Niagara Makes A Splash....

Niagara is a good place. It made me realise just how powerful nature can be. It made a splash with me.

I have been here before, but previously I had only been on the USA side of the falls and the Canadian side is very different. From Canada you get a better view of the falls.

Here are the pictures I took, mainly yesterday.

The Canadian Falls, with one of the Maid of the Mist boats....



















The Canadian falls with the spray rising high....


























The Canadian Falls with a great rainbow....



















Looking down at the water rushing over the edge....


























Maid of the Mist boat....



















The top of the Canadian Falls. 34 million gallons of water go over here, every minute!....



















A couple of pictures from near the base of the Canadian Falls....









































Looking down the river towards the Rainbow Bridge that connects the USA to Canada, with the American Falls on the right....



















The American Falls....





































Maid of the Mist boats....



















Today, I took a few video clips with my point and shoot camera. The quality is surpisingly good....





As I walked around with my camera, I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of people. I liked this ladies hair....



















My favourite photo of the day was of this tough looking guy with his tattoos walking along carrying his baby. I asked if I could take their picture and he kindly agreed. The baby was less than a week old....


























I walked into the Clifton Hill area, which is where all of the tourist places are. It is tacky, but fun at the same time. The Hard Rock cafe sign is very cool....


























The Burger King sign is not cool....



















Strange, but fun....



















He had been riding his bike for too long without eye protection....


























The Scanlon Tower....


























A couple going for a, err, walk?....



























Niagara Falls at night....







































This is not a great quality picture, but this morning the spray from the Canadian Falls was so high, it was joining the clouds....


























I had to smile this morning. I ate breakfast in the "All you can eat" breakfast room. Some people there were taking that way too literally - the amount of food on their plates was huge! Now, don't get me wrong, as I amin need of shedding a few pounds myself, but jeez, these people could eat!

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I met the Rochester Fire Department today....

My route today took me west – the first real day of heading west of many. One of the places I wanted to visit was the Upper Falls in the city of Rochester, NY. I found it easily and parked the bike. Walking to the bridge that overlooks the Upper Falls, I saw a fire engine (US = Fire Truck) and I took a picture of their brightly coloured crest....














































The view of the falls was, well, disappointing. The falls themselves are tremendous, but the industrial setting does them no justice at all....





















However, the next 30 minutes make up for that in leaps and bounds. The Rochester Fire Department began to set up on the bridge for a training exercise – abseiling over the side of the bridge! I only had my point and shoot camera with me (I left my main camera in the saddlebags of my bike some distance away), but the pictures I took show the excitement of the exercise....

Getting the equipment ready....


























A few last checks....


























Down he goes....


























His crew looking down at progress....





















This is the bridge they were abseiling down. Look carefully and you will see the fireman part way down....


























Another fireman taking his turn....


























This helmet has obviously seen a lot of action....





















Well done guys. Like all firemen over the world, you do a great job.

I want to say something about Rochester. Ok, it was cloudy and overcast when I was there, but it seems very dull. There was nothing to brighten the city up, no flowers, no flags and it just didn’t seem at all welcoming. I would have thought a city like Rochester, with two great waterfalls and the World Headquarters of Kodak, would do more to promote itself, but it seemed dead. Almost like it was giving in to the grip of recession and not trying to improve itself.

I give as an example the lower falls in this city. These should be a splendid attraction, capable of drawing visitors to bring tourist cash to the city. Here are the Lower Falls (and again I stress it was overcast)....





















But, to get this picture I had to make an illegal stop on a busy road bridge, jump of the bike, take the picture and get back on the bike and ride away. Here is the bridge....





















Come on, close the bridge to vehicles, brighten the place up and make it tourist friendly. At least try to do SOMETHING for your city to make it more attractive!

Here is the top of the Kodak World Headquarters. I deliberately omitted the bottom of the building because it was surrounded by awful looking ugly buildings....





















I did however fnd a gem of a State Park on the edge of Lake Ontario. This is the Hamlin Beach SP and it is beautiful....





















Lots of Canada Geese....





















Seagulls waiting to play volleyball....





















I went way of the main roads today, preferring instead to find the back road though farming country. I was surprised at the variety of crops and especially by how much fruit, including apples, peaches, apricots and cherries, were grown this far north....







































































I saw these very patriotic flags as a rode back near the lake. Americans are probably the most patriotic nation in the world and that is very good to see....





















I rode along one road that was a dead end at Lake Ontario. I wonder if anybody had driven into the lake before these signs were erected at the end of the road?....





















Lake Ontario is so large, it is like an ocean....





















One bridge I crossed had a great view of a small harbour at the town of Olcott, NY....





















Quite how the motorbike is meant to represent a country store and restaurant is beyond me, but I liked it anyway....


























I arrived in Niagara Falls this afternoon and joined the queue to enter Canada on the Rainbow Bridge....





















I took lots of pictures of Niagara Falls today, but I need time to sort through them. I am having a day’s rest from riding tomorrow, so I will do it then!

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The St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario

Today’s ride was mainly along the water’s edge of the St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. I had better get used to seeing water on my right-hand side as it will be there most of the time from here all the way to Milwaukee.

Using more of Eve's knowledge of the area because she used to live here, I followed some of her suggestions for places to see along the St Lawrence River all the way through Cape Vincent to Tibbetts Point. The road down the coast was fantastic, with some great views and some terrific houses. Here is the road and views approaching the Point....















































The houses were of various sizes – a good mixture of large and small. I liked the houses that overlook the river and incorporate large windows to make the most of the view....









































The setting of the houses was very special with the sun out on this hot day, but I am sure it would be very different in the winter with the cold wind blowing off the river.

I soon approached the lighthouse at Tibbetts Point. I have decided I like lighthouses, but I was disappointed I could not climb the stairs in this one, due to “USCG and Insurance Regulations”.





















































Next I headed along the water once more to Pillar Point....





















I didn’t take many photos during the rest of the day as I left late this morning and I was trying to make up some of the time, by getting a decent amount of miles in. However, I didn’t realise I did this many miles....





















I did stop, turn round and take a photo of these matching Honda Gold-Wings. I have never seen two identical bikes as striking as these before. I didn’t see the riders, but “his and hers” maybe?....





















Finally for today, I went to see another lighthouse – this time at Sodus Point on Lake Ontario....

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