Welcome (back) to New York!

Wednesday, June 28, 2006. Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, to Angola, NY. A bright morning greeted us at the Falls, inviting us to proceed on our ride back into the US and towards our intended destination, Evangola State Park, on the shore of Lake Erie. Along the way, we knew, we were going to stop in at the Anchor Bar and Restaurant, birthplace of the Buffalo Wing (making this more of a pilgrimage for me). I also knew where the Post Office was, so we could send some stuff off. What I did NOT know was how close we would be to HSBC Arena, where the NHL's Buffalo Sabres play. Turns out we got to be right in front of it.

One of the men I worked for at PPI back in Lawrenceville, Greg Noah, is from Buffalo, and he and I had a good-natured rivalry comparing the Thrashers and the Sabres. So for his benefit, we got several pictures near the Arena as we approached it along Washington Street. The Sabres lost in the Conference Finals to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions - otherwise, we would have had to ride around the celebratory parades today. As it was, riding through Buffalo was pretty quiet, with only moderate traffic and some pretty wide lanes. I think I might have liked the celebration, though.

Of course, to get there, we had to cross the Peace Bridge. On our maps, we are specifically instructed to use the sidewalk; that worked out well, because we rode right by the long lines of stopped traffic waiting to go through the tollbooths at the other end and be checked in at customs. Our route was a little different; we parked outside the customs building and went inside. The protocol for some of the drivers is a little odd - they have to wait in the waiting room (no chairs) until their name is called and then enter the room where the customs officers are. We just went in. A cursory look at us, a few predictable questions, and we were sent on our way. We then walked our bikes across ALL the tollbooth lanes and out to an intersection across from a gate that was not QUITE closed. The opening between the two gates turned out to be just wide enough for my bike and trailer to go through without touching, but Nancy's trailer touched both gates and she had to pull it through. "Welcome to America, Fatso", it seems to say.

This marks the fourth, and final, time we will enter New York on this trip. First we came in near New York City and went around and up to Poughkeepsie, second we spent a night in Rouses Point, third we entered at Cape Vincent, and now we are entering at Buffalo. Soon, we will leave New York near Erie, PA, not to return on this trip. More on the joys of New York when we leave it for the last time.

So, the Anchor Bar. Before we left, our friend Barb gave us a gift certificate for the Anchor, so we would stop to eat there. It was close to our route, and is apparently a landmark everyone knows about (it's even on the tourist maps they give out in Niagara Falls). I'm a big fan of buffalo wings, so being able to have them at the place they were born is a big deal for me. Of course, they are fabulous; should I have expected anything else? I ordered too much, ate too much, and will probably regret it in the fullness of time. But at lunch, I was very happy.

The path through south Buffalo and Lackawanna is more industrial and less refined, but then, as you get in to central Lackawanna, the Shrine appears. This is the Our Lady of Victory Shrine, an Italian Renaissance-style structure that looms over everything in the vicinity. It was a little out of place, I thought, but we did not go in, so I don't know why it was there. We had realized that the distance we had to cover today was not 40 miles as I had supposed, based on the ACA maps, but more like 55. I found the one distance I had not included hidden on a panel near an edge, cleverly disguised so you think you only have to go 40 miles. So we skipped the shrine.

Later, as we rode along Lakeshore Road, we saw a sign for Greycliff, a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and turned in, thinking we might be able to actually see it; but of course it was too late, and the only way to see it is to pay for the tour, the last of which was at 2 (and it was now 5). So we had to skip that, too.

Then it began to rain. It was just a light drizzle at first, but then it got more steady. The prospects for camping were beginning to be dampened; when we reached a crossroads, where we knew we could go about 5 more miles to the campground or just a mile and a half to Angola. There was a motel option in Angola. The lightning and rapidly forming mammatus clouds (which often portend tornadic activity) prompted us to go into town.

Of course, as so often has happened, as soon as we paid and got settled in with showers and laundry, the weather cleared up. We still expect some storms overnight (Nancy said "it BETTER rain now").

On a side note, many of you are aware that the date we left was the day after I took the PE test in Georgia, the results of which are typically revealed about 10 weeks afterwards. Well, it has been 10 weeks; the results have been mailed and I found out today that I passed. YAY! That's a relief. Now I don't have to go back to Georgia to take the test again.

Also, with the advent of my Dad's full-fledged sonnet (in iambic pentameter, no less), I must admit that none of us have as much time on our hands to come up with such advanced poetry. I must rely on my strengths, which lie in both haiku and rewriting the lyrics to popular songs. So for now, a new haiku:

Three days at the falls have spoiled us to the comforts of nice hotel rooms.