A fresh breath

Yesterday Zach and I returned from a whimsical trip to Niagara Falls. No kidding. Zach skipped into the living roomat midnight on Friday night to tell me that he practically stole tickets for 9 am the next morning. So we found ourselves in one of the four Days Inns in the quirky, kinda creepy Canadian Las Vegas. It was very clear the January isn't tourist season on account of the gloomy sky, dead trees, and absence of humans, but apparently the roaring Frankenstein that sits on top of the Burger King (holding a burger no less) doesn't know that because it talks to the empty streets through all hours of the night and morning. The place really did look like it came from a Stephen King novel with all of its weird 80's amusement park shops.
I'm also sorry to say that my first reaction to the falls was, "Oh. That's Niagara falls?" Yes, then the plastic monsters on the shop roofs made a little more sense.
However, on our second day we paid the reduced winter price of 9.95 Canadian to take the elevator down into the cliffs under the falls. It really was beautiful and frightening and majestic. Some interesting facts:
1. 20% of the World's fresh water passes through the falls.
2. Native American legend tells of Lelawala, a beautiful maid betrothed by her father to a brave she despised. Rather than marry, Lelawala chose to sacrifice herself to her true love He-No, the Thunder God, who dwelt in a cave behind the Horseshoe Falls. She paddled her canoe into the swift current of the Niagara River and was swept over the brink. He-No caught her as she plummeted, and together their spirits are said to live forever in the Thunder God's sanctuary behind the Falls. (Wikipedia)
3. In 1901, a 61 year old teacher and widow named Annie Edison Tyler was the first to survive a barrel ride over the falls. She was accompanied by her cat. Although both survived unharmed, she emerged from her barrel and said, "No one should ever try that again." Despite her warning and today's $10,000 fine for attempting the falls, people raise the money, take the ride, go to the hospital, and pay the fine.
The fact that I was initially so little impressed by the sight of the astounding geographic phenomenon just goes to show what a geographically amazing continent we live on. My exposure to the rugged, high altitude, mountainous terrain of the western USA made the falls seem, well, short. And I haven't even seen South America!
Aside from the weird city and the short, fat waterfalls, the weekend was like a mini honeymoon. We celebrated our one year wedding anniversary (a week late), ate fabulous Indian food, and made indulgently idealistic plans. After a stressful, tense week, I felt so blessed and in love with Zach, who is truly so much more of a perfect, generous, and good hearted partner than I could have asked for.
On that note of gratitude, I can really say I am becoming content with this state of not being in school.
My goal is to read a book per week until our move.
For the week of January 8 I read Barbara Kingsolver's "the Poisonwood Bible." After this novel Kingsolver is my greatest living hero and perhaps my prototypical human being.