LWers visit family, Niagara Falls, learn about East Coast history

by Sandra deDubovay

LW Contributor

Recently Joe DiDonato and I returned from a 10-day trip with Good Times Travel. Joe was born and raised in New York and I have been to Manhattan many times but this trip afforded them many new things which was why we signed up. The tour started in New York City and went to many sights in upstate New York and Niagara Falls.

We flew direct from LAX to Newark. Our tour bus took us to the Sheraton Hotel in Times Square for a two-night stay. We skipped the scheduled tour the first day and chose to visit Joe’s sister Denise. She lives in Queens and we took the Long Island Rail Road and met her for lunch. It was a lovely day catching up and being together.

The next day was the tour to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. The museum’s permanent collection is an unparalleled repository consisting of material, evidence, primary testimony and historic records. It is very well done and shares the message of healing, unity and renewal. From there, we drove upstate to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Originally established as a fort, it is the country’s oldest military school. We had an interesting guide and enjoyed all the sights and information he shared. It was a full day of touring and we ended with dinner at the Beekman Arms. It’s the oldest continuously running inn in America, opening its doors in 1766.

The following day, we had a tour to the Culinary Institute of America. Founded in 1946, it is ranked No. 1 in culinary schools. Next on our shcedule was Eleanor Roosevelt’s home in Val-Kill. From there we went to the Roosevelt’s home overlooking the Hudson River. Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt was born in the house on Jan. 30, 1882. Both of them are buried on the property’s rose garden. A ranger gave us an informative talk about the home, and then we walked through it on our own. From there we walked a short distance to the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. This is America’s first presidential library opened in 1941. There were so many interesting exhibits, movie clips, and his personal car especially modified for him to drive since he contacted polio in 1921. This was a full day of touring and all of it was new for us, which was exciting since we are such seasoned travelers.

Scheduled the next day was a stroll over the Hudson River via the “Walkway Over the Hudson” at the Hudson State Historic Park. It’s the world’s longest elevated pedestrian bridge spanning 1.28 miles. Next on the agenda was a tour of the Vanderbilt Mansion. Frederick William Vanderbilt purchased it in 1895. It is now operated by the National Park Service. We were given an informative talk about the history of the mansion and the Vanderbilts. We were able to tour the home on our own. From there, we had a long drive to Cooperstown, marveling how beautifully lush green the state of New York is compared to where we live.

We were excited to get to Cooperstown because we organized with Joe’s granddaughter, Taylor, to drive up from Rochester to meet us. It was a 3.5-hour drive for them. We had seeen many photos of Joe’s two greatgrandchildren— Noelia, who is 7, and Julianna, who is 3—but meeting them in person was special. We got in their car and their daddy Thomas drove us all to dinner. After dining we strolled the quaint town and found an ice cream parlor to end the evening. We organized them to stay in the same hotel and all hugged goodnight. It was over 10 years since we had seen Taylor, so having the opportunity to get together was a bonus.

Since they were in the same hotel, we got together for breakfast the next morning. It was sad kissing goodbye, but this was one of the reasons we booked this tour, becuase it afforded us this special time to get together. The main event today was touring the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. In 1936 the Hall of Fame was established. Three years later, in 1939, the Hall of Fame building opened. It includes three floors of exhibit space and a theater. It is committed to preserving the history of America’s favorite sports pastime. We spent hours there enjoying all the history of baseball and its players. From there we drove to Alexandria Bay for the evening.

After breakfast, we had a two-hour boat cruise on the 1000 Islands. It is located along the border between northern New York and southeastern Ontario, Canada.

There are actually 1,864 islands and this is a stunning region. The cruise was narrated with much information. Also included was a stop at Heart Island to tour the Boldt Castle.

After touring the castle we took a shuttle back to Alexandria Bay. Back on our motorcoach, we traveled west and went through Canadian Immigration and Customs and entered Canada.

This was my seventh time to visit Niagara Falls and Joe’s third, but it is so beautiful, we never tire of being there. We arrived at the Hilton Niagara Falls hotel. Our room had great views of all three falls.

Today we had a very knowledgable local guide taking us around the highights of Niagara. At the Prince of Wales Hotel, build in 1864, we were treated to high tea. This Victorian-era hotel is a historic landmark and is still a high-end hotel.

Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls spanning the most powerful waterfall in North America. It is famed for its beauty and valuable source of hydroelectric power. Its height is 167 feet.

We were excited to experience the awe-inspiring Voyage of the Falls boat tour. We all got complimentary red ponchos and boarded the boat, which took us face-to-face with this powerful fall.

A lovely plus was that a recent rain left us with an incredible large rainbow. It’s always exciting to feel the spray and hear the roar of this epic spectacular. That evening we had a farewell dinner, of course, at a restaurant overlooking the falls which are alight with revolving colors each night.

Our final day we went through customs and continued to Lockport, New York. We had a two-hour narrated cruise on the Erie Canal. Two hundred years ago, the Erie Canal was built to fuel America’s expansion. Through extrodinary vision and effort, it connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes by water, transforming New York state and our country forever.

Built between 1817 and 1825 at a cost of $7 million, it was the longest artificial waterway and the greatest public works project in North America. It enabled people and goods to flow from around the world to New York state. Today the Erie Canal offers a place to recreate while discovering the incredible history and beauty. Our boat went through the 34th and 35th locks. This was the last event on our 10-day tour and a nice finale.

We flew back from Buffalo. Everything on the tour went perfectly including the weather. We were so happy to be able to see Joe’s sister and grandaughter and family in this tour, plus all the new and exciting things we always had on our travel list.

Joe DiDonato (l-r) Sandra deDubovay, granddaughter Taylor,great-granddaughters Noella and Julianna, and the girls'father Thomas.