After a comfortable night at the Roadway Inn, I set out this morning under partly cloudy skies and cool temperatures; within a few miles I was passing from northeastern Pennsylvania into western New York. As is often the case, the landscape morphed at the border; the thick tall stands of trees were replaced with vineyards on my right and Lake Erie in the distance down to my left. It was beautiful and the riding conditions were perfect. As I gazed out over the lake, the puffy white clouds set-off against the blue sky as far as I could see and only the horizon limited my view. It was like a backdrop to a Hollywood movie set, with the clouds disappearing into the curvature of the earth. Closer to the lake was warmer and I could tell the marked coolness when the road wound inland. There were sure signs that Fall has begun to hit the northeast as some of the trees were far into turning color and even the vineyards are starting to turn dark greenish-purple as the cool temperature works its magic on the foliage.
I noticed my gas light was on so I pulled over to get fuel for me and my bike at a rest stop. As I walked to the restaurant, a man was standing in front with his Pit Bulldog. I asked if she was friendly and if I could pet her. He assured me she was a pussycat. I offered the back of my hand and it turns out that this pussycat bites. She snapped and growled at me and I recoiled quickly. The man said she has never been aggressive before. The lesson for you Pit Bull aficionados; these dogs are bred to fight and that instinct is innate – pick another breed for your pet. After lunch I visited the tourist information desk and inquired as to how long it would take to detour out to Niagara Falls. She said it’s at least 45 minutes each way, plus time to see the falls. I decided to play it by ear.
When I got to Buffalo, NY there were 3 buffalo grazing by the side of the road. I did a double-take before realizing they were made of bronze. After all, I’ve recently seen a live buffalo wandering down the center stripe of a highway. I noticed that most of the homes in Buffalo are row-houses that all look the same. Most are 30' X 60' rectangles covered in brick or wood siding, topped with a steeply peaked roof. The fancy ones have multiple gables or dormers. When I got to the turn-off for Niagara Falls, the exit was jam-packed and I decided to pass on the falls since I’ve already seen them. As I rambled further north and east, the weather got cooler and I stopped for gas in Syracuse where I met 3 Harley guys from Freeport, Maine who were returning home from a 2-week ride to Sturgis, SC. Two of them were in construction and the other is Freeport’s Fire Chief. I enjoyed a second-hand smoke with them and we chatted for a while about bikes, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the hellish winds of South Dakota.
After stopping to snap a few photos of the sunset, I diligently followed Uncle Ernie’s directions to his home in the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence River. Unfortunately, there were a few typos in his email directions and I ended-up on the wrong one of the Thousand Islands. Fortunately, I called him promptly when I realized the mistake and I was at their home within 20 minutes. We enjoyed a fantastic pasta dinner prepared by Aunt Louise, and had good laughs before watching the Yankees lose to the Rays and the Giant’s beat the Dodgers - Yeah! [actually, only I watched that Giant’s game because I’m still on Pacific Time].
I’m not sure how long I will stay here on the River, but I promise you some great pictures. One of the photos poted here today is some of the trophy fish caught by my cousins here on the St. Lawrence Seawa
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