Letter 19 New York III

Harrington Travels East 2009
Letter 19: New York III

Thursday, June 25 was a travel day. We drove north to

Letchworth State Park in NY along the Genesee River and viewed the canyon and waterfalls. The park is named for Mr. Letchworth who donated 1,000 acres along the river and included the falls.

His home is now an Inn. We were impressed with the

chestnut staircase. This inn is in a beautiful location viewing the

middle falls. As we drove along the canyon we caught glimpses of the

river and falls.

From there we drove NW to the Four Mile State park on the

shores of Lake Ontario. If you look real close you can see part of the lake at the horizon just in front of our trailer. On the way to this park we ran into a Texas size thunderstorm and even stopped in a little town until the storm passed. We were able to get a site without hookups and were glad to have a home. We were very tired.

Edward, a young man from Holland, set up camp next to us and we became acquainted. We fed him our leftovers and enjoyed his company. He had been in North America for 3 months and has covered a lot of the US and Canada we have seen, especially the northwest US and Canadian Rockies.

Edward was a financial officer for a Netherlands company. His job wasn’t a challenge and he broke up with his girlfriend so he decided to leave his job and travel in North America. At first he stayed in motels, but found it difficult to interact with Americans. He decided after two months of motels to buy a tent and camp the rest of the way. He says it was good decision, he has met and visited many Americans since he started camping. He will return to the Netherlands around July 1st. We advised, when he returns, he should get a job, marry and return with his wife to the USA for a long vacation. In that order. He just laughs!

Friday, June 16 we became tourist among tourists as we drove down 18F along the Niagara River to the falls. In town we visited another Chevy dealership for an oil change and maybe found the reason for us needing to add oil in between changes—a leaking hose. It is now fixed. Also found the 4 wheel drive problem was not with the computer as we were told by the last Chevy dealer, but with the wires being eaten, probably by a chipmunk! Fred wondered if you could keep animal away from the Suburban by taping moth balls packages under the hood. Does someone have advice? Both things fixed we headed for the falls and found there was a scam being run outside the state park. A private company was selling the $33 NY tour package for $55. The state parks people are not happy, but so far have been powerless to stop this private company.

We decided not to take the Maid of the Mist, Cave of Winds, etc, but to walk the falls. On the way we crossed two bridges and saw

just a little of the force of water above the falls. We did see the

American Falls and the

Maid of the Mist below the Horseshoe falls.

Saturday, June 27 we decided to see the Canadian side of the falls, starting with Niagara-on-the-lake. This little village where the Niagara River runs into Lake Ontario was so pretty. Lots of flowers, little shops and pretty houses. At the Queens Park we could see east

to the US side of the river to Fort Niagara, often called the castle. It looked very formidable. Actually we were camped about a mile on the other side of this fort. We enjoyed seeing the

Prince of Wales Hotel.
Going south we stopped at a

flower clock close to the Canadian power plant. We finally found a parking place south of the falls and walked back

to view the Horseshoe and

American falls. The

crowds were forming with everyone wanting to see this beautiful act of God.

Fred wanted to see the IMAX movie about the falls, the legends and the stories, so we walked UPHILL to the theater. This movie started with the Indian Princess who didn’t want to marry the old, ugly chief her father had arranged for her, so she ran away and drifted over the falls. Then told of a tight wire walker who successfully walked across the canyon, just below the falls. Then of a man with two children in a motor boat above the falls, when the motor failed. One child was rescued at the top of the falls by bystanders and the other survived the fall and was found by the “Maid of the Mist” tourist boat. The photography was beautiful and worth the climb.

In the lobby we read about one man who, during his life at Niagara, helped recover 171 bodies of unsuccessful attempts to ride the falls. It is illegal to go over the falls. Cameras are in place. Attempts are intercepted.

However, the walk back to the car was NOT worth it.

The temperature and humidity had climbed. The sun was out with no clouds and very little shade. Olivia gave out on the way back to the car and Fred rescued her by retrieving the car to pick her up. Summer is not the time to see this part of the world.

On the way back to the trailer we picked up our 90 day supply of meds in preparation for our long stay in Canada.

Before leaving the trailer this morning we had planned with our neighbors to cook supper out. Each providing their own meat and sharing side dishes. We were in the middle of gathering for this meal when we had a WONDERFUL surprise.

Let’s backtrack to Charleston. The weather was dreary, no one was out in the campground, but we did meet another couple because they had a Sunnybrook trailer and we asked if they liked it. Remember Sunnybrook makes our Mobil Scout. We visited about 30 minutes and they told us of New York. They lived close to Niagara in Gasport. They gave us maps and recommendations of Four Mile Campground as well as others around Lake Ontario. We gave them our blog address and they had been following us and they showed up for a visit. Mike and Gail Walker were so surprised at our party, and where did we meet. When we explained they were our neighbors one from Holland and the other ones were full-timers. Gail was aghast that we had all run away from home. She asked, “What do you miss the most from home” and she received silence. Then we all laughed. We do miss our family and friends, but no one is sorry they are away. This type of life style fits us all. Gail and Mike had been reading our blog and knew we were hungry for fresh things. They stopped on the way over and bought strawberries and cherries at a fruit stand (this area of NY is a garden spot) and brought peas from their garden. Gail was so complementary of our blog that she asked if we had been English teachers. What a hoot! We were both math majors and grammar and literature were the last things we thought of. We feel very complimented and please ignore all our grammatical errors. We really need Jill or Sylvia to look over our shoulders. THANK YOU SO MUCH! And DRATS! OLIVIA FORGOT TO TAKE A GROUP PICTURE!

Before going in and well after sunset, we noticed what looked like a sunset in the NORTH??? We walked to the lake and also saw the lights of Toronto reflected on the low clouds over Lake Ontario—beautiful!

Sunday, June 28 It was a pleasant surprise when we dumped as we left Four Mile campground to see hanging baskets decorating the necessity! We skipped through the dew along the southern and eastern shores of Lake Ontario to Wellesley Island State Park in the 1000 islands of the St Lawrence River. Along the way we saw lots of Cherry and Apple orchards. There were also lots of road side stands selling vegetables, cherries, strawberries, asparagus and apple wood. We were so sad that we couldn’t stop to buy any because we are going into Canada in a few days and are not allowed to carry those items across the border. We hope the Canadians will be growing lots of fresh fruits and veggies also.

Part of this leg was along NY’s Lake Ontario Parkway. Commercial traffic is prohibited. It was very pleasant. Our trailer clears 10’ 6”. When you tow a trailer you have these facts committed to memory, ready for instant recall. The clearance heights of each overpass are posted on the bridge in rather small numbers. In fact at 50 MPH you are committed to go under before you can read the sign. Each clearance sign was at the right or left or both sides of the bridge indicating, because the bridges were slightly arched, the side clearance. We noticed signs for 11 feet and 12 feet which is lower than on major roads, but it wasn’t a concern for us. Then, you guessed it, just as we entered the “you are committed” zone, we saw “CLEARANCE 10’ 4”!!!! There was nothing to do but hold our breath. We cleared without a problem, but it was scary for moment.

All in all this was a very pretty drive, but too long for us old folks. We traveled 250 miles. It took about eight hours. Normally, we like to stop a little earlier and rest in the afternoon. We crossed the

1000 Island International Bridge as we arrived at the Wellesley Island State (NY) Park.

Monday June 29 we drove into Alexander Bay and boarded the

Island Duchess for a one hour tour of Millionaire’s Row.

In 1854 the first island to be purchased was

Manhattan Island for $40, the same amount NY’s Manhattan island was bought by the Dutch. The wealthy sportsmen and gentlemen from leading US cities purchased islands for private use. The social era of Alexandria Bay began when George Pullman invited General Grant (then running for Pres) to visit

his island home. The press traveling with the soon to be President wrote articles in the papers of the leading cities of the USS and sparked an interest that resulted in the explosion of recreation in this area.

Other island owners were

Dr JG Holland, editor of Scribner’s magazine,

Nathan Straus, head of Macy’s Department store,

and the inventor of the bread tie, “twisti.”

Prohibition created a lucrative business in the area. Hundreds of undocumented stories have been handed down. Local captains who knew the river and small channels would make the trek from Canada with gunny sacks full of bottles. They used the gunny sacks for easy disposal in case of impending capture. Today divers who visit the area every summer still find bottles at the bottom of this river.

We enjoyed one of the

smallest islands and it’s mansion. We were told stories of most of the islands we passed including the two

that has the border crossing between them. If the owner has a problem with spouse or child, he can just leave the country. Note the small “international” private bridge in the picture.

So who counted the islands? Are here really 1,000? According to local custom, an island must have two different kinds of vegetation and be above water through out the year. No one knows for sure how many islands there are. Who’s got time to count? Local information has the average count at 1860 islands. So yes, there are a 1,000 islands in The Thousand Islands area.

George Boldt, a poor 13 year old German immigrant, by himself, arrived in New York and worked his way up from kitchen help in a hotel to owner of the Waldorf Astoria. In the 1890’s he and his wife visited the Thousand Islands. In 1900, they began to build their dream castle—

Boldt Castle. Rising six stories from the foundation level of the

indoor swimming pool to the highest tower room, an elevator served 127 rooms. The Alster Tower

(Playhouse) is on one end of the island and the

Power House on the other end. The water flows strong enough to accommodate power generation. There is an

underground passage to both of these buildings from the castle. The Arch

was the water gate to be the formal entry for guests.

The stairwell

and the skylight

were highlights of the restoration.
The porch

supported by the granite pillars had box car siding on the ceiling. The upper floors

are still being restored.

Tuesday, June 30 we drove NW down the St Lawrence River/Seaway. At Messina we found Robert Moses State park and secured a prime spot to watch the ships coming and going on the Seaway. We drove over to the Eisenhower Lock in anticipation of seeing a

large ship go though. We were disappointed as a small sail boat and a

tug boat sailed in, then went

down to the river below. This particular part of the Seaway is composed of three dams and two locks between Lake Ontario and Montreal, approximately 415 miles and enables traffic from the Gulf of the St Lawrence all the way to Duluth, Minnesota. Back at the trailer as Olivia was writing on this part of the letter, she heard a rumbling and looked up to see a BIG ship passing the campground on the way to the lock. This was a lot more exciting than the earlier lock activity. In fact they kept coming all night.

This is our last United States letter until we arrive in Maine about September 1.

We are going to Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and maybe even Newfoundland. We will have to compose the letters in the trailer, when we have power, then upload to the internet from libraries or wherever we might find WiFi.

We will not have phone service so please email us during this time and keep us up to date on what's happening. Please make these emails personal messages and not documents that take a lot of downloading, like this blog does! Ha!

Love You!

Email us at olivia@bobheck.com or fredharrington@yahoo.com