Lost Gravesite

September 22, 2011

Buffalo NY

            We were on the road by 8:20 heading for the I-190 to downtown Buffalo.  Google maps had us picking up

Main St.

which would then become Deleware and connect to the 190.  Nope.  We ended up never seeing it…..so I headed north on Sheridan to pick up the 190 coming off the Grand Island Bridge.  Within minutes we were downtown and slightly lost.  I knew where we had to be but missed a turn and slowly worked my way back.  Eventually we found the building Sis had to be at and I dropped her off.  While she was doing that I went to a Starbucks about 4 blocks away and enjoyed a latte with free internet and free parking!

            I picked her up an hour later and we decided to ride back to NT via the streets…specifically,

Deleware Ave.

  We hadn’t gone more than 2 miles when I recognized the general area….I had lived

Home Town Visit

September 21, 2011

Tonawanda NY

            Rained all night with unbelievable thunderstorms and lightening.  Am glad I wasn’t riding out in that stuff !  Yesterday I broke the emergency parking brake in Sis’ car when I attempted to use it on Clifton Hill…seems parking brakes are not used here in NY.  So this morning we had the brake repaired.

            By midmorning the weather cleared and I saw that Dennis, the upstairs neighbor, was working on his 2011 black GMC Yukon.  He was adding chrome stripping to the door sides so Sis and I went out to join him.  And then Sis got lucky….Dennis used to ride and he still had his spare helmet and gloves!  So, I got out my toolkit and removed the rack that was bolted into the frame so she could sit on the backseat for a quick ride. 

            Off we went down

River Road

towards Tonawanda and what a surprise came before us!

The City of North Tonawanda has dedicated a park to the USMC.  It has a beautiful monument of the

Oh Canada !

September 20, 2011

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

            Woke up to a sunny day….no rain as was originally forecasted.  Talked sis into following me in her car over to Canada so we can take some pics of me and Sophia with the American Falls in the background.

            The ride over was easy….paid $3.25 to cross over the Rainbow Bridge from NF USA into NF, Ontario, Canada…had a brief chat with the USA toll person in regards to my rides and gave him my business card but forgot to ask his name to mention here.  Quick questions by the Canadian guard…where were I going, what will I be doing, how long will I be staying, any weapons….very simple stuff.  There was no one in line behind me so we chatted about my bike travels and I gave her my “Gonzo” card also….she was a cutie J. 

            We rode around the town as I got my bearings then headed “down” Clifton Hill and found the Harley store.  We parked Ginny’s car in the public parking ($10) and I parked on the street where there was just enough room for Sophia ($2).  The store was not a dealership but just a retail outlet…tourist trap.  A pinup t-shirt with a cutie wearing a Mountie outfit and leaning on a bike cost me $37 arrrrggghhhhh!!  But, that is my collection for this trip.

            We then headed down to the main parkway that follows the gorge where all the tourists walk to view the American and Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls.  The Canadians have beautified their Falls, placed islands between the two lanes of road traffic, flowers, plants, bushes and trees trimmed nicely, etc.  Directly across from the American Falls I found a bricked surface in the island where I could put Sophia, and sis could then take a pic from the other side of the road capturing the American Falls behind me.  Worked out great!

Let’s Exercise !!

September 19, 2011

North Tonawanda, NY

            Poor Sis, she is the victim of my obsession with health and exercise.

            It was a rainy day so we did things around the apt then went out grocery shopping to fill her empty fridge with all the goodies I like.  For dinner we had roasted chicken and after cleaning up we worked the computer setting her up with a twitter account and introducing her to twitter’s workings.

            Then I suggested we do some stretching.  I have noticed that she walks very stiffly and, feeling in need of some stretching for my own sore body, thot this would be a good thing to share with her (hehhehheh).  I introduced her to the P90X stretching routine and she felt really good afterwards.

            Think I’ll see how she can handle going for some good walks and doing some other limited exercises. However, I need to be careful with her since she is out of shape.

            And I don’t want my lifestyle to cause her to invite me to go visit my brothers J.

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Buffalo Bills WIN !!!

September 18, 2011

North Tonawanda NY

            Wow, did I ever sleep a long, deep sleep…think I was a little pooped.  Sis and I cooked up a nice breakfast then went to look at the American Falls via Goat’s Island.  We were hoping there would be a spot where I could pose with Sophia and have the Falls in the background.  But no such luck.

A nice thing happened however, in order to view the Falls you need to pay $10 to park the car. I explained to the gate guard what we were trying to take a pic of and he let Sis in her car and I with Sophia in for free since we would be there only about 10 minutes. 

Back at the apt we hung out while waiting for the Buffalo Bills football game to come on….she is a big time Bills fan.  They are playing the Oakland Raiders, a team for which I have no affinity, but was rooting for them just to stir the pot with sis and make it fun (but was hoping the Bills win J).  Yep, she is really into her Bills football…shrieking and jumping up and down at the times when critical plays were made.  It was a fun game, right to the end when the Bills went on top with about 18 secs left for the Raiders to execute a “Hail Mary”….at which the Bills intercepted and closed the game as the winners….made sis’ birthday a special one!

            Today was her birthday so, since she is very religious, I gave her the religious book and DVD that I had been carrying for her since I left CA….personal delivery without help from FedEx, UPS, or USPS.  I think she liked them.

            Dinner was with 2 of her close friends who cooked up a delicious eggplant parmigiana and chicken breasts and wonderful conversation.  Then back to the house for chatting with Sis and another night’s rest.

            I think this was a good birthday celebration for herJ.

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com

Change Of Plans

September 17, 2011

North Tonawanda NY

The night in Cannajoharie (pronounced Canjaharie) was a quiet one….never heard the trains rumbling by during my exhausted sleep.  Canajaharie was affected by Irene; the town’s main intersection was under reconstruction and entry onto the road leading to the Rodeway Inn was closed off except to residents.  The Rodeway Inn was actually a very old style motel well past its prime but perfect for parking the bike right at the front door.  The room smelled a little musty and there was only warm water so I didn’t bother taking a shower.  I unloaded the T-bag and backpack then headed back up the closed road to find a takeout dinner…lucky me, I stumbled upon a Chinese place.  They packed me a dinner of Kung Pao chicken that was enough to feed 4 of me, or 8 Chinese. I only ate a bit and decided to save the rest for tomorrow’s lunch when I stop on the road.

I awoke at 7 feeling kinda “tween”, i.e. in between needing more sleep and being fully rested.  Did some stretching then went to get some coffee at the front desk and to tell them about the lack of hot water.  No one was at the desk and I didn’t bother making noise to wake them from their adjacent sleeping quarters. I’m sure when they clean the room they’ll also discover the chirping smoke alarm.

Knee Pads and Mask

September 16, 2011

Canajoharie NY

No, I haven’t gotten mythically religious and started praying, nor have I robbed a gas station.

The morning was cold….really cold…for a SoCal boy…. a chill factor of 40.  I wore jammy bottoms for supplemental long johns under the jeans, long sleeve Harley T with a short sleeve Harley T on top of it, a long sleeve shirt, Jeans jacket, and then raingear on top of that as a wind breaker. I figured that this would be enough to keep me warm….and it did as I got on the I-95.  BUT, before I reached the next exit my face was already freezing.  I pulled off at the exit and dug thru my tool kit and cold wx gear and found the neophrene face mask…I no sooner had put it on when my face warmed up immediately!

So off I went ….but only as far as the next exit…my knees started to freeze…they were taking the full brunt of the wind chill factor.  I needed a solution…the simplest way was to put something warmer between the jeans and the raingear….ahhh, I have two heavy duty synthetic cloth rags that could be folded over and placed over the knees!   So, pull off at the next, get the rags outa the bags and put them down the inside of the raingear…back on the I-90 and wow, what a difference, I was good to go to Portland and beyond.

The day slowly warmed up, but the gusting wind only got worse until I reached Worcester MA when it started to smooth out.  I ran all the way to Canajoharie , 50 miles north of Albany, for a total run of around 460 miles. 

However, about 30 miles from C-town (I think a pattern is developing here) there was a lot of construction on two bridges and it slowed/stopped traffic for an added 30 minutes to the run.  This meant that I was out there when the sun dipped behind the hills and I got cold again…and I'm coming down with a slight head cold.

So it’s into the hot shower and a long sleep. 

I may want to rethink my lack of religious orientation and use the knee pads to pray to the Harley gods for warm and dry weather for the next 24 days J

Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com