| Recommended days | 10 |
| Budget | ££ |
| Difficulty | Easy |
This was my first trip to the Eastern US and initiated mainly by the kids who wanted to see NYC and Boston. I usually prefer places with more evidence of human history so on this Boston to Niagara road trip, seeing natural splendours and modern ish architecture was a new thing.
Also, as an Englishman, the size of the place is vast! I can drive from one end of England to the other in about 7 hours but that only just covered NY State and there are 51 more!
Boston
My first rookie mistake was to fly into New York rather than Boston. No idea why, didn’t even think of it until we were sat in a queue for maybe 4 hours. It meant the first evening was literally just checking into the hotel.
Boston: Marriott Residence Inn
We’d chosen the Marriott Residence Inn which was a brick building on a side street in the old part of the city with a very nice atrium.
After a superb breakfast (the girls loved the pancake maker!) we spent a day walking around Boston. We did the length of the Freedom Trail, which was quite difficult to follow at times due to road developments.
Boston: Freedom Trail
It was also strange to see an old (by US standards) building, completely enclosed by modern development – although the buildings were preserved they were isolated enclaves of brick in a world of steel and glass. The city was also strange in that we didn’t see a single sign post for the tourist attractions or historic buildings until you were actually there!
Old State House 
Old South Meeting House 
Boston Tea Party 
Paul Revere’s House
We (ie: the girls) spent a lot of time in the Faneuil market shopping area but they did get as far as Boston Common! The weather was pretty mixed (so I got a sunburned head) and my camera is playing silly buggers, every single picture is coming out heavily tinted in pink so takes a lot of work to tidy up.
Boston: USS Constitution
Deb and I (the girls were shopping) were lucky enough to see the USS Constitution out of dock, which only happens twice a year, whilst we were crossing the bridge to Bunker Hill.
USS Casin Young 
USS Constitution 
USS Constitution 
USS Constitution
Boston: Harbour Cruise
We rounded the evening off with a sunset harbour cruise which was great to see more old buildings and get a better view of the scale of the city. It was dark when we got back but we stopped for the obligatory Starbucks on the way back to the hotel.
We had a restful morning to try and catch up on sleep although we made sure we were up in time for breakfast still! We checked out late morning and drove towards our next destination on our Boston to Niagara road trip, the Best Western Plus at Cobleskill. I’d chosen this purely based on distance and we arrived late afternoon after an interesting drive.
Interesting in that our vehicle (Suburban something or other) sounded like a tank and had a huge engine but accelerated like a concrete slug. We would be on the freeway and I’d floor the accelerator and all that happened would be the noise changed, no speed change at all!
The other thing we noticed was how unhealthy the food is at rest stops! Everywhere seemed to be doughnuts, pizza or burgers with almost nothing else.
We arrived at the hotel after a long drive through forests that seemed to go on for ever. It really was like something out of Lord of the Rings. The hotel was a pleasant little stop and the girls immediately disappeared to the nearby shops while we sat down for coffee. We ate in the hotel and had an incredibly healthy but absolutely delicious dessert.
Cobleskill
I woke earlyish at our hotel in the Catskills possibly, or maybe Lothlorien. It was just surrounded by trees anyway but it was pretty with the early morning mist and I snuck out for some photos before everyone else got up and sorted for breakfast.
Taughannock Falls State Park
We then drove for nearly 3 hours to Taughannock Falls State Park. This was chosen by Nat and had a very pretty waterfall and lovely walks but we couldn’t find a cafe!
She loves photos! 
Don’t we look awkward! 
Finger Lakes
A short trip from here took us to Cayuga Lake, one of the finger lakes and a beautiful place for BBQ’s, general idling and boating if you’re into that. Again we were surprised at the lack of refreshment options. If you arrive in an RV it’s great I guess but as a day visitor we couldn’t find anything.
Niagara
From here we drove about 3 hours to the Canadian border and then another 2 hours crossing the numerous toll bridges and customs post to get into Canada itself. As we were approaching the border I thought there was a huge fire and pall of smoke nearby but I realised it was actually spray from the falls that was visible at that distance!
I forget how easy the open borders in Europe are, usually just marked by a signpost to say you’ve changed country. We continued on the short drive to our hotel and dumped the car.
Hilton Fallsview Niagara
We were staying at the Hilton Fallsview hotel and our suite was on the 48th floor. If you want to splash out on something special then this is it! What an incredible view! Once I had beaten the kids for leaning on the windows (!) we were able to take the full spectacle of the falls in. The fireworks in the evening were impressive too, just a shame my tripod was broken!
The next morning I woke at 5 for some reason but headed out to get some sunrise pictures. It was quite amazing but it also shows how incredible the human eye is – it can bring out shadow and highlights far better than any camera.
Niagara Sunrise
It really was a spectacular start to the day. Although I did get soaked (forgot a coat!) but the monopod did prove its worth. It was lovely walking along the pathway overlooking the falls and other than a single policeman cycling by, I was alone.
I headed back to the hotel and we indulged in yet another American multi course breakfast. I was always told it was the most important meal of the day but the quantity of food on offer was still incredible. Once we had all eaten so much we could barely waddle we headed outside to see the falls, again.
Niagara Hornblower Cruise
We decided to take the Hornblower Cruise just because it’s one of the things you have to do when you’re here. It was good fun actually, you don’t realise the sheer power of the water until you are in it!
A downside of the place being such a tourist trap was that it was very difficult to get places where we could all find something we liked to eat within a sensible budget. The restaurants were certainly charging a tourist premium here.
After lunch we walked along the path again and it was surprising how the light had changed in a few hours. There were lots of rainbows and it was just enchanting. Who’d have thought you could spend so long just looking at water?!
Niagara Falls
The next day we packed to leave the hotel and headed back to NYC for an extended break there to conclude our Boston to Niagara road trip. I’d have actually liked to have had longer in Niagara though so we could have seen a bit more of Canada than a waterfall!
2014
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