Museum aboard a ship: USS Intrepid

A visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum last weekend was like a dream coming true. Aboard a USS Intrepid Aircraft Carrier, this museum took us back in history. When we entered the Hanger 1 after taking our tickets, a big movie screen displayed the story of Intrepid. 

USS Intrepid- It was built during World War II, for the U.S. Navy. And during the war on 16th April, 1945, a Japanese aircraft dived into Intrepid's flight deck killing 8 and wounding 21 people. Not just this, Intrepid has survived five kamikaze attacks, several bomb attacks and one torpedo strike. It has made seven trips around the globe surviving two wars (that's exemplary).

                                                                                    The 'Intrepid'

The Hanger Deck, was the first exhibit - after watching the story of interpid, we went to see the anchor chain room. There were many interesting exhibits like TBM-3 Avenger Airplane, FJ-3 Fury Airplane, Heroic Journey Exhibit, A-4 Skyhawk Airplane and HUP-2 Retriever Helicopter and XD Theater. The XD Theater was the most awesome part of the visit, a 4D extreme experience for 10 mins, where we sat on our seats, put on our 3D glasses, tightened the seat belts and zoomed into a crazy ride through space, it was unbelievable - a mix of high speed, extreme turns and free falls. 

Next was the Flight Deck, from where the aircrafts used to take off. And here was also the huge collection of aircrafts from around the world. The A-12 Blackbird spy plane, F-14 Tomcat, F11F Tiger, F3D-2 Skynight and MiG-21- fabulous collection. And we also got to see the Navigation Bridge where the Captain used to sit and navigate the ship. We clicked lots of pictures. After the flight deck, we went to the third deck- where the crew of intrepid used to eat and sleep. The berthing areas, the 1960 mess and officers quarters- it felt like walking through history.

                                                                          A-12 Blackbird 

From there, we went to the cafe and had some delicious food in the mess lookalike sitting area. The next was the Pier 86- where the British Airways Concorde stood majestically. We got to see the insides of this record-breaking Concorde and the Growler Submarine - the only strategic missile open to public. And then it was time for some souveneirs - we picked up some intrepid coins and badges.

In all, the experience was unbelievable, truly an experience of a lifetime. 

Magical: Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world and also one of the places we wanted to visit for so long. After the thousand island cruise, we left for Rochester, which is almost 1.5 hours from there. We checked in hotel Rochester Plaza for the night.

It was our second wedding anniversary next day. In the morning, we got ready early and left for Niagara around 7 in the morning. We were there at 9, with a breakfast stop in between. We went in for the IMAX movie on Niagara history. It was an hour long movie, from here we went to the ticket window to get the tickets for 'Maid of the Mist' ride. Then as it was the long weekend, so lots of people, we had to get in a line on the observation deck. Finally we got our blue coats and got on the ship. And the magical time began right then.

We got the corner place to stand on the cruise, as you get the best views of the falls. And in minutes, we were surrounded by clouds of mist, it was so perfect. As we drew closer to the American Falls, it felt like water was falling on us, we had to struggle to keep our eyes open to soak in the beauty of the majestic Niagara. It was surely the most beautiful sight, i had ever imagined. The next was the Horseshoe Falls, it seemed like water was everywhere, dense mist but ya, again a breathtaking site. Then cruise took a U-turn and we started moving away, it was so sad to go away from those beautiful moments so soon.

                                                                                  American Falls

We got off and went to the stairs, to get closer to the falls again. People in blue coats were everywhere climbing the stairs to see the falls closely, we also went to the top to soak in some more of Niagara mist. We spent some time there and then went back to the observation deck and clicked pictures, which we couldn't do all this time.

                                                                                   Horseshoe Falls

From there, we went to the State Park, and enjoyed the views. And also went to the souvenir shop and picked up some stuff. And then it was time for some food, we went to the food court close-by and enjoyed a good Indian meal. Then it was time to go back. The trip was amazing and went on smoothly. 

Journey: To the Thousand Islands

Our Wedding Anniversary trip to Thousand Islands and Niagara Falls was truly magical. As planned we left around 8 in the morning from 87, Bowery Street and with numerous stops on the way, reached our destination around 5 in the evening. It was almost like travelling from one corner of New York to another. After reaching there, we took the cruise tickets and sailed on to see the breathtaking view of the islands in St. Lawrence river.

Thousand Islands - A total of 1863 islands of all sizes lay calmly in the St. Lawrence River on the U.S.-Canada border, stretching almost 80 kms from Kingston, Ontario. The view from the cruise was amazing, it seemed almost like beautiful floating islands in the water. Some of the islands are owned by the rich and they have built their summer mansions there. Some of the famous homes are the Boldt Castle and the Singer Castle. The Boldt Castle has a sad love story behind it; it was built by the George Boldt (owner of Waldorf-Astoria hotels in NY) in 1900 for his wife but when his wife died in 1904, the construction was stopped in between and the castle was left just like that for 73 years. Now it has become the most famous attraction for visitors.

                                                                 Boldt Castle, Heart Island


There were many other beautiful houses too and some of them were built on very small islands, making it look like a house on water, open the door and step into water. It took us an hour to finish the complete tour of the islands and at 6:30, we went to the local market and bought souvenirs. Definitely, Thousand Islands is one of the best places to see in the world. From here, we left for Rochester - our next destination.

                                                                    House on Water