"It would be pleasant to be able to say of my travels with Charley, "I went out to find the truth about my country and found it." And then it would be such a simple matter to set down my findings and lean back comfortably with a fine sense of having discovered truths and taught them to my readers. I wish it were that easy. But what I carried in my head and deeper in my perceptions was a barrel of worms. I discovered long ago in collecting and classifying marine animals that what I found was closely intermeshed with how I felt at the moment. External reality has a way of being not so external after all."

John Steinbeck
Travels With Charley


So,

Off I go, from Anacortes, Washington to Lubec, Maine.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Our neighbors to the north (west?)

Odometer says 3734

I'm in Long Lake New York today

Riding with my brother Ed.

OH CAN-A-DA

EAT YOUR HEART OUT.

I entered Canada by ferry across the Saint Clair River in Sumbra, Ontario loaded with my shipment of tea from the Marine City Post Office.  (Thanks again Bill and Lee.)

No, No, that's spelled "ferry".

When I asked the Customs guy for a good place to eat he replied: "Should have eaten in The States."  Ok, not a great start.  Turns out he was right.  The services in Canada, including places to eat, are, well, sparse.  As a side bar:  Alan Crossley got me hooked on cinnamon rolls, one vice I did not have at the beginning of my trip.  Alan, if you are out there, bring your own cinnamon rolls to Canada.


LAND-OH-LAKES.

I went for a swim in Lake Erie, a welcome respite from the hot weather.  By Canada I have waded in Lake Superior (52 degrees), swam in Lake Michigan, waded in Lake Huron, and swam in Lake Erie.  Stay tuned for sorted details of the completion of my water adventures in Lake Ontario.

Charles Atlas?

Look carefully and you can see lake Erie behind the flowers.

Later, as I passed the eastern section of the lake there was an algae bloom.  Nasty.  Dead fish were washed up on the shore and it smelled like sewerage.


OVER INDULGENCE.

Thrilled to have a new tea supply, I brewed myself 3 cups of tea the second afternoon in Canada.  At 2:00 am, wide-eyed, I walked to the beach to lay in the sand and star-gaze.


FARMING IN ONTARIO.

What do they grow in Ontario?  Well, besides the usual, they grow electricity. There are wind towers and solar cells in almost every field.

Blades of corn and blades of wind.


Wind and sun.

PEOPLE, MORE PEOPLE (THEY SEEM TO BE EVERYWHERE).

Outside of Port Dover I heard a noise, looked behind me, and discovered Jean-Claude riding his 1973 Giatne bicycle.  He pulled beside me, introduced himself with the explanation:"  I am from France.  maybe you can tell from my accent, no?"  Jean-Claude accompanied me that day for 40 miles as we rode handlebar to handlebar and chatted, Jean-Claude with the signature hand motions of the French and a curse the inconsiderate motorists.

I met a man whose entire bike was wrapped in electrical tape, every inch.  He introduced himself: "I'm Billy Parker.  Want to take my picture?  Do you have a Tunney for me for breakfast?"

Enjoy this picture, it cost me a Tunney.

MORE TRAILS.

For the trip from Colborne to Fort Erie, 10 miles, I rode the Friendship Trail, another nice rail to trail affair.  From Fort Erie to Niagara it was the Niagara Recreational Trail.

Happy trails to you.

IF NIAGARA FALLS.

Who will pick it up?  Niagara Falls was everything I expected, everything.  Beautiful falls and cascades of people.

Hey, who left the shower on?
   
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