Summer 2011

Day one is always a long and tiring day and this one continued that pattern. We got up early, around 4:45am, so that we could get up to the trailer, get the refrigerator running and head for the day's destination. Today was a little shorter run than most first days, so it was just a little easier.

When we left home the clouds were fairly thick and we expected that we might get some showers. As we proceeded northwest towards our destination, Niagara Fall, Ontario, the clouds thinned out and the temperatures rose to around 80 degrees F, when reached the campground. The trip took us up NY Route 17 (as the signs say future I-86... I have seen those signs for 20 years and some sections now meet Interstate standards). We then took I-390 to the New York State Thruway to Buffalo and across the Peace Bridge into Ontario. The days run was, thankfully, uneventful. May the rest of the days be equally uneventful.

So why did we choose Niagara Falls, Canada as our first day destination? Our first stop with any meaning other than getting out of New York is Grawn, MI (near Traverse City), where we are going to meet friends we met in Florida this past winter. Believe it or not, the shortest route to that part of Michigan is through Niagara Falls and a section of Ontario. Since we have to go this way, why not stop at the Falls? My first trip to Niagara Falls was when I was 16. I went to Buffalo for youth group convention in late December (why not Florida, I asked). As part of the convention we took a tour of the Canadian side of the falls. The ice must have been 40 feet deep at the base of the Falls and the mist froze on to the railings adjacent to the Falls. I can say that it was beautiful, but I would have preferred a beach. Susie had not been to the Falls until the late 90's when she attended a conference in Rochester, NY. Since were this close, we decided to make a quick run to the Canadian side of the Falls. We did not go on the Maid of the Mist nor any of the other touristy attractions. We plan to spend the day tomorrow doing those things we did not do 10+ years ago.