Day #46 Tuesday September 25, 2007

Day #46
Tuesday September 25, 2007

Grand Island, NY to Grand Island, NY (again)
69 miles today (23,729 - 23,798)
9,231 miles total

0 new states today (into Ontario, CN again)
25 states total

The temperature is MUCH warmer this AM and it is really humid.
There is a heavy overcast, and some big, puffy clouds.
Not being able to connect to the internet makes checking the forecast difficult.

I finally made the decision about 10AM to move indoors tonight (to a Kabin)
after a neighboring camper shared the forecast of RAIN for tonight and tomorrow. I packed up, moved to the Kabin and headed to the showers. The humidity was so bad I was “sweating bullets!”

I had firmed up the plans to meet with Jake and Cathy, the attorney and his wife,
in a little town in Canada called Niagra on the Lake. It sits on Lake Ontario at the confluence of the Niagra River and Lake Ontario. I got there an hour before time just to give myself plenty of time to cross the border (no problems this time!), find the place, and look around some. The town was small and had some fantastic architecture. The old pharmacy building that operated until the mid 1970’s was the oldest operating pharmacy in Canada. The streets were lined with all kinds of ornate flowers and trees. Everything seemed to be in bloom, even at this time of year. I made several pictures. This was not your usual “tourist trap” as all the goods I saw seemed to high end, not just high priced for the tourists.

We had a good visit at lunch. Keep in mind, I was a stranger to them, and they just took interest in my trip after seeing my “27 days” license plate in Marquette, MI. They have been all over the world, and were preparing to leave for Europe in just a few days. Afterwards, Jake led me out into the countryside near his hometown to observe the 7 locks between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The security is much more lax in Canada than in the US. While in KY, I went by the locks at KY dam. You cannot even pull off the highway into the old visitor’s center parking lot. The fence keeping you out comes out to the curb of the main road. In Canada, we were able to look through a fence, but right at the edge of the locks. I got a great view of 2 different ships passing through 2 different locks.
The kindness of strangers...amazing! Their actions encouraged me to go out of my way to show some kindness to someone I don’t know. I’ll know that opportunity when it comes, I’m sure.

When I got back to camp, I prepared a fire in the firering and reviewed my routes for the next days travel. I called my wife, and within 2-3 minutes of finishing that call, the rain came. It came down HARD and rained most of the night. I was SO GLAD I was not in my tent. All of it was put away dry and would remain that way. My back is still aching, but it was a great day.