By Emilie Hagen
Niagara Gazette
NIAGARA FALLS —
Diane Buxton has won many things but she says a trip last year to Niagara Falls was her very favorite prize. So this year she brought her family back to appreciate everything she enjoyed.
Recently Buxton was found walking around the Aquarium of Niagara with her grandkids, enjoying the last couple hours of their too-short vacation in Niagara Falls.
“We should be on our way home but we can’t seem to leave,” said Buxton, of Staunton, Va., who had spent the last five days showing off her favorite Falls spots to her family, all first-time visitors.
Last year, she was awarded a vacation package to Niagara Falls from Thompson’s Water Seal, after entering an online giveaway through Women’s Day Magazine. She and her husband Mike enjoyed their stay in the Falls so much they decided to return this August, bringing along their daughter Leslie and two grandchildren Skylar and Oakley.
“We fell in love with it last year,” said Buxton. “You don’t realize how much there is to do until you get here.”
She said the two have jammed a lot of activity into their five-day visit, including trips to Old Fort Niagara, the Carousel Museum, Cave of the Winds and like all Falls tourists, have gotten their ponchos wet on the ferocious Maid of the Mist ... three times. They’ve even enjoyed the local waterfront, taking a spin on a few whirlpool jet boats.
“I wish there were 36 hours in a day,” she joked. “There’s so many things to do.”
Buxton, who especially enjoys the penguins and sea lion show at the Niagara aquarium, has had quite the streak of luck in the past couple years. While her second visit to the area is by choice and not by chance, many other wonderful things have come into her life because of the luck of the draw.
Her hobby is entering sweepstakes and contests and on top of her free Falls getaway package, she has won several other contests, one of which includes an upcoming a trip to California with a walk-on part for a yet unnamed ABC family show. Another contest provided her with a Southwest Airlines trip of choice (where she chose Disneyland). She has also won a $500 gift card to American Airlines and, most recently a genuine NASCAR pitcrew firesuit from Wrigley’s gum worth $2,000. Buxton is waiting for the firesuit to arrive at her front door any day now.
“I really don’t think it’s pure luck,” she said about this continual pattern of victory. “I really think I’m just blessed.”
And even though they’ve been fortunate to travel to a lot of different places, she said Niagara Falls is one of their favorite new spots due to its hospitable natives and exceptional attractions.
“The people here were so nice to us,” she said. “If people don’t come up here to see it, they’re missing out.”
And Buxton isn’t the only one that feels that way.
“My granddaughter asked me if we can stay 10 more days,” she laughed.
Next year she’s hoping to bring her sister and her family here, as well as her mom and step-dad and the rest of her eight grandchildren.
“I hope to get them all there,” she said. “I’m not sure I’ll get them all there at once, but they’ll all get there eventually.”
“The place is amazing,” she said. “We love it.”
