Heading to Niagara Falls

The troop leaves this afternoon for a weekend in Niagara Falls, NY. We're taking approx. 40 Scouts and 15-20 adult leaders and parents. It's been several years since I last visited--and that trip was over the Christmas holidays with Ben. At that time, it was so cool to see ice forming near the falls, especially below the cascade where the mist froze onto the nearby rocks.

Our group will stay at a Scout camp near Buffalo tonight, then head to the falls tomorrow. Once we're finished there, we'll head back to Buffalo Naval Park for a night aboard the USS Little Rock, a World War II cruiser. We'll tour the ship and stay in the bunks used by sailors in days gone by, always a highlight for the Scouts.

When Ben was younger and our family lived in Mobile, AL, we stayed aboard the USS Alabama, a huge battleship. This weekend's visit to the Little Rock should be much like the stay on the Alabama.

I'm planning on taking my new Nikon digital SLR camera this weekend, which should enable me to make some good photos of Niagara Falls. The quality of the photos has amazed me thus far.

Moorea

Back in 1985, Kathie and I took a trip around the world, cashing in some of our TWA frequent flier points and setting off for Tahiti, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Greece and back to Frankfurt, where we lived at the time. This week, my friend Don's daughter left for a trip to Tahiti, which brought back lots of memories.

The island of Tahiti was beautiful in its own right, but nothing to compare to Moorea, its neighbor island. Tahiti was the commercial capital of French Polynesia, with the small city of Papeete, some measure of industry and commerce, and a beautiful black sand beach. One day during our visit, we boarded a motor vessel for a short trip to Moorea, where we rented a Moke (think dune buggy) and spent the day circumnavigating the perimeter of the island.

Moorea reminded me of Bali Hai in James Michener's South Pacific. Tall, narrow red stone peaks, oddly-shaped volcanic rock cones and lush green palm trees blanketing the island. Surrounding it were the whitest sand beaches I've ever seen, leading to crystal clear waters inside the lagoon.

When Kathie and I went swimming at one beach, I attempted to dive to the bottom, which appeared to be about eight feet deep, judging by the clarity of the water. When I dove down, though, I swam and swam and swam, but never reached the bottom. It must have been at least 18-20 feet deep and I didn't have the lung capacity to reach bottom. Imagine water so clear.

Today as I thought back on Kathie's and my visit to Moorea, I wondered how much it's been commercialized and developed in the ensuing 22 years. Such a beautiful, pristine island then. I just hope it has stayed that way for Sarah's visit this week.