Pultneyville, NY - Wednesday, August 9

Bad news. I lost my little notebook where I have been keeping my diary. I left it in a restaurant in Ontario, but I don't remember the name of the restaurant, so I can't get it back. I bought a new notebook in Fort Erie, so I'll pick up from there.

Some of the things that stand out in my mind:
. After taking a ferry from Michigan to Ontario, we hugged Lake Erie all the way to Niagara Falls.
. The windmills (hundreds of them in east central Ontario).
. Hugh power plant in eastern Ontario.
. Lots of tobacco being grown in central Ontario, and lots of tobacco kilns for drying it. Not like in the US.
. We had supper in the rain - our most difficult meal of the trip.
. It had been hot for a couple of weeks, and we really enjoyed the cool breeze off of Lake Erie
. We spent one night in a motel, because there were no campgrounds around.


Fort Erie, ON - Saturday, August 5
Camped at a nice KOA. I received a 'gift' of a big white rabbit/teddy bear named fluffy. We seem to have started a game of trying to give fluffy to someone who is not looking: the person holding it has to haul it to the next campsite.

We followed a bike/ped trail for many miles today.

Niagara Falls, ON - Sunday and Monday, August 6 & 7
Camped at a noisy campground, after riding only about 15 miles from our last campground. We had thought we were going to be in the US today, and were surprised that the campground was actually in Canada. It is a national holiday in Canada, and the campground is crowded.

We had lots of time for sight seeing, so we found a good Indian restaurant and ate lunch there both days. We also took a tour in the Maid Of The Mist: these are the boats that take people right up to the base of the falls. I was surprised at how windy and choppy the water was. I would recommend this tour to any one visiting Niagara Falls.

Now that we are about 2/3 finished with the trip, we have new cooking partners. Andy & I, Cal & Hans, and Linda & Anne.

Holly, NY - Tuesday, August 8
Back in the US today; 71 miles. It was a really pretty ride up the Niagara Parkway to the bridge into New York. We rode nearly all the way on the Erie Canal towpath. The towpath is a screened limestone path, of course with no traffic.

On the way here, I stopped at a library and was able to find specifics on shuttles from Bar Harbor to Bangor, and flights from Bangor to South Bend. We are 99.44% certain that we will be arriving at Bar Harbor one day early.

It got very cool in the evening, and I put a long sleeved shirt on for the first time in weeks. Beautiful weather! Full moon that rose just as we were finishing supper. We can tell the days are getting shorter, as we are usually finishing up supper just before dark.

The campground is at a marina of sorts. There is a place for pleasure boats to dock as people go up and down the canal. Very nice facilities for camping.

Pultneyville, NY - Wednesday, August 9

We camped at Hughes Marina & Campground: this was the worst evening of our trip. Hughes was a run down marina/campground on Lake Ontario. We camped in goose poop. The water faucet was far away, we had no picnic table, we washed dishes and I pitched my tent in the dark (on goose you-know-what). Oh well - that's the adventure in Adventure Cycling.

Other than the camping, it was a glorious day.