On Thursday, August 19th, we took our granddaughter, Kylee, to the Buffalo airport at 5:30 a.m., so she could go home (see the blog post before this one). At 9:30 that same night, we went back to the airport to pick up our grandson, Jackson, for the start of his week with us. Even though it was late, he still wanted to play one game of Dice 10,000 with us (Jax is an avid game player). And, that is how our whirlwind week with Jackson started.
Jackson had planned three days of outside activities, so we really had to plan according to weather forecasts. The only indoor activity on his list was the Buffalo Museum of Science. I knew he would not be like Kylee and be happy shopping if we had a rainy week!
The day after he arrived, we let him sleep in a little because he had a long travel day, and we were up late playing games. However, today Jack was taking him to The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, so when we told him it was time to get up, he was fairly eager to get going. I don’t know much about what was in these pics because I was staying home with the dogs, so Jax could spend as much time there as he wanted (all day if he wanted).
The very next day, Jax wanted us all to go to the Buffalo Zoo. Since he wanted us to all go, we told him there would be a time limit because we would have to be back at the RV to let the dogs out. He was fine with that because that would give us more time to play games.
This was a nice zoo, and very typical for a city the size of Buffalo (my favorite zoo is the St. Louis Zoo because I grew up there; it really is the BEST zoo I have ever been to). Buffalo Zoo has the usual array of animals. However, they did have something unique that I had never seen before; they had baby lion cubs along with their momma and daddy all in the same habitat! It was fun to watch them interact with one another.
On Sunday we took Jax to Niagara Falls. This time Jack took Jackson on the Maid of the Mist. The dogs and I (the dogs were in their double stroller) walked around a little to see the falls from different angles.
There was a pedestrian bridge across the river to Goat Island. I was going to walk around Goat Island, but after looking at the map, I was afraid it was bigger than I thought, and I wouldn’t be back when the boys were finished with their boat ride. So, I took some pics from the bridge and then walked around on my side of the river. Here are a couple of photos I took from the bridge and while walking around the park.
About this time, I hear a text notification sound on my phone. I pull out my phone and the text reads, “We have boarded.” In a couple of minutes, I see the boat from the American side and call Jack. He answers and I ask him if they are on the American side of the boat. He says yes. I tell him to look up at the people on the cliff right before the falls. I immediately start jumping up and down, waving my arms wildly, and ask him if he sees me jumping up and down. They did!
Monday we took Jackson to Letchworth State Park. It was the same park we went to with Kylee (see post before this one), but Jackson said he wanted to go there also. We had fun hiking to see the lower, middle, and upper falls, as well as all the beautiful overlooks. We even ate at the same snack bar, had the chicken tenders, and, of course, ice cream for dessert.
Tuesday, August 17th, we were all pretty tired, so we had a “chill out” day at the RV. We slept in pretty late, and I caught Jackson in a really relaxed state. 😌
I did some laundry that day and a few household chores. We also played a lot of games! Jax is a great competitor, and he wins often. We played Dice 10,000, Three Thirteen, and three handed Spades (that was really different!). We also taught him how to play Rummikub, and he beat us every game!
The next day was Wednesday, our last day with Jax. We saved going to the Buffalo Museum of Science for this day because it was supposed to be rainy. It was a miserable, rainy day all day, so this worked out great. It was just Jax and I going while Jack stayed at the RV with the dogs. We had a great time, and Jax really enjoyed all the hands on exhibits.
After we had seen and done all we wanted to do, it was time to head back to the RV. We had supper to fix and eat, games to still play, and suitcases to pack because Jax was going home the next morning. He also had a 5:30 a.m. flight back to Oklahoma City.
We had a wonderful time this week with Jackson. We can’t wait to have the grandkids come visit us again.
So, for now ….. “On the Road Again!”
Betty