We left Tuesday the 21st at 4 am (ish). Got on the road with Jackson driving first. The conditions were far from ideal: 40 degrees, very rainy, and pitch black. Around Dry Ridge, Kentucky we heard a loud “thump” and I was awakened. I couldn’t seem to see out of the front windshield as the thump had been caused by the windshield wipers falling off the car and now caught on the driver’s side mirror. We pulled off at the Dry Ridge Walmart to assess. We bought a tool kit and watched a YouTube video on how to take off the plastic paneling to expose the wiper motor assembly and crossed our fingers, hoping that a bolt had just rattled out of place or something. Well, we were right, a screw had seemed to pop out of one of the arms connecting the wiper motor to the actual gears that turned the wipers themselves. So, we bought some vice grips and tightened it down, that should fix it right? Those wipers weren’t going anywhere, we thought to ourselves.
We get back on the highway and continued our trip with clenched teeth every time the wipers continued their monotonous motion. With thoughts that we could maybe wait out the rain, a quick check of the radar showed ALL green ALL day long ALL the way to our final destination of Niagara Falls, New York.
Everything was going well, so naturally, the wipers fell off again. Only this time, we weren’t the only car on the road. Semi’s passed us at breakneck speeds, unknowingly splattering the most untransparent water onto the surface of our front windshield like the ink from MarioKart. We crawled to the next exit with the hazards of defeat flashing our arrival at Advanced Auto Parts. They were not helpful. So, we shot across the street with no visibility like crossy road to the Autozone. Upon entry to the store, I knew we had been saved as two men with mustaches in their late 60s stood gloriously at the counter. After explaining to one of them as best I could as to the nature of the situation, he said the classic, “well let’s take a looksie,” and followed us to the car. After a quick glance, we heard words that did not comfort us nor our bank accounts, “yep, someone really messed that up.” Returning to the parts counter, the mustached man showed us our holy grail, the item that stood between us and Niagara Falls, a “2010 GMC Terrain All Models Windshield Wiper Motor Assembly.” Generously paid for in full by Jackson (Michael Cabell’s credit card), we were back in business. Grateful that we bought those tools from Walmart, the install was a breeze, taking no more than 15 minutes with both of us working hard, mind you in different ways. Jackson, working hard in his conveniently timed bathroom break, and me in the rainy cold, endlessly ratcheting the dreaded 10 mm bolts out of and back into place. Nevermind who did what, it all worked out in the end and we were rewarded with the magnificent sight of wiper blades flowing back and forth across our windshield, saving us from the possible embarrassing defeat of calling one of our parents for a ride home not even an hour away from our front porches.
Our first pitstop after the windshield debacle was in Erie, Pennsylvania. We managed to sightsee in a “closed” Presque Isle State Park. An apparently terrible wind storm had come through before us, closing the park, but also conveniently knocking over one of the gates that was the perfect size for Jackson’s crossover SUV. It was very pretty and very cold and windy, so we trekked onwards.
Our next stop was none other than our final destination, the reason for the trip, the great Niagara Falls. We did not plan for a 4:30 pm sunset, so our 6:15 pm arrival could be described as “dark” Although, the falls were lit up in a rainbow from the Canadian side, so no sights were lost to the early sunset. After taking in the sights and sounds of the falls, and Jackson regretting only bringing a sweatshirt, we headed for our hostile for the night.
About two days before the trip, mom had (without my knowledge) put out on Facebook, “Do I know anyone near Niagara Falls for a possible place to stay?” This, I was at first against, as it hijacked our initial plan to rough it out and sleep on a mattress that was to be stuffed into the back of Jackson’s car. But, with further revision of the plan, the sub 30 degree weather and lack of space for a mattress convinced us otherwise. So, I gladly obliged to reach out to a “Tammy Bond” (sister of family friends from years ago) who had offered to take us in for the night. We were greeted at the house by a cheery 6th grade Gus sporting a quality leather satchel and 15 year old Sam, who was cool and looked as though he should be in me and Jackson’s graduating class. We walked into the aroma of authentic Buffalo wings and New York pizza from the largest pizza box I had seen in my life, just massive.
After dinner, Jackson called the couch, leaving me with the air mattress in the living room. We watched a Kevin Hart movie where he turns into a hitman or something? I don’t know for sure, as I was too busy watching and awaiting the arrival of Tammy’s husband. From our conversation at dinner I found out a couple of things: that he worked nights, which explains why he wasn’t there, that he was a bodybuilder, had a thick accent, worked as a metals machinist, and was bald. Anyways, all of that was the perfect recipe for the most intimidating man on the planet, a man who was unaware that two teenage boys from Kentucky were sleeping in his living room. Thankfully, we fell asleep before he got home and he did not wake us up with punches to the jaw, but seemingly assumed nothing of it, continuing on to bed.
New York pizza for breakfast is absolutely something I recommend. Me and Jackson must have totaled 6+ slices that morning on our way out the door. The morning started with a quick drive up to Lake Ontario for no reason other than to say that we’ve seen it.
We stopped at an overlook into the Niagara River about
two minutes from the falls when we started to notice that things were off. I had never seen so many government-esc vehicles headed toward the same direction. These were shortly followed by a herd of Ford Explorers sporting “U.S. Customs and Border Protection” along their sides.
Me and Jackson shortly came to the genius realization that something had happened. Where most would turn around in hopes of a safer area, we decided to press on. We had driven all this way to see the falls, so we were going to see the falls.
Sidenote: If you are unfamiliar with the geography of The City of Niagara Falls, New York, customs (designated border crossing between countries) is less than four football fields from the Niagara Falls.
On the drive, we immediately went to the only place we could think of to gain any information on the events that might have occurred, Twitter, a very trusted news source, mostly. After scrolling and scrolling, we found nothing. This led us to believe that we were at “ground zero” of whatever was going on at the border.
As we neared the falls, we noticed a pillar of smoke rising from where we believed customs to be located. Naturally, we went towards it.
Once we got close enough to have eyes on the customs office, we were stopped in our tracks by some of the most feared officers of the law… federal customs agents. I’m sure these officers are nice enough guys most days, but not today. With M4’s (a large, automatic rifle) fastened to their chests and sunglasses blocking out any sign of humanity, they were not here to play games. We were immediately told to vacate the area, that there was an “incident.”
Since customs is so close to the actual falls, they had given orders to shut down the park as well. Well, since the mystery event had just happened, they had not had the time to block off every street headed to the falls and customs. We parked and started walking towards the “danger.”
It was around this time me and Jackson became inundated with texts from friends and family asking about our whereabouts, as headlines such as “possible terrorist attack at Niagara Falls border” began to litter national news outlets.
Once we entered the park, however, everything was normal. Tourists were going about their day taking pictures and enjoying the sights and sounds of the falls, and so were we.
After some discussion, even though it was enticing to maybe see some action, me and Jackson did not decide to go any further towards the customs office, as to avoid any possible “terrorist attack” which we were now reading about on our phones.
After taking in everything the Niagara Falls State Park had to offer, we hit the road. It’s safe to say the drive home was less eventful than the one coming up.
Overall, a great trip.
