Maiden in the Mist

257 Miles

Although chilly, today was a gorgeous day for riding.  We left our Hollywood Motel early and stopped for breakfast a short bit later.  As we usually breakfast in our motel, the breakfast 'out' was a small treat in what turns out to be a weeklong celebration of C-zuki's birthday. We continued along the Lake Erie coast through three states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.  Rhododendrons love this particular area of the country as they grow large, are plentiful and have generous large colorful blossoms.

By the time we reached Niagara Falls we had warmed up quite a bit and shed some of our layers.  We kept our raingear with us in anticipation of the Maiden in the Mist voyage.  It did not disappoint us.  Wearing blue ponchos courtesy of the park, and looking like a boatful of blue smurfs, we cruised by the American falls, by Bridal Veil falls, and then close to the Horseshoe falls.  The mist is created from the pounding water falling to the pool below, and the spray was hard, as if it was raining. It was truly a wonderful sight to see.  There were numerous international visitors to the falls, and of course, Canada is just a quick walk across the Rainbow Bridge to the other side of the Niagara River.

We had a leisurely lunch in an older hotel, Red Coach Inn in the City of Niagara Falls, where we were waited on by a friendly young man from Romania and a young woman from Russia who were participating in an exchange program. It must be an interesting city to be working in but a very different 'American' experience from what a visitor would have in Nashville.

We then proceeded on our journey, making it just past Rochester.  It is an early stop for today and probably a longer haul for tomorrow as we dodge those prevalent NY state troopers and head for Massachusetts.

6/2/11
400 miles

Today started out chilly but sunny in Muskegon MI. The scenery in MI is very different than what we have been riding through. My first thought as we were riding through MI was “Michigan smells so good!” My second thought was “Maybe Michigan doesn’t smell GOOD, it just doesn’t smell like cow dung like Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin did.” The weather (specifically the lack of wind) and smells continued to be pleasant as we made our way into Ashtabula OH. As you might have guessed, Ashtabula is the home of the longest covered road bridge in the United States. We rode over the bridge and to be honest I was a little disappointed. It was not as long as I thought it was going to be. So, if there is anyone out there that wants to break a record, building a LONGER covered bridge could be the ticket.

The motel in Ashtabula was classic. I mean 1960's classic. It is owned by an older couple that moved from California. Therefore the motel could only be named the Hollywood Motel. Not having internet was kind of nice for the evening, however we did blow a fuse trying to plug in the computer.

(Thanks BMWPop for making me look directly into the sun)

Additionally, we found a dog toy under the bed!

We have mentioned the ridiculously strong winds in previous entries. Below is an example of how crazy strong the winds were in Green Bay Wisconsin. Yes, that is a picture of my broken turn signal. How did it break you ask? Well the wind blew it over while it was parked outside our hotel. Let me repeat... The wind blew over my 500lbs bike while it was parked, sitting on the kickstand! I hated riding in the wind and I hated stopping in it even more.

The worst part? I had JUST fixed that turn signal a few days before we left… Grrrrrr. My handlebar end was also bent to the point that it was catching my throttle and holding it open. Not good. I managed to bend it back enough so that I could still ride it, but I had also just fixed the handlebar end before we left… Grrrrr

Tomorrow we are off to Niagara Falls!