We left Albany this morning in light snow which didn't seem like very much but it was just enough of a coating on the road to make driving difficult. There were three cars that had skidded off the road at different places, each one no less than 30 feet off the highway. Needless to say, we were careful not to be the fourth. By the time we reached Canojaharie, home of Beechnut baby foods, the snow had turned to rain, and as we went through Canastota it had totally stopped. I love the names of the cities in New York State and had fun just saying them. Canajoharie; Canastota; Skaneateles; Tonawanda; Chittenango.
We drove through Niagara Falls, New York, on our way to Canada, and thought we had wandered into a ghost town. Virtually no cars or people in sight. Nothing like summertime. Niagara Falls, Ontario, was not a lot more crowded, but it was clear that this is where everyone stayed. As we drove in, it was hard to miss all of the high-voltage transmission lines marching across the landscape. We paralleled the Niagara River and saw the water intake towers, where the water is diverted into the power generating turbines. As a bit of trivia, the way this works is that the water flowing from Lake Erie is diverted via these intake towers into giant tunnels which take it into the generating plant, which takes advantage of the difference in sea level between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario where the output of the plant is received.
Our room on the 50th floor of the Hilton Fallsview was just as advertised: we could see both the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls looking out the window, and it had a big Jacuzzi, which was really relaxing after today's drive. I thought we had hit the trifecta when I saw the fireplace, but Bob burst that bubble and told me that it was only a rotating colored drum projecting light onto a scrim. Oh well, it looked nice, and despite his explanation I checked to see if it was warm each time I passed by. The first picture below is from the bathroom with a view of the Jacuzzi, through the window between the bathroom and the bedroom, and then out the window overlooking the falls.
These next two pictures are views from the bedroom window out to the falls.
The hotel was connected to the Fallsview Casino via a glass covered walkway, so it was easy for us to go and try to lose some money. Oddly, we were unsuccessful! The casino was great - wide-open and no smoking anywhere. We had hoped to play blackjack at the tables, but the stakes were too high for us ($15 minimum). They did, however, have some excellent video blackjack where we played for about 2 1/2 hours and came out $30 ahead. Not too shabby.
Dinner was at one of the restaurants in the casino, 17 Noir, like one of the spaces on a roulette wheel. The restaurant decor carried the theme throughout: curved and circular areas; everything red and black; a round bar; and plates that were decorated with a red and black swirl pattern on the edges, making them look as though they were turning around. dinner itself was lovely. Bob had a Kobe beef steak and I had a five spice roasted duck breast. Yum.
There is an homage to power all around the casino. A large fountain in the atrium is meant to look like the power generating plants, with water falling into decorative turbines. It's lit in the evening in brilliant colors and is quite a stunning piece. Here are couple of photos, and a video of the fountain to give you some idea.
And here's the video:
During a good part of the drive, we listened to a recording of "The White Tiger," by Aravind Adiga. this novel about economic and other disparities in India won the Man Booker prize in 2009. I read it shortly after it was published, and like many Man Booker volumes, I found it rather dark and hard to get through. What a difference it was listening to it! It was funny, there was pathos, and there was so much detail about India. Bob and I couldn't stop talking about it! I highly recommend it.
Tomorrow morning, before we leave, we will finally view the falls from outside!
Friday, March 2: Off to Dayton, OH for the night. but first we had to get up close and personal with the falls. We were lucky that the early morning fog lifted. The wind drove the mist from the falls at a pretty good rate,so by the time we took just a few pictures we needed to dry out.
The last time we drove across country one of the things I remembered was going across Iowa and Nebraska and seeing flat, flat landscapes with nothing but corn on either side of the highway. Today's route took us across much of the southern edge of Lake Erie, and once again it was as flat as you can imagine, but instead of corn, we saw vineyards on both sides.
Today's weather was also pretty exciting, although nothing like what they reported in Indiana yesterday or the day before. Although we started out in dry weather, by the time we got to Ohio we had torrential downpours and even some lightning. By the time we reached our hotel it it changed once again. The rain stopped, it was 60° outside at 7 PM, but there were winds of 20 or 30 miles an hour!
Dinner at the Texas roadhouse, where we were treated to the Texas two-step by a group of about eight young ladies. Really fun.
903 miles so far.
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