Lake Erie and Niagara Falls

Aug 16th

Our hosts Bill and Dee invited us for coffee this morning. When we arrived, Dee had coffee and blueberry/zucchini bread waiting for us. It was delicious. We bought several jars of jam and some pancake mix from them. They also make and sell maple syrup, but we already have too much of that. Back at the trailer, I made blueberry pancakes with the blueberries Mia picked, and we ate them with the blueberry jam that we just bought. Heavenly! We would have loved to stay longer, but we have reservations near Niagara Falls tonight, and along the way we need to swim in Lake Erie. Our hosts had recommended Presque Isle State Park in Pennsylvania, so we stopped there on our way through PA. Presque Isle is just a strip of land stretching into Lake Erie. There are beaches on both sides with bike paths, lifeguards and showers. Today was overcast and rainy. I can only imagine how crowded these miles of beaches are when it is hot. We stopped at beach #6, put our suits on and went swimming. The water was actually not that cold. Four lakes down and one to go. On our way to the campground, we drove through Buffalo, NY, and along the Canadian border. Four Mile Creek State Park is right on Lake Ontario. This evening after we arrived, I walked down to the lake and could see the Toronto skyline in the distance.

Aug 17th

After traveling for the last three days, it was nice not to have to move. We slept in and had a leisurely morning. In the afternoon we drove to the neighboring state park, Wilson Tuscarora, to Swim in Lake Ontario. Mission completed. We have had a swim in all five great lakes. Lake Ontario had a lot of seaweed (or lakeweed) but other than that it was refreshing. We met several people at our campground. They are very amazed to see people from California camping in New York.

Aug 18th

We drove to Niagara State Park this morning. The park is beautiful and runs along the Niagara River, with trails to different attractions. Mia was stunned by the size of the falls. You could see people on the Canadian side, and we waved to them, but I don’t think they saw us. We bought tickets for the Cave of the Winds tour. There was a brief movie telling you about the Falls, and then we took an elevator down to the bottom of the falls. They give you a rain poncho and flip-flops, and you walk out onto platforms at the base of the falls. One of the platforms is called the “hurricane zone”, because the water creates this intense wind as it falls from the top. If not for the ponchos, we would have been soaking wet. As it was, we were just “very” wet. Across the street from the park, the street is lined with restaurants and food trucks. We bought food from several different vendors and sat in the park for lunch. After lunch, Mia used her allowance and bought us all ice cream. Apparently, Tues-Thurs are the slow days, so there weren’t that many people at the Falls. We came back to the campground, rested a bit and then hiked around the whole park. It was a good day.

Aug 19th

We are staying at another harvest host tonight. Weaver View Farm is a Mennonite farm that sells quilts, jams, art, breads and many other things, made by the local Amish and Mennonites. The farm is on a hill overlooking Lake Seneca, one of the Finger Lakes, and the views are spectacular. Our hosts are very nice, and we bought some apple butter, soaps and salad dressings from their store. We are still battling our nemeses, the humidity and bugs. It is 82 degrees, but the humidity is about 90%. It should be a peaceful night though. Our hosts closed their farm store and rode away on their horse and buggy, leaving us alone on the farm.