Trip Planning..Part Two: It is getting better...


After I gave up on the books and maps I decided to try online once again.   Back to AAA I go and let me just tell you,  I absolutely HATE the AAA website, it had me crying (ok not quite but it was seriously vexing me).  There are a lot of issues with the login handshakes as I went to the online trip tik builder etc.


My mission for this online recon, was to find out about transportation, Niagara Falls attractions are largely in a State Park on the NY side, so I am sure there is some parking available but where, how much, and was it worth it or should we walk were questions to be answered.  Secondly, what was the public transportation that was available and I do love those sightseeing buses that allow you to hop on and off, was that available?


I tried some more keyword combinations and finally found a site that had a lot of what I was looking for, how I didn't find this site in my original search is beyond me.  Niagara Falls USA it seems to have the info I am looking for FINALLY!  There are a couple of different trolleys you can use to get around, and they had an awesome map, and this is as close the holy grail I can find and it takes a lot of pressure off me to create an itinerary from scratch, now I have help to plan the day or days really because I am not sure how long we will be there.  (Note I did order the paper copy of the guide because for some reason it just feels right, so I will probably put the planning on hold for a bit until I get it all in the mail.  I figure it won't take that long to get here, maybe a week?(I got a packet in the mail last week from Niagara Falls last week and another one today but I haven't opened the second one yet.)


Right now I am in the chicken and the egg situation do I plan the vacation itinerary based on how long I think it will take us to comfortably 'see' the area or do I determine that we will spend X day(s) and then build on that?  Either way, I am comfortable and now I am starting to get excited about planning again and have started to rough out a schedule. (💗I love spreadsheets they are so versatile! 💗)




I had to email the Niagara Falls State Park information center to get more information about the food that is available within the park.  This is essential information for those of us that travel with people that have food allergies; for us, we have to avoid tree nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc). We don't have the luxury of just winging it, we need to know ahead of time what our options are even if the option is that nothing is safe and we have to carry our own food.  Believe me, with an 8 and 10 year old I don't want to be lugging around extra stuff, but they require food and snacks so if nothing is going to be available then I need to bring it with us.  I do want to note that their response time was AMAZING and they included the food manager and chef on the response.  So yes I would love for that info to just be default added to the website, their customer service via email is spot on and fantastic.
 

Ensuring that there are safe food options does make travel planning and the actual travel experience more stressful.  So yes we don't often try new places, we have some standard restaurant chains that we know work for us and even a hotel that includes breakfast, but even with that knowledge, we are not let off the hook.  We have to still check in with the waitstaff EVERY SINGLE TIME we eat, just like when I go grocery shopping I have to read EVERY LABEL EVERY TIME, even on items that I know have been safe when previously purchased.


(Side note if you know someone or know a family that has food allergies and you have wondered why they don't like to travel or stick to the same routines and places, this could be why.  It is stressful even when you are reasonably confident that you have safe options, there is a lot of work that needs to be done ahead of time to plan.  I find this so true with my boys because I swear they are always hungry so I have to plan ahead to be prepared I can't just stop for an ice cream cone or something, it is not really that easy.   

I am trying to plan more adventures so that my family will have a wealth of experiences but it can be exhausting, and there are times that I wish we could just pick up and be as spontaneous as I see some of my friend's families being. )

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