It was such a dull day today, so much to see, even before I got to the Falls. I checked out Fort George, kindly allowed to wander around before they were technically open. I made my way up the winding hill to Queenston Heights Park, and I allowed myself to get fleeced into paying the $4.50 CAD to climb the steep winding steps to the top of the tower (told I could see everything from there but the Falls), only to find that at the top you're just peering out small barred holes through which you can't see much at all. Compared to the Astoria Column, which was free to climb, it was an incredible disappointment. I checked out the gardens, but passed on paying for, and taking the time to do, the butterfly conservatory, though the man at the counter did let me take a step in to "look around and see what they were all about" which was neat. I stopped to see the whirlpool. I passed completely on the touristy nonsense of the casinos and Clifton Hill.
And then, almost midday after all my sightseeing on the way, I got to see the magnificent Falls themselves. I was told the view is better from the Canadian side. Taking the time to check out both, yes, I would say it is, but you also get to be right up close on the American side and really feel the size of the Falls. For all the hype, for all the nonsensical tourist trap crap that surrounds them, Niagara Falls truly is one of those magnificent sights I'm glad to have seen and would recommend to anyone else who hasn't. If you ignore all that other stuff, seeing the Falls themselves is free. It was a worthy climax to my trip.
Crossing Rainbow there was an incredible view, perhaps the best of all, and I wished very much I could be on the pedestrian sidewalk to be taking pictures as they were. The customs official asked a few more questions that previous ones have, but ultimately let me through without trouble. ...And then I was spewed out onto a horribly busy 4 lane road that I wanred off of immediately. I am extremely grateful to the nice woman who let me over into the turn lane (when everyone else absolutely refused to let me in) so I could get off. As I said, I checked out the park and saw the American side then, including Goat Island. I can't tell you how many people came up to me and asked me questions and made comments as if I was some other spectacle onto myself.
Navigating into Buffalo took a little doing. There was a detour where I had to be on a road where there would normally be bike path and I had some jerk blare his horn at me for being right where the signs told me to be. There were a couple bridges to cross (onto Grand Island and then back off) that wanted me to walk my bike the long ways up their narrow sidewalks and back down...to which I adamantly refused and rode anyways, for the zero harm it did anyone for me to do so. There was a hard to follow trail. There was some decent and not so decent riding on the street. I'm generally not a fan of riding through unfamiliar big cities, but I made it alright in the end.
My host is cool. She rides a Bike Friday and has toured all over the place. She and her husband took me, along with their son and his girlfriend out to a place called Merge, a fancy restaurant catering to a vegetarian and vegan crowd. We biked down there. And I got to have the fun of feeling shaky riding without panniers for the first time in a good while. It was good food and good company, a great end to an exciting day.
...And there are just 3 days left. It's hard to believe. I've made tomorrow a long run for myself, so we'll see how I fare.
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