellow fugly car so this was a relief), made the Enterprise rep believe that I remembered how to drive (it had been nine months since I'd been behind the wheel of a car) and that I had car insurance, and then I promptly screeched out of that parking lot. I had specifically called and requested a GPS for the car, which had been confirmed, but when we arrived, the rep told us the GPS devices they had were not returned yet. I was definitely disappointed, as I was really counting on GPS despite the fact that I had maps printed out...it would be difficult to deviate from our plans at all without the GPS. We drove across a pretty busy Stanley Avenue in a somewhat haphazard fashion right under the nose of a police officer and filled up our gas tank, and then we were on our way!

Less than a week ago, our plan had been to head straight to Toronto and visit Casa Loma, a beautiful castle we had discovered online that sits high atop a hill above Toronto. There are beautiful gardens, 98 rooms and even secret passageways beneath the castle visitors can explore. However, by chance, my mom received a recommendation that we both jumped at, so we decided to scratch Casa Loma from the plan altogether. Instead, we were now on our way approximately 20 minutes outside of Niagara Falls to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a popular winery region that I was not even aware of until this week. I had done some last minute research and based on time options (I knew we'd be pushing it to be anywhere before 1pm) and reviews, I settled on the Hillebrand Winery, which is the largest of the some 200 wineries in the region, so booked a 1:00pm tour and tasting. While it would not normally be my style to go to the biggest, most popular winery when there are so many options, this winery had fantastic reviews, seemed to offer more of a traditional tasting and tour of the facility, and also offered a discount on wine purchased on the tour. Most of the wineries did not require reservations for only two people, but I always feel better when my spot is guaranteed. While trying to learn about the different wineries, I was also looking for a place we would be able to eat a light lunch, since we had a reservation for a very nice meal in Toronto that evening. One of the message boards I stumbled upon happened to make a recommendation to go to the small village of Jordan Station right outside of Niagara-on-the-Lake and eat at Zooma Zooma Cafe. Although additional driving in foreign territory made me a LITTLE nervous, and this was just a random comment on a rogue message board, it would be fun to see an area so far off the beaten path, I didn't have any other great ideas, and the restaurant at the winery was a bit on the pricey side...so I included Zooma Zooma on our itinerary for the day.

So with that, we were on our way to Hillebrand Winery. The Google directions I had were simple, and we were exiting the interstate (is that what they call it in Canada?) and driving down Niagara Stone Road passing winery after winery after winery in no time. All the signs were in kilometers, so I never did get a great feel for how close or far we were from anything while driving in Canada...ha! Hillebrand Winery was several miles down the road. I thought it was the prettiest one of all the wineries we had passed! Hillebrand is one of the oldest wineries in Canada, having been in operation for over 30 years:

When we turned in, there was a check-in desk right outside where we let them know we were there for the 1pm tasting/tour. We had half an hour to kill at this point (we got to the winery much quicker than I had allowed for), so we took the woman at the winery's suggestion to continue driving down Niagara Stone Road into the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. I'm really glad we did because it was such a cute, quaint little town! The sidewalks were packed with what I presumed were tourists, and it felt like we had been transported back to the 1950s - flower-lined sidewalks and storefront after storefront - lots of antique shops and places like that:

The sky was getting even more overcast, but I considered us lucky that the weather had held out for so long (walking around the day before and the Maid of the Mist that morning in the rain would not have been very enjoyable I don't think), so just crossed my fingers the rain would hold off for our winery tour as we turned around in downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake and made the 10-minute drive back to Hillebrand.


We were each handed a wine glass ready to be filled (there were approximately 12 people in our group), and were then led down a path into the vineyard. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and told us more about the winery region in Ontario and actually explained how the geography of Niagara-on-the-Lake provided a mild climate that made grape-growing possible, which I found very interesting! It had to do with warm air bouncing off the Niagara Escarpment in the distance and getting trapped over the town, keeping the temperature mild year-round. We also learned about the process of making "icewine," which the Niagara region is particularly known for and apparently produces 80% of the icewine in the world (with Germany also being a contributor). I was not really familiar with what icewine was exactly, but after learning the grapes were picked in the winter (hence the 'ice') and would therefore be sweeter, I was happy to hear icewine would be part of our tasting today.

We then gathered on a patio next to the vineyard and proceeded to learn the proper ways to sniff and taste each wine, as well as the proper foods to pair with the wines, beginning with the Trius Sauvignon Blanc, then the Trius Red and finally the Trius Vidal Icewine. The winery was obviously pushing their new Trius brand, which is made from a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes, but I didn't mind because I thought they were all delicious! Just getting to taste the wines made with the grapes growing right in front of us was a lot of fun, and makes me definitely want to visit more wineries! I thought the icewine was the most interesting taste, perhaps because I'd never tasted it before, and it would be a perfect match with a sweet dessert, or blue cheese as our guide so aptly suggested - prompting my mother to snatch up a bottle for Christmas dinner once we were released into the wine shop! (We were pre-warned by our guide that icewine is significantly more expensive than 'regular' wine, more than double or triple the price, but were able to get it for far less than retail buying it right at the winery).

After the tasting, we were taken on a tour of the facility where we were taught exactly the process the grapes go through to make it to the bottle (it doesn't involve vats or stomping, I'm very sad to report) , and then down into a very chilly tasting room in the cellar where hundreds of barrels lined the walls, each waiting to fill up several hundred bottles.

Something we didn't see:


Something we did see:


We then proceeded to a different part of the winery's cellar, where some work was being done so we couldn't actually wander all the way in. Our guide wanted us to see "the egg," which after a little further research I learned is officially named the Nomblot Egg (click link for an entire piece Time magazine did on the egg). This was clearly a source of pride for our tour guide, but after reading a little more about it, I realize it's because it is a VERY expensive piece of equipment that shows the winery is going to great lengths to produce the highest quality of wine possible, despite the massive amount of product they are churning out. A little more info about the Hillebrand egg and cellar here: link. The Egg (and baby egg in front of it):

After seeing "the egg," we were then set loose to visit the wine shop and wander around the winery freely.

We chose to go back out to the vineyard and take some photos with the grapes, and then headed to the shop where in addition to the icewine, I purchased the Trius Red we had tasted earlier. There was also a tasting bar where a lot of our group had settled in to continue the drinking. It was past 2pm at this point, so we decided we'd better move on and get lunch so that we'd be hungry again before our big dinner later that night!

For some reason, getting back onto the interstate proved more difficult this time (the reason being poor signage in my opinion), and we made a few wrong turns before finally figuring it out. The exit for Jordan Station was only a couple miles down the road, and the village proved to be just as adorable as Niagara-on-the-Lake but without all the tourists - pretty landscaping, lots of shops in quaint little brick homes, etc. Finding Zooma Zooma Cafe was simple, and although everything had been street parking that we had seen, Zooma fortunately had it's own parking lot. This was SUCH a cute restaurant, and I'm so happy I stumbled upon it in my Niagara research. Inside was funky with all sorts of artsy, bohemian decorations on the wall and filled with mostly women enjoying bottles of wine on perhaps their lunch hour. It was still comfortable outside, so we chose to be seated outside under an umbrella on the garden patio. It was such a relaxing, leisurely atmosphere, and the amazing food made it even better! I had the smoked salmon and cucumber on rye, while my mom ordered the crab & lobster salad on a croissant. We then promptly switched off halves so we could taste the other's food. Both sandwiches were so delicious, light and refreshing. This was the perfect ladies' lunch, and I wish I could find that message board posting again and thank them for the phenomenal recommendation!


Just as we were finishing up our lunch, rain started to drizzle. I suppose if there was "good timing" for this, it would have to be on the drive to Toronto, so we hustled to the car and we were off again! The rain really began to downpour once we got back on the road, and I was glad we were on the interstate and not trying to look for those confusing signs leaving the winery anymore! It rained pretty hard for about half an hour, but the last hour or so of the journey was clear skies, and the great outdoors was ready for us by the time we pulled up on Toronto's skyline:


I didn't find driving in Toronto particularly intimidating, except for the bikers that is. I have gotten so used to New York and the bike lanes (even though I don't actually drive in NYC), that having bikers whiz past my door with inches to spare definitely made me a little nervous and had me driving a little slow at the beginning. We went straight to the CN Tower which would have been easy to find even without the exact address, as it towered over the rest of the skyline and was surrounded by tourists. Toronto was a much more touristy city than I was expecting; this is not somewhere I would have come had I not already been within a couple hours of it.

Anyways, at this point it was approximately 4:30pm and our dinner reservation wasn't until 7pm, so we had a few hours to kill. We thought - what the hell, might as well go see if we can check out Casa Loma. Although the castle closed at 5pm, we thought at least catching a glimpse of it might be worth it. Because we had scrapped the Casa Loma visit, I did not have the address or map any longer, but I suppose I had studied all my maps so many times prior to the trip, I recognized the name of the road (Spadina Avenue) that would lead us all the way north through the city to Casa Loma - I had remembered a "roundabout" approximately halfway to Casa Loma, so when we hit the roundabout, I knew we were definitely going the right way! We did end up making a few questionable turns through Toronto's Chinatown to get to exactly where we needed to be on Spadina Avenue, but even I was surprised I had actually remembered anything having to do with a map or directions (anyone who knows me well knows I frequently have no sense of direction). It took us probably half an hour to actually navigate the streets of Toronto all the way to the top of the city, but I thought just the drive was worth it - it felt like we had literally gotten to see all of Toronto - the Theater District (one of the biggest in the world after New York), Chinatown, etc. And with each block, I found myself constantly remarking on how well-manicured everything was. Clearly taking pride in how the cities look is not just a Niagara thing, it is a Canada thing (or at least an Ontario thing)!

We finally started spotting signs for Casa Loma and followed them to the top of a huge hill, where we then pulled in, paid $3 for parking and got out to walk around the grounds of the castle. Although we couldn't get inside, my mom and I both agreed it was worth the $3 just to see the outside of the castle. Had we had a few more hours, I think we probably would have enjoyed seeing the inside as well, but the winery was a sure thing, where as the inside of a castle could be a whole lot of walking with not a whole lot of reward (and probably no wine, either!). Casa Loma was built by a rich businessman, Sir Henry Pellatt, in 1911 and cost $3.5 million (over $40 million by today's standards) and took three years to construct. Ultimately, World War I bankrupted Sir Henry and he was forced to give up the castle, which changed hands several times until being purchased by the City of Toronto, who remain the sole owners today. The castle is majestic, and even more so knowing it sits high on a hill overlooking Toronto. Imagine the view from that turret! I'm glad we ended up having the time to check it out, even though our love of wine had ultimately won the battle for our precious time.


Heading back south toward the CN Tower was a bit more painstaking this time; while we knew exactly where we were going now, the traffic had increased significantly (Friday rush hour), so it took us quite a while to make it back. We circled the block a few times scouting out our parking options before settling on a parking deck connected to the CN Tower around the corner. We then made our way up to the restaurant (which included shooting up the center of the tower in a glass elevator!), where we checked in and were told it was going to be half an hour (But...we have a reservation...?). I also told them we wanted to be seated at the window, so maybe that is what added the extra time. Near the waiting area, we could also see into the wine cellar, which is designated as the "World's Highest Wine Cellar" by Guinness World Records. Our dinner reservation allowed us access to the glass floor level a flight of stairs below the restaurant, so we decided to go check that out. Standing on top of Toronto:


Trying our luck after about 10 minutes, we went back up to the hostess stand and checked on the status of being seated. I'm not sure if they just got confused or exactly how their seating process works, but they seated us immediately at this point. We were led to a table right on the window with a fabulous view looking out over all of Toronto. The CN Tower is the world's tallest building and free standing structure, and the 360 Restaurant is certainly quite near the top of it! The restaurant makes a full 360 degree revolution approximately once an hour, so by the time we had finished our meal, we had seen all of Toronto nearly two times. :)


We had a fantastic server who was not only attentive to our dining needs and making sure we got a picture of the two of us we were happy with, but also made sure to point out specific buildings and landmarks as we rotated past them. (The Fairmont Royal York Hotel, for example, where the Royal Family always stays when visiting their minions, as well as Rogers Centre, the home of the Toronto Argonauts CFL team, who just happened to be in the middle of a game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders as we rotated over the stadium!)

We also had a unique view of a small airport and could see the planes flying in for landings...BELOW where we were sitting. Yeah, we were pretty high up. There was also a lovely view of the Inner Harbour and Lake Ontario as the sun set, where there were tons of sailboats out enjoying a beautiful evening on the water.


We each ordered a glass of wine and made selections off the prix fixe menu. We both had the Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, which came out in a shot glass and definitely had a kick to it. Next were the appetizers; I had the Escargot Bourguignon, which were exceptional and were perhaps my favorite part of the meal:


For my main dish I had the slow-roasted prime rib, which was probably the largest slab of meat I have ever seen, and I never even had a prayer of finishing it. My mom had the Maple-wood Smoked Salmon as her appetizer and the Pan Roasted Pacific Halibut as an entree. Finally, we both ordered the Maple Walnut Roulade for dessert (only because we had to...we were both stuffed). The dessert was a little rich for my taste, and I've never been much of a dessert person anyways, so I only thought it was alright (my mom thought it was amazing...and she's definitely a dessert person). Overall, the meal, the service and the ambiance of the restaurant were absolutely fantastic and totally worth the drive to Toronto to experience! The only complaint I could make is that the restroom kept changing locations because only the outer ring of the restaurant was rotating, so I never knew how far I was going to have to walk to get to it!


Our waiter mentioned that the "longest road in the world," Yonge Street, was right around the corner, so we decided when we left the restaurant we'd swing by and see it's starting point. It appears it's claim to be the "longest" road is up for debate because it changes names at a certain point, but regardless, it's still pretty darn long, measuring in at 1,178 mi (1,896 km). Yonge Street has historical significance in that most of it follows an ancient Aboriginal trail, while it's more modern incarnation was built in the late 1790s as a crucial key to the settlement of upper Ontario. It now serves as the main thoroughfare linking Ontario's capital city (Toronto) with western Upper Canada. After officially driving through the intersection where Yonge Street begins, we made our way back to the interstate and headed back to Niagara. The drive was quick up until we were about 20 minutes outside of Niagara, where we hit the most massive traffic jam I've probably ever been in. At this point it was nearly 11pm and we were both SO tired (I was the only person still awake at this point, and only barely). Over an hour later, we finally broke through to the other side to discover it was only roadwork (annoying!) and then quickly made our way back to the rental car place. We re-filled the tank and were able to just drop the keys in the drop box since they were already closed. We ended up taking a cab back to the hotel, but quite frankly, it would have been quicker (and cheaper) to walk.

Once again, we hit the sack immediately with full bellies and droopy eyes!

Saturday morning, we decided IHOP had been a little expensive for what it was, so decided to take the road behind our hotel to a place that had a big sign on the roof we could see from the hotel that said "$5.99 Breakfast Buffet." Turns out they couldn't stay in business with such a good deal - when we got there, the place was closed. Across the street was a $6.99 Breakfast Buffet sign, so we headed over there. This place, the Country Chalet, had so many things wrong with it I don't even know where to begin. Follow the link to check out all the horrific reviews on TripAdvisor. To start with, we asked to be seated outside because it was another gorgeous, sunny day. There were a couple bees around the table, and when our waitress saw us swatting at them, she said they will get even worse when the food comes out, and that they can't even keep the maple syrup on the table because of the bee problem. And so we relocated indoors. I ordered an orange juice and a bottle of water to drink, then grabbed my plate and headed to the buffet. There was not an overwhelming amount of options, but everything looked good. When I sat back down and began to eat, I have to admit I wondered if the burners under the food were even on. The sausage and hashbrowns were lukewarm at best. The best part, though, was when we got the bill and discovered I had been charged $4 for my little glass of MinuteMaid orange juice. Seriously, $4?! You'd think for that price, the waitress might let her customers know that's the cost. You better believe that got deducted from her tip (although I've never really understood tipping at a buffet anyways). We couldn't get out of that bee-infested, price-gouging place soon enough! Stay far, far away from this place (but look how lovely the landscaping is!):


We went back to the hotel, packed up and had a cab called for us at the concierge to take us to the train station. This was a little more pleasant Amtrak departure time - 10:18am - so we were able to take our time and not really feel rushed in any way. The train was almost 20 minutes late, and when it finally arrived it took another 15-20 minutes for them to let us board. Not sure what was going on with all that. I had noticed the return trip was nearly two hours longer than the trip going to Niagara, and right after we left the station, I found out why. Before we stopped in the United States, Border Patrol/Customs officials boarded the train and went to each seat one by one checking tickets, passports and asking the "what are you doing here?" questions. These people were not messing around - they were shouting at people who stood up to stay seated until they told them they could get up, and they really grilled the guy sitting across the aisle from us who did not have a great command of the English language to begin with. Finally after sitting for what felt like forever (but was probably closer to that two hours built into the travel time), we finally started chugging along again.

The trip back was rather uneventful - filled with lots of snoozing and a little sandwich from the snack car. By the time we got to the really pretty Hudson River scenery, it was pitch black outside so didn't really have much to look at at all, and by the time we pulled back into Penn Station at 9:45pm, it was pouring outside. The rain really did work around our trip as best as it could! We headed back to my apartment, ordered delivery (our first real meal since the breakfast buffet disaster) and then headed to bed.

And that's another successful trip in the books!

My trip:


"I want to be where yaks can run free,
Where Royal Mounties can arrest me.
Let's go to Canada, let's leave today,
Canada, oh, Canada, I sil vous plait...." - Oh Canada, Five Iron Frenzy

Miles Traveled Today: 583
Total Miles Traveled: 23,626

Niagara Falls: Planning/Day 1

This year for my mom's annual trip to New York, we decided instead of staying in the city, we would be a little more adventurous and head across the border to Niagara Falls and Toronto, two places neither of us had ever visited. Niagara Falls is somewhere I've been wanting to visit ever since I first moved to New York - while it is not particularly close, I am most certainly closer to it living in New York than I'll ever be! Now that we are both veteran Amtrak train riders, we decided the most efficient way to travel to Canada would be via train (efficient when one person in the traveling party refuses to fly, that is). Amtrak's Empire Line departs every morning from Penn Station at 7:15am and arrives in Niagara Falls, ON, approximately 9 1/2 hours later at 4:40pm. There appears to be some faulty information online concerning whether the Amtrak train actually goes all the way into Ontario, or whether the stop is in Niagara Falls, NY, and then requires a cab across the border - but please let the record show that the very last stop on the train is in Ontario, and that is most definitely the stop one should use when going to Niagara Falls!

I did some meticulous research on Niagara Falls at the beginning of June, and the first thing I learned was that the American side of the falls is underwhelming. Although accommodations are cheaper in the U.S. and you avoid the border crossing, I quickly discovered you need to go into Canada anyways for a proper view of the falls. So ultimately, we decided that if we were going to travel all this way, we were going to stay in Canada! I found a website called Niagara Falls Live that proved to be very helpful in selecting a hotel, among other things. I particularly found their online map helpful and basically had it memorized by the time we set foot in Niagara! The website also offered helpful hints on the pros and cons of various hotels, so after checking rates at numerous hotels and studying the map for the most advantageous location, I settled upon the Niagara Falls Hilton. The Hilton indicated it had a view of both the American and the Horseshoe Falls (which I thought may be a little exaggerated, but went along with it) and appeared to be in comfortable walking distance to some of the attractions we wanted to check out.


The hotel was the first and most important thing we booked, as the prices were doing some serious fluctuating because of the peak time of year (August/September) we were looking at. We knew we wanted to be there during the week so that we'd have the weekend back in New York, in addition to avoiding massive tourist lines. We essentially booked the entire trip around the days we could get the best deal on the hotel in Niagara, which turned out to be Thursday-Friday, August 18-19. Don't let the word "deal" fool you though - the two nights at the hotel still rang up a whopping $532 on the credit card! In addition to this being peak season in Niagara, we also selected a room with a "falls view" as opposed to "river view" and requested a room above the 22nd floor - all additional charges of course, but when you only go to Niagara Falls once in your life, you might as well do it right!

With the hotel booked, everything else fell into place quickly. We then booked our train tickets, the rental car to get from Niagara Falls to Toronto and dinner reservations at 360 in the CN Tower in Toronto for Friday evening. It was apparently smart planning to book everything, even the rental car, so far in advance because we learned that both the hotel rates and the rental car rates both increased significantly shortly before our trip. Finally my obsessive planning and itinerary-making paid off!

We then began to do a little research to find out some things we could do while in Niagara and Toronto now that the backbone of the trip was all set, and once we felt like we had a solid itinerary, we just started checking weather forecasts and packing for the trip! It was important to me to get everything planned out with directions ahead of time on this trip in particular because I knew I may not have the use of my cell phone's maps and GPS, so we'd need everything planned out as best as possible beforehand. Read on to find out about the fun (and unique!) things we lined up to do while visiting our neighbors to the north!

Thursday morning, we were up bright and early and in the Penn Station waiting area by 6:45am. I had gone to Penn Station earlier in the week to print out our tickets to eliminate one step from what was already a very early morning. Shortly after we got settled, passengers traveling to Canada were instructed to check in to customs with our passports, which was a very quick process. Ten or fifteen minutes later, we were able to board our train and get settled in for the long ride ahead of us! The train was packed, which somewhat surprised me, until I discovered how many stops were between New York and Niagara. What I thought would be a rather long, uneventful ride was certainly long, but we had the most beautiful scenery as the train followed the lush, mountainous path formed by the Hudson River all the way up through New York to the Finger Lakes region and then across the border to Niagara Falls. We had packed a lunch of chicken salad, potato salad, crackers and grapes in a small cooler, so we managed to fend off any real hunger for the duration of the train ride - yet another perk of taking a train as opposed to a plane (not having to eat airport food!).

We made many stops at cities whose names were familiar to me but I never knew quite where they were: Yonkers, Croton-on-Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Rhinecliff, Hudson, Albany/Rensselaer, Schenectady, Amsterdam, Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo/Depew. I think the stretch between Yonkers and Albany was the most beautiful - rounding the curve of the river as we came into Albany probably made it seem like a much more quaint, lovely town than it actually is - it almost looked like a small European fishing town. There is also so much history along the Hudson River Valley with regards to both the Native Americans who used to live here and take their canoes up and down the river as part of the fur trade, as well as the river's namesake Henry Hudson sailing down the river to ultimately bring about the settling of New Amsterdam. An aerial view of the train's route just before the Albany station:


At a little before 5pm, we finally rolled over the border into Ontario (even passing a gratuitous "Welcome to Canada" sign which was, of course, very exciting!). After approximately fifteen minutes, we were allowed off the train and ushered into a small building to get sniffed out by bomb dogs and then show our passports and answer a few questions about why we were there. Fortunately we were one of the first people off the train - this could have been a much longer wait had we been further back on the train. We then headed out front where lots of cab drivers were waiting to take us to our hotel. The cab ride was relatively brief and included coming around a bend in the road to catch our first sighting of the falls! One of the first things that struck me (and would continue to strike me throughout the trip) was how well-manicured the little town of Niagara Falls was. There were flowers and shrubbery lining every road and surrounding every building. Niagara Falls was bright, colorful and teeming with tourists - there were moments where it almost felt like Disney World without the giant, upright rodents! Where there wasn't colorful landscaping, there were hotels and casinos and restaurants and bars with outdoor patios. It was far more touristy than I had even expected, and it made me even more relieved that we had chosen to come during the week rather than on a Saturday.

We checked in to our room on the 27th floor and were thrilled to discover our amazing view when we walked through the door! Although this was what had been advertised, it really was an incredible view, and I would recommend this hotel (and room 2717!) to anyone who truly wants a view of both falls. I suspect other hotels tout the same view, but I can't imagine that any of them were this good. The other hotel I would recommend based on location and view from what I was able to see is the Fallsview Casino, which is the tower in the center of my photo:


We quickly freshened up and walked the short distance down to Queen Victoria Park (which is really more of a walkway than a 'park,') to get a closer view of the waterfalls. The first thing we noticed that I was not expecting at all was the incredible amount of mist flying in the air hundreds of yards from the waterfalls. This would definitely not be a romantic stroll along the water before a nice dinner. I was just glad the sun was still out, hot and bright, so the mist dried off our skin quickly. We first walked to the American Falls, which were rather unimpressive when we could see how incredible the Horseshoe Falls were going to look a bit farther down the walkway.

American Falls:

Across the Niagara River where the two falls were pouring into, we could see people on the American side of the falls craning their necks around to see the falls. We had such a better view from the Canadian side; it's worth the cost of a passport if you don't have one to see the falls from this side - trust me! We made our way to the Horseshoe Falls, by far the more impressive of the two falls, where the mist seriously picked up, and we literally had to wait for the wind to switch directions before I could get my camera out to try and take photos. One of the coolest parts about the Horseshoe Falls was the huge rainbow that had formed right in front of it and was so visible that it showed up in all my photos! I guess it should be no surprise that a sunny day combined with that much mist would create quite a rainbow, but it was still such a breathtaking thing to see in person.



Not to mention, those rumors about not being able to find the end of a rainbow have been totally debunked! The end of the rainbow is a boat full of tourists:


We stood in this area for a while watching the thousands of tons of water crashing into the river and watching the tour boats going right up to the falls. If there was any question about whether or not we should fix our hair and makeup before we went on the boat the next day, this completely answered it - we were going to get SOAKED. The boat was getting much closer to the falls than I actually thought it would, and this got me even more excited for getting down into the water the next day.


Once we felt like we had taken a sufficient number of photos to capture this moment, we made our way toward the Rainbow Bridge, which is the only pedestrian walkway to cross the border and was just a short walk from Queen Victoria Park. On our way, we walked down Falls Avenue, which had no shortage of souvenir shops where we could pick up some magnets and a mug. At the recommendation of several websites I had read prior to the trip, we chose to pay for everything with credit cards. Apparently, the credit card companies will offer a better exchange rate than by paying in cash (and getting money exchanged prior to the trip just seemed like a lot of hassle for nothing). It is definitely convenient that Canada accepts American bills, but we also learned that if one does pay American cash, the change will be returned in Canadian coins - totally useless in the U.S.

We then headed into the unmanned building to get through the border:

There was a $0.50 toll to cross into the United States (I'm glad I had read about this online so was already armed with quarters, although I did notice a change machine nearby), and then we were on our way. The weather was beautiful for the nice walk over the Niagara River, and we were quite excited to discover the international boundary line in the center of the bridge! Standing in two countries:


The automobile traffic was backed up all the way cross the bridge, and we quickly discovered taking the pedestrian route across the border was MUCH faster. We made the ten minute walk across the bridge into New York, and then headed to Twist O' the Mist, an ice cream spot that had been recommended to my mom by a friend. Welcome (back) to New York:

It was only a couple blocks from where the Rainbow Bridge had dumped us into America and was easy to spot because it is shaped like an ice cream cone! Just walking the few blocks into Niagara Falls, NY, it was quite apparent this side of the bridge was dead compared to the liveliness and tourist-filled Canadian side. We each got a small cone and sat at an outdoor table on the patio of the shop. The plan had originally been for this to be an after-dinner snack, but we had wanted to get out to the falls while the sun was still out, so this pretty effectively eliminated our appetite.


We realized there was nothing else to see here in America (at least not in walking distance), so headed back across the bridge as the sun set on Niagara Falls.


I was very excited that when we crossed back into Canada, our passports were stamped - hooray! The only passport stamp of the trip, and it says United States on it...go figure. I asked the border patrol officer about the stamping, and he said they don't really stamp passports anymore between Canada and the U.S. At least I got some sort of badge of honor in the passport on this trip, I guess! On our way back toward the hotel, we stumbled upon a peaceful little garden behind the Secret Garden restaurant with stone benches and a beautiful view of the waterfalls. We sat down here for a little while to enjoy the view as the sun continued to sink behind the buildings.

We still weren't hungry, so decided to do a little more exploring and headed toward a very lit up part of the city known as Clifton Hill - "Street of Fun by the Falls." It was like a carnival and Las Vegas and a circus all at once - so noisy, and so many flashing lights!


I had been wondering what a family would do with little kids if they were staying in town for more than a day, and I definitely found my answer. There was a dinosaur-themed putt-putt course, a Ferris wheel, an entertainment/arcade complex, a haunted house and a Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum...blocks and blocks of commercialism screaming in all our faces. It had been a long day, and walking up this hill of "fun" just further accentuated our exhaustion. It was time to get back to the hotel, eat dinner and get to sleep! Of course, we were at a point where we could SEE our hotel, but it was now dark outside and the most direct route to the hotel was not clearly visible. After a little walking around in circles (literally, we were trying to get around a big tower), we did finally find a way around the Skylon Tower (an attraction we opted to skip - how many different angles do you really need to see the waterfalls from, right?) back to our hotel. We dropped our bags of souvenirs off in the room and then headed right across the street to the Fallsview Casino where I knew we'd have a selection of restaurants to grab a quick dinner at. We settled on The Famous Coffeeshop after a quick scan of the dining options on the info board and had a quick dinner of burgers and fries before retiring back to the hotel.

I'm pretty sure I was sound asleep before the lights went out!

Miles Traveled Today: 388
Total Miles Traveled: 23,043

Las Vegas: Days 1-2

We landed in Las Vegas yesterday just after 8:00am (oh the joys of a 6:00am flight!) and made our way together to the Palms where we would be spending the next couple days.


Having been to Las Vegas before (and watching my fair share of reality tv!), I was somewhat familiar with this particular casino/hotel and knew it was known as one of the nicer ones with an amazing pool area. This is also Hugh Hefner's home in Las Vegas, and he owns the penthouse in the hotel. We were all famished by the time we got checked in so made a quick decision to drop off all our bags and then meet back in the lobby to walk to Palms Place and eat breakfast at the high-end restaurant a few of the guys had been to before called Simon. Palms Place is connected to the main Palms hotel and casino by a very long combination of escalators, elevators and corridors. Palms Place is the residential tower, and I definitely noticed more families in this area. Simon looked out over a small, very quiet pool, much different than most of the wild pool scenes I think of when I think of Las Vegas. Our breakfast was delicious (I had a Belgian waffle with mixed berries). Simon at Palms Place:


By this time it was going on 11:00am, and I was anxious not to miss any rays of sun out by the pool, so I hurried back to my room and changed into my swimsuit. It was at this moment that I had the horrible realization all those items taken out of my bag at the Seattle security checkpoint had not been returned. I was missing my sunscreen, contact solution, and numerous other items I use on a daily basis. This upset me SO much. I had already been upset about going through the entire situation to begin with, but now to discover I had checked my bag for no reason and the TSA employee had not even returned my items back into my bag was just crushing to me. I had just bought that sunscreen, and the other things being essentially stolen from me right under my nose were just a hassle...it's not like there are drugstores inside the casino where I could replenish everything. So with complete disappointment, I headed out to the pool and found a stand where I could buy some over-priced $20 sunscreen, lathered up, and spotted an empty chair in a sea of people who looked like they'd been laying out at this pool all summer. With the temperature making this one of the hottest days of the summer at almost 115 degrees and the complete frustration of my morning, I more than deserved a drink at this point, so I ordered a banana daiquiri from the cocktail waitress. Considering the fact that she looked like a really tan model, she was surprisingly pleasant and attentive, fetching me a drink menu and coming around every 10 minutes or so to make sure I was good. I wasn't able to get a great photo of the pool, so here's one I grabbed off the Palms website:


It really was unbearably hot, and without a cloud in the sky, I was a little concerned that even with all the sunscreen I'd put on, my skin might be roasting away. This was pretty much the first sun my body had seen since last summer, so it's not like I had some great base coat to make me think I wasn't going to burn to death out there. I hopped in the pool to cool off for about an hour, staying mostly in the shade. There were blackjack tables in the water, which I thought was pretty fun. A DJ was also setting up, and the pool was getting more and more crowded. I really just wanted to sleep, but again, I was afraid falling asleep in that scorching sun would be a terrible idea, so after only about two and a half hours by the pool, I decided to call it a day. My skin felt really hot, and I just prayed that I wouldn't wake up with blisters all over my body.

I returned to my room (which provided a great view of Las Vegas Boulevard ("The Strip"), took a shower, and passed out in my bed. A few hours later I woke up really wanting to get out to the Strip and maybe find somewhere to eat and explore. Because I had my laptop with me, I was able to do some quick research and discovered the only way to the Strip was a cab that would cost me $20 each way or the Palms shuttle, which was making its last run in about half an hour and would not be making a return trip, so I'd be on my own to get back to the hotel. I also looked up some horseback riding tours outside of Las Vegas I might be able to get to, but discovered I was also too late for any of those. I really could just kick myself - I wish I'd looked at some of those horseback riding tours before I'd gotten to Las Vegas because I absolutely would have spent as much as a couple hundred dollars to take one of those desert horseback rides! I guess that's what I get for not planning out my trip as well as I normally do, but in my defense, I had thought I'd be out by the pool all day. The one productive thing I did get done was I made my car service reservation with Carmel for my JFK arrival. So suffering from complete boredom with nowhere to go, I decided to take a walk through the Palms casino from one end to the other. There really wasn't a whole lot to see, and being a non-gambler, I must say that Las Vegas is perhaps the worst city in the world to be in by myself! The view of the mountains and casinos from my room:


The hotel had provided me with complimentary meals at Bistro Buffet for the duration of my stay, so I finally gave up trying to find anything more appealing and headed to the buffet. I noticed the price on the buffet was pretty outrageous ($20+), so I decided I was getting a pretty good deal and decided to take advantage of this as many times as I could in the next 24 hours. It turned out to be my lucky day because the buffet at the Palms includes free beer and wine. The wine was mediocre at best, but it had been a long, frustrating day and I gladly accepted her multiple refills. Also on the menu at the buffet this Saturday night was shrimp. So I basically gorged on red wine and shrimp cocktails. It didn't really occur to me until well after the fact how disgusting eating seafood in Las Vegas actually is. When I was ready to leave, my waitress filled up a big Styrofoam cup with wine and sent me on my way. Now that's service! It was before 9:00pm and I was feeling particularly lame, especially with this being the Saturday of a holiday weekend (4th of July), and me being in one of the supposedly most exciting, wild cities in the country - and yet here I was, drinking my wine out of a Styrofoam cup and watching a Piers Morgan interview on TV in my room. I decided to quit feeling sorry for myself, so I finished the wine, turned the TV off and went to sleep. Ha! :)

Sunday morning, I was able to sleep until I woke up - much needed! I was also disappointed to see that not only had the color of my skin not changed (I guess there is such a thing as too much sunscreen!), but the sky was overcast and the weather forecast indicated there were going to be some really bad storms rolling through later in the day. Seriously? I got gorgeous, sunny weather in the rainy Pacific Northwest, and now I'm going to get poured on in the middle of the desert? Weird luck, huh? I decided there was only one thing left to do - eat breakfast at the buffet! I stuffed myself (although I wasn't that impressed with the selection and basically made a meal out of hashbrowns and sausage), then came back up to the room to get cleaned up and ready for the show. I headed down to the venue, the Pearl Theater, which was just around the corner from the hotel's elevator bank, before noon to meet with some of the people I'd been emailing and calling for the past few months and do a quick run-through of the venue. Casinos are always so much easier to have shows in - for one, my room is never far away so I don't have to pack a bag of everything I'll need for the entire day! And things just always feel more organized in casinos - room service handles all the backstage catering rather than a third-party company coming in; things like that just make my day and the amount of people I am having to coordinate with infinitely more simple.


After my run-through, I met up with one of the comedians and had a quick salad with him at the 24/7 Cafe in the casino (sorry for ditching you, buffet!). When I headed back down to the venue to finish up some of the prep work, we could all hear the rain pelting what sounded like an aluminum roof above the stage. I headed up stairs to the back entrance of the venue to check out the rain - the wind was blowing hard and the rain was intense - what a rare sight to see in Las Vegas! Fortunately, the rain tapered off before the show started - that would have been incredibly distracting for a comedy show! We had another great show and another late night with me trudging back to my hotel room - that seems to be the norm these days!

This morning, July 4, we all had 7:00am flights back to New York - another early wake up call! I slept like a baby for the duration of the flight except for maybe an hour where I connected to the Delta in-flight wifi and fooled around on my laptop. I landed back at JFK at 2:30pm, and a few minutes later received a call from my driver asking me what I was wearing and that he would be pulling up at the baggage claim doors in about 10 minutes. This sure was less painful than standing in a taxi line that might have taken 30 minutes! We zipped back to my apartment in the city, and I promptly unpacked and went to bed. Another work weekend in the books - and I am leaving with no desire to ever return to Las Vegas!

My trip:

"I'm Leaving Las Vegas
Lights so bright
Palm sweat, blackjack...
Leaving Las Vegas, I'm leaving for good." - Leaving Las Vegas, Sheryl Crow

Miles Traveled Today: 3,656
Total Miles Traveled: 22,655

Seattle: Day 2

Yesterday morning, I was able to sleep in a little bit (with the time change this ended up not making much of a difference unfortunately). I once again returned to the concierge for breakfast suggestions. And once again, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of options. However, she did tell me if I took a left out of the hotel and walked 10-15 minutes, I'd reach the Pike Place Market. I was very excited to hear this, as I hadn't really gone to any trouble to figure out where the market was, but I did know it was a tourist attraction and was happy I'd have the opportunity to check it out. The only other attraction that I wanted to see more than any of these others was the Experience Music Project, but because of the museum's hours of operation and my own schedule revolving around work, there just wasn't a chance for me to make it on this trip.

The EMP building's unusual architecture:


It was a gorgeous day to be out walking around (and walking toward the market was a much nicer, people-filled walk!). I was also overwhelmed with my weather luck in a city that is certainly famous for it's year-round gloom and rain. After passing maybe 50 Starbucks (just kidding...sort of), I reached the steep hill leading down to the market.


Famous "Public Market" sign:


I strolled through the fish market for a while hoping to catch a glimpse of some fish-throwing, but nothing was happening and the place was swarming with tourists, so I decided to just go ahead and locate the restaurant recommendation and get some food!

Street performers in the market:

The spot the concierge had suggested was called Lowell's, essentially a hole in the wall in a row of vendors, and it turned out to be an even more fantastic recommendation than I could have hoped for. Not only was the meal delicious (I had the Oregon Bay Shrimp Omelet), but after placing my order, I headed up to the third floor seating area, which had an amazing view overlooking Puget Sound. I fortunately was able to snag a table right at the window in the crowded upstairs, and after the server brought up my meal, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in complete peace looking out over the water. Toward the end of my meal, my phone started ringing off the hook with calls from the radio station and venue, so I decided it was time to head back to the hotel and get packed up for the long day ahead. Lowell's was such a lovely find, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a tasty omelet and a serene view:


Just a few blocks from the hotel was the Paramount Theatre where my show was being held later that night. The theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places, first opened in 1928 as a vaudeville theatre. It was beautiful inside, and the dressing rooms were definitely set up to accommodate a Broadway production rather than four comedians who don't need a wall-length vanity. It was a very long day at the theatre, but the people I worked with from the venue and radio station were probably my favorite I've dealt with thus far.


We had a 6:00am flight from Seattle to Las Vegas that came very early this morning. I also had my first TSA encounter and am still enraged about it. First, the security line was ridiculous. We easily waited half an hour to get up to the scanners. I very carefully had all my liquids/gels packed into the required 3 oz. containers in a plastic bag. I would dare say I have perfected traveling on even long trips with only a carry-on. The TSA employee, clearly just bored in his dead-end career and looking to exert some sort of fantasy authority, informed me my plastic bag was too large and I needed to take out enough items so that they would fit in the "correct" sized bag. When he showed me the size my items needed to fit in, I was horrified. I was going to have to take out a LOT. I argued with him for a good five minutes, but eventually I started taking out things I knew I'd be able to buy in Las Vegas - toothpaste, lotion, etc. I had my big perfume bottle, face sunscreen and some other items that I just had to get through because of how specific they are to my needs. In this whole process, somehow the things I was taking out of the bag got separated. When I finally realized this asshole of a TSA agent wasn't even going to be remotely lenient (it's not like I was wearing a turban, good God), I decided I would just let the airline win and pay the $25 checked baggage fee. (It should be noted that in all the times I have flown with this exact same set up, this has NEVER happened. The Seattle-Tacoma airport might want to chill out...no one important is coming in or out of your stupid airport). They were so kind to let me know I wouldn't have to wait in the security line again and could just come straight back up to the scanners once my bag had been checked.

In an effort to make this as painless as possible, I left my heavy purse with the comedians who had gotten through security with no problem, and retreated back to the check-in lines to check my bag. As I got closer to the front of the line, I became acutely aware that I did not have my wallet with me. It was in my purse, which I'd left with my traveling partners on the other side of security. So now I was going to have to mooch off of a complete stranger. It was at this moment I decided I'd never go to an airport again without washing my hair or doing my makeup. I spotted my victim, a younger guy probably a few years older than me whose ticket indicated he was on my same flight, and explained to him what had happened. I was pretty much near tears at this point, so I think he just felt really bad for me. He gave me the money, but the look in his face told me he didn't think he'd ever see me or that money again. With my bag checked and security clearance at last (with no lack of dirty looks shot at the TSA employee who gave me such a hassle), I met up with the comedians at the gate. I was completely frazzled, but I did finally locate the good Samaritan and paid him back the $25 plus a coffee I'd picked up for him.

Requirements from the TSA website, which I had followed very carefully:


At this point, I was still shaking from my unfortunate morning and was very happy to be on the plane out of that airport. I was seated next to one of the comedians on the plane by some strange coincidence, so we chatted for a while about his recent Wyoming vacation and then eventually passed out, catching up on at least a few hours of sleep I had missed.

I'll write about the rest of the trip picking up in Las Vegas when I get back to New York tomorrow. Viva Las Vegas!

"Catch the first plane in the morning
I won't be sleeping tonight
I won't be late for that flight
'Cause I'm sick of Seattle." - Sick of Seattle, The Smithereens (I actually liked Seattle a lot, but after that airport experience I was ready to get out!)

Seattle: Day 1

Just a couple weeks back in New York and I'm back out on the road for work again, this time to Seattle, Washington. I was particularly excited about this trip because this is a place I've never had the opportunity visit, and now I can finally check it off my list! My boss wanted me to book my flights on this trip through our company's travel agency, Journey Corp, which I was very much opposed to and grew even more so over the course of the process. The reason my boss wanted to use the agent was because I would be flying into Seattle-Tacoma from JFK, flying from Seattle to Las Vegas, and then making my return trip from Las Vegas to JFK. So basically three legs that would have to be booked separately from one another. I have never used a travel agent because I am very confident in my ability to plan out trip logistics and don't feel the need to pay someone a commission to find the same flights. Well, in this case, I actually ended up paying the travel agent a commission to find more expensive flights. I was so annoyed! I had found the flights I wanted to take on my go-to site, Travelocity.com, for the relatively reasonable price of just slightly under $700 for direct Delta flights. I wanted the agent to book these flights for me, but by the time she finally called me back, the price had already gone up. She ended up booking the same flights, tacking on her commission to the price, and charging me over $800 for the exact same trip I had found a week before and could have booked for $100+ cheaper. Lesson learned: I will never use a travel agent again! Although I did fight using the travel agent the whole time, the fact she couldn't even find something that cost the SAME as what I had found on my own made me lose all faith. Needless to say, I chose to book my own flight from Seattle to Las Vegas for $175 on Alaska Airlines, which is the same flight all the comics would be traveling on. Fortunately, Alaska has a deal with Delta so I was able to accrue more Skymiles for this entire trip.

Next, I decided to use a car service since I would be spending the morning at work and having to go straight to JFK Airport from the office. I decided to go with Carmel, referred to by New Yorkers as "The Sixes" because of its easy to remember phone number 212-666-6666. The car service picked me up a couple hours before my flight and ended up actually being cheaper than a taxi would have been going to the same destination. I'll definitely start considering Carmel as a mode of transportation, even when work isn't covering the expense, when I'm headed to boroughs outside of Manhattan (which makes the taxi meter go up exponentially). I also received a $5 coupon on my receipt, so instead of taking a taxi, which is what I was planning on doing, I think I will actually just reserve a car while I am still here in Las Vegas and have a car waiting to take me back home when I land back at JFK on Monday! Anyways, I am getting ahead of myself.

I took off from JFK at 3:45pm on Thursday and landed a little after 7pm. It sure was nice gaining back all that time flying through timezones so that I still had a few hours of daylight left to go do the one thing I'd been really looking forward to doing - seeing the Space Needle! I took a 25-minute cab ride from the airport to my hotel, the Grand Hyatt, on Pine Street. My cab driver made sure to point out the sports stadiums (the Seahawks' stadium in particular looked much smaller than I would have expected) as well as the Space Needle. I was shocked at how small the Space Needle was; I was definitely expecting something that would be towering over the rest of the skyline, but it wasn't like that at all - I really had to squint to find it in the midst of the other buildings. The cab ride was over $40 and totally wiped out my cash supply (I keep forgetting New York is the only city with credit card machines in its cabs!). I checked in quickly when I arrived at the hotel and raced upstairs to drop my bags off and hurry to the Space Needle. The Hyatt totally won me over with the plate of grapes, cheese and crackers waiting for me in the room! This was a very welcome, refreshing snack before I set out on my solo adventure. I'm still not positive whether this is normal for all guests, but assume I had been registered as some sort of VIP guest to get this little treat. It's good to be the boss! :)

I've definitely become a fan of relying on the hotel concierge for physical maps, directions and food suggestions in these cities I am unfamiliar with. Although I'd done a little Googling and researching on these things prior to my trip, it's still nice to ask a local who knows what kind of area they are pointing in the direction of and if it's safe for a young female to be setting off on her own through it. The concierge at the Hyatt was helpful and indicated that while the Space Needle was walkable from the hotel, it was at least a 30-minute walk and a cab may be my best bet. I agreed and decided I would walk back to the hotel using the map she provided me after seeing the Needle, but I was in a potential time crunch to beat the sun setting (I really wanted some nice sunset photos) so needed to get there the quickest way possible. She also gave me directions on how to get to the nearest Wells Fargo ATM, which ended up being literally right behind the hotel, and also advised me that walking back from the Needle down 5th Avenue would be the best route for food.

I found a cab quickly after hitting the ATM, but I noticed there weren't many cabs around, so I think I just got lucky. I would probably have the hotel call for one ahead of time if I were going to do it again. The cab driver got completely lost which really annoyed me. Not only am I asking him to take me to the biggest (the only?) tourist attraction in Seattle, but the Needle was in our line of sight for the entire ride - all he had to do was just drive toward it! Anyways, after a lot of arguing I finally got him to shut off his meter, and I told him I'd just pay him $10 (the meter was at $7 when I realized he had no idea where he was going). We finally made it to the Space Needle and I walked right up to the ticket booth and bought my ticket ($18) for the observation deck. Doing some earlier research, I had learned there is also a $24 "Day & Night Pass," which allows a person onto the observation deck twice in a 24-hour period (so that one can view during both daylight and nighttime hours presumably). However, I felt like I'd probably timed my trip so that I'd get both of those with my general admission ticket, so I decided to save myself the money (and another potentially ridiculous cab ride). I then made the long, winding walk to the elevator that would take me the rest of the way (and of course the obligatory green-screen photo stop). When I reached the top of the jam-packed elevator, I was dumped off in the middle of a cafe/bar that went all the way around the top of the Needle. Had I not been flying solo, I may have grabbed a table and had a glass of wine, but I was really just there to get in, take some photos and get out!


I headed to the outdoor perimeter of the observation deck, which provided an excellent view of Puget Sound and the waterfront on one side and the city of Seattle on the other. It was incredibly windy, and with the sun going down it was getting a little chilly up there even with a light sweater jacket on, so I decided to go back inside and wander around a little. There were some really interesting computerized maps with information and zooming tools to get a better look and also some knowledge of what exactly you were seeing in front of you. Sunset is apparently a popular time for viewing and the indoor area was getting a little crowded, so I bid the Seattle skyline adieu and headed back down to the base where I took some photos looking up at the Needle.



I then got my bearings with the map the hotel had provided me and started walking back down 5th Avenue looking for somewhere to eat (it was past 9pm at this point and it had been hours since I'd had that little snack in my room). I was definitely disappointed at the nightlife I saw in Seattle on a Thursday night. I don't know if maybe the road that was suggested to me just wasn't the right one to be walking down, but to say the roads were deserted would be an understatement. I never really got nervous or felt unsafe, but I definitely didn't think it was the greatest position I could have put myself in...I was basically walking under an interstate on a sidewalk with no one in front of or behind me. The road was lined with shops, but at this hour nothing was open. Perhaps during the day this is a more lively area? I did eventually get to a stretch of 5th Avenue with a FEW restaurants, but not the back-to-back-to-back bars and restaurants with people spilling out of them the concierge had me think I'd be encountering. The restaurants I did pass were all very nice (i.e. expensive) and were not really what I was in the mood for. I finally stumbled upon the Taphouse Grill, which was the only place I passed that appeared to have any life inside of it. The bar and restaurant were pretty crowded, which was a welcome sight after my 30-minute walk in almost complete silence with not even a passerby to catch my attention. I settled into a seat near the end of the bar and had the lobster bisque and a Seattle sushi roll with tempura shrimp, both of which were delicious. And yes, the only reason I ordered the Seattle roll was because it was called the Seattle roll.

Taphouse Grill:


By the time I had finished up my meal, it was nearly 11pm, my eyes were droopy, and I knew I had a big day of work the next day. I was only a couple blocks from the Hyatt at this point, so headed back and was asleep in no time!

Miles Traveled Today: 2,852
Total Miles Traveled: 18,999

Chicago: Days 1-3

This week was the next stop on the comedy tour in Chicago, IL. This trip also marked the first time I'd be traveling alone for one of these trips because my boss was out in LA and would be meeting me in Chicago shortly before showtime. In addition to the travel and being alone in a strange city, I'd be responsible for the entire setup of the show on my own, which was definitely a lot of pressure. This was the second time I'd been to Chicago, but I stayed outside of the city before (and I was much younger), so I really didn't have much of a sense of anything except for the chill and the wind that Chicago is famous for.

I booked a late-morning flight on Delta for Tuesday morning. I have decided to stick to Delta when traveling for work as much as possible. Delta tends to not be the cheapest (and money is no object when it comes to these work trips), but they do seem to have the best time options, and I really want to start building up my Frequent Flyer Skymiles points, so thought with all the travel I have coming up for the tour, I should stay consistent with the airline.

I arrived in Chicago early Tuesday afternoon at O'Hare, met up with my driver and headed for the Sax Chicago where I'd be staying. Although there was apparently a Cubs game later that afternoon, there was not yet much traffic so the drive to the hotel was only around 30 minutes. When I arrived at the Sax, I hadn't even stepped out of the car when a hotel employee was greeting me with my check-in packet and room keys and grabbing my bag to take up to my room. Now that's service! By this point I was starving, so I quickly dropped my things off in the room then decided to wander and see if I could find somewhere to eat. The area the hotel was in turned out to be a very nice area with no shortage of bars and restaurants. This made me very happy, as I would not have to leave the little bubble around the hotel to do anything. I took a quick walk across the North Dearborn Street Bridge right outside the hotel over to the venue, the Chicago Theatre, to pop inside and say hi to the crew that was already putting together the stage for our show the next day (I was very excited to see that the venue was only a block and a half over the bridge from the hotel!).


The Chicago Theatre is on the national register of historic places, and it is just as beautiful inside as you would think a theatre on that list would be! The theatre had a beautiful dome with murals painted in it and all gilded in gold. There were gorgeous chandeliers hanging throughout the lobby and showroom.


By the time I left the venue, I was desperate to find a place to eat, so just walked a few more blocks until I found a restaurant with sidewalk seating, the Rockit Bar and Grill (it was a beautiful, sunny day in the mid-70s, so sitting outside hit the spot!). I ordered a salad, the BBQ pork sliders and a glass of wine. The food was delicious, and something about sitting out in the warm sun with my glass of wine watching people on the street was so relaxing that I could have sat there all afternoon! I did want to walk around a little bit before the sun went down, so after I finished up my late lunch, I made my way toward Millennium Park on foot, using the map on my phone as a reference, but generally wandering aimlessly. I somehow found myself in a more residential area that was quiet and peaceful compared to the areas I had just walked through. This is definitely where some of the wealthier people in the city were living, and I saw lots of families with little kids walking through the fountains and park down the hill from the condos. I thought about heading over to Navy Pier, but I wasn't in the mood for a Ferris wheel or cotton candy, so I thought it might not be worth the walk and made my way back to the hotel.

Millennium Park:


I checked in with the concierge to see if they had any ideas about where I could go to get a Chicago magnet and then followed their directions to the nearest drugstore, where I found the perfect magnet - a replica of the Chicago Theatre! By this point, people were getting off work and meeting up at all the restaurants in the area, so I decided it was time to get back to the hotel and order myself some room service. While I had hoped I might find somewhere to grab food while I was out on the magnet run, I decided I didn't feel like sitting in a restaurant eating dinner by myself, so I let the giant Caesar salad in the room solve the problem.

The next morning, the sky was unfortunately overcast and it looked like it might rain all day. I had a little time to kill before I needed to report to the venue, so once again took the concierge's recommendation on a "diner" type place where I could get a wide variety of things (I wasn't quite sure what I was in the mood for). Approximately 4 blocks from the hotel was a fantastic diner spot called Eggsperience Cafe. It was pretty crowded for a Wednesday at mid-morning, so I opted to sit at the counter where I could watch the TV and not be bothered. I ordered the chocolate & banana crepes, which were amazing! I wish I could fix crepes like that for breakfast every morning.

The rest of the day was spent working at the venue and finding a chance to get back to the hotel to clean up between rain showers. This was a long day having only one person doing the job that two normally do, so it was well after midnight by the time I trudged back to the hotel in the rain with all my things. I went to the promoter's office on the 4th floor of the hotel just to re-confirm my pickup time for the airport (5 a.m. - yuck!), and discovered there was a VIP reception on that floor for all the people participating in the comedy festival that week. So as much as I knew I needed to try and grab a couple hours of sleep before my flight, some of the guys I had been working with all day convinced me to stay and have a drink (which turned into three or four) and I ended up getting more of a cat nap than the few hour's sleep I had hoped for. The next day was just a blur of stumbling through a very crowded airport, boarding a plane in Chicago, getting off a plane in New York and sleepwalking through a day at the office. You better believe I crashed hard when I got home that night.

No more 4am wake-up calls when I have a full day of work that day...or maybe no more peer-pressure drinking?

My trip:


"Take me back to Chicago, I still dream of the lake of peacefulness
The warm summer breeze..." - Take Me Back to Chicago, Chicago (I thought this was a good quote because the weather was beautiful when I was out wandering around and it did feel peaceful...although I have no idea where that lake was!)

Miles Traveled Today: 1,580
Total Miles Traveled: 16,147

Washington, DC: Days 1-3

The next stop on our comedy tour was this weekend in Washington, DC. Having been to our nation's capital once before to hit all the monuments and tourist attractions, I was not bothered by the fact that the duration of our stay this time ended up being shrouded in gloomy, overcast weather and intermittent rain showers. I didn't have any tourist attractions left to see, so I would just be following the itinerary we had planned out for the couple days we'd be in town.

My boss and I arrived at the W Washington DC hotel, conveniently located a couple blocks from DAR Constitution Hall where our show was being held, Thursday evening around 9:15pm. I was excited to see that the view from my room looked out over the street and the Treasury building, but that is basically where my praise for the hotel ends. This particular W hotel is very modern, but it has gone overboard and resulted in an awkward room layout. Were I not staying in the room alone, the layout would have been rather uncomfortable, as the frosted glass shower backs into the bedroom and while only a shadow would be visible to someone sitting in the room, you can still clearly make out a person in the shower. Awkward. In addition, the sink and very small counter space are located outside of the toilet/shower area in the main room which just made for an overall bizarre and inconvenient layout that I didn't care for at all. I much prefer a more classic hotel room with the sink and a large counter in the same room as the shower and toilet!

Photo from the W's website. Not an exact replica of the room I was in, but gives a pretty accurate visualization of the shower situation:


The comedians and I met downstairs an hour later after settling into our rooms at J&G Steakhouse and had a nice dinner together. It's really gratifying to get to have these less "work-related" moments with the guys and be able to connect with them on a more friendly level. Oh, and to have a really expensive meal I am charging back to my company. I had the Sichuan Pepper-crusted Yellowfin Tuna, which was delicious. We sat around and chatted for a while, then all decided to call it a night.

The next morning, we were all up early for morning radio. The comedians were being split into two groups, so it was necessary for me to go with one of the groups, while our security guy went with the other. We were not going far, but we did have to drive the length of Embassy Row, past all the consulate buildings separating our hotel from the radio station. This provided no shortage of laughs, and I was thoroughly entertained. There is never a dull moment when you are sandwiched between two professional comedians on a 45-minute drive. We also had a little bit of a game going as to who could identify the flags flying outside the buildings. This was a gorgeous drive through a part of DC I had not seen before, much like being in New Orleans and then popping up in the Garden District.


The comedians spent about an hour at radio, and then we headed back to the hotel. My boss and I walked a couple blocks away and grabbed a quick omelet breakfast at the Corner Bakery. When we got back to the hotel, we were told that the view from the rooftop bar is incredible, so we decided to go check it out (sans 'bar' unfortunately!). There had been a line for the elevators the night before around the time we arrived and went to dinner - people completely dressed to the nines - and we had learned that the W's rooftop bar was the "it" place to go out in the city these days. The view was pretty awesome - it looked right over the White House's residential lawn. Had Obama been in town and wanted to grab some fresh air on his porch, we most certainly would have been able to see him. We mused for a little bit as to what kind of security they must have, considering what a clear view we had right into the most famous American home. Do they have snipers that had their eye on us the whole time? You almost have to believe they did.


At 10:45am, we were ready to head out on our next adventure of the day, and something everyone was very, very excited to get to be a part of. We had been invited by the U.S.O. to visit the wounded warriors wing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while we were in town. This is something lots of celebrities do when they visit D.C., so I was very excited our comics (and myself!) were going to get to be a part of it. A few days before we left for our trip, we were notified that several times a year, the Pentagon hosts a special luncheon for the wounded warriors where they bus them and fly their families in to eat lunch and be recognized by high-ranking army officials. It just so happened that the day we would be in town, May 13, would be one of these special luncheons, so they were inviting us to attend this instead of the hospital! What a special experience to not only get to meet these brave soldiers, but to get to do so in one of the most fortified buildings in the world that very few people will ever get to see the inside of!

We first had to meet up with our liaison from the USO at a nearby hotel, and then under her escort, we were taken into the Pentagon compound. Getting up to the actual entrance of the building was literally a 10 minute drive from the official "entrance." It was a long, winding road that zigzagged back and forth, always keeping the iconic Pentagon walls in view. The whole drive was very climatic as we inched closer and closer to the building! The driveway indicated there was to be no photography from the road or the parking lots at the Pentagon. I was able to snap a quick photo undetected from the back of our SUV, though, of the sign at the checkpoint that indicated the entrance we were at was for DOD permits only. It all felt very James Bond-esque.


By noon, we were heading into an entrance marked "Department of Defense - The Pentagon," and going through metal detectors much like the airport...except that these workers were wearing fatigues and had automatic weapons. I'm pretty sure if the idiot TSA employees carried so much as a pocket knife I'd never fly again! We were then led down several long corridors to get to the banquet hall where the luncheon was being held. We were passing doors with signs on them that said things like "Afghanistan Task Force" and "International Terror Monitoring." It was overwhelming to imagine the important, world-changing conversations going on behind these doors. We also learned a few interesting tidbits; for example, our USO escort told us that although she is in the Pentagon every day and knows there are at least five floors below ground, she's never seen them and has to imagine the building goes much further down than that. It's pretty amazing to think that even people who work in the building every day still are completely in the dark on things as simple as that. By the time we got to the hall, I was so disoriented that I couldn't have found an exit if I'd wanted to. Well done, Pentagon Security. As simple as the layout should be (it's basically a circle, right?) it was very confusing with the inner rings and outer rings. I never really clarified exactly where we were in the building. I believe we were in the A ring, but I'm definitely not sure which of the five sides we were on.

Before we went into the room where everyone was waiting, our USO escort gave us a quick briefing: we were going to see some very gruesome injuries, the guys want to talk about their injuries and they are comfortable with it so feel free to ask questions, if we started feeling uncomfortable we could get an escort and leave the room, etc. (escorts were required just to visit the bathroom across the hall). I got more nervous at this point...I don't know what I was expecting to see, but what I saw was far more disturbing and made me more emotional than I thought it would.

Upon entering the luncheon, the first emotion that came over me was just complete intimidation. There were approximately 50 or 60 service men and women (approximately half of them in uniform) sitting at long tables with their families. At each table, there were at least a couple kids (people that were clearly younger than me) in wheelchairs. At first, nothing really appeared to be out of the ordinary, and I started walking around with the comedians as they greeted each table and handing out t-shirts and tickets to the show to the people who wanted them. However, I soon realized these were not just people in wheelchairs. As they started to wheel around the room and greet each other, I discovered most of them were missing both of their legs. People were missing 3/4 of their limbs. One guy we met told us his hum-v had rolled over an IED. He was missing both his legs and his face looked like a grenade had exploded on it - the entire left side of his face was practically stripped. He was actually one of the few who had visible wounds on his face. There were a few people not in wheelchairs, but I quickly noticed when they got up to walk around, they had severe limps. Everyone here had been profoundly changed by the war both physically and mentally, guys who aren't even old enough to drink or rent a car. It was so touching to hear their stories of bravery, and although I was standing on my own two feet, they made me feel weak.

In addition to the soldiers and their families, there was some serious army firepower in the room. The Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, was in attendance, as well as a 4-star general and some others who were very decorated. After I'd made a complete lap around the room, I shrank back to the wall and just watched each table light up as the comedians came over and shook hands and made the guys laugh.

After the luncheon had ended and all the soldiers were taken elsewhere, we headed back out through another maze of corridors and turns and escalators to the brand new USO wing in the Pentagon. Our USO escort was obviously very proud of this shrine, so we all acted as impressed as we could. Everyone was ready to get back to the hotel (and I was anxious to get over the venue) because we were running a little behind schedule at this point, so we didn't take much time to really give this area the time it probably deserved. One cool part of the exhibit were the photos beginning in 1941 when the USO was founded and going through present-day, showing different celebrities performing for troops overseas. Old photos of Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe and many others lined the walls, documenting the 70 year history of the organization.

We were led back out the entrance we came through and took this opportunity to do a quick photo shoot, which we were warned several times was not allowed. But there was no way we were leaving the Pentagon without photos outside it's famous walls!



We got stuck in horrendous traffic getting back to the hotel, so the rest of the evening was a flurry of rushing around to get the show set up in only a couple hours. I learned that DAR Constitution Hall (where our show was being held), is a protected historic building built in 1928, and that every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended events there. I thought it was a beautiful theater, and the backstage was so distinct and everything just had an "old" feel...dark oak door frames, creaky wooden doors, etc. The show went well, and we even had a big group of the wounded warriors we had met earlier show up with the free tickets we had given them, which personally made me really happy to see them out doing something normal and having fun (even if it was from the constraints of a wheelchair). The next morning, my boss and I were up early and headed back to New York. As part of a deal we had made the night before, if I was up and ready to go at 7am, we would stop and eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel (a restaurant chain that abruptly ends in the mid-Atlantic region and a personal favorite of mine).

The hashbrowns were delicious. :)

My trip:


"And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. " - God Bless the USA, Lee Greenwood

Miles Traveled Today: 452
Total Miles Traveled: 14,567