Niagara Falls, Not Quite

Tuesday we saw Ohio in our rear view mirror after almost three really nice weeks of touring three different areas of the state. New York here we come...

Our first stop in New York was at the Welcome Center off I-86. It sits on a hill looking down at Lake Chautauqua - a very large lake. This has to be one of the most beautiful Welcome Centers we have ever stopped at. Beautiful views of the lake, lots and lots of rose bushes in the front of the building and the center itself is huge. Pictures are posted at Picasa.

We continued on toward Lockport and the RPI (Resort Parks International) campground Niagara's Lazy Lakes via mostly two lane highway that was good road with shoulder. I preferred it to the interstate around Buffalo that was just crazy busy!!! We had to do a few miles of it and that was enough - I'll avoid it as much as possible while in the area.

After about 20 miles on more two lane highway we arrived at the campground. Our friends, Nancy and Jake were already here and didn't expect to see us as we were arriving a day ahead of our schedule, so it was fun surprising them. It was also nice seeing them again for a couple of days as now we don't know when we'll see each other again as they will be going on up to the New England states and we will head to Pennsylvania next Monday.

Yesterday we drove back to Buffalo to pick up Suze at the airport. Yep, I took the back roads, not the interstate - HAH! It was a nice ride and we had no problems finding the airport, a close parking spot and the terminal. After a short wait which we spend watching people go through security, Suze arrived and back to the campground we headed with a couple of stops including a hardware store and a grocery store.

We gave her about a hour to rest up and left for a ride on the Erie Canal at Lockport.

This was a very nice boat ride that lasted about a hour and a half. We actually went through two locks, number 34 & 35, saw the "Flight of Five" locks which are now a waterfall, passed under several bridges including the largest single span bridge in the US, the upside down train bridge, and two lift bridges. It was very interesting hearing the story of how the canal was built and how much time it saved the travelers back in days past. The story of the canal can be found at www.eriecanal.org

After the boat trip we had dinner at a real Italian restaurant in Lockport, De Flippo's. I highly recommend it. It is a three generation restaurant in what was the family home. Delicious!!

We returned home tired but spent some time sitting out and talking with Jake and Nancy - they leave in the morning. Safe travels to them!

Still ahead is Niagara Falls, both the American and Canadian side, so check back soon.

Pictures are at Picasa...