We have come to day 10 people! That means that there is only one more day until we have reached our final destination! We are so excited to be in Boston and just start trying to make a living. I already have two interviews lined up (at kids gyms no less) and am thrilled to see what happens with those. Prayers are much appreciated! :)
Today was a really phenomenal day. We woke up at our surprisingly nice hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. Well, actually it was in Wickliffe, Ohio but Cleveland is close enough. I got up at 7:30 eastern time to go and swim in their pool. They had a lap swim pool that I saw the day before and couldn't wait to go swim in it this morning. Much to my surprise, I woke up a little before my alarm and was in the pool by 7:50am. It was weird to think that I was swimming on the east coast at 7:50 but all my friends and family were still sleeping on the west coast because it was only 4:50 there. Anyway, I swam for an hour and felt great. It had been a while since I worked out so this swim was long overdue. I finished at around 8:50 and headed back upstairs to shower and pack our things up.
We were out the door by 10 and on our way to Niagara Falls. We got the opportunity to pass through two states today; Pennsylvania and New York. We were in Ohio for a few hours before entering the border to Pennsylvania. We said that if we had more time we would have loved to go to Scranton, Nashua, and Utica to visit the places that "The Office" always visit in their show. Overall, Pennsylvania was a really nice state. Right as we crossed over the state line the pavement got better and there was NO TOLLS. We were on a road that didn't make us pay so we automatically liked the state. Not only that but the state was beautiful. It had a lot of lovely trees and Lake Erie was alongside the highway.
Pennsylvania was very short lived though because about 45 minutes later we entered into New York. New York is also very beautiful. Lake Erie continued to ride alongside the highway through a good chunk of our drive. We took a 1 lane highway again to avoid the tolls but this time I actually enjoyed it. We went through some really cute towns and even stopped in one to take some photos. There was a fun place to stop and look at the lake on our left so we took advantage of it and took some photos. We thought it was so weird because it looked like a beach with sand and people playing in it but it was only a lake and had no waves.
We continued on our way and began to drive through Buffalo, NY. I was unaware of how large Buffalo was. I thought it was more of a small suburban town with a decent size population. Oh no, it is a huge city with skyscrapers and amazing old buildings. We took a wrong turn getting to Niagara but it actually turned out to be ok because it allowed us to drive through the city a little bit and get some cool photos.
Teej and I finally made it to Niagara Falls State Park 3.5 hours later after leaving Cleveland. It was about 86 degrees out today which made it for the perfect day to see the falls. Our plan was to park and go do the "maid of the mist" tour. We got there and immediately got distracted by the outrageous rapids that led up to the giant falls. It was nothing like I had ever seen before. Those rapids were out of control and nothing that you would EVER want to float down. After staring at them for a while, we finally made our way over to the area where you bought your maid of the mist tickets. The boat took you out to the falls every 15 minutes so we headed down to where the boat was and made it on before they left. As we were getting on this girl hands us both a set of blue ponchos to wear during the tour. Boy were we glad that we had those on because the boat ride got you soaking wet. 
The tour was absolutely beautiful. There was not a cloud in the sky so you could see the falls as clear as day. The water was pounding so hard from the falls that it was creating so much mist that it felt like we were in a torrential downpour. It was also extremely windy on the boat from all the force from the falls that it was hard to stand up at times. I kept rocking back and forth and would occasionally lean on Teej for support. We saw two different falls and they were equally as stunning. It was amazing to see it person after seeing it on TV and the internet for years and years. The Lord is so amazing in how he has created his world. We are so blessed to have such incredible beauty to see and experience every day.
The tour lasted for only 15 minutes but it was well worth it. By the time I got off I was soaked but because it was so hot out I dried out pretty quickly. After the boat ride we walked up the stairs to the observatory area and got to see the falls from the top view. We were able to get some cool photos there too but the wind was so strong and powerful that I was afraid that I was going to fall off the side at times. We didn't... obviously... but it was still pretty dang strong. We stayed a little bit longer and looked at the falls but it wasn't long because we decided we better leave before we hit the Buffalo traffic.
Our next destination was in Webster, NY. We were fortunate enough to get to stay with a really awesome family; The Larson's. Chris Larson was my dad's best man in his wedding. They were college roommates for a year and a half and had a lot of great times together. My dad had contacted Chris earlier this week to see if it would be ok if we stayed with him and he was more than happy to host us for the night. I was really excited to get to meet my dad's really good friend from college because I had heard so much about him growing up. We made it to their house around dinner time. Chris and his lovely wife Cathy kindly invited us into their home and gave us water to drink and chips and salsa to eat. Their daughter Juliana, who is an 8th grader this year was also there to greet us and she was super sweet. Elizabeth, their oldest daughter, a senior in high school, wasn't home yet because she was at a lifeguard training session but met up with us later. She is also lovely. Oh, and they also have a fun little dog named cookie. I really liked the name ;)
Anyway, Chris, Cathy, Teej, and I all sat outside on their deck and chatted for a long time. They are so sweet and we are so thankful we were able to meet and talk with them. Chris told me many stories about my dad's crazy times in college which was fun to hear. They also told me how much they appreciated reading my dad's christmas letter every year. Apparently they really get a kick out of the Chausse family stories that happen every year. I'll save those for another time though ;) They made us hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner with potato salad and cucumber salad. Apparently these specific hot dogs are famous on the east coast so Chris made us try them. They are supposed to pop in your mouth. They absolutely did that! They tasted good too.
We then headed out to this new fro yo shop called "yo lickity" that had just opened in town. We met his eldest daughter there and we all talked and laughed for a while before heading back to the house. They are such a fun family to be around. I'm glad we were able to stay with them!
Tomorrow? BOSTON!!! so excited. It's the home stretch. Thanks for all your prayers and love and support. We have really felt like you have all been on this journey with us and we feel so blessed to even able to have done this.
Love to all!
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
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