 | July 30 - August 7 - Ontario |
Wednesday, June 30th started with rain and a thunderstorm, so we made it out of town very late. We took the ferry across the St. Clair River into Canada.
Ferry to Canada
The
first thing we discovered, was the more "European Style" (stronger) coffee than
that in the US. In nearby Wallaceburg it took the
Royal Bank of Canada 20 minutes to give me "cash advance" from my
credit card. It ended up with the old style (Ritsch-Ratsch) over the card! In the evening we met up with Cindy and Joe, who planned to
take the same route we did until Palmyra, NY.
| Cindy and Joe Basta |
| Canadian countryside |
| Camping with Cindy and Joe |
Next day we started earlier than C&J, but we met each other on the road
frequently. Although we were very close to the coast of Lake Erie, it was only
in the evening, when we pulled into the campground of Port Glasgow, that we saw
it. C&J joined us an hour later. We traded stories and plans all
evening.
On Friday August 1st we had a late start, due to the wet tent. We
rode along the coastline of South Ontario with many views of the Lake. In the
meantime we learned that the Canadians had a holiday on Monday, which would make
for a crowded weekend and full motels and campgrounds. We made it via
Wallacetown, Fingal to Port Stanley for lunch. In the hot afternoon we
discovered
that many of the small towns along the road were situated down by a river, which
made for a wonderful downhill into town and a killer climb out of town. Via
Port Bruce and Copenhagen we made it to Port Burwell. There we camped with our
friends at the marina. A group of 6 young women in our neighborhood invited us
for a beer to hear our stories about our trip. They lent us their car to drive
for dinner into town. In the night we had a thunderstorm with wind gusts and
rain. But the tent was OK.
On Saturday we packed the wet tents, which made for about 2 k more weight. Joe
ordered a cottage for the next night for us four. Via Port Rowan, Booth's Harbour
to Dover. At the entrance of town was a long awaited laundry, which we all four
were looking for. While Maren and I watched the three machines in use, C&J cycled
for groceries. After the laundry was done, we all headed for our (not so little)
cottage a few miles outside of Port Dover. There we had plenty of space to dry
out the tents and Joe showed us what an excellent cook he was. We even had red wine.
On Sunday, August 3rd, we took the shortest way to Dunville, which was
easy with tailwinds. After that we separated from our friends and rode on our
own until we met again a few miles before Port Colborne. To get accommodations
was not easy. Joe used his phone very intensively until we finally got each a
(smokers) room in the vicinity of town.
View of the mist rising from Niagara Falls across the Niagara River, looking toward Canada.
Monday, August 4th was the day we finally arrived at the Niagara Falls. After an early start in the morning with plenty of sunshine we made it in two hours to Fort Erie, where we could see Buffalo across the Niagara River. Then we made it along the Niagara Parkway on a separated Bike/Hike-Path for 16 more miles into the town of Niagara Falls. Already a few miles before we reached the town, we could see the mist in the air above the falls. When we finally reached the falls, it was nearly impossible to move on, because it was incredibly crowded due to the Canadian Holiday. Instead we looked for a reasonably priced motel for three nights. After that we all went for an Italian meal and later sat on our front porch to have some champagne to celebrate our arrival at this point.
| Peace Bridge from Canada to the U.S. |
| Niagara Parkway |
| Mist from the Falls, along the Parkway |
| Celebrating arrival at Niagara Falls |
Niagara Falls (the "Horseshoe" or Canadian Falls)
The next two days were very warm. Only when we were down at the water was it pleasant. We all took it easy. We booked the cruise with the "Lady of the Mist", a small vessel which sails with about 100 passengers as close to the falls as navigable. Everybody on board was wet. But it was very impressive. In the afternoon we made a trip under the falls. That was less impressive, because most of the time you saw NOTHING. There was only one outlet where you could see but we were through in 10 minutes.
| American Falls |
| Waiting to board the Lady of the Mist |
| Going down to the rapids |
| The falls from below |
Next day we separated and Maren and I went down to the rapids in the morning,
while Joe and Cindy did in the afternoon. Joe carried a notebook with him, but
the connection with the internet was very poor. I had it in the afternoon.
Whenever I wanted to send mails, the connection broke, so I was very
disappointed and did not try more.
After these wonderful days at Niagara Falls we finally went out of town on
Thursday. It was a bit rainy, not too hard, but enough to carry rain gear. We
rode along the Niagara River and had some very good views down into the gorge.
Bob and Barb had mailed Joe some instructions about the border crossing back
into the US, which proved very helpful because of road work in that area. There
were a few very serious looking men at the immigration, but were were through in
10 minutes.
| Tower in Niagara |
| Looking down into the Gorge |
| Niagara River below |
| Power station |
| Rainbow bridge between U.S. and Canada |