August- Jamaica, Boston, Niagara Falls

We had exciting plans for the start of August! We were heading to Jamaica on a family trip! A year ago, TC’s mom asked if we would want to go to Jamaica. We had no idea where we would be flying from, but were definitely in for the family vacay! At the end of June, we were finally able to nail down our flight. The best flight we could find was out of Boston. When we arrived in Boston, there was a heat wave! We have a threshold of a temperature that is too high for us to sleep in the van. 82 degrees overnight is about the hottest we can take. We decided to get a hotel in Boston for two nights to ride out the wave in AC. Since we had a shower, we decided to get fancied up for a nice dinner! We ate at Capital Grille. There was a Capital Grille down the street from our house in Raleigh, but we never made it. We decided Boston was a great spot to try it! It was delicious! We had a cool, restful evening of sleep.

The next morning before heading to the airport, we met up with my dear friend Cheyenne from college! Chey and I haven’t seen each other in years since she now lives in Boston! We decided we needed some ice cream to beat the heat, so we headed to Dairy Delights. It was so much ice cream and was melting faster than I could eat it, but it was delicious!

Instead of leaving the van at the airport for the week, we rented a parking spot at a hotel in town. It was cheaper, and felt safer. We were able to park it in full sun, so our solar panels could charge and keep our fridge running. We were also able to take the shuttle from the hotel to the airport which was a huge perk! Our first flight was from Boston to Orlando. We had a six hour layover in Orlando. We figured we have slept in strange places pretty often, we might as well sleep in the airport! It was a fun adventure! It got chilly, but we were able to get a few hours of rest.

Ready for some sleep in the airport!

After a short flight, we were finally in sunny Jamaica! We headed straight for the pool when we arrived! TC’s family arrived not too long after we did. There were eight of us total. Me, TC, TC’s Mom and Stepdad, TC’s sister and brother-in-law, and TC’s Step Brother and sister-in-law. We spent the week by the pool, dancing at the silent disco and piano bars, and sleeping at the beach! We had the best time and were thankful for time spent with the family! Although we’d been in Boston for several days, and had been to Massachusetts a couple weeks prior, we still had not slept in the van in Massachusetts. In order to put a sticker on the map, we have to sleep in the van, so we drove a ways out of Boston to sleep.

We left Massachusetts and headed towards New York. I had an important therapy appointment, so it was crucial that we be at a coffee shop for TC to work in while I was in the van. I put a coffee shop location into the GPS and began driving. A little while later, I realized we were in Vermont! I put the wrong address in the GPS. We ended up in the tiny town of Hoosick, New York. It was a cute area, and thankfully it had a coffee shop! T went inside the Iron Coffee Co. to work, and I was able to have my session without interruption! Big sigh of relief! This was the therapy session that was a huge turning point in my anxiety that has been overtaking my joy in the van, so I was extra thankful it worked out. We were able to get a little bowling in before heading to bed!

After work the next day, we journeyed further west in New York. We ended up stopping for dinner at the tiniest little town! The only grocery store for miles was the Great American! We basically had to decide what we were eating based on what was available. T was able to whip us up with delicious cuisine!

We were excited for our weekend plans! We booked two nights at a Hipcamp between two of the Finger Lakes! The spot we rented was at Hawk Meadow Farms-a shiitake mushroom farm! It was the coolest spot back in the woods!! We finished our work day out at the picnic table amongst the trees. It was perfect! The nice couple who owned the property had some fresh shiitake mushrooms for sale. We added them to our dinner and our omelet the next morning. They were amazing!

We spent the day exploring Ithaca, NY. We stopped by the Robert Treman State Park and jumped into the swimming hole. It was a super fun little spot! There’s a gorgeous waterfall right beside the swimming hole which was awesome! We had a great time and it was a nice reprieve from the summer heat! For dinner, we picked up a 3in thick, bone-in ribeye. T beautifully butterflied it and threw it on the cast iron. It was delicious!! The best homemade meal we have had on the road!

Before we left out the next morning, the owner took us on a tour of the farm! He told us all about how shiitake mushrooms grow and showed us his whole setup. It was super cool!! We stopped back by to pick up more mushrooms before we left. They also let us plug in at their store to charge our batteries after a cloudy weekend. We were very thankful!

Later on, we stumbled upon the Watkins Glen State Park and decided to go for a hike. We weren’t planning to hike that day, but once we got into the hike, we did not want to turn around! It was the coolest place!! The water was gorgeous and the waterfalls were unbelievable! It started to rain while we were hiking, but we decided to keep going and we were so glad we did! The rain cleared out the trail almost completely, so we were able to enjoy it even more! When we were almost back to the start of the trail, the sun peaked out and cast the most gorgeous sun sparkle on the rocks! It was the most perfect afternoon!

On Monday night, we grabbed some poke bowls and headed to the Bark Park in Buffalo, New York. The Bark Park is a super nice dog park! All gated with trails and water and SO MANY DOGS! We had our dinner and got our steps while petting all the doggies!

Tuesday night was a big one! One of the most common questions we get about van life is what is the best place we’ve been. I can say, Niagara Falls is top of the list for me! There are a couple reasons I think I loved Niagara Falls so much. First, it isn’t a National Park, so my expectations were lower. People talk about how cool it is, but I figured if it was that great, it would have been added to the NP list by now. Also, one of the reasons I loved it so much is because of the moments surrounding our visit. We’d worked all day in a parking lot down the street. It was a Tuesday, nothing cool was supposed to be happening. When we finished working at 5, we looked at each other and said, let’s walk to Niagara Falls! SO WE DID! And it was an experience I will never forget! There are several times on our journey that I have been amazed by something, but this was an experience I cannot even describe. The mist hitting your face, and the thunderous sound of the moving water. Unbelievable! I had tears in my eyes when I finally witnessed it because we thought it was going to be a mundane Tuesday. We weren’t planning to even see the Falls until Thursday, but the stars aligned perfectly to make a boring Tuesday into one of the best days ever! We just worked a full day, stepped outside of our house and there it was. All these months later, and I am still in awe of this life! The journey hasn’t been easy for me personally, the constant change has been an adjustment, but there are moments we are experiencing that are beyond our wildest dreams! I was overcome with gratitude at that moment. We explored every part that we could and enjoyed the most spectacular sunset! I even got to stick my toes in the water! WOW! What a day! It’s definitely one I will never forget!

The next day, we woke up early to head to Canada! T had a business meeting with a supplier. I decided to tag along since I had never been to Canada! We plan on spending extended amounts of time in Canada, but for this trip we just popped over for the day! We started our morning out how any visitor to Canada should, we stopped by Tim Hortons for some coffee and a doughnut! I don’t like doughnuts much, but these were amazing! I worked from a nearby McDonalds while TC was in his meeting.

Before we headed back across the bridge to America, TC and I had dinner at The Keg Steakhouse. The food was delicious, and the view was phenomenal! The restaurant was located on the 9th floor of the Embassy Suites Hotel and overlooked Niagara Falls. For those that have seen The Falls from both sides, the big debate is on which side is better. My favorite side was the American side! I liked feeling the vibration of the ground from the intensity of the water, and the mist slapping my face when we got close. I liked being part of the falls. The Canadian side is gorgeous, but the American side is definitely my favorite!

After work on Thursday, we wanted to take it easy, but needed a few more steps to get to our goal, so we headed to a different section of the Niagara River. The path went right along the river, and the water was gorgeous!

Friday was a very special day for me and TC. It was our friendiversary! We went on our first-first date seven years ago. We still celebrate this important day every year. We had NO idea all those years ago that this is where we would end up. It took us several “first dates” to get it right, but we don’t take for granted the one that started it all! Usually, we go back to the same burger/wing joint in Raleigh that we went to back in 2015, but since we were not in town, we found other ways to celebrate.

We originally planned to go on the Maid of the Mist boat ride on Saturday morning, but decided Friday at sunset would be better- and we were right! The golden hour was gorgeous against The Falls. The boat ride was worth it! We had the best time, and it was the sweetest way to start our date night! After the boat ride, we hurried back to the van to get ready for dinner. On our way to dinner, we heard a band playing at a restaurant. We decided to pop in for an appetizer and listen to the music on the patio. It had such fun vibes! After dinner, we were wandering back to the van when we saw fireworks through the trees!!! We sprinted towards them and watched the most magical firework show over The Falls! What. A. DREAM! It was the absolute perfect ending to the best week!