From VT100 to Family

July 21, 2012

Niagara Falls NY

Woke up in The Colonial House well rested and looking forward to breakfast.  I was seated at a table with a father-son rider duo…Jared was the son’s name…and his Dad’s name is Jimmy.

We had a lively conversation and chatted about the many different highways we have ridden.  They were also telling me of the Mohawk Trail, highway 2 through MA, that it is a must ride for me someday.  It was a real pleasure to have breakfast with them and I hope we’ll be in touch and meet up down the road somewhere.  and btw, breakfast was soooo good.  It almost beat out the gourmet dinner last night!  Egg omelet stuffed with cheese (egg was crepe style), pound cake bread, toast, cranberry juice and lots of coffee again.  I'm gonna ask Kim and Jeff if they'll adopt me :).

The ladies were at other tables and I was able to say good morning to Judy and Priscilla.  Later Patricia came into the dinning room and greeted me with a cheery good morning as she joined her group….she’s such a cutie J. 

I took my time loading, charging cell, computer, emails, lots of coffee and then got some photos with Jeff and Kim and one at their sign.  It was only this morning that I noticed a smaller sign under the big one stating “motorcycles welcome”.  Just before departing Kim’s mom and dad pulled into the gravel driveway and stopped to greet me…that was a real pleasure to meet them.  They should be very proud of the daughter and son-in-law!

Here's the link to The Colonial House website

http://www.cohoinn.com/

Out on the road I would have to say the last part of the ride was excellent.  I was roughly 70 miles from Stamford VT and planned on one more pic at a Stamford sign then a long ride to Niagara Falls and family.

Oh, one interesting note, I passed through a very small town and spotted one of those old style historical markers that showed the town as being the birthplace of Bringham Young.  Later on the internet I found out the name of the town was Whitingham.

Another nice part of this ride to the Falls area, after leaving Stamford I ran the 2 through North Adams west towards Troy NY.  Once out of the city I was in a very nice tree lined road with good climbs and gentle turns.  Along the way I spotted a marker stating MOHAWK TRAIL.  The same was found on the back side of the hill entering NY.  I would suggest to the SCMA that they query members about adding this road to the Challenge.

Once into Troy I found the 2 heavily under construction and was detoured around Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  This is the University that my flying buddy Neal spent a couple of years there as a Marine Officer Instructor.  I now understand why he fell in love with the place….but I still prefer SoCal J.

I finally made it onto the I87 south and connected to the I90 west..the NY Thruway.  $12.85 later they let me off the road in Buffalo and I worked my way Through the Tonawanda’s where I grew up as a kid, and found my sister’s place, an excellent bowl of chicken soup, wonderful conversation, a shower, and a good night’s rest.

It’s just special to be with family…ain’t it!

C ya mañana,

Gonzo

Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA

Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Cell: 949-433-0761