How would you memorialize the lost?

Not many people have had the balls to attack the USA in the USA. So, when it happens, it cuts deep. My generation saw the attacks on September 11, 2001 and before that Americans endured December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy. Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day passed recently and I had some time to reflect on all this. The coping strategies and memorials vastly differ from one generation to the next.

I never got the chance to see the Twin Towers in person before they went down. However, I did pay a visit to the gut wrenching hole in Manhattan we called Ground Zero. I had to. It was so unsettling it made me want to vomit a little and my sister just wanted to leave. We couldn't even look at it. But I HAD to visit. That was in 2010.

I also had the chance to visit the Pentagon post 9/11 on an inside tour with a college class. It was a once in a life time opportunity. I got inside the Pentagon! One of the most guarded buildings in America! Of course the site where it took damage from the attack was a stop on my tour. That was in 2008.

This year while visiting a friend on Maui I knew I had to make the extra effort to get to Oahu and see Pearl Harbor. It was the Ground Zero for a generation of Americans before me. The straw on this camel's back that came down so hard that we all came together for some serious ass-kicking. And good lord did we ever. After those bombs we dropped on Japan, I can see why it took so long for anyone else to launch a similarly large attack on US soil. It would be a death sentence in the worst kind of way. That visit was in 2013.

Clearly, for years and years sites like this will receive visitors. So how do we greet them? What sort of space do we provide for reflection?

Here is a shot I took at Pearl Harbor:

USS Arizona Memorial

They chose to leave the USS Arizona exactly where it sank and build a viewing platform above it. It features a wall of names of those lost to the water just below. Only one boat full of people can stay at a time, so it never gets too crowded. It is a quaint yet powerful memorial.

On the other hand, Ground Zero has transformed into the Freedom Tower, aka One World Trade Center. The idea was to build the tallest building in the world, but ultimately we settled for the tallest in the western hemisphere. It is an enormity piercing out of even New York City's lofty skyline. Have a look here: http://onewtc.com/

One generation went small, the next went big as can be. Granted, we have to keep in mind each is also a product of its surroundings. Pearl Harbor is still a working military base, after all. And New York City is known for its architecture with altitude. But perhaps these monuments are just as much a reflection of the survivors as much as the victims.

It has taken me a long time to write this and I am still not even sure what I am trying to say. Except that these are two very different reactions to what seem to me to be two very similar events. One is not right, one is not wrong. Just different.

Why am I so Gullible?

The afternoon portion of my Niagara Falls day trip featured a ride on a jet boat! Yeah!! Really fast boats!! Who doesn't love those??

Needless to say, this story starts off with me running late. Really late. The boat people ask you to arrive one hour before the boat is scheduled to disembark. They want to cover certain details like liability waivers, safety on board a boat, appropriate clothing, how to wear the gear, etc. Well I arrived about 10 minutes prior to departure.

When I got there, the group was seated outside just wrapping up the safety lecture. I heard about the last garment of a whole collection that they provide for the passengers. Luckily, the woman giving the speech gave us "one last opportunity" to run inside and put away any sunglasses or car keys because loose items will certainly fall overboard. So, I ran inside straight to the front desk to check in really quickly!

Jaws dropped.

"You JUST got here?? They are ready to leave now!"

Yes, I just got there and I know I'm really late BUT I was just outside with the group and I heard the whooooole safety speech because I decided that THAT would be more important to hear rather than coming in here and checking in right away.

OK. So I told a little white lie. I didn't hear that whole speech, but that girl would never know that. Besides, I've been on a boat before- how could this one be any different?

That was just what she needed to hear.
She slipped me a waiver to sign, I have her my purse to hide, and we both RAN out the door to the dock to catch up with the others. I had no time to change my clothes. Guess I was gonna get soaked in skinny jeans! (Man, are those hard to get off when they're wet!)

The dock was full of all those clothes that they doubtlessly addressed in the safety speech. I needed help getting them all on in the right order. It made no sense! Turns out those clothes weren't meant to keep me dry, but rather to keep me warm while speeding along the water at cheek-flapping speeds while totally soaked to the bone. I mean totally. Down. to. the. panties. I had to change clothes entirely upon our return.

Suited up and so stylish!

Well this is about when the guilt started to kick in. Maybe I should have listened to the safety speech? What if I missed something important? More important than the life vest! Something unique to this speedy vessel...

We started to board. They reminded us that the first four rows receive the highest impact and feel the most on the water, so if we have a bad back or neck don't sit there.

Hmmm, ya I kinda DO have a bad back...maybe I should sit farther back....

The uncertainty builds.

I watch as the other passengers board one by one. Suddenly, a woman slips! She's down! Where did she go? The groans! She's crying!! What happened?? It takes three men to lift her and her twisted knee off the boat and haul her away. She does not get to ride the speed boat today.

OMG THE DANGER IS REAL!!! HOLY MOLY! AND I SIGNED THAT WAIVER!! WHAT DID IT SAY?? I DIDN'T EVEN READ IT BECAUSE THERE WAS NO TIME! DAMMIIITTTTT!!

This just got real.

Once everyone was seated, Safety Lady gets to the front to remind us to remain seated, keep our hands on the safety rail and don't forget to fasten that seat belt! Just reach right under your seat to find that safety belt and buckle up!

Wait. What seat belt?

I searched frantically for my seat belt. Under the seat, to my left, to my right, in front of me, under the seat again. THERE WAS NO SEAT BELT!! I looked around like maybe I could see someone else doing it and figure it out. In the meantime, the guys behind me were getting a good chuckle watching me panic. Jerks. This is serious!!

O God, what have I done?

"Just kidding! Aha hah hah ha"

Safety Lady made a joke! There really is no seat belt!! I swear I was the last one on the boat to figure it out. Not cool.

After that... I had a great time!!! I was all worried for nothing! Look, the only scardy-cats with bad backs that sat farther back than me were these super old guys!

I mean, ancient.

Even they had a great time! I guess thrill seekers never age.

Check out the videos from the ride!
Surfing the Rapid
The Hamilton Turn

And of course there are even more videos from the river if you peruse my channel.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls totally live up to the hype. If you think about waterfalls, they shouldn't be that great. It is water under the influence of gravity- like everything else. Where is the wonder in that? It's not special. Water moves toward the center of the earth like anything else in the planet's gravitational field.

And yet, waterfalls are freaking awesome.

Niagara Falls is the granddaddy of waterfalls. Look at this thing!

Horseshoe Falls

BAM! That water is moving so quickly that some of it is forced straight up! Do you see that?? No one told me it was almost like a geyser AND a waterfall in one! Now THAT is a lot of mist! For real. The famous boat that chugs its way in there really earned its name, the Maid of the Mist.

I was one of those morons.

Dwarfed by the enormity of the falls, it looks like a toy boat packed with morons heading straight to their doom. The mist is so thick it is practically a cloud sitting above the water. Look at the top right corner of that picture. It's just white! I don't know why, but I was just fascinated by that mist.

WEEEE!

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! Did you know that there is not one but TWO waterfalls at Niagara Falls!! WHAT?

YES! I said it! That's TWO WATERFALLS for the price of one! We've just doubled your offer!

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS?? What a fantastic surprise! Check this out- 

The American Falls

In addition to the famous Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side (featured in the first picture), here we have the American Falls! That's right- water coming from the USA side of the river! Represent! Ya, we have nice falls too. What up. 

Seriously, it's so perfect that this looks like it could be a Bob Ross painting.

Now I am writing this two months after seeing the falls and I am still getting so amped to think about it. There is so much to see! I pre-purchased tickets to the four major attractions to cut back on wait time and I nevertheless felt rushed to see everything. This site could easily be a two day visit. Sadly, I had just one, so the pressure was on. Now, it didn't help me much that I (not surprisingly) got a late start because I had difficulty locating the rental car lot that morning. Plus, not that I am complaining (at all!), I had a date that night! Lucky me, the day before, I met a rather handsome native in Toronto who was willing to show me city, and I was really excited to see him! I didn't want to be late for my international date! And while our dinner wasn't going to happen until well after my anticipated timeline to return the rental car, it somehow caused a shift in my state of mind which had me thinking of what was to come rather than fully immersing myself in the glory of this natural wonder that was right here in front of me. In retrospect, I should have brought him along. He turned out to be a sweet guy who would have made wonderful company on this big day. Oh well. Next time. I'll have to return to Toronto and Niagara Falls and do it all again with a friend. I'm quite certain I'll see him again in the future.

But for now, I am on my own.

Regretting this.

This is me in another popular attraction on the Canadian side of the falls: Journey Behind the Falls. It's ridiculous. Someone, at some point, decided to carve tunnels under the river to see the waterfall from the inside. First of all, that's a lot of work. Secondly, that's super dangerous! You know it is just a matter of time before the water erodes away at this concrete lined tunnel. There is so much water moving so quickly that the falls have actually moved 7 MILES upstream over time because the water just keeps chipping away at the rock underneath. When you are in there listening to the thunder of the water, you really start to think about these things. And question your judgement. Luckily it turned out alright. Here's a view from inside the tunnel:

No thanks to the guy that got his finger in my picture! Gosh!

Since a still photo can't really do a waterfall justice, check out this video from inside the tunnel. While you are there, feel free to see my other videos featuring Niagara Falls!

Sorry guys, no videos from the date. ;) But here's a picture just so you can see what a cutie he is!

Canadian Cutie

Stay tuned for the next post about the troubles I run into on a Niagara jet boat tour because I am late to everything! Yay!