Tonawanda, NY: Part 2

Tonawanda is a small town next to the scenic Niagara River with a surprising number of interesting things to do. Debi and I went for a walk on the Shoreline Trail, next to the river. Scenic running trail, perfect weather. I could see myself living here, if not for the cold winters. We had planned to do a 5K walk, but ended up walking/jogging 10K. We just proved to ourselves that we could complete the 10K race at the Reykjavík Marathon being planned for next year.

That evening, we had an early dinner at the Cuban Club restaurant downtown. I tried flash fried buffalo cauliflower for the first time (very good), and ordered the seared halibut entree (amazing, wish I have the recipe).

After dinner, we went to the historic Riviera Theatre across the street. Ordered drinks at the bar before the performance. The inside of the Theatre was beautiful, a musician played the organ while people were finding their seats. The evening's performance was by Queen Nation, a well known tribute band to the music of Queen. They were very good. Wonderful way to spend an evening in Tonawanda!

My final day in Tonawanda, I was invited to a picnic at a private club with a group of Debi's friends. We listened to music on the lawn, had lunch and drinks.

Later that evening, Debi went out to get something she insisted I had to try it before leaving Tonawanda/Buffalo: beef on weck. It actually has its own entry in Wikipedia! Frankly, it would not be my favorite food, but now I can say I've eaten it!

Tonawanda, NY: Part 1

I was in Tonawanda, near Buffalo, to visit with Debi and her sister Cindy. Debi and I met when we both lived in Italy, went on a lot of running adventures together, did the 2010 Berlin Marathon before we went our separate ways back to the US. Good old times! I have never been to this part of New York state; Debi packed a lot of activities into the short visit. I parked Roxie in her brother's long driveway while I slept in a "proper" bed in her family's house across the street for the next 4 nights.

We had an informal dinner at the house where I was introduced to friends and neighbors. There was laughter and conversation with good wine. Football was a popular topic; the group was loyal Buffalo Bills fans. The next day, Debi and I drove over the border in her car to beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada. We skipped Niagara Falls since I've been there a few times. We had lunch alfresco at the lovely Shaw Cafe and Wine Bar. I had a glass of white sangria with fish and chips, while Debi had a flight of Niagara white wine with turkey sandwich.

After lunch we walked around the town and had gelato for dessert at Pistachio Gelateria, a nostalgic nod to our time in Italy.

We then drove back to Tonawanda. Stopped at a fruit stand for fresh Ontario peaches, after checking that we were allowed to bring fruit back to the US.

I almost forgot: we watched the partial eclipse of the moon from Debi's front yard one night. Unfortunately, my phone camera did not capture the event very well.

Autumn Moon Winery, Bergen, NY

After leaving St. Ignace yesterday, I drove about 6 hours to Perrisburg, OH. Spent the night at the same Cracker Barrel parking lot where I boondocked last year. This gave me an early start for an afternoon arrival at Bergen, NY, where my friend Jerry lives. He and his wife Tracy own and operate the Autumn Moon Winery which is also a Harvest Host site.

Jerry is well known within the online community of Thor Rize/Scope owners. He used to own a Thor Rize and is an expert on how to fix Rize issues. He's my go-to person when I run into problems with my RV. A month ago, I forwarded him an estimate from my RV service to re-seal some cracks on Roxie's roof; the total was over $1,000. His response (paraphased): "That's ridiculous. All you need is a $13 tube of Dicor, it may take an hour or less. If you were nearby, I would do it". My response? "I'm coming over next month."

Jerry checked a few other things on Roxie, discovered that the propane hose had cracked. Not critical yet, but eventually propane will leak. I had to drive Roxie to Tractor Supply in the next town to pick up a propane hose so that Jerry could replace it that evening. He and Tracy were scheduled to leave on their own RV trip tomorrow. Very thankful for such wonderful and generous friends!

I bought a few bottles of wine to take to friends at my upcoming stops. Spent the night boondocked next to the winery, with access to free wifi.

Mackinac Island, MI

It was cool but sunny this morning, perfect for a day trip to Mackinac Island. I had previously confirmed that the shuttle to the ferry terminal will pick up at the ranger station as scheduled. After a 15 minute ride to Shepler's Ferry Terminal, I got a ticket for the "Mighty Mac" scheduled for 8:30 am. My friend Ed suggested taking this specific ferry because it detours under the Mackinac Bridge for visitors to take photos. The regular ferries take a direct route to the Island. All of us on the ferry got great photos from multiple angles.

The ride to the Island took about 40 minutes: there were not many people at the terminal since it was relatively early in the morning. I walked around and admired the pretty buildings: no gas powered vehicles, lots of bicycles, horse drawn carts, passenger carriages and horse droppings on the street (which were promptly scooped up). Walked around the Mackinac Island State Park, took photos of the beautiful grounds.

Bicycling was the best way to explore the entire Island, a distance of 8.2 miles on the outer loop on Highway M-185, the only road around the Island. Walking would have taken too long; I did not want to pay $$$ for a carriage ride. Since I was not confident I could still ride a bicycle without falling, I opted to rent a tricyle. It took a few minutes to get over my nervousness. I finally relaxed my grip on the handlebars after the half mile.

Below are photos of notable landmarks. The first stop was Arch Rock, had to hike up 207 steps to get to the top.

A family with kids behind me had fun counting the steps. The views at the top were amazing! After getting down and back on the trike, I discovered a pull out on the highway that offered a great view of Arch Rock from sea level.

Riding the trike took some effort, especially when going up slope. My legs got tired, and I had to make frequent stops. There were beautiful shorelines and scenery most of the way. The sign that promised food and restrooms 2 miles away (second photo below) was reassuring ...

Photos below: British Landing near the water, with a food stand, the Cannonball Oasis, across the road. Briefly considered getting something to eat there but did not want to wait in the long line. Did use the promised restrooms though.

Devil's Kitchen was interesting

Finally, after about 2.5 hours from when I started, the town, with hotels and stores, came within sight. I passed the Grand Hotel; took photos of the exterior but was not dressed appropriately to visit or have afternoon tea inside. Had thought about the latter when planning things to do on the Island. Could not justify spending $65 plus tax+tips on afternoon tea, regardless of the logistics of carrying a change of formal dresses on the trip.

I returned the trike, then checked out the stores on the main street. Apparently I forgot to take photos of fudge shops that Mackinac Island is know for. It was past noon: there were a lot more people on the Island and lines formed outside restaurants. I gave up trying to find some place to eat, and went back on the ferry to St. Ignace.

Back at St. Ignace terminal, I walked past the parking lot, crossed the main road and went into the store with the big sign that said Lehto's Pasties. I had read that pasties are special to Michigan, especially the Upper Peninsula. My previous experience of pasties was in the UK. The beef pasty I ordered to-go did not look like Cornish pasty. I went back to the ferry terminal and boarded a waiting shuttle back to the campground. The driver took me all the way to my campsite! Finally got to have lunch, in Roxie. The beef, potato and onion pasty was excellent: I had planned to eat half of the big pasty but it was so good (and I was so hungry) that I ate the second half as well.

There was nothing much to do the rest of the afternoon. After a shower in the campground, I decided to leave half a day early to get a headstart to my next destination: Autumn Moon Winery in upstate New York.