Tuesday, June 23— Liverpool, NY to London, ON

The morning forecast called for rain through 10:00 am, and then cloudy skies for the rest of the day. I’d rather ride into the setting sun than in the rain, so I caught up on writing this morning and waited until the sun came out. I headed west on I90, the New York State Throughway, for about two hours. It was the longest, straightest stretch of road I’ve travelled in a while.

I eventually crossed the border into Canada and headed south on the Niagara Parkway. I stopped at the north American Falls area and tried to pay the fee at a parking stand. It would only take C$5 in coins, which I didn’t have, or a credit card, which it wouldn’t process. I ran a cross the road and took a few pictures, then considered leaving. Something made me think twice about that, and I headed further south to consider my options. I found a parking lot just south of the southern, Horseshoe Falls and paid C$20 to stick around for a while longer. It was well worth it!

Richard

I quickly met Richard, a photographer from West Palm Beach. He used to live nearby in Buffalo, and was very familiar with the Niagara Falls area. He gave me a few tips on seeing what was most important, and I executed all two within two hours.

1. Tour the museum. It has lots of examples of barrels people have used to try to protect themselves while falling over the falls.
2. See the Whirlpool Rapids.
3. Take time to go ride through Niagara-on-the-Lake.
4. Eat at a Swiss Chalet restaurant.

Shipwreck. Marilyn Monroe shot a movie here, and actually got into the water near the shipwreck.

Looking to the southeast: American Falls on the left, Horseshoe Falls on the right

Whirlpool Rapids

I left Niagara Falls and stopped at the whirlpool. Then I headed north to Niagara-on-the-Lake. It is a small, elegantly touristy, charming town that I know Lisa would love. I stopped and had a Starbucks fix and watched the locals and tourists walk by.

One of the benefits of the detour to Niagara-on-the-Lake was that it forced a casual drive west along Lake Ontario. I could see the Toronto skyline across the lake to the north. I hit commute traffic on Red Hill Valley Parkway. The speed of traffic increased as we approached highway 403, and I moved to the left lane to let traffic enter the highway. A young man decided to skip the right lane fro the entering lane and jump into the left lane I was occupying. Fortunately, I was watching his movements as he circled the on ramp, so I was prepared to float onto the left shoulder. This was the second time a young man has taken my lane. The first was somewhere in New England.

I also had an incident on the second day with a fifth-wheel trailer. The driver must have been in a big hurry as he was cutting corners on a very windy road, and failed to notice that the trailer he was pulling was dragging in my lane. I had to push hard to the right to avoid him.

Route:                    I90W, 62, 182, 265, I190, 102, Niagara Parkway, 87, 42, QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way), Red Hill Valley Parkway, 403, 401
Kms Today:           512
Time Today:         9:20
Total Trip Kms:    12,372
Weather:               Overcast in mid 70s to sunny in low 80s to cloudy in high 60s
Lunch:                   Tim Horton’s
Lodging:                B/W+ Lamplighter Inn
Dinner:                   Shelly’s Tap & Grill