Water Water Everywhere and I Really Have to Pee!

Mary Anne:

Today we went and saw the amazing Niagara Falls. As we were driving there I drank a lot of water, so that by the time we got there I had to go to the bathroom. I informed my Mom that I had to go, but she just said; “Wait until we get there, please.”

We walked from the parking lot all the way to the Niagara Falls viewing point, stopping along the way to take a picture at the sign that said “Niagara Falls”. We stood at the overlook and gazed at the rushing water that tumbled down the rocky cliff and the colorful rainbows that danced off the water in the sunlight. By now I really had to go to the bathroom. I asked Mom if there was a bathroom nearby. She nodded and said we could take a bathroom break soon.

As we were walking around we saw a booth that said it was selling tickets for the Maid of the Mist, which is a boat that goes near the waterfall and let’s people see the waterfall up close and get soaked in the mist. We bought tickets, and then for some reason (unknown to me at the time) Abba and Caleb disappeared and the rest of us just stood around in the blazing sun waiting for them to get back. When they got back, Mom looked at her watch and saw that we had less than ten minutes to go down the elevator, walk the long way to the boat, get our ponchos on and board the ship before it left. “But Mom,” I reminded her, “I really have to go potty!” Mom looked confused and a bit irritated. “Um, Mary Anne, that’s what Caleb and Abba have been doing this whole time! But there is a bathroom near the boat, so if we hurry you can stop by quickly.”

We ran to the elevator and went down. The doors opened, and everyone hopped off. I was in charge of Katie Marie, so I grabbed onto her stroller and started to push it out the door. But it wouldn’t move, as the wheels were turned different ways. I fixed the wheels, and started to push it out the door. But the doors suddenly slammed shut. I pushed the open door button. Nothing happened. I pushed it again. Still nothing happened. The elevator started going down again. Katie Marie started crying, because we were still on the elevator and neither of our parents was with us. I tried to comfort her, telling her that when we got down to the floor, we’d just go back up again. Katie Marie still kept right on sobbing. When we got to the bottom, a group of Hindu people got on. The stared queerly at Katie Marie and me, and after a while, one of the girls asked in halting English, “Why is she crying?” “Oh. The elevator doors closed before we could get off”, I explained. “We’ll just get off when it comes to the top.” I don’t think they quite understood me though, as they kept giving each other confused glances. I felt uncomfortable, all cramped in a small elevator with strange people, and trying to keep Katie Marie quiet and my pants dry at the same time.

We finally reached the top, where I hurried out with Katie Marie and found my family right away. “Hurry!” Abba shouted. “The boat is leaving right now!” As I ran past the bathroom I glanced at it longingly and hoped there was a bathroom aboard the boat. I grabbed a rain jacket and leaped on the ship just as it was sailing away. After I finished struggling into the plastic blue rain jacket I searched for a bathroom. But sadly there was none on the boat. Trying to forget about it, I made my way up to the top deck just in time to get sprayed by the mist.

As we got closer to the falls, I ended up getting soaked, despite the fact that I had the rain jacket on. I stood there in the falling mist and listened to the rushing waves below me, the roaring falls in front of me, and the trickle of water dripping off my plastic poncho, trying to forget about my urgent need for a bathroom.

Despite the fact that I almost wet my pants, I still enjoyed the ride tremendously. As the boat pulled back into harbor I practically leapt off onto the dock in my hurry to the bathroom. And I’m proud to say I made it just in time!