Day 31 - Erie Canal & Happy Birthday Diane

We went to a neighboring town to check out the Erie Canal Museum.   It turned out to be quite a place.   Filled with very interesting stuff about the canal and pictures.  It also had a lot of things from the late 1800's and early 1900's.  It was great.

One of the things that I liked was full page magazine ads from the Weed Tire Chain Company.  The top half of the ad was a story designed to strike some fear into anyone driving without their tire chains.  I put a couple of them here.  

Then we took a walk through the town and discovered a memorial to 9/11.  Martha is touching a girder from one of the buildings.

There were several plaques, this one among them.

Then we went out to a spot on the Erie Canal.  We found this old passenger barge.  At first I thought it was pretty cool that it was still floating after 100 years.  Then I discovered that it was actually sitting comfortably on the bottom of the canal.  Passengers would ride on the top at tables with umbrellas.  And.....

Down below.  Which was showing its age and neglect.

Most of the canal is no longer in use and only serves as flood control.

At a cost of just over 7 million dollars to build, a fortune back then, tolls brought in 42 million over its 60 years of use until replaced by the New York Canal.   A bigger, deeper canal.

Then we went to the Turning Stone Casino to check it out.  I discovered a '55 Chevy.  Finally a classic car that I could afford and would fit into the garage as it was only about 10" wide.   Then I found out it was a package deal and the lady came with it.  No way could I afford both.

After lunch Martha and I each had a Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae to celebrate Diane Black's Birthday. Happy Birthday Diane!

Now we are searching our calendar and contacts to see if we know anyone who has a birthday tomorrow.   :-)

Day 30 - Verona, New York

A  3 1/2 hour drive today to Verona, New York.   Nothing really here, just half way to our next stop near Boston.  We'll be here tomorrow and head out on Thursday morning.   There is a nice casino and a few spots we will check out tomorrow.  

When Martha was 5 her family crossed the country.   And several times since then.  It took them 4-5 days to make the trip.   When my family moved from Ohio to California when I was 14 it took us five days.  After I graduated from Corona High School, actually just the day after, my family moved back to Ohio, crossing the country in five days again.   I was in Ohio with them for about two months.  Then, at 17 years old, I took my car and headed back to California.  I figured I could do it non-stop in two days, stopping only to close my eyes when absolutely necessary.  I actually remember at one point holding one eye open with my thumb and forefinger while resting the other eye.   You see, I was not only 17, but 17 and stupid.  I had three events take place on the way out to California.  One was in New Mexico.   It was probably around four in the morning and I was exhausted.  My eyes were barely open.  It seemed that I was the only one on the highway.   Sometimes a car would come from the other direction and I'd see the headlights way off in the distance.   Although it was a divided road, as the car drew nearer it seemed to be coming right at me.   I was wondering if somehow I happened to get on to the wrong side of the road.  The closer it got, the more concerned I became.  Even to the point of slowing down.  There was no shoulder and I started wondering where I would go.  I was, remember, 17 and an inexperienced driver.  Finally I could see it was on the other side and breathed a breath of relief.   That actually was not the event I want to tell you about.   Not long after that I was hoping a find a place that was wide enough that I could pull over and rest,  as I was fighting hard to keep my eyes open.  It was pretty dark, so there must not have been much of a moon, if any.  Suddenly!  A tumbleweed that was taller and bigger than my car rolled right in front of me.  I smashed through it busting it into a thousand pieces.  After that happened, I drove about two more hours, my eyes the size of silver dollars.    That was awakening.  Another time, in fact the first time I pulled over to rest my eyes I was in the middle of nowhere.   On the roadside all by itself there was a trucker's bar.  A big gravel lot, cars and semi trucks filled most of it.  My guess is that it was probably one or two am.  I pulled over to the extreme right of the lot away from where everyone else was parked and shut off my car.  I laid down in the front seat and closed my eyes.  I do not know how much time passed before I was awakened by a blinding white light filling the front seat of the car.  Then the blast of a horn from a diesel engine.  A train engine.  Baaaaammmmmmm   Baaaaaammmm   I jumped up scrambling for the keys and steering wheel in a sheer panic.  CRAP!  I must have parked on railroad tracks!  As I frantically scrambled around in the front seat the train began to pass by about three feet in front of the car.  I did not wet my pants but I did get out and stand next to the car and urinate for about ten minutes with my heart pounding out of my chest.  The bar was dark now and I was the only car around.  I was awake enough after that event to continue on my journey.  I did end up arriving in Corona just two and a half days after leaving Ohio.  

So now, Martha and I have nearly traveled across the entire country and we are on day 30.   I highly recommend the 30 day method.  Five days is tiring, and two and a half days insane.  Especially alone and 17 years old.  

So in California alongside the freeways there are rest stops.  On the toll roads here, there are service exits.  You don't exit or re-enter the toll road, just pull into them like the rest stops out West.  The difference is the service stops have several fast food restaurants, gift shops, huge restrooms, and a gas station.  There are signs posted prior to the turnouts to let you know what is available and these service areas are about 30-50 miles apart.  Sometimes there is a McDonalds, sometimes a Burger King, sometimes both.  We even saw one with a Panda Express.   If you know me or have been reading the BLOG you already know which service areas we stop at.  Or maybe since I am doing the driving, the service areas that I choose to attend.

Keep the faith.  Thanks for reading the BLOG.

Day 29 - Toronto? No Rochester and Medina

We decided not to go to Toronto as it was a little over a two hour drive each way and tomorrow we have a five hour drive to Verona, New York.   So we opted to go to Rochester, a little less than an hours drive.   We drove along Lake Ontario.  There are so many beautiful homes and properties on the inlets.  This large 'lake size' inlet has a small canal at the North end that leads onto Lake Ontario.

Rochester is a big city with every fast food and store you can imagine.  It also was home to the closest Starbucks from our trailer.  That fact alone made the trip worth the hours drive.

Along the way there were some homes that were ready for some love and remodel, as well as many that could only be described as pristine.  And nearly every home displayed the American Flag.

These people painted the flag on the rock in front of their house.

Departing Rochester I noticed this Sports dome.  Who needs a waterpark when you can Snow Tube year around.  Pretty unusual, I have never heard or seen one of these.

On the way home we stopped in Medina .  It is a small town about nine miles from our trailer.  These small towns are home to the most beautiful churches.   We checked this one out, St. Mary's Catholic Church.  The pictures just do not come close to justifying how fantastic these are.

The Rectory is equally as wonderful.

Medina was the home to Frances Folsom.  She married President Grover Cleveland.  He entered the White House as a single man, his sister acted as First Lady for three years.  After he met Frances, the daughter of a close friend, they were married in the White House.   He was 49, she was 21.  

This is the home she where she lived with her Grandmother after he father's death.  She attended High School here in Medina and went from Medina to Washington to become First Lady.

We had lunch at this diner.  

It was pretty full when we arrived around 2pm.  I took a few pics just before we left and it had emptied out quite a bit by then.

I had the best hot meatloaf sandwich and mashed potatoes that I have ever eaten.  Wow.   So fantastically delicious!  Martha had a wrap and we shared a piece of homemade Apple pie.  The bill was under $18.  A big change from the $70 lunch we had in Niagara Falls.

Martha spotted this house for sale.  She fell in love.  It is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2500 square foot home on half an acre.  It was built in 1886 and listed for $56,000.  Haunted House anyone?

Medina is a great old city.  Like all the small towns main street is sandwiched by the most wonderful old buildings.

Leaving town we crossed the Erie Canal.

I remember reading about it in school.   Mules would walk the side with ropes stretched to the barges they tarried in tow.  It was very cool to see something that I had studied about on one of the days I actually showed up for school.

While we were there the vertical draw bridge out of town was lifted to allow a small boat to pass below.

Tomorrow we relocate to Verona, New York.  

Day 28 - RV Park

There are lots of cool old vehicles sitting around these farms.  Our friend Bill Gorman would be in heaven checking these out.

Last night when we got back from the Falls there was a fire truck cruising all around the park full of kids.  Later I saw it parked by the office.  They have hay rides here as well and a Sunday morning Pancake Breakfast.  (If a person would get up in time for it)

Today we are not going anywhere.  I washed the truck and cleaned out the interior.  More of a sponge bath and dry off.  Martha did laundry and vacuumed the trailer.  I looked over our reservation list and travel plans and we are doing a little adjusting so that a couple of the 6 hour travel days will not be so long splitting them into two 3 hour days and another camp location.

After our chores we just hung outside for a while.

Late this afternoon it clouded up and we got some thunder showers.  It is all my fault for washing the truck.  We're just hanging inside watching movies.  The trailer has a Direct TV dish and we are getting our money's worth of our HBO subscription.

Tomorrow we are going to go to Toronto.  There is a Ferry boat that goes over to an island and it is supposed to be real nice and give a good view of the Toronto skyline.  

Day 27 - Niagara Falls

We opted to take the back road along Lake Ontario to get to Niagara Falls.  The highways would have been a 40 minute trip, the way we went took 1hr 15 minutes.  It was so beautiful though that it took over two hours with all of our stops.   There are so many beautiful spots to stop and the houses!!!! Wow.  Farms and pastures, woods, and cornfields.  Every house looks like there is a story to it.  Stone, brick, wood, cobblestone, you name it.  A very enjoyable drive to the Falls.

We went first to the Canadian side and had lunch as soon as we arrived and got a great table right overlooking the Horseshoe Falls.  We both got a Caesar Salad and split a hamburger plate.  And a beer.  $70 with the tip.  Nice spot though.

We didn't ride the 'Maid Of The Mist' boat that you see below.  We had both done it as kids years ago.  And after paying for lunch, well.......

This panorama pic shows both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls

From the American side on top of the Falls the mist rises like a cloud.

We were at the Falls for about four hours.  Lots of pictures.  Great fun.  Then we stopped at the The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima on our way home.  Every Saint has a statue here.  This pool is heart shaped.  They were having Mass at 4:00 so we stayed for that.  Now we can sleep in tomorrow morning.

There was a nice Lakeside Lake Ontario village that we stopped off to explore.

Martha has trouble deciding if there was something that she needed to buy.

Of course, it didn't take me long to make a selection.

Then doubts arose when I noticed the Ferrari.  I do like Italian food..... hmm.....

Throughout the trip there were several 'Boot Hill' small graveyards.  We pulled off the road and checked this one out.

Some of the headstones had fallen to the ground.  This one from 1853.  More than half were so weathered with time that they were unreadable.

This stone, still standing, from 1869.

We haven't made a plan yet for tomorrow.  We may do nothing or go to Toronto and check it out.  

We had a really great day today and "thanks" for tuning in!