Belated birthday blog

I realized with a start the other day that I never blogged about my 40th birthday trip to Niagara Falls. I had been so busy with work around that time that I just wasn't blogging much, period. So I hope ya'll don't mind if I go back a couple months and share my story. Lots of pictures, so bear with me!

I felt like I wanted to celebrate with a little side trip because well, one only turns 40 once. Plus, it had been a year since I started this blog, this weight-loss journey and the road to a new me. And largely, I have been successful in what I set out to do a year ago. At first, the idea was to head to Nashville and invite some friends to a big celebration at a club or something. Well, the economy said 'bitch, you crazy' so Erich and I opted for a weekend jaunt to nearby Niagara Falls. We really couldn't even afford that but hey, I deserved to do something a little special. And I looooove Niagara Falls. Seriously - I love all the touristy stuff and I try to get down there once a year.

It had been several years since we've been there in winter. Niagara is gorgeous that time of year with ice everywhere. And you'd be surprised how popular it is in the cold! There were lots of other people milling around. I reserved the honeymoon suite in a budget hotel right on Clifton Hill, aka Niagara's 'strip', the main drag of the tourist section of town.

There was a heart-shaped hot tub in the room. I looked at the pictures of it online and said to Erich 'You think we can both fit in that thing?' He just smiled. He does a lot of that lately, which I interpret to mean 'My silly wife forgets she's half the size she used to be.' He answered 'I think we'll be ok.'

It was FREEZING cold that day, of course. The weather wasn't bad all week long but as soon as we headed out of town, it got bitterly cold and windy. There is a lot of walking to do in Niagara Falls but for the first time, I was more concerned about being cold than being able to walk. I dug out some long johns that I hadn't worn in I don't know how long!

As soon as we got to the hotel and checked in, we took off outside. Our hotel was centrally located on the strip with the American Falls directly at the bottom of the hill. So we walked down to take a look and just kept walking all the way to the Horseshoe Falls, which, if any of you have ever been there, you know that's a pretty long way to go. We went inside a large restaurant/gift shop called the Table Rock at the base of the Horseshoe Falls and looked around then walked back to the hotel. All without stopping. Erich commented that he was surprised I could do that and he expected me to ask to sit down once we got to Table Rock Point. But it never occurred to me to sit down. Not even once.

Here's a map that kinda shows the route we took, for those who've never been. You can see Clifton Hill near the top center and the Horseshoe Falls, Table Rock Point at the bottom. As always, click to enlarge:

As I said, the Falls are gorgeous in winter. The ice on the trees is so cool and the Niagara River looks like a giant slushie. Here are a few pictures:









And here's a picture of what I looked like the LAST time I was there in winter:

Amazing stuff. Now you can understand why I wanted to go back! LOL!

When we got back to the room, I put on a tiara and Erich took some photos of me. You see, my good friend Mindy has taught me that every now and then a girl needs a tiara. I couldn't think of a better time than my 40th birthday. LOL! Also, shooting these pics proved to me that my ass could, indeed, fit into the top of the heart in the tub. Erich and I had no problems.





Since losing the weight, I have tried to deliberately move out of my comfort zone and do things I wouldn't have done before. Heights are a huge issue for me as are things that might fall or break away with me. You know, like rides or stuff like that. I tend to think I'm going to break anything that is required to bear my body weight. And if I'm dangling in the air, that makes the fear even worse. But there's a new attraction on Clifton Hill and the more I looked at it during our day out, the more I wanted to experience it because it scared me. The old me. The new me would kick its ass, right?

It's called the Skywheel:

So we bought tickets and I started to freak out right as soon as the ride started. More than I even thought I might. Oh, I tried not to scream and carry on but those of you who know me know I don't do silent suffering very well. I swear as the thing took off and we went higher and higher, I could feel my heart pounding right out of my chest. I was scared to death to move lest my weight cause this 'pod' we were in to plummet to the earth. But I tried to put on a smile. Uh, yeah. Here's my 'oh, I'm ok...I swear I'm ok' photo.



Some pics from the ride, including one of me when I had started to calm down a bit - about 3/4 of the way through the ride I began to enjoy it.





A couple shots from our hotel balcony:



The next day, we went walking all over the place again, then headed home to go out to dinner with my in-laws. Before that, though, Erich gave me his gift.

I have been freezing to death all winter. I was always hot-natured before and while I understand that losing weight removed a lot of the insulation I had going on, I've also been told that the being-cold thing is simply a side effect from gastric bypass surgery itself. Whatever caused it, I am no longer a hot-natured person. At all. So my husband bought me a fireplace. LOL! He also bought me that shirt I have on, while we were in Niagara Falls. It's a 2x and I was worried I wouldn't fit into it but there was no problem.



We went out to dinner and Erich bought me a piece of sugar-free cherry cake from another restaurant so I could have a semblance of a birthday cake when we got back to my mother-in-law's house. It's damn good!



So all in all, it was a GREAT birthday, a great weekend. Turning 40 may suck but the alternative, which I almost had, is much suckier. I plan to be here another 40 years, dude.