Author: Steve

This morning, we drove out along Presque Isle, a peninsula in Lake Erie. I had never visited the Great Lakes before, only flown over them. It really feels like the seaside; there is no sense of being at a lake. It was quite cool, so we didn’t stay long.

Mary-Anne enjoyed the beach immensely 🙂

Today was a relaxed day: off to a late start, we visited a factory outlet mall (where we spent nothing), ate a good yet cheap lunch in Perkins restaurant, then drove to Erie, where we found a reasonably-priced hotel with a jacuzzi bath in the room! I took the room immediately, only to discover that the water was cut off 🙁 … luckily, only until I asked what was going on and the manageress had a stern word with the plumber.
This evening, we again ate well, this time at TGIFriday’s. Having eaten so well at lunchtime, we only had an appetizer

and lots of raspberry iced tea

(OK, and a piece of cheesecake, which I have to enjoy while I’m here, because I can’t get it in Switzerland)

We’ve been travelling under clouds and in rain for three days. It’s quite depressing after the blue sky and sun of Colorado. I’ll never again say that permanently sunny weather is boring, I promise! Today, the sun broke through the clouds twice, for about ten seconds each time. It was like a breath of fresh air after spending too long in a crowded meeting room! (But much too short.)

We’re heading south to Virginia, to visit our friends Ben and Esther Rosenbaum. I used to work with Ben before they moved back to the USA. I sent him an e-mail to let him know when we would probably arrive; he wrote back to tell me that the timing was not so good, because it would be Yom Kippur, and they would be involved with family events. His e-mail closed with the words “Sorry about the timing of Yom Kippur”.
Yeah, Ben, you really should have made sure it wouldn’t collide with our visit! 😉

We returned to the falls today, having seen only the American Falls part yesterday. The Horseshoe Falls are the more famous part, and much larger. Unfortunately, we could not see them entirely, because the cool weather means that the spray immediately forms a dense cloud, obscuring everything behind it. Even so, the falls are impressive; the amount of water going over them is incredible, and the force with which it hits the rocks below simply stunning (literally, I expect 🙂 ). Even the cloud of spray is impressive if you think about it: when did you last see a waterfall which created a cloud rising so high?
We had intended to cross to the Canadian side of the falls to see the view from the top of the Skylon tower. The weather cancelled those plans; the cloud was so low that we could seldom see the top of the tower. I guess it’s better to visit in the summer!
Continue reading “Niagara Falls, day 2”

I’ve started to write my impressions from my tour. The entries appear on the days I visited the area I write about, so are further down the page. I’ll be updating this entry as I write the others, so check back here.
1^st October: added Zion National Park.
2^nd October: added Lake Tahoe.
5^th October: added Monitor Pass and Lake Mono.
7^th October: updated Yosemite, and added some photos.
9^th October: added Yosemite, day 2.
10^th October: added From Oakhurst to Nipomo.

Yesterday, we set off from the Burkhard’s home on our way to Virginia, taking a slight detour to the Niagara Falls. (Look up the geography 🙂 ) The weather was terrible; the remnants of tropical storm Tami were dumping their rain on us for hours on end. We reached Albany, where we started looking for a motel. Everything was full! (Now I know how Mary and Joseph must have felt when looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem.) I thought the problem must be that it is Columbus Day weekend. (Are there any Europeans who have heard of Columbus Day weekend? I hadn’t.)
Continue reading “Niagara Falls”

We spent some time with Christiane and Pete Burkhard, chatting and playing Carcasonne – a great game! They have a large house (for Europeans, at least!) surrounded by trees, with a lake nearby.
Continue reading “With the Burkhards”