Cucumber Falls

This is going to be a short post as far as travelogs go! After finishing the tour of Falling Water we had one hour before heading home. SIL suggested we visit Cucumber falls, a place 20 minutes away. We made it to the falls and all of us trekked down to the water level. 

Then we realized that there was some steep climbing over slippery rock and fallen trees to get to the falls. 

Only four of us made it. Me, the kids and my athimber. We got 15 minutes in the falls, but could not take a lot of pictures as a young couple kept photobombing us. After a 15 minute wait we decided the photo op was not going to get any better.. 

I photoshopped them out of the picture above.. but it was too much work to Photoshop them out of the one below.. Thanks to Athimber, at least got a picture of the three of us! 

The place was really nice and cool. We spent the hour at Cucumber falls and moved back towards Pittsbugh..

 A family portrait that will go in our gallery for 2016!

If you decide to go to Falling water, don't miss this place. The water was not as cold as we expected. You could actually bathe in the falls! 

We will take that chance, next time!

Niagara Falls

This travelog is long overdue! During the summer, we made a trip to Pittsburgh to visit my Sister-in-law, the local family matriarch! 

As soon as we settled in, there was a trip to Niagra falls. It was a good 4 hour drive to the falls. We spent a good 5 hours there and drove back by 10PM after a dinner stop at a Travel stop Pizza hut. Did not realize how long it has been since I had Pizza hut pizza! 

It was a nice drive along lake Erie with my niece and her hubby who also joined us. I remember her as a small kid of 5 or 6! Now she is married and is running a family. How time flies! 

We had a greally great time as we went on the Maid of the Mist to see the falls. Some of the pictures are from the 5D. Then at some point the lens got completely wet. It is a weather proof lens but it was practically getting drenched. Given waterproof and weatherproof are two different things, decided to switch to the iPhone. 

 

My niece was limping by that time because her knee was acting up. So the five of us went on to see Hurricane ridge at the Cave of the Winds. The kids loved it so much that they wanted to go back and stand in the falls again and again. 

Finally when we could no longer breathe, we turned back towards the parking lot. The air is so heavy with the mist that you walk but feel like you are drowning. 

The last time we visited Niagara falls was at least 10 years ago. I am trying to dig out the old photos and videos. Not sure if the little one was born or not during that trip. 

In a few years we plan to go back, to the Canadian side and stay till late in the night to see the falls with lighting! We are at a stage where the kids are comfortable taking care of themselves, there are no diapers to change, no feeding breaks.. we should capitalize on this phase while the parents still have energy to go on hikes, lug suitcases etc.

The trip was all the more fun as daddy Narayanan explained the family tree on the fathers side starting from kid 1 to kid 12 over a one hour period.

It was a big hit with Jr. !

On a final note, what is a post on Niagara falls, without a video?!

Niagara falls continues to be a big hit with the family! Cannot wait to go back!

Snoqualmie Falls

The last time we went to Snoqualmie, the kids were little..it was 2009. We made two attempt to go and given the slippery trails and low visibility, we left the kids and went by ourselves and saw the falls. This time, the kids made it and were old enough to remember and enjoy the trails, the falls and the river!

 This is a lovely way to spend an afternoon on a Seattle visit.

Initially the kids were protesing for going on the trail and kept asking "how much longer" but once at the river access they were extremely happy.  

The hike down is a lot easier than the hike up. 

Took a lot of pictures on the trails and at the falls. HDR images below..

Next time I plan to lug my filter kit with me on this trail. Something tells me that we will be visiting this place again..