It was slightly overcast when we left the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls and headed over the Rainbow Bridge to the U.S. When we got to the customs booth, the agent was friendly, after checking out our license plates, asked about our trip, said to remember there's a lot to see in the United States also, and sent us on our way. Nice fella.

We hooked a right turn right outside the customs booth and quickly found Niagara Falls Park. I was a little annoyed by the $10 parking fee since I had been roaming all over the Canadian side without paying for anything. Actually, to be fair, I had left my bike at the motel and taken the free shuttle so I don't know if I would have had to pay to park or not. At any rate, the park was very nice, more natural and green than the Canadian side. We went to the visitor's center and then out to take pictures.

There is a little "fountain" in front of the Visitor's Center (photo 1). As you can see, the water makes an arch over the sidewalk. By the time we got back from viewing the falls, people were lined up to take pictures of them standing under the water. Silly me, I didn't even think of it.
Of course there are lots of little gimmicks to get your money. You can walk down to the base of the falls for $20+ and they will sell you a cheap piece of plastic so you don't get too wet (photo 2).

The view from the American side is not quite as nice as it is from the Canadian side but, hey, we're talking the Niagara Falls here, is there really a bad shot of this thing? (photos 3, 4, 5) Besides, if you really want to see both views, it's a short drive across the border. Our stay on the American side was quieter and had a more restful park like setting (photo 6). There were fewer people crowding the walkways, although I bet that isn't always the case, and we felt less stress. I enjoyed the slower pace of the morning on the American side. Also, the Canadian town of Niagara is almost tacky with the entire over development. I definitely enjoyed the American side better even if it didn't have the best views.

We left the American Falls behind and headed south and then east. We took I -109 south to connect up with I -209 east. These are freeways and crowded. Also, New York has several toll bridges or roads in this area. To add insult to injury, it started to rain again and I wasn't yet dressed for it. We pulled over at a rest area, conveniently located close to where the rain started, to put on my rain gear and met a couple on a Harley doing the same thing.

Once we had the rain gear on, it was just a matter of riding and waiting for the rain to stop. Of course, when we came to a tollbooth Linda had to dig my wallet out of my back pocket and my rain gear made that a tight proposition. Shouldn't our gas taxes take care of these things without us having to cough up a couple of dollars every time we need to go somewhere? We finally reached I-90 east and it turned out to be a toll road also. I got off at the first exit and they actually charged us fifteen cents for the privilege of using their freeway.

We moved over to local roads, SR 78 south, until we reached SR 20 east. We would stay on SR 20 for almost half the state. I believe this part of New York is called "upstate" New York. It's really quite nice. Small farms surrounded by trees on a terrain of small rolling hills. It was an enjoyable ride and the time went quickly. I assume that all of you understand that when you take these little back roads that you're not going to make very good time. You have to slow down when you come to every little bump in the road, all of them. The good part of that is you get to see small town America the way it used to be for most of the country's population. So many of us now live in big cities that we start to think that's what everybody does. I'm here to tell you that a lot of American still enjoys living a slower pace in quiet places out in the middle of trees and grass and natures bounty.

A couple of years ago, Linda and I spent a week in New York City. It was loud, and busy, and full of energy and tense. Out here in the middle of the state of New York, I saw a different side of the state. I would be willing to bet that if you say the words New York to a 100 different people, the vast majority of them will think of New York City. I hope the next time I here those words, I'll think of SR 20 or SR14 instead.

When we got to Lake Geneva, we turned south on SR 14, which would take us all the way to Pennsylvania. Lake Geneva sits on the north end of the lake and occupies an older community of very nice, upscale, older homes right on the lake (photos 7, 8, 9). Lake Geneva actually hosts a good number of small communities that are supported by the attraction of the lake. As the Goldwing headed south, we kept sneaking peeks at the lake on our left and saying, "I could live here."

We enjoyed the ride and felt glad to be away from freeways and freeway traffic. Several hours passed and Linda and I rode for many miles without talking, just taking in the scenery and the ride. Just before we got to Horseheads, NY, it started to rain. We ducked into a Holiday Inn got out of the rain, did some laundry, and just relaxed a bit.

We met two couples on Harley's and one of them, Larry, had ridden from Maryland to California and back with his 12-year-old son on the back. That should set the hook into the young man for biking, wouldn't you say.

Overall, it was a good day. Little did we now that tomorrow would be even better. Unfortunately, we are at the point where we will have to make some tough decisions. We will soon pass the 6000-mile mark and we're not at the halfway point yet. We will have to cut out some of the side trips if we're going to be able to visit friends and family and still get back to California by the end of August. I thought being retired meant never saying, "I don' have time!" Oh well….

Today's Route: I-190S to I-290E, then I-90E to SR-78S. SR-78 to SR-20E and SR-14S