Reviewed By Sam: August 2016

Fran and I decided to take our two grandsons for a couple of days and visit the Niagara region.

Our main goal was to visit Old Fort Niagara. The Fort is located in Youngstown, New York about 40 minutes away from Niagara Falls.

I had no idea that this fort even existed, and what an important role it played in our history.

This was my second visit to the fort, and I learned more history here than I did from school.

From the 18^th to the 20^th centuries the fort has been occupied by Native American Indians, French, British, and American forces. I can’t even begin to explain the history of Old Fort Niagara, so here is a link to visitor information and what you can expect to learn.

Our trip started off with a morning visit to the Falls, after all, you can’t be in Niagara without stopping to see the wonder of Niagara Falls.

The kids had a great time, and it was Tyler’s first time seeing the falls.

Then it was off to the fort, after you buy your tickets for admission there is a 15-minute video on the history of Old Fort Niagara. This video is recommended and a must-see.

Then it is off the fort grounds. Bobby and Tyler at the entrance of the fort.

This two-story structure built by the French in 1726, was supposed to be a trading post with the Indians.

The Indians later found out out it was built more like a fort.

Inside redoubts, Bobby and Tyler standing next to a canon.

Between 1770 and 1771 the British built the North and South Redoubts. They are both separate buildings and are meant to be forts within a fort.

This British soldier demonstrates how to load and fire a musket.

Did you know? That the British soldier only received one uniform per year and had to wear it every day.

Made from 100% wool, wow! Okay for the winter but the summer months had to be really hot for these guys.

There is a daily demonstration of how a canon was fired on attacking warships from Lake Ontario.

The fort is located on the East bank of the Niagara River, and the mouth of Lake Ontario.

On a clear day, you can see all the way across the lake to the Toronto skyline, and it was a clear day on the day we visited.

The pictures above, known as the Earthworks, were constructed in 1757 through 1759. Designed to protect the fort from landward attacks.

Well, I sure hope you enjoyed our visit to Old Fort Niagara, as you can see it was time well spent with the kids.

More reading you might like about Old Fort Niagara

Siege - 1759: The Campaign Against Niagara

Old Fort Niagara in Four Centuries: A History of Its Development

Forts within a fort: Niagara's redoubts

Old Fort Niagara: An Illustrated History

Our Carved Pumpkins

What are the best Halloween decorations? The answer to that question depends on your personal preference.

I swear every year as I drive around town, I see more and more people decorating for Halloween.

Some of these decorations are to the extreme, and some are so simple. People decorating outside for Halloween is becoming more and more like decorating for Christmas.

Halloween sure is a fun time for kids and adults alike, so why not live it up, enjoy it, and have some fun.

I never decorated too much for Halloween, but I seem to be doing just a little more every year, I think that is because of our grandchildren. They get so excited every year so decorating becomes a family event.

I string orange lights around the front porch, and railings, add some cobwebs to the bushes along with some ghosts on sticks, and of course light up the pumpkins that we carve with our grandchildren.

Then there is my favorite outside decoration that I’ve had for years now. It’s a six-foot airblown inflatable. It’s a Witch Rising out of a Cauldron, and it lights up. This thing has been the best decoration ever we’ve had so many laughs with it.

The kids just love this thing year after year, they all stop and have to walk up to it just to touch it. We even had one neighbor that had to walk his dog on the opposite side of the street, because the dog wouldn’t walk past the witch when we had it turned on.

Then, there is the famous graveyard scene. Turn your yard into a ghoulish and scary graveyard, with tombstones, coffins, mummies, and zombies. I see a lot of yards that are so creative with this, and a lot of them have live zombies on Halloween night.

Decorating inside the house is also so much fun, I’m getting to the point where I have just as many totes in the basement for Halloween as I do for Christmas.

We have our favorite Halloween tablecloth, along with some wall décor like spiders and webs. Then we place some light-up pumpkins around the house.

We make our grandchildren a couple of Halloween gift baskets filled with goodies.

On Halloween night we make our favorite Halloween food for the kids, mummy dogs.

How to make a kids' Halloween Gift Basket.

How to make Mummy Dogs.